In the middle of a swoon of election fantasy double talk, a clear slap of reality in the face. [View all]

[Bucky]

Ever been driving while getting woozy, hopelessly relying on pure will power to wake up... and then nearly hit another car? There's nothing like a jolt of adrenalin to zap you awake and make you suddenly clearheaded and alert to what you need to do. There's a real possiblity of having a terrible accident or making a deadly mistake, and you were lulled into ignoring that danger by the drone of the tires and the blind will to press on and get that endless journey over with. You'd lost perspective.

But the minute the danger becomes real, the minute, lucky you, the urgent peril of the moment woke you up, you suddenly see things so much clearer. This isn't about getting home by dusk; this is about getting home alive. You need an action plan--pull over, get coffee, stretch your legs, whatever it takes to get the job done with you and your passengers all in good shape. That's what this storm feels like.

It's not about some bizarre fantasy of tax cuts ending the deficit or a bigger naval fleet protecting us from the Kaiser of Dick Cheney's nightmares. There's no UN conspiracies or American socialistic plot or apology tours or votes that will force God to damn you. That's just the smoke and fog of a barrage of corporate-funded gobbledy-gook trying to yank voters around so they can suck out a few more tax breaks for themselves. They want you sleepy, very very sleepy, and in such a rush to get the voting done with that you don't realize what you really need.

You need a mensch in the White House (at least this time, next time we might be voting for a "womensch&quot . You need a level headed manager who can solve problems, arrange priorities, eyeball our enemies, flatter or threaten our rivals, and push the public interest past the claws of public malice on a regular schedule. That's what this terrible killer storm did. It woke enough of the country up to what a brilliant gift we have running our affairs. Hopefully it woke enough of us up to swat away this grinning clown who spins fantasias of affluence with his eyes and lies, shamelessly assuring us that his plan will rain ice cream and shit marble.

It's hard to stay awake for the whole time in a months-long journey. But this sudden jolt of reality should wake a few more of us up, before it's too late.