Bush Going Down? Not Sure on That

Unable to sleep, I have been up since very early reading various papers and blogs around the world, where a message by some (such as Times New Roman in Canada and some of the UK press) indicating that Bush and his administration really are on their way out.

They point to Tony Blair's Labour Party coming in a distinct third in super-Thursday polls yesterday, distinctly hurt by the war in Iraq, to the desperation shown by turning Ronald Reagan into a much greater symbol than he really was (Reagan enjoyed far better poll numbers after he left office) so that Bush can ride his coattails into November, and the failures by the neocons to predict accurately what a mess Iraq could become.

As much as I would like to wave goodbye to Bush and friends, I'm just not certain what we're seeing here is a swan song. I say this first because there are lots of weeks between now and November 2nd. Literally anything could happen and change the results strongly in Bush's favor. Secondary to that, the American people have shown a dazzling capacity to let Mr. Bush off easy on what many of us consider truly to be high crimes and misdemeanors (unlike Clinton and the blue dress).

However, I'm also not stunningly convinced that John Kerry can pull it off. In some respects, he's not wildly different on some issues than Bush himself. Kerry has not distinguished himself today in the way he did post-Vietnam. Name lots of other times when Dems would have even given lip service to having a GOPer like McCain considered as a VP running mate for a Dem candidate.

As someone who right now would prefer to vote for Kerry over Bush, I have difficulty understanding some of Kerry's positions. I get the impression he's being way too careful to appeal to the right side of the aisle that probably won't vote for him anyway. While I don't expect him to embrace the more progressive thoughts I do, I feel sometimes like he's either dead center or slightly to the right of center (although Bush is waaaaay over there on the far right). I'm not jumping up and down with keenness over the top VP choices either.

If I'm having this difficulty, what does that mean for people who might have voted for Bush had he not screwed things up so royally? Can they, will they embrace John Kerry?

I don't know... and it's getting a little close to the general election, and quite far down the wrongheaded path of George Bush it seems, to have such doubts.

Just hoping - even praying - for the best doesn't give me much comfort.