Bear Left!

It's the Economy, Not Iraq, Stupid!
Paul Corrigan

Wow! Despite the best efforts of Republican politicians and their spinmasters, the American public appears poised to send politicians a message in November's midterm elections: It's the Economy, Not Iraq, Stupid! I could kiss James Carville. That is a scary thought: maybe I could just give him a Barney hug. James knows the American public. He knew that they would support Clinton over Starr during the sex hunt of 1997, just as he knew they would care more about the economy than the elder Bush's warmongering in 1992. He also knew they would not listen to the younger Bush's warmongering in 2002. The Republicans had Jeanne Dixon. We have James Carville.

Republicans have been talking about war, sex, and tax cuts for so long that many of us stopped believing the public was capable of seeing through the smokescreen. Thank goodness what was true in 1992 is true today. Money talks and bullshit walks. The DNC ad showing Bush pushing a senior in a wheelchair down the trendline of economic indicators is not only funny, but it also rings true, despite the Republican charge that it is a dirty trick. Imagine the Republicans having the gall to call anything a dirty trick. I never believed the Republican bullshit, but I must admit I was beginning to believe that the American public was getting smitten with waving the flag and jingoistic groupthink.

Reports coming out of Washington now indicate that a majority of Americans now believe that the nation's economy is in its worst shape in a decade. In other words, they believe the truth. President Bush, Don Rumsfield, and the media can spin 24 hours a day that Iraq, a country halfway around the world, is more important than the education of our children and the security of the retirement of our mothers and fathers. Americans, however, know better. Presidents, and their friends in Congress, who neglect problems at home are not long for elective office.

It's morning in America.