Well, on the heels of a prohibition on photographs of the dead returning from Iraq and a “we don’t do body counts” attitude towards those Iraqis foolish enough to get in the way of a bullet or a bomb or a tank round we now have the latest, so far successful, effort to ensure that bush does not get associated with yet more dead people who became that way on his watch and under his care. This is getting ridiculous. This President has managed to create more mass death, around the world and in his own country, with less accountability for it than any leader in recent memory. Stalin was excoriated, Hitler destroyed, Saddam sits in jail, Bush plays guitar and eats cake.

Josh Marshall hits it right in this commentary. Note the reference to Brian Williams’ (yes, that Brian Williams from NBC) blog.

The stench rising from this administration is greater than that of even the festering waters of New Orleans, with its toxic waste and corpses. CNN Headline News had a piece from their London correspondent that illustrated the disconnect between this country, its media and its citizens, and the rest of the world. He was outraged and spoke clearly and unequivocally of the outrage and shock he was hearing from citizens and media around Europe, Asia and Australia. He made a telling comment, that many were now wondering openly if this one incident will be remembered as the beginning of the decline of the American Empire.

When the rest of the world sees us as a second rate nation we’re screwed. When the world watches as we let our poor die while we struggle to figure out how to stop it, and fail, they realize that the power we project around the world, both economically and politically, is but a smokescreen. When it comes to exercizing either even at home, we illustrate clearly that the power is illusory, and the world is watching and learning.