On commas

I have been meaning to post about Bush’s disgraceful Sunday interview with Wolf Blitzer but it took me forever to find the transcript (hat tip to the Carpetbagger). In the exchange, our rock-headed President declared that the war in Iraq would be seen as a “comma” in the history books.

BLITZER: Let's move on and talk a little bit about Iraq. Because this is a huge, huge issue, as you know, for the American public, a lot of concern that perhaps they are on the verge of a civil war, if not already a civil war…. We see these horrible bodies showing up, tortured, mutilation. The Shia and the Sunni, the Iranians apparently having a negative role. Of course, al Qaeda in Iraq is still operating.

BUSH: Yes, you see — you see it on TV, and that's the power of an enemy that is willing to kill innocent people. But there's also an unbelievable will and resiliency by the Iraqi people…. Admittedly, it seems like a decade ago. I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma because there is — my point is, there's a strong will for democracy.

There may be a strong will for democracy but there are also thousands of dead and maimed Iraqis and Americans. I would submit that their families consider this war is a damn sight more significant than a comma. I am not sure how much more dismissive of their sacrifice this motherfucker could be. It is not quite pissing on the grave of the war dead but what an asshole all the same.

I am sure, however, that historians will be far less kind than I when they write of W and his regime. In the grand scheme of things, my voice, no matter how nasty, is inconsequential. Historians, however, have the determination and temperament to survey the current American landscape objectively, through the lens of time and distance. They tell the story to the generations that follow. This is what they will see.

In five short years, we sustained the worst terror attack in our history and let the perpetrators, thus far, run free. We started and lost the Iraq war and are on the verge of losing Afghanistan. We codified the suspension of habeas corpus and the denial of due process. We have instituted a domestic spying program. We have ignored the Geneva Convention and established torture as policy. New Orleans, fiscal responsibility, and our international reputation were destroyed.

Leading the charge down this hideous path of destruction is our man George. Scarier still, he has two years left in office. Lord knows how much more blood will be spilled and treasure will be spent in service to his delusional schemes and wrong headed policies. But this particular act of hubris and condescension, this flippant remark regarding the most important policy choice of his presidency, reveals a great deal about his presidency.

He is a man-child, incapable of empathy or sound judgment, making rash decision after rash decision, unable to grasp the significance of those outcomes or accept responsibility for same.

So history will not be kind to Bush's presidency or his war. And sure as hell, neither will be seen as a comma.