This is Bush and Cheney's master campaign plan? They're in even worse shape than we knew

The Wapo reports that Bush and Cheney's central thrust for campaigning for GOP legislators is to "hammer Democrats on national security and the economy". I can hardly wonder how to view this, except as a gift: they want to draw attention to two nations that we have spent years and hundreds of billions of dollars on, only to have them both on the verge of disintigration, as well as threatening to "become the biggest corruption scandal in history"? They want to remind people that they were more interested in making a buck than in blocking one of the three governments in the world that recognized the Taliban government of Afghanistan, and whose ports were the transit point of choice for the nuclear black market of Abdul Qadeer Khan, from taking over six major U.S. ports? They want to emphasize their responsibility for an economy that has driven a greater share of American households into poverty, lowered the real income of most Americans, raised the national debt by almost 50% so far, and left the popular suspension of disbelief as the only remaining foundation of stable U.S. bond prices, all for the sake of further enriching the richest people in the country? So be it. Apparently they've just decided they'd really like the GOP to lose out this year.

There is hardly any other explanation for the perverse own-foot-shooting of a statement from Bush like, "If you want the government in your pocket, vote Democrat," when what could put the government more in your pocket - literally in the case of cellphones - than the knowledge that Bush enthusiastically breaks the law to listen in on our phone calls?

And what other explanation can there be for Ken Mehlman saying: "The Democrats' plan for 2006? Take the House and Senate, and impeach the president... With our nation at war, is this the kind of Congress you want?" Hmmm... yes, that's precisely the Congress I want. Very well put, Ken.

Or maybe it's because those are the least damaging topics they can come up with, when there is no topic left related to the responsibilities of national government in which the GOP rule has not proven to be a disaster.

Still, how else can we explain Cheney reminding us all that "the leaders of the Democratic Party have decided to run on the theme of competence", when the polls show that "incompetent" is now the one word that comes to people's minds most often to describe the Bush-Cheney administration.

And while everyone has been discussing the appearance of "incompetent", "liar", and "idiot" as three of the top four words Americans used to describe Bush and Cheney, I haven't seen anyone point out the equally interesting fact that the list now includes "ass" for the first time.

And their plan gets even better:

The short-term goal is stabilize Bush's low public-approval ratings by talking about the progress and prospects for victory in Iraq. The White House also hopes to minimize intramural GOP feuding with a skeletal domestic agenda. Congressional leaders have a legislative schedule that will have members out of Washington much of the time.

So, the master GOP plan is to try to slow down or stop the freefall of Bush's approval rating; apparently to try to do this by reminding everyone of the incomprehensibly wretched job they've done in Iraq; and because since doing anything at all in Washington seems to keep making things worse, they will just try to do nothing at all to run this country.

But as this article points out, Bush and Cheney are already campaigning furiously for endangered GOP incumbents, and for good reason: they know it is their own hides they are trying to save, since a loss of GOP control of either house of Congress is an instant winning ticket to some real investigations into the vast taxonomy of GOP scandals.

Which is why Bush and Cheney have been reduced to sending "word to Capitol Hill that they would be happy to raise money even for those candidates who, for political reasons, want to put some distance between themselves and the White House." In other words, even though you are fleeing for your political lives from the nationwide stinkbomb of our approval ratings, please please let us help you in some way to get reelected, since at least you won't open impeachment hearings against us.