Garrison Keillor: Bush As The Lunatic Captain Ahab

[kpete]

Bush's white whale
As Ahab drove the Pequod and its crew into oblivion, so our maniacal president ignores sane advice and surges forward into chaos.

By Garrison Keillor

...............

Ahab stood on the poop deck, one hand in his vest Napoleon-like, his eyebrows arched, gazing horizonward, turning the wheel, as if the ship were moving and not becalmed, and he looked very commanderly except that he had no pants. The crew stood at formation below him, from which angle it was hard to ignore the captain's bare leg. (The white whale Moby Dick -- WWMD -- had chewed up the other leg some time ago.)

Lt. Rice stood behind him, her jaw high, and next to her, Lt. Cheney, his hooded eyes scanning the rank and file, a whip in hand, daring anyone to whisper.

"It's going to be hard, killing a white whale. We know that. This is a different kind of whale we're dealing with, not the old blubbery kind. It's an evil one, bent on our destruction. And I will hunt him down even if I must sail the ship and man the harpoon myself," the Captain said.

The men stood silent, looking straight ahead. The Captain was a lunatic, clearly, but then lunacy is common in the upper ranks. They had learned to accept it.

more at:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/17/keillor/

[ananda]

1. Call me Ishmael, wrote Garrison.

He's so right. This is so bad.

[Lex]

2. Great article.

Keillor does it again!

:thumbsup:

_______________

[sakabatou]

3. Keillor is awesome

[bleever]

4. Please: Call me Ishmael.

I want to survive this.

[Botany]

9. The best opening line to a book ever...

Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse,
and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see
the watery part of the world.

Outside of "Teenage Babysitters from Sweden." "Oh ja you look so wet in those clothes
take 'em off and take a sauna."

I love the classics.

[Clinton_Co_Regulator]

5. Kick

thanks kpete

[bleever]

6. Welcome to DU, Clinton_Co_Regulator.

:hi:

[Clinton_Co_Regulator]

8. Thank You bleever

:hi:

[kpete]

14. Stay in touch

we need you!

[Clinton_Co_Regulator]

17. Will Do Sir!

:patriot:

[bdamomma]

15. Welcome to DU Clinton_Co_Regulator

:hi:

[Clinton_Co_Regulator]

18. Thank You alyce douglas

:hi:

[midnight]

7. This man never fails to make me think and smile broadly. He

gives us so much levity during these emotionally heavy times.

[PATRICK]

10. Starbuck

Solely and nobly out of a need to save the men he contemplates only with horror, Hamlet-like, the need to blow his captain's brains out. At that moment, Ahab cries out in anguish(and rage) within his sleep, reawkening in quick order, pity(recognizing Ahab's humanity), fear and the command of law(bowing to deadly authority), and surrender to this order's "fate".

Besides, his coffee shop chain would never take off if he was a disgraced mutineer.

[Cobalt-60]

11. Call me Quee Queg..

[OneBlueSky]

12. reminds me of Captain Queeg in "The Caine Mutiny" . . .

"Captain, we ran over our towline and severed it." . . .

"Nonsense! We did NOT run over our towline!" . . .

and the strawberries . . . and the marbles . . . and all the rest . . .

[mdelaguna2000]

13. What a great analogy.

[malaise]

16. Brilliant

K & R

[Poiuyt]

19. This is the perfect analogy

I would say that Iraq is Bush's white whale. He's been obsessed with it since he took office.