I agree with Catfish Vegas. This piece by Hal Crowther for The Independent hits its mark with such force and accuracy that I'm at a loss to add my own interpretation. Instead, I'll quote the concluding paragraph:

I don't think it's accurate to describe America as polarized between Democrats and Republicans, or between liberals and conservatives. It's polarized between the people who believe George Bush and the people who do not. Thanks to some contested ballots in a state governed by the president's brother, a once-proud country has been delivered into the hands of liars, thugs, bullies, fanatics and thieves. The world pities or despises us, even as it fears us. What this election will test is the power of money and media to fool us, to obscure the truth and alter the obvious, to hide a great crime against the public trust under a blood-soaked flag. The most lavishly funded, most cynical, most sophisticated political campaign in human history will be out trolling for fools. I pray to God it doesn't catch you.

As my regular readers will know, most of my neighbors were hauled up into the Bush Machine's nefarious nets a long time ago. Now they're flopping around on the deck, awaiting their death with the cold, green eyes of fish out of water. All Bush & Company needed was their vote. Believe me, they aren't going to get anything substantive for their willingness to be caught.

Mode: ready to cross the bridge
Muse: the turning of my tired mind