Bush a clear and present danger

Paul Krugman strikes again. Calling the confrontation between Occupant, the White House and Congress over the emergency Iraq war funding bill "A Hostage Situation" (@ TimesSelect, and also here; h/t Crooks & Liars), he writes:

. . . a beleaguered President Bush, barricaded in the White House, is threatening dire consequences for innocent bystanders — the troops — if his demands aren’t met.

[snip] Mr. Bush isn’t really trying to win the argument on the merits. He’s just betting that the people outside the barricade care more than he does about the fate of those innocent bystanders.

Of course, Occupant doesn't seemingly care about much that falls beneath his station in life. Krugman concludes:

Anyway, never mind the political calculations. Confronting Mr. Bush on Iraq has become a patriotic duty.

The fact is that Mr. Bush’s refusal to face up to the failure of his Iraq adventure, his apparent determination to spend the rest of his term in denial, has become a clear and present danger to national security. Thanks to the demands of the Iraq war, we’re already a superpower without a strategic reserve, unable to respond to crises that might erupt elsewhere in the world. And more and more military experts warn that repeated deployments in Iraq — now extended to 15 months — are breaking the back of our volunteer military.

If nothing is done to wind down this war during the 21 months — 21 months! — Mr. Bush has left, the damage may be irreparable.

Sigh. That's just irreparable damage to the military and to national security. Other damage done-- lost lives, lost reputations, lost justice, lost time on climate degradation-- is or may well be irreparable. 21 more months: maybe the Rapture is not such a bad idea.