[Newspoetry] yet another pewm

[Anne Bargar]

The Presidential Hallucination

Last night, the president had a hallucination.  

As ordinary citizenry we may or may not have been asking ourselves (and
each other) how potent, colorful, or habitual the hallucination was.   We
might have inquired amongst each other about the durability, duration, or
origin of the hallucination.  We may have discussed whether or not foreign
policy changes would have been made due to the contents of the
hallucination, and whether or not the secretary of state and attorney
general also had hallucinations.  

But sources close to the hallucination are keeping quiet about it.  They
have refused to comment on the hallucination itself, stating only that
such things happen, and that they should be respected as private.  We as
ordinary citizens and members of the press should respect that privacy.
If we need to know, they will tell us what it was all about.  And suddenly
some key part of domestic or foreign policy is changed, and no one is
quite sure why.

I mean, we could look at it this way; the president has a hallucination.
Decisions are based on the hallucination; millions are affected.  The
White House offers intentionally vague sketches of the contents of the
hallucination without saying what really went on.  This will lead to
intense media speculation and the interview of average citizens, who will
comment on how they think it might impact them.  

In other words, someone holds a press conference.  They come.  They watch.
They broadcast.  The pundits and analysts are turned loose.  They analyze
and pundit.  We watch.  We absorb.  We take their speculation and
speculate further.  If bombs aren't dropped, we forget.  And we sometimes
forget even then.  If we are worried about the contents of the presidency,
then we will as individuals and groups will worry about the contents of
the hallucination.  Or, maybe we won't.   Because maybe the only thing
that the president hallucinated was that he was smart and articulate, and
maybe he has this hallucination all day every day, and we are only
beginning to imagine the extent of the damage.

-babs