OUR NINCOMPOOP IN NICEVILLE

In case we forgot to mention this from today's Washington Post:

The economy has 1.1 million fewer jobs than the day Bush took office, making it more than likely he will join Herbert Hoover as the second president to see the nation suffer a net job loss on his watch. The economy is 7 million jobs short of the level the White House had predicted when trying to sell the tax cuts. And a 10-year budget outlook that in 2001 projected $5.6 trillion in surpluses now foresees $2.7 trillion in deficits, an unprecedented fiscal swing.

The Post reports that "rather than acknowledging failure" for his tax policy, our Nincompoop in Chief is expected to continue repeating the same old mantra he's been offering in his campaign, most recently on Monday from the Oval Office: "The economy is strong, and it's getting better."

If he needs a different mantra, Straight Up poet laureate Leon Freilich has one for him. How about this?

NEW AXIS OF TAXES

NICEVILLE, Fla. (Reuters) - President Bush said on Tuesday that abolishing the U.S. income tax system and replacing it with a national sales tax was an idea worth considering. [Aug. 11, 2004]

Even nicer, the tax
Would have a progressive bent--
Nine or ten for the poor,
For the rich, one percent.