Who Dealt This Mess?

Let us hope that the Bush administration at least has the common decency to end with a whimper and not a bang. Rumors have been flying for years now that Dick Cheney is plotting some kind of all-out "gotterdammerung" attack on Iran -- and it could still happen, but what would be the point? If they're as passive-aggressive as I think they are, they'll leave our foreign-policy and military situation just as it is, in eager anticipation of what Obama will do when the whole mess falls into his lap on Inauguration Day. And there is at least one major respect in which history could repeat itself. You'll recall that LBJ left the Vietnam mess to Nixon, who, rather than saying, "This is a Democrat war" and pulling out, took it unto himself and turned it into an even greater catastrophe -- which pleased the liberals no end, because then they could characterize it as "Nixon's war", which they continue to do to this day... forgetting that the first regular troops were sent over there by Kennedy (oops, I mean "Saint John"). Four years ago, I was waiting for John Kerry to win and then get "Nixoned" by Bush & Co., but that didn't happen. But it's not too late! Obama is about to get "Nixoned" by the same crew... and in broad karmic terms it's going to be sweet revenge for the dirty trick LBJ & Co. played. Obama's going to feel like some guy in a B movie who loses his memory then regains it just in time to realize that he has his hands around the throat of some blonde, who is rapidly turning purple and making gagging noises. What does he do then? Apologize? Say, Bill Clinton-style, "You'd better put some ice on that"? Finish the job? What? It's going to be very interesting to see what he does and what lame excuses he offers, especially since his more leftist supporters are going to expect him to pull out on Day One (right after signing the latest baby-killing bill, that is).