Emperor. Clothes. None.

It's probably not even worth my mentioning at this point that the common consensus is now that Kerry ripped Dubya a new one in their first televised debate last Thursday, leaving conservative pundits spinning madly in an attempt to minimize the damage and Bush's inner circle scrambling to figure out how to keep the same thing from happening this upcoming Friday, when the two are scheduled to meet again.

I think DemFromCT over at Daily Kos has it right: this is the first good look the American people have gotten of their Celestially-ordained leader since September 11th, 2001 (though it could be argued that the conspiracy to clean Bush up for public consumption began long before the national tragedy he and his administration so shamelessly appropriated for their own political and financial gain), and guess what? Bush ain't looking so good.

Minus the soft filter lenses and softball questions, it is now becoming painfully obvious to anyone who doesn't own a piece of Halliburton that the George W. Bush who showed up to debate is the very same person who sat with a blank look on his face and read My Pet Goat to a room full of schoolchildren while the country he had sworn to defend was under attack.

Now I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Kerry doesn't deserve to be President. His Senate vote to authorize the Bush Administration's "Sicilian Expedition" should have been enough to disqualify him from contending for the highest office in our land, but a Democratic leadership more interested in not rocking the boat than winning contrived to take the nomination away from the best possible candidate - Howard Dean - and put it squarely in the hands of a party lifer instead. It is only by virtue of screwing up the economy and the Iraqi occupation so terrifically that even the corporate-controlled, Bush-friendly media can't make it go away entirely that the Dems have been saved from their own stupidity and the White House is actually within their grasp.

Because even if Kerry shouldn't have the job, Bush is far less deserving of it after three and a half years of incompetent rule. And there you have it. While I don't harbor any illusions that a Democratic victory in November will usher in a new American Golden Age, at least by kicking Bush and Cheney out of office the nightmare that has engulfed the United States since 9/11 will come to an end.

That would be a start, at least. In the meantime, John Edwards debates Dick Cheney on Tuesday - oh for a ringside seat to that match-up!