How Low Can We Go?

Two discouraging political insights today... The Olympic torch relay is being escorted by a phalanx of aggressive Chinese government thugs. The Olympics, long presented as a celebration of individual achievement, have become a propaganda tool for a repressive regime (that would be China this time, not Nazi Germany). It seems to be backfiring though thank god, and the light that is shining of China is not the one their government wanted... I wonder what they expected? There seems to be a level of prideful ignorance that pervades their world view. Not unlike the next discouraging news item.

George W. Bush has been rated the worst president ever in a survey of historians. By a long shot. On some level I always hope that politicians I feel are destructive are not that bad or don't have that much impact. Maybe it's just me overreacting. The Harper's Magazine article is actually entitled Worst. President. Ever.  Here's one description of Bush;"Glib, contemptuous, ignorant, incurious, a dupe of anyone who humors his deluded belief in his heroic self". Ouch. Of course this personal stuff is largely irrelevant. Its the decisions and actions that have flowed from the Bush administration, and that we all have to live with, that are the problem. Myself, I've always thought that Bush was really a logical consequence of the ideological divide in the US. A smug clown, but just the window dressing on the ill-conceived but bitterly defended "conservative" beliefs that have grasped the levers of power. At this though point even a new Republican president would be a improvement!

On a happier note, I had a great easy run last night with my triathlon club. It was warm enough for shorts and a "tee" (technical of course)! Nice to feel the breeze on my legs. Today I biked over the pool for a 2K swim, and in a few minutes I'll be on my tri bike heading over to Absolute Endurance for a CompuTrainer session.

Listening to: Capital G by Nine Inch Nails from Year Zero.