http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20050820T200000-0500_86543_OBS_BUSH__IN_CHECK_.aspBush, in Check
Common Sense
John Maxwell
Sunday, August 21, 2005
In chess, the King is the most important piece but, at the same time, the weakest. All other pieces can move more than one square at a time; even the lowly pawns at their first move can move two squares. And even a pawn can place a King in Check.
John Maxwell
The king is the centre of power and he must be protected at all cost. He cannot be captured, but if he is ever threatened with imminent capture - if he is in 'check' - his handler must either get him out immediately or be 'mated'. The game is over.
Watching the antics of Mr Bush's supporters over the past few days makes it plain that the president's handlers think he is in check, and, short of nuking Mrs Cindy Sheehan, they don't seem to have any good idea how to prevent checkmate and presidential meltdown.
This week, Cindy Sheehan went back to California to arrange care for her mother who has had a stroke. No one has blamed her mother's stroke on the Republicans, but it must have been difficult for any mother to endure the traducing and sliming of her daughter that Mrs Sheehan's mother has had to bear.
The basic Republican reflex under attack is the Hagfish defence - to generate so much slime that your opponent needs to spend an inordinate amount of time, effort and money to clean himself up. Cindy Sheehan, unlike Senator Kerry, Governor Dean and President Clinton has ignored the hagfish and avoided entangling herself in the slime.
Her critics accuse her of betraying America, dishonouring her son, dishonouring the soldiers in Iraq, everything except cannibalism but that, as in the case of Haiti's President Aristide, is no doubt on the cards.