Parting shot

My first impression is that people like Gail Collins are delusional and should be under lock and key in an asylum somewhere, given all they are willing to ignore, not the least of which are the requirements of the Constitution, the incredible logistic necessities of the intricate transition process, the safety and well-being of the United States and common sense. Then I give them the benefit of the doubt and realize they are just giving in to wretched rhetorical excess for the pleasure of having one last go-around at Bush Derangement Syndrome:

Thanksgiving is this week, and President Bush could make it a really special holiday by resigning.

Seriously. We have an economy that's crashing and a vacuum at the top. Bush - who just took a trip to Peru to meet with Asian leaders who no longer care what he thinks - hasn't got the clout, or possibly even the energy, to do anything useful.

[. . .]

Putting President-elect Barack Obama in charge immediately isn't impossible. Vice President Dick Cheney, obviously, would have to quit as well as Bush. In fact, just to be on the safe side, the vice president ought to turn in his resignation first. (We're desperate, but not crazy.) Then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would become president until Jan. 20. Obviously, she'd defer to her party's incoming chief executive, and Obama could begin governing.

That's about the silliest of all the "Bush should just go now" pieces I've seen so far, and that's saying something. What the hell are these people going to do when Bush is gone and they have to deal with the day-to-day reality of discovering their guy in the White House is just another politician? Yes, they can use up some energy by beating back Obama Derangment Syndrome -- is it possible there are actually some shallow Republicans out there who think the problem is just that one person they simplemindedly zero in on as the devil? Tsk, tsk. But that will get them only through around Jan. 25.