And then the Emperor Hid

Oy-oy-oy-oy-fucking-oy.

Reports from the hard-Republican Washington Times say that embattled Bush has entered full paranoid emperor mode:

The sources said Mr. Bush maintains daily contact with only four people: first lady Laura Bush, his mother, Barbara Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes. The sources also say that Mr. Bush has stopped talking with his father, except on family occasions.

I don't know about you but this just makes me think: Caligula, Nero, decline, fall.

When the most powerful man in the world retreats into the company of adoring and manipulative women in order to come to turns with his zeppelin-size father complex.... Jesus, forget Rome, switch to Greece: anyone say 'Oedipus'? Make that, Oedipus with a quart of Maker's Mark. Some primo blow. And God-knows-what medication Dr Feelgood - Dr Tubb I believe is the name - has him jacked on.

Read this for more detail. And shudder. I hate this White house as much, no - more, than the next man. But an emotional meltdown, chaos and power vacuum in the leadership of the most powerful nation on earth is a very very very bad thing. It only spells one thing: big trouble.

We're so lucky, huh? We have ringside seats to some very interesting times indeed.