Professor Bush

Has President Bush finally shaken his reputation as a policy simpleton? According to the Washington Post's Eric Pianin, George W. has become as good at slinging Beltway jargon as anybody:

"Lately, Bush has been throwing these terms around as if he were a lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. 'Zinni will stay there,' Bush said on March 30, 'to push for a process that will ultimately get us into Mitchell.' Three days earlier, Bush noted that Zinni would 'work with both parties, regardless of whether or not they're headed to Beirut,' in hopes of 'getting into Tenet.' Bush dropped 'Beirut' as shorthand for the Arab League meeting, 'Tenet' for cease-fire and 'Mitchell' for a peace deal.

Will Molly Ivins issue an apology for implying that the President is a borderline Mongoloid who needs extensive prep-work to keep from drooling on himself in public? I doubt it. Fortunately, though the President has maintained enough of his folksy 'plain-spoken' style to address straightforward, barnyard issues:

"At his news conference last month, Bush reverted to Texas form while describing a trade dispute over poultry. 'We've got a issue on chickens,' he said. 'We've made it pretty darn clear to them that I think we probably ought to get this chicken issue resolved and get those chickens moving.'

Amen. Let's roll, and let's get those chickens moving, too.