And if you elect me your Friend-in Chief ...

My Dad was a master of the splenetic catch phrase - it was his preferred vehicle for imparting his collected wisdom. And now, having reached my own crabby middle age, it seems I am doomed to repeat some of these gems to my own children because ... well, they're just true.

The one that comes to mind whenever I read a Richard Cohen column is: "The world is not a meritocracy." (Actually, the political ascendency of one G.W. Bush is the quintessential exemple of this particular truism, but that's not the point today). As a muddleheaded purveyor of establishmentarian fluff, Cohen is unsurpassed ... well, I certainly can't put it better than James Walcott does here.

Another topic I wish I had time to discuss more fully - the infantilization of politics. In Washington today, the pundits tell us that it's all about the "personal qualities" of the candidates, getting to know them "as a person," establishing an "emotional connection," blah blah blah, like it's some big encounter group.

Listen, folks, I don't hate President* Bush - I don't know the man, and I'm never likely to meet him, so I can't say I have any personal feelings about him at all. I don't make any personal or moral judgments here - I make political and ethical ones. And the fact that our political media can't tell the difference anymore is at least close to the root of the impoverishment of our national dialogue.