meeting expectations

eric alterman says

Excuse me, but just what was so hard to understand about this bunch? We knew they were dishonest. We knew they were fanatical. We knew they were purposely ignorant and bragged about not reading newspapers. We knew they were vindictive. We knew they were lawless. We knew they were obsessively secretive. We knew they had no time or patience for those who raised difficult questions. We knew they were driven by fantasies of religious warfare, personal vengeance and ideological triumph. We knew they had no respect for civil liberties. And we knew they took no responsibility for the consequences of their incompetence. Just what is surprising about the manner in which they've conducted the war?

having watched this whole fiasco unfold from abroad, and having spoken with small town folk over here in kagoshima at every twist of the slippery slide as we slid into this quagmire, i believe that i can answer his rhetorical question with a resounding "nothing." it's just a shame that this administration has lived up to our expectations is all.

and it's a real bummer when you meet people who say they don't want to visit your country because they are afraid of your countrymen. we're not all bad, but i sometimes fear that, because of the policies of our government, we have our work cut out for us in convincing others of that fact.