September 17, 2005

As Usual, Frank Rich Nails It:

Once Toto parts the curtain, the Wizard of Oz can never be the wizard again. He is forever Professor Marvel, blowhard and snake-oil salesman. Hurricane Katrina, which is likely to endure in the American psyche as long as L. Frank Baum's mythic tornado, has similarly unmasked George W. Bush.

The worst storm in our history proved perfect for exposing this president because in one big blast it illuminated all his failings: the rampant cronyism, the empty sloganeering of "compassionate conservatism," the lack of concern for the "underprivileged" his mother condescended to at the Astrodome, the reckless lack of planning for all government operations except tax cuts, the use of spin and photo-ops to camouflage failure and to substitute for action.
You can read the rest here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I know that everyone knows this already, but in the odd event someone hasn't: L. Frank Baum patterned the character of the Wizard of Oz after President William McKinley.

Think about this:

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" by the Man behind the Curtain, the so-called Wizard, after Toto gives the fateful tug.

"Pay no attention to those conspiracy theorys" (regarding 911) George W. Bush

Odd, it might get me tossed from DKos for using logical progression of events, but BUSH KNEW!!!!