03-26-06,11:12am

There was time when Bush jokes and cartoons were funny. I still maintain a large collection of them myself. But it’s difficult to look at them now or those in the papers. It would be like a decent German citizen looking at Hitler cartoons in the Berlin newspapers in 1945, if such were allowed, as Germany was turned into rubble day by day. Bush humor-if there ever was any — is long gone. It represents a dilemma of sorts for political cartoonists. What more can they do? George Bush is a totally failed president - without doubt the worst president in American history, and he is doing his best-albeit probably unconsciously - to bring the country slowly, but inexorably, to ruin. The Republican Congress is totally spineless, trying nothing more to cling to some concept they call “power,” although they too realize at bottom that “Bush is the worst.” How does one poke fun at all this dreadfulness? Humor, which always clings precariously to truth, has lost its edge, overpowered by gruesome reality.

I, along with countless other writers have catalogued the Bush failures, his ineptness, his total inability to govern. But to what end? Yes, his poll numbers are in now in the mid 30’s, unprecedented for a second term president just reelected. And his vice President, the loathsome Dick Cheney, is somewhere in the vicinity of 18%. As one writer pointed out, this is less than believes in space aliens and ghosts - which is about a third of the population. How can one govern when being totally out of sync with America’s values ands standards? Is democracy now on the decline in the U.S.? Have greed, self interest and spin won the day? Has the American public been made fools of by the clever machinations of Karl Rove, the Dr. Frankenstein of American politics, the man who took this half-brained creature, this pseudo-moron, George Bush, and transformed him into president of the U.S.?

I have a writer friend who argues that Bush has reached the end, that he is now road kill. No longer is congress rejecting him, but he believes that the “military elite” will stop Bush before his madness leads to another military debacle. I find little comfort in this view.

What military elite?

Consider the military “men” who have served Bush over the course of his presidency. Colin Powell, Army general, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and Vietnam combat veteran, may well go down in history as America’s Neville Chamberlain, a man with the backbone of jello, who as secretary of state couldn’t bring himself to stand up for his own convictions to a pathetic weakling, George Bush, but chose, rather, to “obey orders” like a toy soldier. I hope Powell lives long enough to see his disgrace recorded in the history books. Children of the next generation will grow up seeing Powell in the same light as our generation saw Neville Chamberlain upon his return from Munich in 1938 with paper in hand, signed by Herr Hitler, that “peace was at hand.” These children will learn of the disgrace of Colin Powell, one of America’s greatest failures, as he went before the United Nations in February, 2003, waving his own papers-those from George Tenet — to present George Bush’s drummed-up, bogus case for war with Iraq. It will take some time, but truth and justice will prevail. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous line, “The arc of history is long but it bends toward [truth and justice]. Colin Powell will die with his cowardice - not his medals — clutched to his chest.

Look at another Vietnam combat veteran, John McCain, and you see much the same thing, a physical hero who endured years of captivity and torture in a North Vietnamese prison camp, but in the end, just another moral coward, unable to lead, a man who stands for nothing — nothing, that is, except the insatiable desire to be president. There is not an ass in Washington McCain won’t kiss to be president. I saw McCain on Jay Leno a few months ago trying to act like a cool dude. He was truly pathetic. You would really have to be sick to vote for John McCain for president.

And look again at another Vietnam fighter pilot, “top gun” Randy “Duke” Cunningham, Congressman from California, just convicted of fraud and tax evasion and sentenced to eight years in federal prison. As a young man he was “full of piss and vinegar,” but as a real adult, faced with real responsibilities, he was a total failure. Like George W. Bush, he never grew up. He never learned what real life was all about.

All three “heroes” have at the end of the day disgraced themselves and disgraced their country. What are we to make of this? For one, they are all Republicans. And in one way or another closely associated with George Bush. Is that a coincidence? Perhaps.

Only two members of Congress have ever worn the Congressional Medal of Honor, Sen. Daniel Inyoue of Hawaii and former Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, both Democrats.

But it’s not hopeless for the GOP in the courage/cowardice category. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska is a Vietnam combat veteran, wounded in action. And Hagel opposes most of George W.’s Iraq war policies. And then there is Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a 37-year Marine Corps veteran of two wars, who like Hagel has little use for the cowardly George Bush.

And on the subject of cowardice, consider this. In a recent hunting escapade, Dick Cheney accidentally shot one of his hunting comrades. There may have been negligence involved, but that is up to the local district attorney to decide. But more importantly, I think, is the nature of the hunt. These were not wild birds. The birds were bred in captivity. They had spent their lives in pens, and then on hunting day, were released for the sole purpose of being killed by Dick Cheney and cohorts for pure sport as they flew into the open sky for their only moments of brief freedom. Whether you are an animal lover or not, there is something disgusting and degrading about this kind of hunt and something less than human about those who participate in it.

All this brings to mind words from Kurt Vonnegut from his book of essays, “Palm Sunday,” when he addressed the graduating class of his alma mater, Cornell, in May 1980.

“I pity you people of today for not having truly great leaders to write about---Roosevelt and Churchill and Chiang Kai-Shek....Oh, sure, we [may] have another war coming, and another great depression, but where are the leaders this time? All you have is a lot of ordinary people standing around with their thumbs up their ass.”

So, America, these are the leaders you elected. You chose them. Now, what are you going to do about it?

Gerald S. Rellick, Ph.D., worked in aerospace industry for 22 years. He now teaches in the California Community College system. He can be reached at grellick@hotmail.com.