AS YOU READ THIS, the backyards of America are alive with the sound of happy families. Outside, hot dogs and hamburgers are being grilled; inside, couch potatoes are watching their favorite baseball team, the tennis matches at the US Open, and–if the remote has been misplaced–Fred Thompson announcing his plan to announce his candidacy later in the week to gasps of surprise from anyone who has been on Mars while the television star campaigned around the country in recent months.
Those of you who depend on the liberal media for your news might be surprised at the ability of Americans to enjoy this end-of-summer respite. After all, you know that the government is in disarray, with the president’s most trusted advisers jumping ship in increasing numbers. And that we are finally getting our comeuppance for years of too-much-borrowing for too-big cars and McMansions that gobble energy and warm the globe. House prices are falling, 401ks just aren’t worth what they were a few months ago, the Iraqi government can’t seem to capitalize on the successful surge, and not only London bridges are falling down. Indeed, the collapse of one of the tens of thousands of bridges in the United States received more press coverage than any event with the possible exception of the in-and-out rehab experiences of various celebrities, or the map-reading skills of a southern beauty.
