Weedy ideas rampant in the lefty swamps wetlands of the political landscape

"Phragmites australis or common reed, is a wetland plant species found in every U.S. state . . . invasive particularly in the eastern states along the Atlantic Coast and increasingly across much of the Midwest and in parts of the Pacific Northwest." (invasiveplants.net)

The Bush-in-Fantasyland™ meme first noted here in a reporter's question during our live blogging of Candidate Kerry's "response" to Iraqi PM Allawi's speech before the joint session the other day is speading like Phragmites australis in the lefty swamps wetlands of the political landscape.  We noted here  that its seeds have been blown by prevailing winds across the pond and are now cropping up on moist allied soil, where UK Independence Party euro MP Gerara Batten is accusing Tony Blair of being "a fantasist who lives in a world where if he wants something to be true and he believes it, then for him it is and the rest of us are expected to go along with it." Now the meme has cropped up in columnist Steve Chapman's latest Chicago Tribune opinion piece, "Getting some insight on the president's uncomfortable relationship with reality."  At least it wasn't boring:

How many members of the Bush administration does it take to change a light bulb?

None. "There's nothing wrong with that light bulb. It has served us honorably. When you say it's burned out, you're giving encouragement to the forces of darkness. Once we install a light bulb, we never, ever change it. Real men don't need artificial light."

This guy has a great sense of humor.  We have to admit -- with pleasure -- that he made us LOL.  He's also obviously up to speed on his Democrat talking points.  Besides Bush-in-Fantasyland™ a related Dem meme picking up speed is the Bush is Stubborn™ refrain we caught coming from Kerry's fair pink lips Thursday night. Chapman continues:

In the debate, he [GW] spent less time disputing Kerry's evidence than faulting him for speaking the unspeakable. "I don't see how you can lead this country to succeed in Iraq if you say wrong war, wrong time, wrong place. What message does that send our troops? What message does that send to our allies? What message does that send the Iraqis?"

To say a candidate shouldn't criticize the decisions made in this war is like saying a football coach shouldn't make adjustments in strategy during the course of a game, lest his team be reduced to sobbing despair. If a team is getting outplayed, it does no good to tell the players to ignore the scoreboard and keep doing the same thing.

On its own terms, Chapman's argument sounds pretty good.  The only problem is that he -- at the bidding of his Democratic National Committee puppeteers (hee, hee) -- has set up a straw man, which he then proceeds to tear down.  Who's the one that's living in a fantasyland, Mr. Chapman?  Also, a question for Mr. Kerry.  Are Bush-in-Fantasyland™ and Bush is Stubborn™ merely nuanced versions of the unmentionable (as in "I would never") Bush Lied™?

Note: Thanks to our new blogfriend John Chapman -- a gentleman of the left, gasp -- of the group blog XIV, where we found this link.

Comments

[Miguel]

That idea might have come from Mexico. For about two years now, opponents of President Vicente Fox have been claiming that he lives in "Foxilandia" i.e. a dream world sort of Disneylandia (Spanish way of saying Disneyland). Actually I've found several instances in which Mexican communists and American democrats use the same spinning tactics, and sometimes they even try to explode a meme simultaneously. But most people, even a lot in the left, don't pay any attention to that Foxilandia thing that the commies thought was going to be a great hit. Same with calling fox a "cowboy" (yes, in English) or a "vaquero" same Spanish word, obviously stolen from the Bush meme. It didn't affect Fox in the minimum to call him that way. On the contrary, for most Mexicans a cowboy is someone you can depend on, even if he's not very bright. Interesting.

[Sissy Willis]

Fascinating, Miguel. Woopie ti, yi, yi, going my way, back in the saddle again.