When All Else Fails...

Yesterday Bush’s approval rating dropped to a new low of 37% nationwide. (I am proud that in New York it’s at 29%). The majority of Americans say that the Iraq War was a mistake and that we should bring the troops home soon, rather than waiting for a “democracy” there.

Yesterday it became clear that the President’s top advisor, “Bush’s Brain,” the mastermind of his rise to power, Karl Rove, will likely face an indictment in the treason case for outing a CIA agent’s name for political vengeance, or for perjury and obstruction of justice. It’s unlikely that Rove will be the only Bush official indicted - even Cheney or Bush himelf could be a target. The House Majority Leader faces three indictments and life in prison, the Senate Majority Leader is under federal investigation for insider trading. Bush’s top procurement official has resigned, been arrested and indicted on five felony charges.

Yesterday Republicans continued the calls for Bush’s totally unqualified Supreme Court pick to withdraw. Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer said: “If Harriet Miers were not a crony of the president of the United States, her nomination to the Supreme Court would be a joke.”

Yesterday after five long, painful years things seemed to finally be crumbling for the most radical, inept, unqualified and arrogant president in modern history. So what happened?

TERROR ALERT!!!!!

First, Bush gives a speech, which he promised to be new and specific about Iraq, but turned out to be a pathetic laundry-list of things we should fear, lumping the war on terror with a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 for the gazillionth time. Centrist Slate.com rightly called the speech a “sad, demoralizing spectacle” - words apporporateto describe not only the speech, but the entire Bush Presidency. Recap here.

But Yesterday verbally scaring us wasn’t enough. We’ve heard it all before… Terror….blah blah blah. 911 blah blah blah.

So then the amazing happened.

Literally minutes after the Karl Rove story broke, Midwestern relatives began calling us with news, blasted around the country. We were told that here in New York City our subways are being targeted with a specific threat, causing an absolute panic in New York City not seen since the day of the London bombings. This morning, getting on the subway, all the local newspapers lead with the terrifying headline: SUBWAY TERROR PLOT!

The fact is, this threat has been known to Bloomberg and the NYC authorities since this weekend. We only found out about it yesterday because the federal government allowed the info to be released.

The fact is, that the Department of Homeland security has called this threat “specific but not credible” . NOT CREDIBLE.

So why were we thrown into a panic?

Sure, I am scared of subway bombings. I am scared of it every day. I have been demanding that federal money NOT go to Republican pork projects like building bridges in Alaska, but to protecting New Yorkers who are the real targets of terror.

But why were we thrown into a panic YESTERDAY?

We'll never know for sure, but I do know this:

It is more to Bush’s advantage if we are scared than if we are safe. That
is the bottom line.