Modern Day Fable

Remember the story of the boy who cried wolf? When a wolf really did threaten him, no one in his community would come to his aid because his previous alarms had all been false.

I can't help but see the connection to our current president and his cries of doom and gloom that will befall us unless the $700 billion bailout bill makes a speedy trip through Congress. There is no doubt in my mind that some kind of bailout will have to be crafted, but the heavy hand of a president, who forecast the end of the world as we know it based on the existence of weapons of mass destruction, is hardly the endorsement the bill needs.

If anything, George W's track record should be reason enough for him to keep his mouth shut and stop looking like someone deeply concerned about his legacy. There is probably truth to his alarms--but let's just say he shouldn't be the one sounding them.

And in all honesty, neither should the candidates for his office. If this truly is a national crisis (and it may very well be), then it must not become a political football, but rather an opportunity for the present administration to fix what it, in part, created and in the end, take responsibility for its actions.

I seem to remember that may be an underlying theme in Aesop's tales. It's called growing up.