Back in November of 2004, I was riding high. Bush’s first term as President of the United States was winding down and John Kerry seemed to be poised to dethrone King George. Finally, I thought, the American people had had enough of the war in Iraq, fear mongering and the loss of civil liberties that had begun slipping away following 9/11. How wrong I was. Bush went onto beat Kerry and plunged us into four more years of an ill-conceived war, poorly run government disaster responses and turning a blind eye to the problems we faced then and now.

I was so upset after the loss that the very next day I worked up Bush Bingo. I drew up the board based on all of the outrageous things I could think of that might be in store for us over the next four years, printed it out and hung it on my wall. I’ve been keeping score ever since and now I present it to you. If you’d like to play along at home, just download the PDF version and keep score as I have here. I pray that no more spaces get filled, but with so much time left in his second term, he just might pull it off. The saddest part is that even if we win, we really lose. Tune in here from time to time to see how much closer we get to calling out “Bush-O!”. The best chance for a “win” is obviously O 1-5, but given Bush’s track record, anything is possible.

B-3: Oil Reaches $60 a barrel (6/23/05) – This rather quaint milestone didn’t take long to tick off. When I drew up the board and added this space and S-1 I never in my wildest dreams would have thought oil would pass $100 a barrel as it did on February 20th, 2008. America’s dependency on foreign oil has only grown in the 8 years Bush has been President.

B-4: 2nd Conservative Supreme Court Judge Appointed (1/24/06) – After Bush’s failed attempt to nominate his friend and crony, Harriet Myers to the Supreme Court, he instead picked Samuel Alito. Alito was considered so right wing that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) formally opposed his nomination. The ACLU has only taken this step two other times in its entire history, the last time being the nomination of Robert Bork who was rejected by a 58-42 Senate vote.

U-2: 1st Conservative Supreme Court Judge Appointed (9/29/05) – Bush nominates John G. Roberts, Jr., a former Supreme Court litigator and conservative judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

S-1: Oil Reaches $75 a barrel (5/27/07) – This is the highest price for oil in Bush Bingo. When I created the board, I honestly thought it would never get this high in his second term. Another false assumption on my part.

S-4: # of U.S. Forces killed in Iraq passes 2,000 (10/26/05) – This sad milestone was just the first of many for Iraq. At this point in the conflict, there were also some 15,000 U.S. soldiers wounded.

H-3: Patriot Act Renewed Intact (3/6/06) – This highly controversial piece of legislation was passed hurriedly in the days after 9/11 and proved to be the start of erosion of civil liberties in the United States. Many of the provisions of the Patriot Act were considered by many to be unconstitutional, and Democrats and even some Republicans fought hard to repeal certain parts of the code. Finally, after two extensions Bush signed the Patriot Act back into law for at least another 10 years. Although some small changes were made, including the ability to challenge gag orders in court, the bulk of the Patriot Act remained unchanged.

O-1: # of U.S. Forces killed in Iraq passes 3,000 (12/31/06) – I never would have believed that the United States would still be fighting and dying in Iraq in 2008 when I drew up Bush Bingo. If I had, I might have included a space for 4,000 killed or even 5,000. This number was so beyond what I thought was possible, that I didn’t think to include it. As of 2/21/08 the total number of U.S. forces killed in Iraq is 3,969.

O-2: U.S. Economy enters new recession (2/08) – Depending on who you talk to, you might get conflicting answers about this one, but most economists generally agree that the U.S. economy entered a “downturn” in February of 2008. From CNN: “Economist Bob Brusca of FAO Economics said he doubted that the U.S. was in recession a week ago, but now he believes there’s about a 75% chance that a recession began in January.”

O-4: Tony Blair ousted from office (6/27/07) – When I drew up the board for Bush Bingo, this was one of those spaces that totally came off the cuff. I jotted it down although I didn’t seriously believe it would happen. I might have some Nostradamus blood in my veins however. Pressure from factions within his own government over his support and handling of Iraq as well as growing anger from the general populace forced Blair from office in June of 2007.

O-5: # of U.S. Forces wounded in Iraq passes 10,000 (1/5/05) – This stunning figure pales in comparison to how many of our brave men and women have been wounded to date. As of 2/21/08 the total number of soldiers wounded is 29,080. I wonder how many more there will be before George W. Bush leaves office.

Both the Clinton and McCain campaigns have decided to attack Barack Obama on his seemingly “empty” speeches. They say he speaks eloquently, but actually says very little. I heard the same canard tonight on Alan Handelman’s show from FM Talk 101.1 radio. Both of these factions are desperate, I’ll say that again, desperate to find some point of weakness regarding Barack Obama. He has inspired young and old, has momentum, new ideas, independent voters and is raising piles of donations even as we speak. But if we don’t nip this myth that no one knows where Obama stands on the issues right now, it might gain a foothold.

So in order to help Alan, Hillary, McCain and all those GOP lovers out there who are too lazy to actually do a Google search, I provide you with this hyperlink:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

Barack’s issues page is even broken down into small, easily digestible chunks perfect for today’s fast paced world. Wondering what Obama’s take on the economy is? Look no futher than his, get this, economy page:

• Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief Trade
• Technology, Innovation and Creating Jobs Labor
• Protect Homeownership and Crack Down on Mortgage Fraud
• Address Predatory Credit Card Practices
• Reform Bankruptcy Laws
• Work/Family Balance

But Ged, what about the environment? I don’t know where to find Obama’s stance on global warming or our dependency on foreign oil? You’re in luck my friend because Barack has another page called energy & environment:

• Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief Trade
• Reduce Carbon Emissions 80 Percent by 2050
• Invest in a Clean Energy Future
• Support Next Generation Biofuels
• Set America on Path to Oil Independence
• Improve Energy Efficiency 50 Percent by 2030
• Restore U.S. Leadership on Climate Change

I know it sounds silly, but his official website goes on like this for pages and pages. Answers to all those burning questions you had about things like Barack’s faith, healthcare, social security, immigration and a whole host of other things I’m sure you’re very interested in. Some of his positions are even aligned with that man from Texas you love so much. So please don’t give into the fear, uncertainty and doubt being generated by a man that is running under the credo who seems to be aligning himself as George W. Bush’s third term, or the wife of a former President who thought she had Super Tuesday sewn up. Next time try doing your own homework and spare us the grief.

An absolutely stunning, and quite frankly, sickening display put on by GOP front runner John McCain today. I’ve said publicly that if Hillary got the nomination instead of Obama, I’d vote for McCain, but not after today. I’ve lost all respect for the man after this affair and I hope he loses badly. Crooks and Liars says it best (my emphasis added):

“The Senate voted today to ban the CIA from using torture on suspected terrorists and the most famous POW in the Senate voted against the bill. The Maverick is now most assuredly dead and the betrayal is complete. In other words, the Senator who himself was tortured for years and has previously spoken out against it, voted to allow the use of torture on others to save his political hide and pander to a party base that despises him. Shame on you, Senator. Is this the sort of weakness you want from your Commander in Chief?”

I used to think McCain was unique because from time to time he stood on principals to defy the Republican party when he knew what he was doing was right. Now I know he’s scared and is desperately pandering to the base in order to become the next President of the United States. If he can’t hold fast to his principals on the issue of torture, an issue with which he is painfully familiar, how can any of us trust him to stick to his guns on anything?