How do the White House insiders manage to remain calm?

[The Backlash Cometh]

Wouldn't a normal person have buckled under the pressure? How is it that the Bush insiders manage to keep their cool, when any normal person would recognize the incredible trouble they're in? How do they do it? Are they on drugs? Does anybody else think it's incredibly odd that we have public officials in this country that can do so much wrong and yet they act like you were the one who farted?

[TahitiNut]

1. Drugs.

... and off-shore bank accounts.

[tridim]

4. That's exactly what I was going to say

Lots and lots of Oxycontin and Xanax.

[kineneb]

9. serious tranquilizers

regular valium and all those --pam drugs. (Lorazipam, etc.) Or what the doc calls "chill pills".

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. Some of those pills would make them look too sleepy.

Did Gonzo look sleepy during his testimony?

[kineneb]

22. didn't watch

no TV, sorry. Been out gardening, oil painting and being given free redwood burl wood...

And the effects vary from one person to another. They never made me sleepy; they just calmed my panic attacks.

[TahitiNut]

20. Well, to be fair, they really don't need much medication since ...

... their consciences are so atrophied. Smirk needs 'em to supplement his narcissistic supply ... where merely not being on stage causes him anxieties.

[musette_sf]

16. as i used to say about Jim and

(G-d Rest Her Soul) Tammy Faye... in the 80s when i used to watch them for Recreational Christianity:

they have more and better drugs than you and i will ever have.

[wake.up.america]

33. Knowing you will waltz out of the White House with millions in a Nassau bank tend to soothe nerves.

[Richard Steele]

38. Which one was it that mentioned they're all heavy "Ambien" users, awhile back?

It was Condi, or some other upper-echelon member who
off-handedly let that slip.

[TahitiNut]

40. I recall the reference but not who said it. Smirk?

:shrug:

[SharonAnn]

41. Colin Powell is the one who said it.

[Richard Steele]

44. Thank you SharonAnn. nm

[TahitiNut]

49. Ahh, yes. Thank you.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Colin+Powell%22+Ambien&btnG=Google+Search

Colin Powell: "Yes. Well, I wouldn't call them that. They're a wonderful medication -- not medication. How would you call it? They're called Ambien, which is very good. You don't use Ambien? Everybody here uses Ambien."

-- Nov. 5, 2003 interview with former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell

[zabet]

2. Support from big pharma. n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. I don't think they are.

I suspect in some undisclosed location there's a very large pile of dead prostitutes.

[razors edge]

45. Gannon was lucky.

We got him out, so to speak, before the slaughter.

[ixion]

5. They don't...

they put a persona mask on just long enough to blurt out a few bogus sound bytes.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. In this day of cellphones with camera options, no one can catch these

people showing a sign of weakness? Are all their public appearances measured?

[ixion]

34. in a word: yep

I feel pretty confident that "behind closed doors" they're raving whackjobs.

[mentalsolstice]

7. Don't know, don't care! n/t

[dorkulon]

8. What trouble?

Nothing of consequence will ever happen to them. None of them will ever see a day of jail time. Why would they be worried?

[pearl]

13. Lack of Conscience

All the death and destruction they are unleashing is just simply necessary to what they envision
to be their end goal.

[Xipe Totec]

15. -ness. Lack of Consciousness nt

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. History is going to vilify them.

And with 65% disapproval rating and 18 months to go, Bush is in serious trouble.

[dorkulon]

23. A villified millionaire is still a millionaire.

Bush is not running for reelection. His low approval rating may be annoying, but I really don't think it constitutes "trouble." When he's done he can go relax and be rich. So can his cronies.

[The Backlash Cometh]

24. His daddy keeps breaking down in public. This could be calculated,

or maybe he's the only one who really knows how much trouble they're in?

[malaise]

26. Poppy should think about all the help he gave him to

steal the 2000 election. His tears don't fool anyone.

[dorkulon]

27. Again with the trouble.

I think daddy cries because he knows how much trouble WE'RE in, as in all of us. I never like Poppy, but he's a damn sight smarter than W., and may actually give a small crap about regular people. Still--there will be no serious repercussions for any of them.

[shanti]

54. exactly!

it's ALL about the benjamins. * doesn't enjoy work, it's obvious. he's a slacker, and he will be happy to retire on his untold wealth. it's not like he was actually in charge...

not to worry, another whack job will replace him. :(

[Junkdrawer]

10. Just look at all those WH officials behind bars..oh wait...there are none...

That's how.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Maybe Scalia gave us a clue. Maybe they are not showing concern

because they believe they have the right to these excesses and they believe crony networking is normal?

In other words, we have to make a stand now or forever deal with White Sopranos at every level of government?

[H2O Man]

12. Moral lobotomies. n/t

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

18. ITA, H2O Man

I honestly don't understand how they can literally look themselves in the mirror each morning..

After hearing Tony Snow's comments today on the contempt charges from the House Judiciary Committee I was appalled. Does he not realize how hypocritical he sounded? Yet he claims to a "good" Christian??

[H2O Man]

19. We are confronted

by a group of people who do not have the least bit of Good within them.

[The Backlash Cometh]

29. And, apparently, they are sustained by a network or circle that we don't even

understand or never see. Somewhere in their lives, they cut away from the rest of us and decided that they were entitled to live by a separate set of rules. And then, they make it up as they go along.

I bet this also comes from working for agencies that customarily bend the rules. Once you have a job with diplomatic immunity, for instance, how do you ever become normal again?

[H2O Man]

31. The have Animal

Farm delusions of superiority.

[TahitiNut]

21. Consciencectomies?

:silly:

[H2O Man]

28. Yep.

Good description.

[lutefisk]

25. Junior looks like he is fighting to keep it together - much more often, lately.

I take some satisfaction in that. I think it is important to keep the pressure on him until the inevitable public breakdown occurs.

[Olney Blue]

30. Professional liars.

[The Backlash Cometh]

32. It's a toss up where someone goes to become a professional liar of that caliber.

Lawyering? Political operative? CEO?

[Olney Blue]

35. Spoiled children, perhaps.....

[sniffa]

36. endorphins

once you accept that you can't be any more hated, or fuck up anymore, it's reaLLy quite Liberating.

[The Backlash Cometh]

37. The only thing that would give them that much calm, is knowing that they have

a full proof exit plan. I think off-shore accounts is definitly a good guess.

[marions ghost]

39. Study the criminal mind

this is part of the definition.

[jimshoes]

42. What keeps them in a position of confidence

is having an overview of the grand chessboard. They know what the end-game is and we don't. And while we are beating up on one of their pawns like Alberto the Liar, they are moving other pieces around the board and cementing their grip on power in ways that won't even become apparent till well after they are a fait accompli. There is a reason that they are the most secretive bunch to ever slink into power. They have so much to hide.

[zbdent]

43. They keep repeating the mantra ...

"1/20/2009 ... 1/20/2009 ... 1/20/2009 ... 1/20/2009 ... "

Meaning ... despite all the bitching the Repukes made over the last-minute pardons Clinton did, they know that they will be pre-emptively pardoned ...

[stevedeshazer]

46. Because WE are the ones in trouble.

They sleep comfortably wrapped in their flags and currency.

I'm broke. They're not.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

47. It is amazing. Complete disconnect from reality. nt.

[Bravo Zulu]

48. Golden parachutes!

[live love laugh]

50. What pressure? They have everything s(cr)ewn up. n/t

[BenDavid]

51. Kinda like when a falsely accused

person is placed in jail. That person will be wide awake all during the night because he/she is falsely accused, but the one that actually committed the crime will sleep sound during the night....Thus, Bush and all his worker bees sleep sound throughout the night....

I do thank you
Ben David

[Kool Kitty]

52. How?

They believe that they are right. They believe they are doing God's work. They believe that if they turn left, and the rest of the world turns right, everyone is wrong-but not them. They believe if they just keep believing and deceiving, they will prevail.
When Reagan died, one of the big questions that was asked was what was Reagan's legacy. This is the legacy of Reagan. This is what he set in motion, all those years ago. This is what he wanted and couldn't get. It took the attacks in September, 2001, to make all this possible. If I could get my hands on Bin Laden, I rip him to tiny pieces.

[The Backlash Cometh]

55. Reagan's Legacy: Trickle down misery.

The rich in this country are laughing so hard they're crying, and all we get is the damn tear drops.

[MilesColtrane]

53. self deleted