[mburbank]

Vinth, you are a nonentity. Those are the conquenses..

I almost always give El Blanco a straight answer, because while we iaagree about a loot of stuff, he isn't a boob. I'm too busy to give morons a straight answer, which is why you never get one from me and you never will, except for this paragraph.

Now. El Blanco.

I don't kow wether in the actual german "Schadenfraude" carries with it a conotation that it is a petty and hollow form of enjoyment, but I think in it's English usage it does. If I'm wrong, I apologize, because I always feel taking joy in the failures of people you don't like is hollow at best.

It can't be because Bush won't win the next election, Duh. Unless he decalres mrtial aw, which is not beyond possablity. I do take legitimate (I feel) pleasure in that the Bush inner circle will almost certainly not be in a position to play king makers this time around. I've got my fingers crossed.

"Is it because niether party shows any direction or leadership for the visible future?"

No. As many of my other posts have revealed, I currrently hate the Democrats almost as much as the Republicans.

"Are looking forward to another 2000-esque election fiasco? "

No. I am sincerely hoping that the Democrats will take the majority in at least one house. Not because I believe they have a leadership strategy, but because without D control of at least one house, there will be no investigations of the abuse of Presidential power. I invite you to disagree, I invite you to believe only stalemates and political grandstanding could come out of it, but that's whjat I sincerely hope for. Here's why. I believe if the crimes (and I think they are crimes) of this administration in the expansion of presidential power are allowed to clacify into precedent, it will be very, very, very bad for the country. It's my personal belief that we are in the midst of a serious constitutional crisis, and the best hope we have of a resolution that favors the rule of law is enough of a divided government that investigations can be lunched with subpeona power.

"childish giddiness at the thought of Bush getting some sort cummupance,"

See, now, that's what I think Schaendfruede is. Childish gidiness. Not a highly evolvd emotion, but not without it's simple pleasures. I think for a man like W. impressively low poll numbers are a punishment in and of themselves. I think it makes him confused and angry, kind of the way I imagine Pharoah. I feel very deeply about W. I feel he has dammaged wjhat I value about my country in ways no other President in my lifetime even dreamed of, and damaged them not in the almost shakesperean way Nixon did, but in a bumbling, simplistic, bull headed, privilidged selfish way, like a spoiled child breaking an expensive toy christmas afternoon. It's small minded to take pleasure in seeing his chicken come home to roost, but it's pointles to deny the feeling.

I also think if those roosting chickens land hard enough, for a while the pendulum may swing away from the embrace of ignorance and araogance W. embodies to me. That perhaps if his fall is dramatic enough (and it may yet be) that as a nation we will recall that what makes us a great country is not our willingness to make war and our advanrages on the battlefield, but our laws and our contitution. We don't need to throw them away to protect ourselves. And if we protect ourselves without protecting them, we as a people my go on, but America won't.

That part of it isn't Schadenfreude at all. It's hope.

Vinthy won't have read this, but I wanted you to know, El Blanco, tat I respcted your questions.