Don't We Deserve at Least Better Bull for the Duration? I woke up today and was struck by something I realize is true but nonethless have a hard time believing. George W. Bush is still president. Hasn't it been forever already? I suppose the thing that baffles me most is, why they don't at least fix the broken record emitting mind-mumbingly meaningless, if not self-contradictory, twaddle over at 1600? Has anyone listened to it recently? Why, fr'instance, just this Saturday on his national radio address, Bush apparently spoke about how urgent it is to enact the patch holding harmless over 20 million mostly middle-class Americans who would otherwise be exposed to the Alternative Minimum Tax. But, funnily enough, he's issued a veto threat against the bill to do just that. On what grounds, you ask? Members of Congress must put political theater behind them, fix the AMT and protect America's middle class from an unfair tax hike. What in the world is he thinking of? The bill, a PAYGO-compliant, revenue neutral measure, avoids adding to the national debt by means of offsets that close the carried interest tax loophole which allows investment fund managers' bonuses to be taxed at 15 percent, as opposed to 35 percent for middle-class taxpayers and limits the ability of these same managers to defer compensation earned from offshore tax shelters -- enabling a fiscally responsible AMT patch that protects America's middle class from an unfair tax hike. C'mon, W. -- show some respect -- can't you do any better than that? A colleague points out that Karl Rove is gone and we're flat out of luck. Looks like 2008 might be a very long year. Wake me when it's over.