It is, by any measure, a remarkable achievement, one of the greatest political feats ever. Despite Bush's standing as one of the most despised presidents in American history, despite a Congress in control of the opposition party, despite a solid majority opposed to his policies and his war, despite an Administration riddled with scandal and crime, despite the glaring rot in the nation's infrastructure and the callous abandonment of one of the nation's major cities to natural disaster and crony greed — despite all of this, and much more that would have brought down or mortally wounded any government in a democratic country, the Bush Administration is now in a far stronger position than it was a year ago. —Chris Floyd writing in "Post-Mortem America: Bush's Year of Triumph and the Hard Way Ahead"

I have praised and quoted Chris Floyd's writing in these pages, perhaps more than any other journalist. The praise is well deserved. In the piece quoted above Floyd sets forth a masterful summary of the momentous changes that have taken place within the American pollitical system and what we have lost.

If you do nothing else today, please read this article. Then come back tomorrow. He left a few things out.

Tags: politics political culture