Using up all your chips...

Hirsh's criticism of Bush's second term and his supposed slide back to "the most squeamish sort of multilateralism—the kind of thinking that says, "Without partners, I don't dare make a move."" Reminds me of a story about a friend of mine.

My friend is a handsome guy, who was pretty well liked with the ladies, and needless to say he liked them back, and didn't let the small details of a girlfriend burden him down. Things were going pretty well until he met another girl...oh let's just call her Madam X. X was sorta like Iraq: the package was tempting, defenses were weak, but right under a thin veneer was a host of problems, and needless to say, after being there for three weeks you would most likely want to cut-and-run yourself. My friend however decided to stay the course, and after seeing her for a year or so, was busted by his girl, who gave him the ultimatum; drop her, cheat no more or I'm ghost. In the end he complied, and eventually they married.

Yet on cold nights, as we sit and drink beers, he tells me his shortsightedness, knowing full well that he used up all his chips with Madam X--chips that he could have used on flings, and one nighters with much more desirable, less troublesome ladies. He banked it all on Iraq, and he came up bust.

Can you blame Bush for sliding back into multilateralism? It's not a choice dummy, it's a necessity. As a country we have neither the manpower, the resources, or the will to play Team America: World Police. He cashed in all his chips to make a play for Iraq, and it failed. Calmer heads called for a multilateral approach, but, flinging his middle finger at the UN, Bush dived head first into a pile of crap. Now he's used up all his chips, and when a unilateral approach is needed he's left like Wimpy, begging for burgers that he'll repay next week.

The moral of the story? Try not to cheat, but if you do better go for the girl with the great legs, J-Lo booty, and lack of sectarian violence.