It's the incompetence, stupid

OK, go get a cup of coffee or whatever adult beverage you prefer. Set aside about fifteen minutes and read Michiko Kakutani's excellect review article All The President's Books in today's New York Times.

Whether on the right or the left, Reaganite or New Dealer, red state or blue state, the entire crop of current books about the Idiot in Chief have a consistent set of overarching themes: the current administration governs by "bumper sticker". There's no room for expert analysis (from anyone), no "worst case" analysis, and no room for "detail men and women" who actually know what they're doing.

W's affliction might be called expansive personality disorder: a yearning for broad, brave-new-world themes and a penchant for Gordian-knot-splitting antics. (Except the Idiot in Chief would probably attempt to cut the Gordian Knot with a dull butter knife, with predictable results, and then announce "Knot Accompished!".)

A few years ago, I hung a printout of an article entitled The Strategic Thinking Mindset by Dr. Charles Albano next to my desk. That article lists a number of characteristics the greatest leaders from history shared, including items like "Uses 'what if' speculation to stretch thinking in the direction of opportunities and possibilities", "Has a good sense of what may be possible to achieve in the prevailing state of 'politics.' The art of what's possible." and "Taps diverse points of view in planning."

Take a look at Dr. Albano's article after you read Ms. Kakutani's. Does this band of idiots led by the king of the idiots have any of these characteristics?