Buh-bye

Tonight is the last night America will have to go to sleep with George W. Bush as its president. I cannot recall a time when the changing of the guard was met with such ecstatic, wall-to-wall coverage. Not even the suspicious one-two punch of Reagan's 1980 swearing in and the Iranian hostage release can touch Obama's impending inauguration.

In many countries, a man like George Bush would be fleeing into exile with no clean socks. Instead he gets to go live in North Dallas, where there are plenty of like-minded folks who will welcome his appearance at chamber of commerce lunches and black tie galas. After all, as the chorus goes, "He kept us safe!"

As much as I detest what Bush and his enablers have wrought upon the planet, I'm content to leave the carcass of his presidency to historians instead of lawyers. We're too far screwed to indulge ourselves in the luxury of a show trial. In a divorce like this one, it's best to cut your losses and run like hell.

Here's to the promise of having a new captain who actually cares about flying the plane.