Carnival of Miseries

Kevin Drum has a full plate of bad news blog posts--but he's not the only one.

#1: The Abramoff/GOP corruption scandal nets yet another Bush staffer. Like all other stories focusing on corruption in the Republican party, this one too will have the life span of a Mosquito in December.

#2: It's time to bury once and for all the idea that retail-based politics have even the slightest bit of connection to who wins real elections. In fact, what really wins elections is pure full-on spin style, because nobody pays attention to issues anyway. Why don't we just nominate our favorite actors to be Governors, or something?

#3: In related news, Drum argues, contra Shakespeare's Sister, that Americans of all stripes (not just the hardened ideologues) love to hear disingenuous rhetoric--it just has to be in disguise. It's true--I just melt whenever I hear someone telling me about genuine interparty dialogue--even if I know perfectly well that man is a back-stabbing partisan hack (I'm looking at you, Tom "crossword puzzle" Coburn).

#4: Another Hurricane may be headed New Orleans' way. Terrific.

#5: The Bush war on expertise continues as, among other things, noted disaster maven Karl Rove is put in charge of Katrina reconstruction. I will admit though, when I think Karl Rove, "disaster" is one of the first words that springs to mind. Though, I have to ask, isn't Rove usually more on the supply-side of catastrophic events?

#6: On the incompetence ledger, the federal response to Katrina continues to top itself. Forcing a doctor to leave a dying patient because he didn't have specific credentials from FEMA to operate there? See, this is why I can't just become happily jaded and cynical--there's always another level of idiocy I haven't fathomed yet.