W. Blames H.W. For Our Economic Mess

Oliver Stone's movie "W." purports that a lot of conflict occurred between George H.W. Bush and his miserable failure of a son. A lot of that takes place in our President's earlier years, but as we can clearly tell today, there's still something between the two. The outgoing Executive is doing a round of interviews and is spreading the blame for his mess as fast as he can, including a little mud set aside for dear old Dad.

From ABC News:

"I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived," he said.

Karl Rove likes his fuzzy math, but a third grader can tell me that a decade or so (eight to ten years) minus the year Bush was elected (2000) equals approximately 1988 to 1992. When that kid studies social sciences later this year, he or she can tell you who was President at that time.

Tales From The Pool Boy....At Kennebunkport

James Razsa is not your ordinary pool boy. He didn't have an affair with the lady of the house, that would just be disgusting, especially since it is Barbara Bush we are talking about. He did however get a brief glimpse into the lives of one of the most powerful families in America. There are few clans that have done more harm to the world than the Bushes. Now that pool season is over up in Maine, he tells Salon and subsequently the San Francisco Gate all.

From The SF Gate:

"Seeing so much power accumulated in the hands of one person was just so weird," he says of his first time inside, about five months ago. "These people were just concepts in my head before this."

As for actual sightings, the Bushes have been elusive. At one point Barbara zipped by on a golf cart; at another, George indicated from afar that the pool looked terrific. (Note to communications staff: Would be funny if he said, "Read my lips" when communicating at a distance.) Otherwise the ex-president and his family have kept out of sight.

For Razsa, his job -- the only one he could find -- put him directly in touch with the very sort of power he holds partly responsible for his, and other people's, hard times.

"I look at the biggest middle finger in the world all day," is his more succinct explanation.

I ask Razsa if he has a monologue loaded up, in the event that his next encounter was at closer range. To my surprise, the idea doesn't appeal.

"What do you say? 'Thanks for School of the Americas, and Iran-Contra, and NAFTA, and shipping all those jobs overseas, and arming Saddam, and funding the Taliban?' What do you say -- 'You're a jerk?' There's nothing that can be put into a sentence that would capture the lives these people have taken, and the way of life that's been taken."

The whole article is a great little read, but I won't copy any more than what is above, so check it out. Rasza may be just a pool boy, but he has great insight into what the Bush family means in America.

I have to agree with him when it comes to getting a face to face with George. What do you say to that man? There are too many atrocities to list and besides, what difference would it make? How can one regular American affect the Bush crime family. It won't happen poolside, that is for sure. It must be a collective action, and it would be unprecedented in modern times.

The Camera Never Lies

Unless you belong to the Bush family, then you can say it does. This includes Poppa Bush, our 41st President. After having lunch with actress Teri Hatcher of Desperate Housewives, the two parted ways in a slightly less than formal manner. The video shows him patting her on the buttocks and a nice kiss on the cheek. The former President is a quite the daredevil, being a veteran 80-something year old skydiver but going after Teri like that exposes a man that wants to get everything out of life that he can.

Apparently the old man has been teased by his friends after the video surfaced, but he feigns innocence:

He told US TV show Extra, "I have been teased about it relentlessly. (A website) accused me of patting her backside, which I did not do. The camera lies, it's a fraud."

Of course with the aid of photoshop almost anything can be manipulated with a few clicks and keystrokes. Yet after close inspection of the clip, it certainly looks real to me. So why does George Sr deny it, whats wrong with a frisky 82 year old man having a little fun. Perhaps Barbara heard about it and he caught hell from the ol' family matriarch.