Melinda Ruley, mother of two and writer for the Independent, the local leftist tabloid, writes today of teaching her children about the presidential election and the two candidates. She encountered a snag, however:
I faltered. I find it easier to explain the psychology of a suicide bomber than how it is that most Americans like Bush, think he’s taking the right course. I leave the defense of democracy to my husband, who in the darkest moments is a true-blue believer, unshakingly faithful to the ideals of a government of, by and for the people.
I’m too black-hearted for all that. The way I see it, Bush has a brilliance that defied his superficial bumbling, and that is his direct access to the hairy little homo habilis in us all, making our piles of rocks at the mouth of the cave. He may have the intellect of a prickly pear, but he enjoys the totem power of the swaggering male whose inept forays are mistaken, by virtue of the noise and smoke they make, for wisdom.
I’d also like to express my sincere appreciation for V.C. Rogers’ cartoon accompanying the article. It’s clever, witty, and it captures the essence of Ruley’s piece perhaps a little more accurately than she’d like:
