hail to our chief

as i was tuning in to a local cbs station in hopes of catching drew carey attempt to carry the torch of daytime gaming television that bobby barker left burning so brightly ( i actually recall my sweet mama packing me a lunch in my old school he-man lunchbox (i think made of tin?) complete with thermos, sitting on a blanket in the living room of the farm house and watching bob do what he does), i was disappointed to see instead our president standing at a pulpit explaining to a visibly exasperated reporter that this was indeed not his first rodeo.

from what i gather he was addressing the ongoing threat concerning north korea and iran...apart from that dubya has used the word proliferate 6 or 7 times. whenever he speaks, i can't help but think of a 10 or 11 year old kid that heard something new and neat at school and regurgitates it back to everybody new he runs into, just to make sure they know that he just learned one more neat thing. despite our president being very...texan...i like his demeanor when the cameras are on. he seems to generally speak with a level of candor and a cool confidence that i really feel a lot of people could easily appreciate after 8 years of slick willy. i just found it a little disconcerting that president clinton's facial expressions and demeanor in answering questions and addressing the country too closely resembled the look and mannerisms of my youngest brother when he was in the middle of explaining how he was just moving the cookies from the kitchen to the basement because it's cooler down there and he didn't want all the chocolate to melt.

believe me, i share the embarrassment when bush vows to uncover the "nucular" threats and stumbles in response to a reporter because he's trying to use one of those new 50 cent words. he is goofy, and though i'm not sure what a bumpkin is, i kind of think gwb is a big one. he smirks at his own dumb jokes...he seems to get easily perturbed and frustrated, which typically yields priceless seconds of mumbling bumbling and retracting previous statements. he commonly uses euphemisms that make no sense to people outside of texas and a few border cities in southern oklahoma. he can seem myopic and overly confident even pig headedly arrogant in responses. in light of all of this, he is my favorite president. (clinton and w. bush were, coincidentally, the only two presidents who i felt i knew enough about to actually include on my ballot.)

i find it difficult not to stand firmly behind w mostly because i believe in the military engagement in the middle east (i don't think war was ever actually declared). here i will state that i am definitely open to the possibility of skeezy ulterior motives and hidden dollars and all of that, but nonetheless my beliefs are in some concordance with the white house's action regarding the state of all things middle east, and that's good enough for me. i deem it a worth while venture, albeit costly in many aspects, for the largest world power to try to step in and clean up some of the mess left by sadaam insane and his fatally flawed governmental blueprint. i think women should be treated equally with men, i think families should be able to worship any god they wish in most any manner they wish. i think children should find themselves with diverse opportunities to lead productive, peaceful lives...people should be able to live the lives the want to lead. it is that simple insult to humanity seen prominently in communist china and even cuba and on a larger, more revolting scale throughout africa that has been fostered for centuries in the middle east.

these were just a few thoughts that came to mind while listening to our president speak, and they may seem oversimplified and even a bit ignorant or idealistic, but hey, what else would you expect 30 minutes of g.w. bush to proliferate into? man i hope the price is right is on tomorrow...

the good old one fingeredvictory salute...5 year olds everywhere are hysterical with laughter...