Bush & Company

They heard the rhythmic rum tum tum,
The pounding of a distant drum,
The cadence of the beat beat beat
Of martial bands and marching feet;

And then came the insistent hum
Of whirring aircraft overhead,
While blaring rounds of weaponry
Would soon set the Iraquis free;

But where the flowers, the fervid cheers
And joyful tintinnabulum
On our victorious soldiers' ears?
Of all this there was none, instead

The portent of what was to come---
The petrol generated from
Refinement of petroleum.
It's oil, just oil, and nothing more;

But that's not what our leaders said---
Not oil this grievous strike was for,
This war they were resolved to sell,
Nor rubble and the waste of war;

The endless din, the earthly Hell,
The bones and bloodshed of the dead.

Finally, a Republican presidential candidate speaks out rationally. Although he flipflopped early on in his campaign, then kept a low profile, the former Utah governor and ambassador to China has come out of hiding to make a bold counter statement about his competitors' ignorant stands on global warming and evolution.

About Michele Bachmann's promise to bring gasoline prices down to $2 per gallon, Jon Huntsman told Piers Morgan, "We live in the real world. . .And gas prices just aren't going to rebound like that."

Yet almost immediately, he said he would be "the first person to sign up, absolutely" as Bachmann's running mate, though he emailed a friend that he looks forward to "increasing contrasts with my opponents."

As Bachmann's vice president, he would have to do her bidding, relinquishing his principles and beliefs. This sole logical and honorable Republican candidate seems, after all, just another waffling lip server.

Jon Isn't Short for Jonathan

Simply Jon, where have you been?
Never mind, long as you're in,
Heard above the mindless din,
You just might deserve to win.

Once again, let's hear your views,
That you'll honor, not abuse.
Whoops! You spoiled it when you said
That you'd run for veep instead,

Side by side with Ms. Michele,
Whose ideas we know so well.
Maybe you won't mind a bit
When we call you hypocrite. . .

just might deserve to win.

Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is one of President Obama's most vicious foes. Vowing last November to "investigate, investigate, investigate" the president, he, among other Republicans, is on a relentless rampage to destroy him.

One of the richest members of Congress, his wealth is particularly questionnable. Making no attempt to hide it, he's engaged in a multitude of business and financial enterprises with strong suggestions of conflict of interest, as Eric Lichtblau in the New York Times put it August 15, 2011, his "dual careers, a meshing of public and private interests rarely seen in government." As our country is set up, holding a seat in Congress is especially advantageous to one's business ventures.

Watch out, Darrell---someone might decide to relentlessly investigate you. . .

In November, 2010. . .

One of the president's fiercest foes,
Rep Darrell Issa thinks he knows
Exactly how he can create
A scandalous Obamagate.

He vowed that he'll investigate,
He'll search with all his fearsome power
Until he's found some vestige our
Obama might have left behind,

Some tiny thing that he can spin
If not an actual crime or sin;
But let's suppose he never can,
There's simply nothing he can find,

This lawmaker-cum-businessman
With such a single-minded plan.
It's best that he should watch his step,
The all-too-brazen US rep. . .

(Could it be that he just forgot
He, too, could be put on the spot?)

Who started this trend, anyway? Was it Newt, The Donald or Huckabee or does the idea go back to Ms. Sarah?

Announce you'e running for president. Raise money for your bogus campaign. Present your crackpot opinions. Then bow out gracefully because you're outfunded. Meantime, your name has become widely known and before you know it, you're a Fox News commentator, a best-selling author and a much-sought speaker on the lecture circuit. Only the serious-minded remain. Those weeded out can expect similar rewards.

The victor may gain the presidency and a tenure of trauma, frustration and abuse, in some cases, deserved.

Here's the latest thing to do---
Make a run for president,
Even though you'll finish low,
But that always was your plan

And the reason that you ran.
I can't quite remember who
Came up with this clever con,
But the concept has caught on.

Boost your name's the way to go,
Stay until you've made a dent,
Then get hired by Fox News
Where you can express your views

And make lots and lots of dough.

Republican governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker's relentless mission to eliminate collective bargaining from the state, which will negatively impact firefighters, nurses, teachers and all unionized public employee professionals, culminated in a fierce special election August 9, 2011. Three Democratic state senators were needed to unseat Republicans; only two were elected.

Wisconsinites won't forget the president's conspicuous absence from the battle scene. His presence, as he resolutely reinforced his campaign and later promises, as he championed Walker's political prey and vigorously prodded Democrats and principled Republicans and Independents, might have garnered more liberal votes.

Obama, where were you?

You pledged that you would stand behind
The underdogs, but now I find
You very simply aren't around.
From you, Barack, there's not a sound.

Is this some sort of stratagem,
Not to support, not to condemn?
I see no rationale unless
You fear the few will like you less.

No rousing of the ranks is heard---
Is this the way you keep your word?

The president's need for bi-partisanship, regardless of the stakes, is becoming disastrous. Apart specific crises is the ever-increasing and uncompromising power of the Tea Party, the radical branch of the Republican Party.

Results coming from his projected Super Committee are fairly predictable. Six Democrats and six Republicans voting, each set hand-picked for its opposing stance, although requiring but a simple majority, could end in a hopeless gridlock. The nation is in perpetual disarray; can't the president recall Congress from their five-week vacation?

The Tea Party has swiftly burgeoned from a small protest group into a ruinous force, rendering the House speaker and the president, to all appearances, cowed and helpless.

President Obama, why are you stalling? Why are you seeking an escape route? What future exigency will motivate you to action? This vicious gang is gaining fearsome momentum from its latest unconscionable victory.

Why are you acting like a coward?

Did the president take a stand
That he never will demand
An end to what's engulfed our land
Beset by that unholy band?

How can one help but wonder how
He can hang back, not disavow
Those House despoilers somehow---
It just gets worse---when if not now?

The time for patience long has passed---
One more bust and the die is cast.
God, please don't make me have to say
My president has feet of clay. . .

It seems, President Obama, that you've let us down. You've succombed in the name of bi-partisanship to the witless demands of irrational, ignorant bullies and their craven lackeys who are apparently unaware that they too, in time, will fall victim to their brazen, boastful, shameless victory.

You, Mr. President, could have pushed through a just and simple solution. It was in the realm of your Constitutional authority.

Other presidents are remembered for their reforms, benefiting generations, not for the arduous and forceful mechanics of their execution, overcoming the vitriol of their opposition. Nor will those generations care that another president tolerantly accomodated an unbalanced bi-partisanship to approve a diluted product. They will not praise him. They will not thank him

This was pure extortion and you, Mr. President, have forfeited your principles and your extraordinary political talent, your opportunity for fearless leadership.

You assure us that in time, the issues in abeyance willl be equitablty resolved. Time will tell. The Tea Partyers are not going to quit.

What kind of compromise is this,
Sealed with a submissive kiss---
The very presidential seal;
Just how is this a balanced deal?

Advantage mostly for one side
And the chasm far too wide,
A deal lacking revenues
When all who can must pay their dues.

A battle cry of TERRORIZE!
So where, pray, is the compromise?
The winning side wholly remiss---
What kind of compromise is this?