I would tend to agree with you that the apparent stupidity and ignorance of “The Boy King” is not a laughing matter. However, as satire and humor are well known defense mechanisms, I will stand by my right to chuckle in lieu of sobbing.
As to John Dean I have to note that while I appreciate his efforts to get GWB impeached, I find myself filled with revulsion at the idea of him being the most credible source one can come up with. As Nixon’s White House Counsel Dean was instrumental in the events leading up to the Watergate break-in. The FBI referred to him as the master manipulator of the cover-up of that crime. Dean was convicted of multiple felonies to include obstruction of justice and admitted to supervising payments of "hush money" to the Watergate burglers. In the end he sacrificed his coworkers and friends by turning into a government snitch to save himself prison time testifying against Ehrlichman, Haldeman, Mardian, Mitchell, and Parkinson. Dean represents the worst of the worse in that no only was his malignancy used against the American people but in the end he even turned on his own kind.
As to H.L. Mencken, he was also quoted as having said: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard” and I think that GWB has indeed given it to us all “good and hard”. I also think we are indeed living with his predicted “downright moron” in office.
I think Sir Winston Churchill said it best however: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
I think that one of the shortcomings of democratic government is the right of the people to occasionally act ignorant regarding who they elect. I personally believe that the Bush machine stole both elections. I would remind you that it took a 5-4 vote along partisan lines by the Supreme Court to coronate The Boy Who Would be King the first time. I would also point out that this was only the third time in United States history that a president was elected with a minority of the popular vote. While Bush won in the electoral college and ultimately prevailed as president he lost the actual vote count with 50,460,110 votes (47.87%) to Al Gores total of 51,003,926 votes with 48.38%.
In the second election, as with Florida in the first election, the ultimate decision rested on one state: Ohio this time. Attempts at an accurate recount were thwarted through a series of illegal improprieties yet again. Just this year on January 24, 2007 a jury convicted two republican Ohio elections officials of selecting precincts to recount where they already knew the hand total would match the machine total, thereby avoiding having to perform a full recount.
Therefore I reject your contention that GWB was ever elected.
However this idea will allow me to seque myself to the another point. I completely agree that there is widespread antipathy towards intellectualism the last few years; however in my mind it is voter apathy and not antipathy that is undermining the political process in the United States. The simple fact of the matter is that all those people you refer to as enemies of GWB the intellectuals, sophisticates, and articulates do not get out and vote. They are at home with their heads buried in Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason," or Spengler's "Decline of the West” hoping to ride out the storm. Through mechanisms of fear, a welcoming of “The Rapture”, and indulgence in lost causes such as amendments banning flag burning and gay marriage, George II has managed to frighten and inflame the neo-con community as well as the religious right to the point that in 2004 they turned out in unheard of numbers to vote.
As to Bush and Kerry’s claim to the bible, I was more stupefied during the first election when Bush stated that Jesus was his favorite philosopher during the December 13th Des Moines Republican debate. This was of course coming from the man who during his first five years as governor of Texas oversaw 112 executions, who also as governor fought to keep 200,000 from obtaining medical insurance and opposed hate crimes legislation introduced after James Byrd, Jr. was dragged to his death by three white racists.
And to summarize: I too did not vote for GWB and do apologize for the little f*ck. He is a national embarassment; there is no question regarding that.