Oh, yeah. I've been manipulated by the titanic brain of George W. Bush, who currently holds all America under the sway of the Dark Side. Did we swing the pendulum back from yuppie dimbulb to Evil Genius again? I'm having a lot of trouble keeping up with you guys without a program.

There's a distinct edge of anxiety to your reaction, as if the idea that you've been manipulated is causing you some mental discomfort. That's the kind of reaction you see when people who have been psychologically manipulated have it pointed out to them; it sets up internal conflicts that have to be resolved through denial.

I know, you'll react with intensified derision and try to laugh it off to remove your discomfort. The more you do, the more evidence you provide that what I say is going on is actually what is going on.

You've been Goebbeled.

Well, I'll readily admit there's laughter going on here.

Hey, Mr. 99th percentile, are we getting a little big for our britches, here? Did I say Saddam's boys flew those planes? Has ANYONE here said that? Even the screwballs aren't blaming Saddam. Okay, they're blaming the Lizard People, but not Saddam.

You can't nail Bush on a lie, so you nail him for "putting the 'fluence" on us all. Or maybe it was Dahl's Magic Finger.

Note again that it is apparently impossible for Americans to have ideas other than those of the Left unless they are under some baleful influence.