Cynical Nation

Even a lab rat in a maze is capable of eventually learning where the cheese is. Bush's enemies, by contrast, seem wholly unable to learn certain fundamental political lessons. In short, they always overplay their hand.

With Paul O'Neill and Richard Clarke, they had a pair. They played it like three of a kind. We called. They lost.

With Joe Wilson, they had two pair. We later learned they cheated to get it, but it didn't matter. They played it like a straight. We called. They lost.

With Abu Ghraib, they really did have three of a kind. But they played it like a full house. We called. They lost.

With Bush's TANG records, they had us believe they had at least two pair. They had jack shit. We called. They lost.

With the CBS memos, we caught them dealing from the bottom of the deck again. Misdeal.

They played the Downing Street Memo as if they held a flush.... Jack shit.

They played Plamegate like a full house. They had maybe a pair of threes... and that's being generous. We called. They lost.

Now? Well, all strings of both good and bad luck will eventually come to an end. They're finally holding a natural straight. Problem is, they're playing it like a royal flush.

Anyone care to place their bets?