Nincompoop of the day

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this, in a country where dressing up in a costume makes you a brave soldier, where slapping a ribbon magnet on your SUV and voting for Senators and Congresscritters who vote down expanded veterans benefits so that the wealthy can have more tax cuts constitute supporting the troops, and where patriotism equals blind faith to whatever moron happens to be in power at any given time (as long as he's a Republican).

But here's today's nincompoop, John Podhoretz:

Tony Blair's shellshocked appearance during his initial statement earlier this morning offers the best rebuttal yet to the sleazy Michael Moore-style attack on President Bush's behavior on the morning of September 11. It would have been a disaster for Bush to have spoken as the choked-up Blair was. This is intended as no criticism of Blair, who was clearly under a far different sort of burden at the G-8 than Bush was sitting in a classroom in Sarasota. But Blair is not the leader of the free world, Bush is, and had he seemed unable to collect himself -- as would surely have been the case in that first hour after Andy Card told him about the attack on America -- I can't imagine what the day would have been like. Not that the president's first words on 9.11, an hour after the attacks, were strong and focused. But they were more controlled.

Yes, reading a children's book with a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face, then jetting all over the country -- anywhere but the two places where the attacks took place -- is FAR superior to showing empathy for those who lost husbands, wives, and children -- and then travelling to the "scene of the crime" to provide comfort.

Yes, this is Republicanistan -- where words speak louder than actions, and lip service is all you need.

(hat tip: Digby)