God, Can't Imagine How THAT Happened

The NY Times, still clinging to the quaint notion that some civility might be shamed out of the Bush administration, bemoans the partisan divide over Iraq which, according to some polls cited, exceeds that over Vietnam. And of course they are concerned about this affecting the famed congeniality of the Senate. In good Times fashion, they go first to Inside-the-Beltway types for money quotes.

"The old idea that politics stops at the water's edge is no longer with us, and I think we've lost something as a result," said John C. Danforth, a former senator and an ambassador to the United Nations under President Bush.

Well, gosh and golly, J.C., why do you suppose that is.? Could it be because YOUR former boss made it a partisan issue? That he has consistently portrayed the Democrats as acting against American interests when they cast doubt (in the mildest terms possible) on any of his nitwitted foreign policy ventures? Or because the Republicans control the Executive and the Legislature and have rammed through idiotic proposals without even consulting the Democrats (or giving them time to read the legislation) and then acucsing the Dems of being obstructionist?

This is not meant to rag on John Danforth who is a good and decent man (even if his name does sound suspiciously like John Danforth (Dan) Quayle) and has taken the Bush administration to task in the NY Times. But to rue the loss of this mythic bipartisanship and not to point out who is to blame is telling half the story at best