snout

As I am a wishy-washy leftist and part-time insect, it would be perfectly reasonable to paint me as anti George W Bush. I can't remember whether I've ever written about Bush, other than in my perennial whinges about our own 'leader', whose every decision seems to be predicated on whether GWB would like it.

Anyway, in common with an awful lot of other people, I think GWB is a dangerous ideologue whose only interest is perverting the institutions of governance of the USA to implant a hegemonic Republican administration. The lying little piece of excrement of course is on the same mission, but at least in this particular instance he's 'honest' (as in when he always says that his actions serve first of all the interests of the parliamentary Liberal party).

In all of this, what makes me most angry is the perverting of institutions of governance bit. Once a single political party is in a position to do this, the decisions that get taken are more and more in the background, receive little media scrutiny (because subordination of independent media is in fact a big part of the undermining of governance) and hence much less public exposure and understanding.

So it's with some relief, cunningly disguised as outright glee, that I see
Bob Woodward has turned the sights that once brought down Nixon, onto GWB. Once someone who I imagine has a fair bit of public credibility starts to put the pressure on, then an increasing number of others, who may be lukewarm supporters, might start to turn. Then it all becomes inevitable.

Our situation here in Oz is different. We have no crusading journalists of Woodward's stature. Any others get shot down by the right-wing cheer squad. With the loss of genuine Senate scrutiny - another institution of governance that has been emasculated - we have less ability to get to the truth of this government's decision-making. Laura Tingle had a piece in Friday's AFR about the true figures behind the welfare-to-work legislation that put a somewhat different interpretation on it to the government's prounouncements. But how many people would read the AFR, let alone be influenced?

Anyway, as an apprentice optimist I remain optimistic that eventually the cleansing light of day will be turned on the nasty cabal of ideologues and thugs who currently have the privilege of ruling over us.

And back to GWB for a tick, even my favourite Tory doesn't like him.

PS: got the NRL final on the teev in the background. It's the lead up to the "two thousand seven" season. He's said it twice. Just something else that gets up my snout.