Why The Wheels Are Coming Off

by Steve Young

What the hell is happening? Is all that I've come to believe actually wrong? Could it be that black is no longer...white?

Oh, once they could say "black is white," and it was so. They could tell us if white didn't invade black, then black would wipe us out. And if anyone said black has no ability nor the desire to wipe out white, they would tell everyone that we were giving aid and comfort to black. Talk radio's Lords of Loud would call us anti-white for raising the question. Everyone would nod in agreement that black must be invaded and changed to white or one day we could all be black. Wait -- was that right? Maybe I got it backwards.

But no matter what they did, no matter how many black facts they bleached whitewash white, they always got away with it. Hell, the more they lied, the more their numbers went up. Criticism was deflected by their Teflon armor, which was considerably more protection than they provided the troops they sent into battle.

Until now.

The last couple months have really been an eye opener (thank you, God) for America. Why? Simple: Karl Rove actually got caught. And now, the Bush ship of state is running in choppy water without its pilot. Suddenly, saying "we're doing well," isn't good enough. People actually want to see the "well" that we're doing. And, of course, there ain't no "well" there to see. Finally, the press found their spine, the public found their sight, O'Reilly found his luffa, and Novak found his guts (and spilled them to the feds).

Their numbers have tanked. A poll last week found only 38 percent of Americans approve of Bush policy in Iraq, and half of the country now thinks he's been dishonest. These boys are in trouble and the adorable little Scott "Everyready Bunny" McClellan robot just spins in a circle beating his drum: "Priorities are in place. Priorities are in place. Priorities are in place."

Without Rove at the helm, this boat is sinking. Fast. Need proof? The generals recently said we'll probably be pulling out early, but Bush then said we wouldn't budge until we were finished. Rumsfeld and General Myers switched to calling it "a global struggle against violent extremism" but Bush plowed ahead with the old "War On Terror" lingo. Didn't he get the memo? Of course not -- Karl wasn't around to write it.

Think of little Cindy Sheehan, camped out on his Crawford doorstep. She wants to look Bush in the eye and ask him a few simple questions, such as: if Iraq is such a "noble cause," why can't he persuade his own daughters to enlist? But Bush won't face her; if Rove was still in charge, he'd have Bush giving her a big Texas hug toute d'suite. Even if he emerges from his five-week vacation for a photo-op with Cindy tomorrow, the damage is already done. Too many interviews with the plucky mom of the fallen boy-soldier.

What does all this mean? My guess is that Bush has finally taken control -- Bush the failed businessman, who ran every single company he ever touched directly into the ground. His bumbling fingerprints are all over this disaster; but like every lousy manager, he's gonna keep plowing ahead even if it kills us. Hopefully, it'll only kill the 2006 Republican majority.