How has this government managed to acquire so much power, yet screw it up so badly?

They have powerful "think tanks". And polling groups. And legal advisors. And public relations gurus. And political "dirty tricks" wizards. And military experts. And the DC pundit class. And a compliant, spineless, unquestioning and sycophantic media. Even an entire network devoted to singing their praises.

How could they lose?

And yet, they are. Day by day, they're losing the faithful supporters, the reluctant supporters, the wavering libertarians and the independents. And the approval numbers keep going down. And down. And down.

What happened? Where was the disconnect here?

Was the talent they hired not up to the task?

Bush... well, Bush is Bush. A loser from day one, he has been propped up in one way or another since he was a teenager. We all know the stories. In my mind, he's almost incidental to this disaster. I have zero evidence that he's EVER taken good, sensible advice. But then, that's his M.O.

Now Rove. Rove was reputed to be the "Master of the Political Universe". Always working in the background, Karl was. And he had an undoubtable measure of success. The Dan Rather thing was brilliant and should be taught in "Sliming 101" classes in Republican Colleges.

Lott and Delay were the "Scourge of the Legislature", cutting through the impediments and obstructions of the dastardly Democrats to achieve "real" progress towards the conservative "dream" (whatever that is).

Rumsfeld and Cheney had the much-sought-after experience and "gravitas" that would guide the country through times of enormous peril with sober, common-sense judgments.

And Condi? Well, I'm not sure what she was supposed to bring. The Soviet threat ended long ago and that's all she brought to the table.

Gonzo.... well, the less said, the better.

So, with this formidable armament, what went wrong?