You Get The Government You Deserve

It's a beautiful day in Washington D.C., the sun is shining, and I've just been for a lovely long walk in the park with my dog, Hugo, who's a very large Black Labrador. How sad it is, then, to sit down at the computer and see a bunch of news stories about the Tyrant who "won't rule out" the first use of nuclear weapons against Iran. I'm reminded of what some old Russia hands used to say, albeit fondly, about the Soviet Union: "The Russians are a very nice people but they've got the government they deserve." Why was that? Because they let a bunch of commissars (not too different, if you think about it, from today's neocons) take over their politics and society. Essentially, the Russians were wimps. And if you think about it some more, that's exactly what the putative opposition to Bush—with a handful of notable exceptions from each party—amounts to: a bunch of wimps. And we've got the government we deserve...