Bush Finds a New Corpse To Ride

The Pope should give him a more comfortable trip than Schiavo did. A few wet words and grim frowns at the funeral and Rove figures he can bag an three to five point pop for his guy in the polls (higher among the Catholic groups Rove has long coveted). For an administration committed to "the culture of life", it's strange that they're at their most focused when somebody dies. It's kind of Damien Thornish of them, really. Still, from Bush's point of view, better a dead Pope than a live one who needles him about Iraq and Abu Ghraib.

So, add the Pope to the list of Bush's steeds:

JP II
Schiavo
1,500+ U.S. Troops
Uncounted Thousands of Iraqis
150 Texas Death Row Prisoners
Whoever died in Vietnam so he could run campaigns and snort coke in Alabama.

No wonder Bush needs a ranch.