And now another gem from TMV’s favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet.
Lap Dog Blues
By Michael Silverstein
The U.K.’s prime minister, Tony Bair, has long been known as George Bush’s lap dog because of the determined way he has supported the American president’s Middle East policies. But even Tony, it seems, is finally fed up with Bush and company, aware that his support has ruined what might otherwise have been a rather sterling legacy…
The Lap Dog BluesTo Tony Blair, one must be fair,
The guy was big on vision;
Alas, his dream view about Iraq
Has spawned naught but derision.When asked to join George Bush’s war,
He fell under the spell;
When George proposed invasion plans
He figured what the hell.This earned poor Blair a lap dog tag,
One difficult to bear;
Though since he knew his aims were pure
He felt: ‘I need not fear.’Now far too late, this view has changed,
He¹s fin’ly understood
When with the Bush crowd one consorts
The upshot’s never good.In good times you’re their partner front,
In bad times you’re their foil
In countless ways both big and small,
Your rep they do despoil.So off the lap the lap dog’s leaped,
He slouches toward the door;
Another decent man dragged down
By Bush’s stupid war.©2007 Michael Silverstein
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.