"White Elephant, Red Herring" by Giovanni Dania

White Elephant, Red Herring

White elephant, red herring,
What should we believe today, Mr. President?
You always know what's best for us,
We swallow all the shit you shovel,
And, hey, if you can steal an entire state
You can do anything....

Just thank your brother once in a while.

White elephant, red herring,
We see our kids come back in body bags,
But it doesn't occur to us to be mad at you,
And we gladly pump their apparently value-less blood into our Explorers,
Because, otherwise, the terrorists win.

I'd like to see you on the frontline someday, is all I'm saying.

White elephant, red herring,
I'm still waiting to see all those weapons you told us were there,
But I have faith in you, because you wouldn't lie to me, would you?
Not a politician like you....
You wouldn't try to exploit our anger to further your career.
You wouldn't take advantage of our frustration to push questionable agendas through.
No, not you.

I admire the gall you have in calling other people historical revisionists,
I respect the courage you had to execute mentally impaired people.
You are such a role model,
And I can't wait to grow up so I can be just like you.

July 7, 2003