The Queen of Denial

Laura Bush thinks everything is just hunky-dory.

She doesn't believe all those nasty old polls that appear to show that the American people think her husband is a miserable failure as president. Why, that's just liberal propaganda spread around by those nasty, un-American people in the mainstream media.

"I don't really believe those polls. I travel around the country. I see people, I see their responses to my husband. I see their response to me," Mrs. Bush told Fox News on Sunday, according to Reuters.

Of course, it doesn't seem to have occurred to Mrs. Bush that when she travels around the country she only sees what her handlers want her to see, only meets the people they want her to meet and only hears what they want her to hear.

And even if that were not the case, Mrs. Bush doesn't always see what's right in front of her.

Ask Michael Douglas.

But I digress.

Mrs. Bush continues:

"As I travel around the United States, I see a lot of appreciation for him. A lot of people come up to me and say, 'Stay the course'."

Those people are what's known in the carny world as "plants," Mrs. Bush.

But then, if I wanted to approach the First Lady and tell her what I think of her husband, what are the odds that the secret service would let me within ten miles of her?

Probably somewhat less than the odds of my winning the next Mega Millions jackpot.

The Reuters piece concludes:

"Mrs. Bush complained that when her husband's popularity was high, newspapers did not put that on the front page. Now it was low, they took great delight in highlighting the fact.

Asked if she thought the media had been unfair, Mrs. Bush said: "No, I don't think it's necessarily unfair. I think it's just, you know, I think they may be enjoying this a little bit.""

Now I think that's terribly unfair. I know that I for one am not enjoying the president's currently miserable poll ratings.

When he's frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs, however -- now that I'll enjoy.

Tom Moran