Great piece, I'm still getting used to the tragedy of my "not a kid anymore" box. However, I would argue that the political hydra that squats on our throne has been attempting to redefine the moderate conservative box for everybody in order to avoid ever acknowledging that it was never in that box to begin with.

...that in 30 years the political historians will come along and say Bush was worse than we thought. In fact, I almost feel certain of it. If anybody can do it, Bush can.

There is no one home right now in the White House. There is, though, the combined maladies of our American life summed up as the prophet of false righteousness, George Bush.

If there is a chance that the revisionists will rewrite him as not so bad in thirty years it will be rooted in the continual debasement and lack of learning and participation in the broader American life that requires citizenship and care for our place in the world.

Today all we are interested in as a people is lower prices at Wal-Mart. Sadly, we may have gotten our just punishment for banishing the American ideal for cash

There are labels and then there are labels. Some are created to define others. Some are self-created to unfocus the truth.

One should keep in mind the old saying, “The only difference between libel and label is a small I.”

...no cattle, Bush bought the ranch as prop and were I a betting man, I'd bet it's for sale by March 2009.

Garrison Keillor ranks with my favorite teachers and professors -- the ones whose words were an invitation to a dance of ideas. His describing the desire to be surprising for a moment, to be different from the person all around us know, evoked an "oh, yes!" response from me. His being observed tossing the basketball over his shoulder reminded me of a chance, exciting success of my own.

And then, he makes connections between those specific incidents and current events, and I rejoice at the leap of understanding he encouraged me to make. Long live Garrison Keillor.

I share his columns with my adult son, who enjoys them thoroughly. Recently, my son said to me, "What will we do when Garrison Keillor passes away? Do you think someone else can achieve his vision and speak with his voice?" And I was glad I'm as old as I am, so I might outlive GK. My son is on his own with this.

The word is wheelbarrow,

that thing you carry dirt in.

Similar to helicopter,

that thing that'll carry Bush out.

As bad as the president is his party is worse, as they forgot who they are supposed to represent. They have decided that the Constitution should be changed to make Bush a King. I think in the future we should refer to the Republican party as the TORY Party - with King George as its head. Undo 1776!

Mr. Keillor concludes "I don't think the Occupant plans on being Distinguished anytime soon. I think he'll stay at the ranch and wait for the revisionists. In 30 years, a few historians will come along to say that he was better than a lot of people thought."

No, we won't have to wait 30 years. The planned Bush (George W.) library is already hiring revisionists - more like fictionists, or fabulists - who are hard at work "documenting" the administration of the Current Resident. Their arduous task is to make him look good. Half a billion bucks (that's $500,000.00) is allocated for this task.

It may not be enough.

I have been labeled a LIBERAL for a long time. The nice thing about it is that while I may not be always right,I know the OTHERS are mostly wrong. Take George, the Don's, Newt and Rush.

Those guys couldn't manage a two car funeral. I don't know how they sleep at night knowing they sent over 3200 Americans to their death. Of course none of there kids were involved so somehow they rest easy.

Hillary, Al or Barack will have us out of Iraq in a heartbeat.

Can't wait to put another Left Label in the White House.

I consider myself a liberal because I like the way the word sounds. When I eat a cheeseburger, I usually get it with a liberal amount of grilled onions.

I always think of "liberal" as the guy who has a party, and while outside realizes his lonely neighbor is sitting alone, so he knocks on the door to invite him to come join the fun, completely making the guy's night in the process.

"Liberal" sounds like "library" which is where people learn knowledge and ideas and realize their world is a lot more vast and diverse than they ever realized, and that it's OK -- not something to be afraid of.

I also like the word leftist because studies show left-handed people tend to be more intelligent and creative. But it could be the opposite, too -- it could mean people who use their logic and reason, on the "left" side of their brain (assuming they're right-handed).

A "leftist" is somebody who is not afraid not to be "right." All the right people group together in a herd, and whoever's left is "left." Leftists are outsiders, iconoclasts, subversives, truth-seekers.

I'll never understand how liberal has become a bad word. People like Ann Coulter throw around the word "liberal" as if there's something sinister about it.

Are liberals long-haired, patchouli-stinking, goattee-scratching, "Communist Manifesto"-reading, "Z Magazine" subscribing, pot-smoking, reality-avoiding slackers? Not the ones that I know. The ones I know are industrious, ethical, athletic, fun-loving people who just happen to have their minds open a little wider and less hatefully than average.

Anyway, I enjoyed Keillor's article. Usually I skim the first several paragraphs looking for his point, but the way Keillor writes, half the point is getting there and just soaking into his mood. Yes, you are distinguished, Garrison, even if you might have trouble hearing me say it.

Your car keys are over there.