Kryptonite 13,260*

I don't care how super you think you are or how close to God you suggest you sit (e.g. "THE PRESIDENT: First of all, Mike, I'm conscious not to be trying to substitute myself for God). Everyone has their kryptonite.

Clinton had his. Unfortunately for us spectators, it was a chunky, not-so-attractive intern in a blue dress. That said, it made me happy to know then that the "leader of the free world" was at least getting a little tail, even if it wasn't from his spouse. Spare me the morality discourse, please. If the Clintons can get past a little extra-marital hanky-panky then I think the country can too. If you ask me, I can't see the Shrub getting laid. I know, I do apologize for the graphic, R-rated illustration now planted in your brain, but it's no worse than some conservative authors' fantasies (e.g. Libby's fiction). But I don't think Shrub could get it up jacked up with a Viagra six pack and a cocaine flashback- even for his wife. And that makes me nervous. The person closest to the big red button that could send our earth into Armageddon ought to periodically get sexed up so the testosterone doesn't build up and require some surrogate for ejaculation; you know, like invading a country or two, or "the bombing starts in five minutes."

The question that springs to my mind, on this wonderfully auspicious date of Friday the 13th is this: Given our current reality, what's the kryptonite going to look like for the W, Rove and Co?

Let's first take a retrospective tour of what it is not:

From the outset, we know that a little thing like legal elections, ballot tampering and a small group of disenfranchised black voters in Florida was not it; particularly since the SCOTUS was stacked with a fair number of Conservative Activist Judges that selected W in the first place. (Incidentally, there is a small theory that I have been working on that may be a bit upsetting for those who would suggest "it's Clinton's fault" that nine eleven happened. That is, might it not have been that the selection (funny how the word is one letter off from what it should have been) of W to the Whitehouse was the actual green-go-light for the sleeper cells to activate and execute their long planned suicide mission? You're right, that is outrageous. But it's no less plausible than some of the rightwingnut suggestions as to what the trigger was).

Certainly, it hasn't been this trickle down intelligence that lead to the super stupid move to invade Iraq. Moreover, the W, Rove and Co have managed to avoid prosecution thus far for perhaps manufacturing the reasons to invade the little country. I'd like to see some republican activist judges decide that case if it ever comes up.

It hasn't been the constant leaks that led to revelations of classified and top secret information that could have already sprung a leak in the good ship America (e.g. Valarie Plame and now the roving wire taps leaker - notice I typed leaker, not lurker, but they couldn't be the same, now could they)? One wonders what else these folks may be up to that we don't know about.

It was not the constant and on-going campaign to place positive spin and propaganda into the mainstream media by paying "experts" or "reporters" to convey the "news."

It was not the fact that they are using warrant-less roving wire taps to spy on the American people - a clear violation of the Constitution.

It's not illegitimate donations from corrupt lobbyists that led to stolen elections.

It's not the constant war-time profiteering.

It's not the brutal execution of torture and subsequent embarrassment of our nation and troops by those following orders in prisons. Which reminds me of another question - Why have we not had more court martials in the higher ranks for Abu Ghraib and other prison scandals and less scapegoating of poor GIs who were just following orders? Ok, I know it's against the law to follow an illegal order, but you can't tell me that some of this wasn't sanctioned right up to the very tipity-top. Which leads to another valid question: Why isn’t there some penalty for giving an illegal order?

It hasn't been the constant hiring of friends and relatives or rewarding poor performance by promoting folks who have done wrong or keeping folks on the dole when they should be fired for a variety of egregious ethical and legal violations (hmmm, I'm thinking more heads should roll for the Valarie Plame leak, don't you?). Is it me or am I the only one who thinks it seems like as a person looses touch with reality, he or she gets promoted to higher ranks in the W, Rove and Co?

It's not the promotion of cronies, flunkies, and long time friends to powerful positions where they do actual harm - “Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

Let's turn to what kryptonite might look like for the W, Rove and Co:

It might very well be 9/11 - the mantra that has become the political surrogate for licenses to kill and licenses to violate the civil liberties of Americans, but still remains the poorest excuse for invading Iraq. Indeed, September 11th, 2001 may not prove to be the political talisman the W, Rove and Co expect and wave at every chance they get - frankly, they spanked that monkey far too many times to get any more juice out of it. Nine eleven most certainly has the potential be the kryptonite that may finally bite the W, Rove and Co in the ass. But there are more shapes to it.

It might be Iraq itself, because there is no end in sight. Not to mention the voluminous and ever growing war debt that they have hocked the future America right up to our Stars and Stripes.

It might be the prevailing GOP modus operandi; the very lever by which the W, Rove and Co push various policies and laws into motion. It's as if those in charge are saying to us, "It ain't no good for American unless it's good for us." I get the prevailing sense that the good ol' boys and girls of the GOP are really in it for themselves and those like themselves rather than for looking out for the greater good of the American people (e.g. the fine folks of NOLA).

It might be a long string of wrongful death class action lawsuits sponsored by victims of the negligence demonstrated by FEMA in response to the Katrina Disaster. Remember, there is a big difference between those who were killed in the storm and those who died from neglectful responses by a set of governmental agencies that failed them.

In the end, it may be this number: 13,260. Or, it may be an even greater number: 166,722. I call it Kryptonite 13,260. Let me break down my simple mathematics for you (unlike the statistics reported over and again by the W, Rove and Co.) - in case you haven't already guessed. If you kill a person, approximately six quarts of blood can pour out of their body.

As of last check, 2210 GIs have been KIA in Iraq (I know, I'm not counting wounded here and their blood spills as well. So, you will just have to acknowledge that the numbers here are on the conservative side. BTW, is it me or has anyone else noticed that there is not much conservatism exercised by the "conservatives" in charge). Also, as of last check, there have been a minimum of 27,814 Iraqi civilians KIA.

Multiply by six quarts of blood and you get the following numbers 13,260 & 166,884. As those numbers grow, perhaps that will be the pocket full of kryptonite that brings down the house of cards that the W, Rove and Co built. In the end, no matter the size of the political tampon or which slogan the W, Rove and Co trots out for the public to see, the hemorrhaging hasn't stopped nor is there a foreseeable end. Truly, a person can't stop that kind of blood from weighing on a conscience and from having a bearing on St. Peter's decision when he or she arrives at heaven's gates.

More than likely, the end of this administration will have to come from their inner circle. The kryptonite will be carried, under plain clothes and not unlike a suicide bomber, directly into the Whitehouse. It will have to come from someone close, very close, who cannot live with the tarnished conscience placed on her shoulders as the W, Rove and Co feeds her devil while simultaneously squashing her angel. This someone will come forward out of a pure need and desire to cleanse her soul by scratching out of the moral and ethical black hole forged over five years by the W, Rove and Co.

America is full of such people - those with no stomach for the duplicity inherent in the tacit approval of the egregious actions of the W, Rove and Co that is remaining silent. Indeed, these lists are short. I could be wrong, but Aught Six may be the year that the W, Rove and Co receives a lethal dose of kryptonite 13,260 saving us from additional manipulative, self-serving, mismanagement of our Nation's executive branch.

The next time someone from a place of power (as Ross Perot popularly called it a "bully pulpit") suggests we need fear those fundamentalists lurking about who wish to do us harm, ask them which brand they mean. Indeed, we all should never misunderestimate the damage a small group of fundamentalists can do to a country.

*This entry is being cross posted over at Bring it On as a part of their Friday Guest Blogger feature. This will be the first time I have cross posted as a guest there and we will see how it goes. Blog On All.