Yesterday was a good day for George Bu$h. He got to whine and preen and show his eight year old child-mind when petulantly scolding Congress for trying to do its job:

WASHINGTON - President Bush compared Congress' Democratic leaders Thursday to people who ignored the rise of Lenin and Hitler early in the last century, saying "the world paid a terrible price" then and risks similar consequences for inaction today.

Bush accused Congress of stalling important pieces of the fight to prevent new terrorist attacks by: dragging out and possibly jeopardizing confirmation of Michael Mukasey as attorney general, a key part of his national security team; failing to act on a bill governing eavesdropping on terrorist suspects; and moving too slowly to approve spending measures for the Iraq war, Pentagon and veterans programs.

Pitching a hissy fit, the Leader of the Free Work™ objected mightily to Democratic Party attempts to somehow salvage the tattered reputation of the United States and its Department of Justice as it performed its Constitutional mandate while advising and consenting on the nomination of Michael Mukasey, a lawyer of 40+ years experience and judge almost 20 years, who says he has no idea whether or not torture is really torture. The Geneva Conventions, to which the US is a signatory, says waterboarding is torture, but Rudy Giuliani says it all depends on who’s doing it, and that’s good enough for the great solon, Mike Mukasey.

This nation is in deep trouble when it allows sociopaths to create its legal definitions.

Speaking of sociopaths, Mr Bu$h also said,

"Unfortunately, on too many issues, some in Congress are behaving as if America is not at war," Bush said during a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. "This is no time for Congress to weaken the Department of Justice by denying it a strong and effective leader. ... It's no time for Congress to weaken our ability to intercept information from terrorists about potential attacks on the United States of America. And this is no time for Congress to hold back vital funding for our troops as they fight al-Qaida terrorists and radicals in Afghanistan and Iraq."

A sensible man would agree that Justice needs a strong and effective leader, more especially so since it has spent the last few years plumbing the depths of ignorance and partisan politics establishing “dependable” US Attorneys in districts that were expected to produce strong Democratic challenges to the Republican Party in the 2008 elections. Sadly Judge Mukasey may not be the leader we need.

During his recent interviews and recantation so of what he testified to in Congress, Mr Gonzalez showed that he had no idea what was going on in the Department he was legally responsible for.

So, perhaps the prospect of a leader-less Justice isn’t really so bad, is it? After all, what difference is there between an empty chair and an empty suit?

Mr Bu$h’s embarrassing public temper tantrums have begun to be very familiar. He doesn’t want a Congress, really, because it just impedes his style as dictator, and these annoying attempts at Congressional independence and oversight just harsh his mind. The fact that he’s trying to browbeat Congress to just give him the money he’s demanding to find his ego-war for a few more months is heartening because it shows he isn’t quite finished with them.

Bush said any denial of war is dangerous.

"History teaches us that underestimating the words of evil, ambitious men is a terrible mistake," Bush said. "Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them. And the question is, will we listen?"

I wonder whether Congress has figured out that Mr Bu$h is at war with them? A sensible man would take note of his comments about evil men. Soon we will see him try to side-step Congress, and rule by administrative and execution order.

Mr Bu$h’s ego-streak continued yesterday when the Senate voted 64-30 to return a slightly-modified SCHIP bill to him. The House has already voted on it, 265-142 and there are some slight differences which will be ironed out. It’s not what he demanded, so we know that George Bu$h will once again deny needy children the health care that might save a life or four. A cynical observer would consider the balance between George Bu$h’s ego and the lives and health of poor and lower middle class children and realize there’s no hope for them as long as he’s in our Oval Office, destroying America.