Cynical? Me?

Instaputz has a funny juxtaposition of pictures of the Occupant-in-Chief. Upon first look, though, I felt something other than laughter welling up, and noted in the comments:

On a long list of irritating little things that Bush does that I am thoroughly sick of, the photo-op-ready blue work shirt remains near the top.

How is it possible that this still sells? The man is not about to get out there and start filling sandbags, any more than his moments of "brush clearing" had anything to do with real grounds maintenance on "the ranch," which was itself nothing more than a set purchased purely to stage photo ops. How is it possible that everyone in the country hasn't seen through this by now?

Pardon my bile. There is still a part of me that would like to be charitable, that would like to give Bush credit for having learned a lesson from Katrina, and not just in the political calculation sense. But really, after seven and a half years of him and his cronies believing there's no need to be doing something as long as they can give the appearance of doing something, I just can't help it.

I will say this about the GOP: they can turn almost anything into an opportunity to portray themselves as "taking charge." The images they present usually last long enough to get whatever is happening off the front page, the Village stenographers reinforce the aura, and too many not directly affected by the event fall for it once again.

The Republicans are masters at replacing one bit of bad news with the next. Just this past week: the Clintons expose the media narrative of a feuding Democratic Party for the sham that it is, so John McCain pauses the endless stream of attack ads and pushes a thirty-second spot of pseudo-magnanimity. Obama's speech rocks the nation, so McCain offers up a stunt VP candidate. The candidate provokes howls of derision, even from many of their own, so McCain flies to Mississippi to be "briefed" on the coming storm. All too many people, especially the chattering classes, keep forgetting what happened yesterday. It's an endless clean slate for the Republicans.

There's another thought that crossed my mind when the GOP started launching trial balloons about changing their convention plans: what a great excuse to get Bush and Cheney out of the campaign spotlight! You had to know that the past few months have been filled with GOP operatives desperately blue-skying ways to keep the Brainless One and the Heartless One off camera and out of the Twin Cities.

[Added] Jim Henley shows his brilliance by agreeing with me here.

[Added] Roy Edroso catches a couple of the wingnut welfare set, Jennifer Rubin and Rich Lowry, gloating over this, too.

I'm sorry if it seems that I don't appear to care much about the people in the path of Hurricane Gustav. I do. It's just that I'm convinced the Bush and McCain care not a whit for them, not to mention regular people everywhere else, every other day. I'm sick of Bush and McCain going on TV at key moments, invoking God a few times, and calling it good, and I'm doubly sick of the way they keep getting away with it.

Paul Krugman has more along these lines.

And while you're over there, read Andrew Ferguson on this year's Republican Party platform. Helps to settle the stomach.