On Thursday, George W. Bush will celebrate his 60th birthday. This President's birthday may well be historically unprecedented, with his age, his disapproval ratings and seemingly even his IQ all converging at 60.
As the AP reports, President Bush is responding to his aging process by applying his unusual brand of humor to his looming birthday at every opportunity. (That is, when he's not already making fun of the blind and disabled.) During a White House press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bush giggled, "Say that again, Steve. I'm getting a little old. I'm getting old. I'm having trouble hearing." No doubt wistful for his youthful, pre-40 days of boilermakers, jello shots and Jagermeister, the President told a Minnesota audience, "I like to plug in music on my iPod when I'm riding along to hopefully help me forget how old I am."
All of which raises the question, what would you give President Bush for his 60th birthday? What present is fitting for a man to whom so much was given, so little expected and even less offered in return. What would you give to a man who, as Jim Hightower put it, was born on third base and tells everyone he hit a triple?