President Bush takes it on the chin.

"There seems to be an epidemic of honesty coming from Washington today." -Bob Schafer, commenting last week on the Bush Administration's confession that the Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina was lousy, the intelligence information used to justify the Iraq War was faulty, and approximately thirty thousand civilians have been killed in the conflict thus far.

Wow. They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. We might actually have something to work with now. We can only hope. And pray. Hard.

Bush is on the road to redemption. Giving the people what they want. I admit, The President did very well in his PBS interview with Bob Leher last Friday. The results of an uninterrupted interview vs. a major network news nanosecond sound bite is profound. President Bush intelligently explained his reasoning without stuttering or flubbing up once. I almost believed he made it through Harvard Business School without cheating. Much.

Tonight's speech to the nation was a bit of a let down. Clearly, teleprompters make Bush uncomfortable. Nonetheless, the message was clear. We are making headway in Iraq. Yes, the road to victory has been more difficult and painful than anticipated. Yes, it was my decision to get into this war and, yes, the intel sucked. It is taking longer to train Iraqi Police Forces than we had planned. However, Iraqi elections have been successful. The end is in sight. A little more patience please. We are getting there. God, Mr. President, I hope so.

It is refreshing to hear something other than petty excuses and false promises come out of D.C. Having a President admit he made a mistake and is working to rectify it sits well with me. No! Clinton's confession of having sex with an intern doesn't count as a "mistake." Mistakes are unintended actions with unforeseen consequences. The pain that results from accidentally stepping on someone's toe, for example

It's Christmas. Tis the season for contrition. But not contrition for contrition's sake. George W. might have been wrong about a few key things, but he isn't signing up to play the role of Whipping Boy. Yeah, I might have authorized NSA to listen in on a few domestic phone calls made to the Middle East right after 9/11, what of it? Wanna take it outside?" I'm on Bush's side on this one. Remember how you felt watching the Twin Towers fall? Whatever it took to find who was responsible, I wanted it done. Whatever it took to make sure it never happened again. Do it. I would have willingly submitted to a body cavity search before boarding a city bus, let alone a commercial airplane. It was the early days of war against an unknown enemy. A few civil liberties were bound to be dented in order to discover just what we were up against. The Administration didn't trust a Judge to know what was best during war time. Fine by me. Puhlease. I've overheard the conversations of stranger's telephone conversations through my niece's baby monitor. In this modern age of poorly aimed satellite beams and radio waves, I'm not sure why anyone would have an expectation of privacy when using the telephone. It's a fine line between being a just, intelligent individual (conservative) and a doomed, naive twit (liberal).

I also thought tonight's Tom Brokaw's Special was good. He followed a group of young soldiers who had recently returned home from combat duty in Iraq. Some of the young men were seriously wounded. Adjusting to civilian life after combat is as much of a feat now as it was for previous generations. I was angered to learn of yet another area where our Government inexcusably does not have its shit together. The treatment of wounded soldiers after they return home is pathetic. Yes, they receive medical care, a purple heart, and a declaration of gratitude from a thankful nation. All which does Jack to pay the bills. Lose a leg in Iraq? In between the pain, physical therapy, nightmares, and flashbacks, you will be forced to sit around indefinitely while some dorkwads at the Pentagon exchange paperwork and guess your level of disability and corresponding disability pay. Moreover, while said dorkwads are trying to figure out what your blown off leg is worth, you are still considered Active Duty. Meaning you are not allowed to attend college or get a job. You are stuck. Required to steep in misery, planted in the past, not knowing when you will be allowed to seek a future.

Hey, President Bush! So, now that you are all about embracing responsibility, how about a little support for our returning troops?