Ross Douthat tries to put a mirrorlike finish on a coprolite..

[Fumesucker]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/opinion/21douthat.html?_r=2&ref=global

<snip>

The census report is yet another nail in the coffin of Bush’s reputation; Latimer’s tell-all seems more like a thumbtack. Both are reminders that it’s hard to imagine his presidency being remembered as anything but a failure, by liberals and conservatives alike.

But if Bush is destined to go down as a failed president, come what may, he looks increasingly like an unusual sort of failure.

America has had its share of disastrous chief executives. But few have gone as far as Bush did in trying to repair their worst mistakes. Those mistakes were the Iraq war — both the decision to invade and the conduct of the occupation — and the irrational exuberance that stoked the housing bubble. The repairs were the surge, undertaken at a time when the political class was ready to abandon Iraq to the furies, and last fall’s unprecedented economic bailout.

Both fixes remain controversial. But for the moment, both look like the sort of disaster-averting interventions for which presidents get canonized. It’s just that in Bush’s case, the disasters he averted were created on his watch.

<snip>

More at the link.

[sharp_stick]

1. Such a perfect subject line

I wondered how long it would be before the RW assholes would try to refurbish the legacy of AWOL boy. It took decades for them to try it with Nixon and even longer with such notable slimeballs as McCarthy.

I think they are so worried about shrubbos effects on their "movement" that they decided they couldn't wait any longer.

[Fumesucker]

2. Thank you, although I think a lot of people didn't get it..

I nearly titled it "Ross Douthat attempts a specularly reflective coprolite", that would have even been a bit more obscure.

* is tanned, rested and ready, eh?

[Orsino]

3. The McCain campaign stragedy. n/t