Salon, and others, are picking up on the story that Dubya is taking Air Force One, AIR FORCE ONE, down to Crawford for a day trip, so he can vote. Appears his able staff forgot to request an absentee ballot. Courtesy of Google, I discovered ballpark estimates of the operating costs of a production 747 200 (the base model of the current Air Force Ones). $8,400 an hour (in 2000)... (UPDATE: RNC talking heads have estimated costs as much as SEVEN TIMES normal 747 operating expenses... That's $55,000 an hour, people) Mind you, that's gas and ground expenses BEFORE we started getting pimped at the pump. That does not include Secret Service costs, per diem, yada, yada... Extra special security considerations, and probably a press flak or two (priceless pictures of democracy at work dontcha know. $8,400 ($55,000) an hour... for 6 hours round trip, so this dim idiot can fill in some circles and cast a ceremonial ballot for another Republican... in a PRIMARY! Call me crazy, but ca...

Reading this AP article , I am starkly reminded of the 80s supergroup The Thompson Twins and their smash "Lies." Just so we're clear, Bush claimed that "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." Now the AP has footage of him ON VIDEO TAPE in a meeting where the levee breaches were discussed in depth. Is there ANY CHANCE that a lie of this magnitude... one that affected hundreds of thousands of citizens on OUR OWN SHORES does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense? Under oath or not, this is far more scandalous than "I did not have sex with that woman." We will see how much traction this story gets in the future, but given that Katrina was a big part of Dubya's slide into the abyss, his 34% can only get lower now.