BIN LADEN IS THE BOOGEYMAN, AND HE BOOGIES BEST

As you probably know, Bush addressed the nation last night, cynically leveraging the grief from a dark day five years ago into another call of support. Afterall, midterm elections are but a month-and-a-half away. And you know what that means, don't you? Of course, another mysterious rhetorical re-appearence of big, bad, Osama bin Laden. He and Bush sho' do have a rocky relationship, don't they? Like a drunk & horny college student who limits things to late-night booty calls (over the entire duration of their four years at school), Bush knows bin Laden's his go-to "piece" any time a rough stretch hits.

Check this out. Tell me if you see a pattern (all emphases added):

September 17, 2001:

"We're going to find those evildoers, those barbaric people who attacked our country, and we're going to hold them accountable. We're going to hold the people who house them accountable. The people who think they can provide them safe havens will be held accountable. The people who feed them will be held accountable . . . I want justice. And there's an old poster out West… I recall, that said, 'Wanted, Dead or Alive.'"

November 6, 2001 (addressing Eastern European leaders in Poland, later home to one of the key members of the "Coalition of the Willing):

"Like the fascists and totalitarians before them, the Taliban regime, the al Qaeda and other terrorists try and impose their radical views through threats and violence. [Al Qaeda is] seeking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons."

March 14, 2002 (discussing a Pentagon plan to turn its attention to "Rogue States" that may possess nuclear weapons):

"We haven't heard from [Osama bin Laden] in a long time. I truly am not that concerned about him . . . I was concerned about him when he had taken over a country. I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban. We shoved him out more and more on the margins. He has no place to train his al Qaeda killers anymore."

October 30, 2004 (that would be a few days before the last Presidential Election for those of you scoring at home):

The United States should do "whatevever it takes" to hunt down bin Laden and members of his al-Qaeda network.

December 31, 2004 (less than one month before the first Iraqi elections):

"[Osama bin Laden's] vision of the world is where people don't participate in democracy. His vision of the world is one in which there is no freedom of expression, freedom of religion and/or freedom of conscience. And that vision stands in stark contrast to the vision of, by far, the vast majority of Iraqis."

January 26, 2006 (after speaking to the National Security Agency before addressing the Senate on the wire-tapping brouhaha):

"When [Osama Bin Laden] says he's going to hurt the American people again, or try to, he means it. I take it seriously, and the people of NSA take it seriously."

March 6, 2006 (addressing a crowd in Afghanistan after a "surprise" stop):

"I am confident [Osama bin Laden] will be brought to justice. What's happening is that we've got U.S. forces on the hunt for not only bin Laden but anybody who plots and plans with bin Laden. It's not a matter of if they are captured and brought to justice, but when they're captured and brought to justice."

September 11, 2006:

"Osama bin Laden and other terrorists are still in hiding. Our message to them is clear: No matter how long it takes, America will find you, and we will bring you to justice."

His relationship with the truth is twice as shaky as the one he's got with Osama. He's an international playa'.

As disgusting as this makes Bush look, I have to ask one question: how can any member of the mainstream American media, any "serious journalist" look in the mirror and feel anything but utter disgust at the visage staring back?