Editor's note: CNN political contributor Paul Begala joins us tonight as a guest-bloggerPresident Bush began by calling for greater civility in politics. That's like Paris Hilton calling for chastity. Mr. Bush has allowed his allies to attack his opponents -- from John McCain to John Kerry -- with rare and raw savagery. His calls for civility are as phony as his posing as a rancher.
The President said troop levels will be determined by military commanders, not politicians. That would be a welcome shift from Mr. Bush's decision to overrule Gen. Eric Shinseki, the top general in the Army, who said occupying Iraq would take hundreds of thousands of troops. Gen. Shinseki was insulted and shipped out.
And does anyone believe the president who allowed Enron and Exxon to write his energy plan in secret is the man who can break America's addiction to oil? That's like asking the neighborhood crack dealer to run the local detox clinic.
The president faces a credibility crisis. In 2002, 71 percent of Americans said Mr. Bush was honest and trustworthy. Today, 53 percent say he is neither honest nor trustworthy -- because he's not.