Has anyone else noticed that W has been a bit… morbid in his recent comments?

First came the unveiling of his Texas gubernatorial portrait, where he commented to the great amusement of his audience, “I’d like to welcome everyone to my hanging.”

Then, he vowed that taxes would be raised “over my dead body.” (Actually, he vowed the exact opposite, but who needs diction from a manly President?)

These would be curiosities, excepting one other article in the Washington Post 1/8/02 edition, where he’s quoted as saying, “All in all, [2001 has] been a fabulous year for Laura and me.”

Great year, huh? I’m surprised that Bush is so willing to admit that his political fortunes were improved last year, as they obviously were. But I’m bothered worse by something else.

The post-September 11th world is one in which there are a lot of things we can’t say without getting official attention from the authorities, and joking about the death of the President is definitely one of them. Likewise, anyone saying how wonderful 2001 was would be, at the very least, deserving of avoidance at parties. Yet the President can still say anything he damn well pleases.

Perhaps he considers that a perk of high approval ratings. But I would love to see what the “red states” who voted for him would say if there were wider distribution of his comments. Of course, criticizing the President is still unpatriotic, and is not one of the things polite people say.