(Ba-dum-CHING!)

Do you suppose Bush may have meant "Over my dead body will they raise your taxes"? Let's see how this keen mind could have altered other famous phrases throughout history:

"I shall not return." General Douglas MacArthur

"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have not to fear is fear itself . . ." Franklin D. Roosevelt

"I am a crook." Richard M. Nixon

Funny how those pesky "nots" can affect the meaning of a sentence. Man, I hate it when language gets in the way of what a fella is tryin' to say.

In addition, there was this bit of Bushspeak:

"There's going to be people who say we can't have the tax cut go through anymore. That's a tax raise."

A "tax raise"? Is that the way they teach it at Harvard? I guess phrases like "tax increase," "tax hike," and "revenue enhancement" just couldn't convey the exact nuance of Bush's razor-sharp intellect as well as "tax raise." Goober goes to Washington.

In the same speech, Bush laughs at Tom Daschle's assertion that the tax cut may have worsened the current recession:

"Somebody told me the funniest thing. They said there's some in Washington saying that the tax cut caused the recession. I don't know what economic textbook they're reading."

As if Bush ever read an economic(s) textbook. George, perhaps the "some" to which you refer read the Congressional Budget Office report that says the Democrats have a more effective economic (no "s" this time, Georgie) recovery plan. It turns out that kicking a pile of money back to your rich campaign contributors just doesn't get the job done.

My advice to you, George: Don't try to understand economic theory. There's math, big words, and lots of them perplexin' graphs in there. Start with something more your speed. Perhaps "Fun with Dick and Jane." While you're trying to catch up, let the grownups handle the economy.

How far into this presidency do we have to go before Allen Funt finally walks in? All I can say, Allen, is that nobody is smiling any more.

. . .The Angry Liberal