You've probably sat in a classroom or two with the class bully. The holiday hit, A Christmas Story [you'll shoot your eye out!], features one. I had one for all 8 years of my grade school years. Today he's a fugitive from the FBI.
Vladimir Putin is Time Magazine's person of the Year. No, he is not the bully I was thinking of. In fact, I would bet he is no bully. Bullies are cowards and Putin is no coward. Cunning, calculating and dangerous to be sure.
George W. Bush is the bully I had in mind. Reports of his childhood shooting frogs at the pond is a good indication. Osama bin Laden mastermind the 9-11 attacks on America, but Bush went after the soft, safe, easy target of Saddam Hussein. Bush's toady, Cheney, helped him with the ruse.
In fact, Bush did that other cunning thing that bullies do: they soft-soaped the real tough guy, Putin. He declared that he saw his soul and it was a pure as the driven soul. Ha! Bush was able to get Tony Blair for his other toady, to help with the ambush-snowball fight.
Now Vladimir Putin has his dour photo on Time Magazine's cover. Saddam is dead; the easy target. Mission accomplished. Bin Laden and Putin linger on.
That's what we get for electing a bully as our leader.
