We have a recurring argument around here. I am constantly arguing that Bush is in fact a genius while my husband argues that the man is a total idiot.

My argument basically runs like this: Bush's main asset to his agenda is the ability to lie under any circumstance and lie well. It's a skill which is hard to master. Just witness Doug Feith's press conference. He kept referring to the CIA's "customers". Whoa, Nelly? Customers? Like there's stuff being bought and sold, like. A good liar would never make that mistake. Bush's mistakes are by and large grammatical.

My husband concedes this point It's the next one that he disagrees with.

I say that Bush is tanking the economy on purpose. Even the biggest jerk knows that when you are nation building in another part of the world, it's not the smartest thing to cut your flow of funds. He's got most of congress convinced that there's going to be a trickle down effect, I guess so that the poor can make enough money to pay for the nation building without any help from the rich guys.

To this, my husband counters, it seems to him that I'm proving his point.

I then argue that when the economy tanks, the contracts put into place under the increased privatization of government services would still need to be paid for, legally. This means that by necessity, all the social welfare programs and regular government programs will have to be the stuff jettisoned in order for the U.S. to pay its contractual obligations. A republican's dream come true. A completely privatized America. Sort of like Russia.

Unphased, my husband says that the entire world depends on the U.S. economy. If the U.S. tanks, the world economy tanks.

But the multinationals, I argue...

He asks me if Proctor and Gamble would rather consumers save money by buying Big Y brand detergent?

But the CEO's can all live off the money they've saved by selling their stock early. And they'll have an entire population so desparate for work, it'll be like an entire planet filled with third world workers, even in the United States.

So Bush wants the U.S. to be a third world country, my husband asks.

That's it exactly., I say, and he's doing a brilliant job.

He's an idiot, my husband tells me.

I doubt we'll ever agree.

June 9, 2003