HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! I just heard on a Channel Nine news update that George Bush has been accused of CHEATING in the second debate, using some kind of radio device to get answers! Ha ha ha! God, I hope this is true!

Apparently this debate was much closer than the first one, which William Safire claims means Bush won. Whatever. Dr Dave disagrees with that assessment, as do recent polls.

Anyway, expect to hear heaps about this cheating charge. I mean, what if Bush only performed passably in the debate because he was being fed lines? Ha ha! The implications! Helloo! Character issue! Hee hee hee! This should be fun! This charge could really have traction, I think. Like, people said that the Swiftboat thing stung Kerry so badly because it seemed to confirm notions about him that were already floating around in the public consciousness. I think the cheating charge might work in the same way with Bush. [I have to say that I only want it to work if it is true, but hey, I want it to be true.]

If Bush gets the 'cheater' tag, all this other stuff will be brought up and re-examined. The cheating charge could expand other notions, like that he is a brat who hasn't earned his position, doing the minumum possible and relying on privilege to secure the rest, that he is propped up by others, that he doesn't personally have a grasp of the issues, that receiving information uncritically is a habit that allows him to function every day, and which weakens his ability to make crucially important decisions informedly. I mean, people might just start thinking that, generally, Bush is not a straight-up kind of guy. Ah, I'm getting excited again!

Hmmm, I realise transference is a real problem after a massive trauma like the one I [and the rest of us in our much-smaller-than-we-thought bubble] experienced on Saturday, but whatever. I'm all revved up and will now put all my hopes for humanity and my perilous state of mental health into the outcome of the US election. A good plan, I think.

Anyway, this is a very good piece from the New York Times about the weirdness of the Bush spin on bad news. I liked this article, even though there was an apostrophe error. I mean, "1990's"? I've restrained myself for so long about this, but it's just EVERYWHERE! Just STOP it, people. PLEASE! It's wrong!