I Can Seee Russia From My House --- October 2008

I can't really see Russia from my house. But Gov. Sarah Palin can. I used to be able to see Wachovia from my house. I don't know what happened. On a clear day, you could see Washington Mutual. As for Freedonia, well, don't get me started. That might get Sarah Palin started. After all, she's a foreign policy maven. And I am Marie of Romania.
Gov. Palin has erased the amorphous line between satire and mock earnestness. Don't get me wrong. She's not a lightweight. She's scary. She's the generalissima of the New Bull Moose Party. Just ask any hungry wolf running in terror from a helicopter full of sharpshooters. Sarah has offered $150 for the forepaw of a wolf. This is part of a plan to reduce the population of wolves that threaten Alaskan livestock. It reminds me of Oscar Wilde's description of fox hunting: "The unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible."
If the American electorate finds Ms. Palin "cute" or "adorable," that's fine. If they want to elect a goofy version of Annie Oakley for vice-present, that's swell. I confess that's unfair to Ms. Oakley, a woman I admire.
Time is running out to excoriate George Bush, man who has been a perfect president --- perfectly awful. I do believe he has done nothing, that is nothing, right.
He didn't even revive the idea of Gerald Ford to distribute "WIN" buttons, in order to fix the economy. Remember those? They stood for "Whip Inflation Now." But inflation doesn't seem to be our problem right now. It's a recession bordering on depression. Why doesn't he distribute Ronald Reagan Memorial Deregulation Begging Cups and put them in all the banks that are still in business? The begging cups could also be used to literally bail out the water in the boats that will be employed the next time the levees in New Orleans fail.
It's ironic that Paul Newman, a decent man who raised $200 million to help others, died on the weekend that marked a great American banking crisis that was fomented by crooks.
Sen. McCain asserts that Gov. Palin's geographical "closeness" to Russia gives her gravitas in the foreign policy arena. I don't suppose that's another failed joke of his. Two years ago, I wrote in this paper that John McCain was the most dangerous man in the country. Now, he's two years older, and only more dangerous. Sarah Palin, who's not so innocuous, may or may not see Russia from her house -- but Vladimir Putin, perhaps the most dangerous man in the world, is certainly watching us from somewhere, and it's all very chilling. I trust all is well in Freedonia.

Bruce Bellingham also writes for the S.F. Northside. His first book is called Bellingham by the Bay. Most of us think it's time for another book -- as long as it's funny.


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