Enriched by a week with writers
who arrange words in mosaics,
instead of throwing them down in anger,
I attacked the news with vigor.
Found Republicans had spent
their time protecting gun makers,
enriching energy companies
and spreading pork across the land.
It reminds me of the time we awoke
to discover vandals had chopped the tops
off many of the neighbor’s pine trees
that screened […]

Political poetry is an oxymoron.
Poetry has meaning, often at many levels.
Politics, today, is just mean,
at every level.
Reaching my 150th “poem� in this series
has stalled this almost 75-year-old mind, so I’ll
spend a week at the Iowa Writer’s Conference
for inspiration and lubrication.
I feel a little guilty, but then I think,
Congress will be gone for weeks, and Bush,
who […]

Republicans say Democrats are
“negative� when they oppose,
what do they call the President?
Bush currently argues against an
amendment requiring the military
to obey laws; threatens to veto a bill
funding effective stem cell research;
characterizes a federal shield law
for reporters as “bad public policy.�
All of these have substantial support
from Republicans – except for one.

Washington DC has trouble with numbers.
Bush over-estimates the deficit, takes credit
for good management when it’s discovered.
The VA budgets medical expense based on
a year without a war, has a surprising shortfall.
Now we learn the outfield measurements at
the ballpark are wrong. Is nothing sacred?

I have no idea why, but CAFTA
has become a cause celeb.
Bush says it has to pass,
but he can’t tell us why.
Since he didn’t make the sale
he has to buy –
vote by vote by vote.

Bush used to disparage leakers as
low-levels trying to impress, said he’d
fire whoever revealed Plame’s name
Now he discovers leaks aren’t so bad –
if they come from a faucet he controls. The
standard for firing is now crime not slime.

Bush planned to wait to state
his Supreme Court choice
to cut down on debate, but
Rove and Iraq changed that.
Tired of tough questions, he
stopped seeking a nominee
everyone could support, and
made a contentious choice.
Peaceful confirmation gave way
to the urgency of getting buddy
Karl off magazine covers and
providing a lead that’s not a leak.

The EPA hopes to improve its web site
and polish its image by hiring public
relations consultants. The proposed
contracts are expensive because making
the evisceration of environmental protection
look good will take superb writing talent.

The Bush administration stands accused
of helping their favorites win Iraq’s election.
They claim those plans were dropped when
Congressional leaders objected, and deny
providing secret help to any candidates.
Of course, Iraqi voters chose between parties.

Schwarzenegger won’t make it
as a Republican politician. Caught
in a conflict of interest, he caved.
Gave up a million a year without delay
or a Rovelike account of what
he did, and how it really was okay.
He’s been slipping in the polls, but
after the shock of candor wears away
Arnold could recoup – as a Democrat

A grove is a peaceful patch of trees,
a great place for a picnic.
A drove is a crowd of animals or people,
often staying away.
A Rove is a right arm gone wrong, that should
miss the next barbecue.

When unexpected revenue
reduced the projected deficit
Bush declared his tax cuts successful.
This administration has a knack for
creating the appearance of good news.
The shortfall will be lower than
estimated five months ago,
but still the third highest ever.

The President roves
on the periphery of
illegality
with thanks to Tim Tuthill

Democrats focusing on Karl Rove
is like Florida blaming water, not weather
for hurricane damage.
The President wanted debate
about the reasons for war stopped,
so someone tried to silence a critic
by identifying a presumably secret CIA agent.
It didn’t work, and the inevitable
investigation followed.
Bush said releasing classified information
would cause dismissal. It hasn’t yet,
but this time it produced silence.

It’s clear that Karl Rove outed Valerie Plame,
and either lied to Scott McClellan, or Scott misled
the press core, but did Rove break the law?
Who cares?
They pushed the issue past the last election,
and jailed a reporter who helped sell the
Iraq war. But we know Rove won’t be fired.
That would be splitting hairs.

The North Koreans agreed to
return to talks again, but this
time they set a date. The Chinese
say everyone agreed, but Rice’s
okay was confirmed anonymously.
She won’t announce until tomorrow,
but the New York Times needed to
promise confidentiality so we could
know today about an often delayed
meeting scheduled later this month.
The press wants to protect sources,
but they should have to […]

Wal-Mart buys products overseas
and uses undocumented janitors,
but with lawsuits they go first class.
They hired Antonin Scalia’s son to
defend two whistle-blower cases –
the law he enforced at Justice.
That gives them a good chance
to win in lower court, but if they
lose, they can always appeal.

Bush returns from Scotland,
a deadbeat with a penchant
for research instead of action.
Hopes to have another opening
for a Supreme Court justice –
more fun than Africa or CO2.
That can fill the summer and
keep attention off Iraq until he
finds another way to repel flack.

Bush doesn’t agree with the G8 on much.
He acknowledges the warming of the world,
but says we need to study the problem.
He agrees that Africa needs help, but can’t
send taxpayer money to countries with graft.
Maybe he could send Halliburton to help.
But instead of trying to defend the indefensible,
he gets to talk about fighting terrorism, as if
his […]

President Bush ran into a security guard
while riding a bike at Gleneagles, and speeding.
Fortunately neither was hurt, nor hit very hard.
As usual, W didn’t look where he was going.