The Angry Liberal strikes again!

[trof]

(reproduced with permission)
A Few Words about My Dog, Election 2004, and General Wesley Clark
- The Angry Liberal

Several years ago, my wife and I adopted a puppy from the local animal shelter. She was one of a litter of strays that somebody had rounded up and brought in. When we went over to their holding cell, all of the dogs ran over to us, tails wagging. All of them except one. One stood at the back of the cage and trembled. But my wife and I are suckers, and so we had to give a home to the one that seemed the most pathetic. That 'fraidy dog is currently lying on the floor next to me, munching on a chew stick.

When we got home from the animal shelter, I noticed that this dog immediately preferred my wife and cowered whenever I approached her. After talking with a person who adopted another puppy from the same litter, we learned that her puppy behaved the same way. We surmised that the whole bunch must have been mistreated by a man at some point, which is why they preferred the company of women.

A couple of weeks after adopting our dog, we enrolled her in an obedience class for puppies. Our first session, which took place in a large pet store full of people and their dogs, produced an interesting behavior from our new pup. Despite her ingrained fear of me, she ignored my wife and stuck very close to me during our class. I was our tribe's leader and her fear of the rest of the world was stronger than her fear of me.

The other day, I was petting that pup and thinking about her odd behavior, when something suddenly occurred to me: America was acting just like our dog. After the trauma of the attacks on September 11, we saw the popularity of a U.S. president who previously enjoyed merely lukewarm support from Americans suddenly skyrocket. In the wake of a terrorist attack, a large segment of our citizenry suddenly needed to hide behind a man who lost the popular election less than a year earlier. And what had Bush done to suddenly earn their support? Nothing. He happened to be in charge when the towers fell. In short, these folks were afraid and that fear produced this irrational behavior.

Read the rest and subscribe to the newsletter.
http://www.theangryliberal.com/09-14-03.htm

[tedoll78]

1. Wow.

This is probably one of the best analogies I've read in a while. This is print-and-distribute worthy.

[Scairp]

2. We needed a leader, Shrub was not up for the task

On September 11, 2001, I was terrified. I didn't live in New York, or anywhere on the east coast for that matter. But I was scared. It felt like the end of the world. And like everyone else in the country who was just as afraid as I was, I needed a benevolent father figure to look to, a fearless leader, if you will. But when I listened to Bush speak, I was not comforted. I longed to hear the eloquent words of reassurance that I knew Bill Clinton could have given at that moment. We as a country needed someone to look to for leadership and guidance, he was wearing the title "President" and so America had no choice but to believe in this inarticulate man who appeared to be, not only not a man in charge, but just as scared as I was. This was not comforting. I have yet to be comforted in any way by this administration. That is why he has to go, and why we need someone in the presidency who can give comfort at times of crisis. Shrub-boy isn't up for the task.