"He grows worse and worse. Question enrages him." -- Lady MacBeth
For far too long the media has allowed the Bush administration and its spinners to get away with presenting a manufactured image of him, one which was seriously at odds with reality. Digby does a good job explaining how the public face of Bush bears little relationship to Bush the man. But, this has gone beyond being a successful public relations campaign about Bush the candidate. While Bush's people believe that they are able to shape public perception about their candidate, increasingly it seems that Bush himself believes that the spin has the ability to change reality itself. The Daily Show joked that the Bush administration believes "words speak louder than actions," which was probably the most perceptive thing I've seen the entire campaign season.
It's one thing to spin a public persona which doesn't much resemble the actual man behind the mask, and it's another to spin an entire alternative reality. The consequence of having to convey that fake reality day after day is that one begins to inhabit it. Bush has been living in his play universe for far too long.
We saw a little bit of what happens when that reality is challenged this past Thursday. By challenging Bush's reality, Kerry caused the mask which is Bush's public persona to slip and the petulant little child inside came storming out. Hiding the truth from yourself and everyone else is, as Bush says, "hard work." Too much work. And, the strain is showing.
(thanks to reader p for the quote)