Maliki is a Marked Man

When President Bush stands in front of the cameras and tells the world you’re doing a great job, that’s your cue to run for the hills. It means you’re a marked man.  

The two most notable figures in the Bush administration who’ve been publicly embraced, only to be thrown overboard within a couple of news cycles, include Michael “Heckuva Job, Brownie” Brown for his inept handling of the Katrina emergency in New Orleans and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for his role in the Iraq war.

Who can forget the president holding a press conference on Oct. 25, 2006 (a mere 13 days before the November midterm election) and answering a question from a reporter about whether or not he was going to stick by his man, Rummy. The president stated, “I’m satisfied of how he’s done all his jobs. He is a smart, tough, capable administrator.” Rumsfeld, of course, was fired a few weeks later.

Yesterday, in case you missed it, the funeral band began polishing and tuning their instruments for the looming procession that is sure to follow the fall of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. I felt a twinge of discomfort for the poor man yesterday when the president stated, “Prime Minister Maliki is a good guy, a good man with a difficult job, and I support him.”

I knew then and there Maliki should start running for the hills. That kind of public support from President Bush can only mean one thing: Maliki is a marked man.