What's wrong with this picture? (via Pandagon)

Is it just me or has the artist got his Bushes mixed up?

Does anybody else find the whole Condi-Dubya relationship totally creepy? I read this yesterday in the Times yesterday and—well what do you think?

To the Bushes, Ms. Rice, 49, is almost a surrogate daughter, a charming, reassuring and — in private — sardonic presence who can explain Middle East policy in five digestible bites. She is also, like the president's mother and another influential adviser, Karen P. Hughes, a tough-minded woman brimming with self-confidence.

To Ms. Rice, an only child who has never married and whose parents have died, the Bushes are some of the closest friends she has. Just about the only time she spends away from her job, and the Bushes, is on Sunday afternoons, when Ms. Rice, who trained as a concert pianist, returns from Camp David and practices with a chamber music group.

"We are all in one way or another close to the family, but she is especially close to the family because of the time she spends with the president," said Mr. Powell, who was national security adviser to Ronald Reagan. "This is not unusual, but at the same time, a little unusual."

Now I’m not suggesting that anything inappropriate is going on. But isn’t it a little odd that the National Security Adviser of the United States spends an inordinate amount of time prepping, cajoling, and explaining things to the President? Maybe this is why she can’t seem to get a handle on her job.

In Washington, Ms. Rice has faced increasing criticism that while she has done a good job as the president's friend and cheerleader, she has done a bad job of managing the president's frequently warring foreign policy team.

Her inability to rein in other powerful advisers, critics say, has helped lead to little planning for the occupation in Baghdad, stalled negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, and no success in stopping North Korea from making nuclear weapons.

Jenna? Barbara? I I feel your pain. I see myself as a victim of your daddy's job too.

Why do the words smallpox infested blankets keep flashing through my head?

Critics of Mr. Bush's proposal note that the White House has not said how much of an expansion in the number of green cards it will seek. Currently 140,000 are issued annually for workers who are sponsored by employers, with only 10,000 of those set aside for unskilled workers. Unless the White House seeks, and obtains, a huge increase in the number of these green cards, many of the undocumented workers who apply under the president's program could face an extended wait — 10 to 20 years, by some estimates — for residency.

Administration officials acknowledge that the wait for a green card can take up to six years or longer, meaning that some guest workers who apply for green cards but do not receive them would face the prospect of being forced to leave the United States. In that case, critics of the proposal said Tuesday night, workers would be better off remaining illegal and staying indefinitely in the United States, rather than revealing themselves to immigration officials when they sign up for a program that may, these critics assert, lead to their deportation.

"They're asking people to sign up for a program that is more likely to ensure their departure than ensure their permanent residency," said Cecilia Munoz, a vice president of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy organization.

Whoo Hoo

The Horse is back! I can now rest easy for 2004. Go and vote for Media Whore of the Year. Tim Russert is the early favorite, but I just had to vote for David Brooks. The nonsense people, the nonsense!

If anyone is still searching for a late Christmas gift this book looks amusing.

"When I was researching the book I was amazed at some of the stuff that turned up," Willis says. "I think if you read this book, you can never again vote Republican. You’d feel too dirty. These guys are such liars. And such hypocrites. And such scoundrels. They’re greedy, corrupt, self-deluded individuals. In Buddhist terms, it’s really terrible — these guys are all coming back as, I dunno, something really unpleasant."

Amen.

Welcome to Kelly over at Yes Indeedy. Kelly is your stop for all things post-modern and This American Life-related.