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The Committee to Re-Elect the President AKA: CREEP

Since Franklin Roosevelt, American Presidents have been bound by a two-term limit. That means that most of our modern Presidents have concentrated a great deal of energy in their first term, running for a second term. The desire to hang on to the office for the whole eight years is immense and no President wanted it more than Richard M. Nixon.

Nixon won his first term in 1968 by a hundred electoral votes over contender Hubert Humphrey. This kind of win sounds good on paper but Nixon was one of the few men that actually knew what it felt like to lose a Presidential election. He had lost to John F. Kennedy in 1960 and if JFK's brother Robert had not been assassinated in 1968, it's possible Nixon could have lost a second time. Aside from Hubert Humphrey sucking, one of the main reasons Nixon won the 1968 election was because he said he had a plan to end the Vietnam War. By 1971, the war was still going and just about the time when all first-termers start work on re-election campaigns, Daniel Ellsberg leaked The Pentagon Papers.

The President feared the Pentagon Papers because they were documents that proved the Vietnam War was bullshit. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was bullshit and most of all, Nixon's plan to end the war was bullshit. Initially, Nixon set forth his Attorney General - John Mitchell - to fight the release of the (NYTimes and Washington Post serialized) Pentagon Papers. After the SCOTUS ruled against Mitchell's DOJ, old John retired as AG and became the head of Richard Milhous Nixon's Committee to Re-Elect the President. It was called CREEP for a reason and that reason was dirty tricks.

The dirtiest trick CREEP played was to create the White House Special Investigations Unit. This crack team, headed by Howard Hunt and Gordon Liddy, was given the mission to stop any further leaks that would harm Nixon. They were known as the Plumbers. The Plumber's first job was breaking into the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist in order to find incriminating evidence on the man that leaked the Pentagon Papers. CREEP had a lot of associates, one of them being Donald Segretti, a lawyer that specialized in campaign tricks like stealing a target's stationary and forging disparaging documents. All of these folks took campaign money from CREEP, issued by the likes of campaign manager Jeb Magruder, former AG John Mitchell and former Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans. Creep also raised under-the-table money from millionaire Armand Hammer.

CREEP, its minions, benefactors and overlords formed a cabal that would have Richard Nixon re-elected at any cost. In the film version of Woodward and Bernstein's All the President's Men, the character Deep Throat explains how these people broke laws and slaughtered ethics:

"They were frightened of Muskie and look who got destroyed. The wanted to run against McGovern and look who they're running against. They bugged. They followed people, false press leaks, fake letters. They cancelled Democratic campaign rallies. They investigated Democratic private lives. They planted spies, stole documents and on and on. Now, don't tell me you think this was all the work of little Don Segretti."

In the end, all of the men in the photo above were convicted and sent to jail. Members of the President's staff were convicted and sent to jail. 40 government officials were indicted and all of it because Dick Nixon had issues with self-esteem.

CREEP's present-day counterpart?

The White House Iraq Group

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Is George W. Bush really just a spandex-wearing sissy that can't tie his own sneakers?

Newsweek writes:

"...Bush’s new approval low of 36 percent in the NEWSWEEK poll equals the low point of Bill Clinton’s presidency in May 1993, when the former president hit 36 percent. The 41st president, George H.W. Bush, hit his lowest ratings late in 1992 before he was defeated by Clinton. A Gallup poll in July 1992 recorded a 32 percent approval rate for the first President Bush. But other presidents have fared worse. Jimmy Carter scored 28-29 percent in June and July 1979, according to Gallup. President Richard Nixon’s Gallup number dropped to 24 percent in August 1974..."

"Turns out, we were wrong".

Congratulations Mr. Hadley. Admitting you have a problem is the first step.

If "we" were wrong, why do "we" continue to fight this war? What do "we" say to the dead and wounded soldiers? When do "we" make amends to the Iraqi people? How do "we" sleep at night?

Yellow is a color folks in the west equate with cowardice, while the folks in the east see yellow as the color of spirituality and wealth. One color. Two views. That's the magic of color. That's the gift of sight. That's people for you.

My favorite blogger in the world, General J.C. Christian, helped give birth to the glorious Operation Yellow Elephant in order to bring healthy, young Republican college students closer to the war they love so much. More than one person has compared the Bush administration with the story of the Wizard of Oz and our collective journey down the Yellow Brick Road to find the Wizard of Oil.

For me, these days, I can't help thinking about Friedrich Duerrenmatt's play The Visit and Yellow Shoes.

In the play, the citizens of Güllen live in a city with SHIT for a name. While once they were prosperous, at the opening of the play, the residents of Güllen are destitute and desperate. They are waiting for one of their ex-natives (Claire Zachanassian) to return for a visit because while she was away, she became the richest woman in the world. The townspeople hope Madame Zachanassian will offer to save them and she does, but for terrible price.

The formerly wealthy town of Güllen is impoverished because of Claire Zachanassian. When she was young, she was impregnated by Alfred Ill, a son of riches. Young Claire brought charges against Ill at the time, but lost because Ill paid witnesses to lie for him and bribed the judge to rule in his favor. Claire left Güllen in shame and led a life that included prostitution and multiple marriages to rich men. She aquired both of the drunks that lied in her court case, had them castrated and turned into her servants. She found the judge that ruled against her, blinded him and made him her butler. She bought all the businesses in Güllen and bankrupted them. She had come back and was now ready to save the town in trade for the execution of Güllen's most respected shopkeeper, her old lover Alfred Ill.

At first, the citizens condemn Madame Zachanassian and her money. They refuse to kill Alfred in trade for cash. Claire responds "I can wait", which she does.

As Madame Zachanassian waits, the townspeople start to purchase pricey goods with credit. And the part that sticks with me, everyone in Güllen sports a pair of shiny, new Yellow Shoes. The Yellow Shoes become the symbol for the hypocrisy of the citizens. Alfred Ill is killed after Madame Zachanassian's pet panther is "accidentally" let loose.

Güllen gets its money, the town is saved and the play is over.

Actually, I've been thinking of Yellow Shoes ever since Bill Clinton was impeached. I knew he wouldn't get kicked out of office because at the time, America was prosperous. We all had our Yellow Shoes and there was no reason to kill old Bill.

Then came the 2000 election and 9/11. The attacks robbed us of our security and Bush's tax cuts robbed our treasury. We've traded away our civil rights. We've condemend our soldiers and thousands of innocent Iraqis to death for a bogus war, while private companies fatten their offshore bank accounts with oil and contracting profits. During hurricane Katrina, when we needed our government the most, we discovered that this administration was no more concerned for our welfare than Madame Zachanassian. The White House doesn't want a free people. They want money, power and control. They have lied, cheated and stolen every good thing America stands for and they demonize anyone that objects. Worst of all, they've convinced themselves that torturing prisoners is just fine as long as it helps them win their supposed war on terrorism.

For anyone that still believes that George W. Bush and his cronies are good people, I have just one question:

How do you like your Yellow Shoes?

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See for yourself. They hate Christmas!