For journalists trying to hang on to their mainstream jobs, the best bet is to join the herd as it stampedes toward Obama.
Just as some journalists made their names in the 1990s by promoting the trivial Clinton "scandals," today some seek to transform Obama non-scandals into big deals, like the clumsy White House effort to get Rep. Joe Sestak not to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania primary, a silly little controversy that CNN on Friday dubbed "a firestorm."
And, if my reading of the under-funded Left media is correct, Obama can't count on much help there either, certainly not the way Bush knew that Fox News and Rush Limbaugh always had his back.
So, with few lessons learned from the Bush-43 years and with political prospects for Obama and the Democrats in decline, how long will it be before someone suggests that the nation should reach out to another member of the Bush family, like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, to solve the nation's problems?
After all, since Obama gets blamed for the mess the country is in just as Clinton was to blame for getting entangled in a bunch of "scandals" doesn't it make sense to turn again to the Bush family to clean things up.
Granted, this idea may seem premature, given the fact that some Americans may still vaguely recall that Bush-43 contributed to today's crises.
But, remember, there were Americans during the early Clinton years who distrusted Bush-41 for his lies and his dissembling about Iran-Contra, Iraqgate and other scandals. Yet, those memories quickly faded. If anything, America's tendency toward historical amnesia is even more advanced today.
Who knows? In a couple of years, there might be a media-generated nostalgia for George W. Bush, much as there was for his father. Then, Jeb the so-called "smart brother" might stand a chance as a bridge between the far-right Republicans and the more establishment brand.
Indeed, as the American political process grows even more addle-brained, we might be seeing the start of a recurring cycle: a member of the Bush family screws things up; the Democrats eventually take control but don't demand accountability; the media quickly shifts the blame for the problems to the Democrats; the Republicans become agents of change; and the next Bush family member becomes president to get things back on track.
One might call that prospect a truly vicious cycle.
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