It's Bush, stupid

Now that the US election is over (with George Allen and Conrad Burns finally conceding, giving the Democrats control of the senate), everybody and their dog has an opinion about why the Republicans lost. I don't have a dog, but my cats and I have caucused and we agree unanimously that there is one general factor ultimately responsible for their loss: George W Bush.

'It's the war, stupid' claims The Independent's front page. Meanwhile, Dana Milbank exposes Bush trying to blame everybody but himself. Even if you accept that the Iraq war, corruption, a rubber-stamping, do-nothing congress and neocon ideology were factors that brought down these Republicans - you must also acknowledge that all of that was ultimately overseen by one man who has given himself so much power that he has circumvented the law over 700 times.

So, it's not the war, stupid. It's Bush.

He's the man in charge. He's the man who kept Rumsfeld on. He's the commander-in-chief. He's the man who admitted responsibility for invading Iraq on fixed intelligence and refusing to change course until it was too late. He's the man who wouldn't listen to his generals from day one and fired Shinseki for having the opinion that the troop numbers were too low. He's the man who lives in a bubble of news he wants to hear. He's the man who sanctions torture. He's the man who claimed he'd fight corruption and did nothing. He's the man who said he was compassionate and has proven to be anything but. He's the man who fought the media every step of the way when they tried to tell the truth. He's the man who viciously accused the Democrats of siding with the terrorists, even going so far as to send an arrogant message to America's enemies the day after the election by saying that the fact that the Democrats have taken over shouldn't be seen as a sign of weakness.

The buck stops with him, whether he likes it or not.

If there is any gridlock in the coming months, it will rest with Bush who will no doubt do everything he can to frustrate the Democrats' agenda while blaming them because that's all he knows how to do and his whiny, loser Republican minority will gladly march in lockstep behind their Dear Leader once again because that's all they know how to do.

This is what the Republican grief process looks like:

1. shock
2. denial
3. rage
4. anger
5. pompous self-righteousness

And there is rarely a move beyond step number 5 for any of them. Acceptance isn't even an option.

The next two years will be ugly. That's a guarantee. And it won't be the Democrats fault. It all rests on Bush.