STRANGE DAYS: I wanted to post today for two reasons.

One is to make sure I remember how.

The other is to commemorate this week. Iraq is a hornet's nest; today marked the 100th American death there in the month of April. Our coalition partners, few and paltry though they are, are pulling out in droves. The 9/11 Commission, albeit in fits and starts, has turned up some shocking evidence of the Bush administration's nonchalance in the face of the threat from Al Qaeda in summer 2001. Bush held a prime time press conference in which he babbled like a damn idiot, and showed himself for the empty suit and moral retard that he is. The very next day, Bush and Ariel Sharon just shat all over the "road map" and any chance for peace in Israel and the occupied territories. Then over last weekend, Bob Woodward rolled out his new book, which portrays Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar as practically a cabinet-level player in Bush's government.

Then, to the utter shock of Democrats across the country, two polls released this week show Bush's public support actually improved slightly. They show Bush ahead of John Kerry, whereas they'd been showing Kerry ahead for awhile.

Here, I think, is what depresses me the most. Woodward writes that the Saudis have promised to manipulate the oil supply for Bush's political advantage this coming fall. Nobody seems all that outraged. Right now I don't think Americans care what their politicians do to get elected. Sure, they pitched a fit about Clinton and Gore's '96 fundraising, but that was just the weapon conservatives had at hand at the time. Bush is selling out America's interests, Arab lives, and maybe the lives of American military personnel, for the sake of his political fortunes. But that's all right. In my lifetime we've had Watergate, we've had Kissinger sabotaging peace talks with North Vietnam, we've had the October Surprise, we've had hanging chads in Florida. But the sun keeps rising in the east every morning. This guy W., he lowers taxes, he projects a personality that people can relate to, he bashes all the things people want bashed. He's like Wal-Mart: he adds comfort and convenience to our lives, so any way he can stay in business is all right with us.

It's a long campaign. There are bound to be twists and turns that nobody could foresee. I have to take heart, and keep faith. But this week I wanted to make a diary entry.

Next post will be about Dolly Parton.