Will it work again?

In the same vein as Mark's post below, take a look at Bill Clinton's blunt warning to Bush not to play politics with terror. This as Cheney is circulating the country shamelessly conflating Democrats (and democracy) with Al Qaeda. It is sickening to hear a sitting Vice President call the clear majority of Americans who disagree with the administration's approach to Iraq, essentially, terrorists. In one stroke, Cheney brought together the Lamont victory in Connecticut with Al Qaeda with the GOP's need to keep the population terrified in order to maintain power. Clinton rightly calls him to task for his libelous slurs.

Mark Kennedy is also engaged in this sleazy exercise. He has so blatantly repackaged himself as a moderate one has to wonder if he knows what the word "liar" means [Note: if you read John Dean's excellent new book, Conservatives Without Conscience you will discover that he probably doesn't]. Kennedy won't cross party lines with an actual bipartisan vote, but he'll do it to give his backhanded support to Cheney's Democrats-are-terrorists strategy by endorsing Lieberman.

In another masterpiece of doubleplusgood newspeak, the president denies playing politics with the London thing even as he relentlessly frames Democrats as decent people who want to cut and run. Which is another lie so obvious it would warrant a two-year old a lengthy time out. Dick Cheney and George Bush - go to your room this instant. Not anothe peep until you can tell the truth.

I hold out distant hope that the BushRoveCheney six-year hayride through a wonderland of dementia will be checked by a resounding rejection of their ends and their means come November. But they have played this same card before with great success. They have fooled us once. They are in the process of attempting to fool us twice. We will see after the election to whom the shame belongs.