It's perfectly possible to be a Republican, or even a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative, and still realize that the Bush administration is definitely an embarassment to the nation and potentially a danger to the Republic; perhaps even the world. And many already have. Everyone is likely to cut their side some slack, either out of loyalty or self-interest, or even just out of dislike for their opponents. But there comes a point when the damage is so obvious and so widespread that even his strongest partisans must realize he is doing their own cause irreparable damage.

Personally, I think the Democrats should go easy on them. There is nothing they can do to the Repuiblican party more damaging than the White House's own actions are proving to be. In fact, any successful political effort against the Administration by the Dems is likely to be seized upon as a scapegoat for the coming disaster, along with the Eastern Liberal Elite, the Mainstream Media, and the Intellectual Left. I may sound cynical, but this is one infection that just has to be allowed to run its course or it will just come back, with added immunity, and more virulent than ever.

I'm just sitting back and enjoying, in slack-jawed wonder, how his defenders are rationalizing his current political fibrillations. It's like watching a trout thrashing about in the bilge of a canoe.