I'm sure you all remember the Monty Python sketch about the funniest joke in the world , where the Allies write the funniest joke in the world in an attempt to kill the Germans?
I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that this is the current Republican strategy. Just do stuff that is so goofy that anyone who doesn't buy it hook, line, and sinker is bound to die laughing. Sure, the Democrats often seem to be making parodies of themselves, but you just cannot beat the Republicans for knee-slapping repartee. President Bush currently is suffering from an even lower approval rating than he has had for the last few months.
Their response has been to slyly work the great progress??? in Iraq into every speech made by cabinet members. The memo of how to segue this casually in to speeches is hilarious in itself.
Other recent classic comedy - having the head of the CIA resign under mysterious circumstances while the President sings his praises. This despite huge unhappiness in his agency, followed by linking two of his aides to a graft/sex/prostitution scandal. Subtle black humor - have the president not even appear to know when he's firing someone - it's just like Being There, except Peter Sellers was so much more entertaining. I think this just goes to prove that if the president starts to say you're doing a good job, it's time to dust off the ol' resume - if only he'd start saying "You're doing a heck of a job Cheney" I'd feel better about all of this.
Then we top it all of with the world's biggest fish story . Yup, he catches a fish about twice the size of the world record for its species. Now, anyone who's ever gone fishing has probably stretched the truth a little, but it usually helps to tell tales that are at least vaguely within the realm of possibility - though the "Great Progress in Iraq" discussion above just proves that there's plenty of exaggeration to go around outside the area of fishing.
I have to stop reading the news - I'd like to make it to my 60th birthday. George, you're killing us!