Presidential material.

The reaction of some Bush supporters to Bush's appearance in the debate is a study in pathology.

They are shocked - SHOCKED - that he looked unpresidential. Simplistic. Unintelligent. Like a callow frat boy who was clearly out of his depth.

Well, pardon me for asking, but when the hell has he looked any different? When has he ever looked or acted Presidential? When?

George W. Bush gave one good speech on September 12, 2001 - after a genuinely disgraceful performance the day before - and some folks have never gotten over their sense of sheer awe. This is understandable: the day before had been so rattling and horrible that the sense of relief given by the impression that SOMEBODY was in charge was palpable. But get over it, people: it was one speech that somebody else wrote.

A few days later, he stood on a pile of smoldering bodies grandstanding with a megaphone (the cheerleader has ALWAYS been comfortable with a megaphone in his hand), and swore to get Osama Bin Laden "dead or alive."

He was lying. Even when he said it, he knew he was going to use the horrific events of September 11 as an excuse to invade Iraq. Curiously enough, some folks find THAT impressive, too.

Since that time, he has not only done nothing that looked remotely impressive, he has screwed up on a grand scale consistently and continuously. Broken damned near everything he's touched and looke stupid doing it.

There should be no surprise that Bush didn't look like Presidential material on Thursday night. He has managed to do so exactly ONCE. Other than that, Bush has never looked like Presidential material. Never.