And there was a time when west was wild and strong men were needed. John Wayne was popular because he showed the strength of The American Man to the world. Many wanted to be just like him. Strong and independent. Politicians want to tap into that

Ronald Reagan used John Wayne’s persona and a bit of his cowboy movie roles to come up with what he thought was the right combination of Cowboy and Statesman and it worked. But the edges were already starting to fray. Reagan became in the end almost a caricature of himself.

Bush is also trying to tap into it but Bush has about as much business running a ranch as I have trying out for opera. As time goes on this clinging to to the call of open range and the American west makes, ivy league educated, rich kids from the north east look dumber and dumber. With any luck Bush will be the last to use it because it helps less with the passage of time.

(This post is in no way a slight on real ranchers of which there are plenty. I’m talking about spoiled rich kids from ivy league schools playing rancher. At this point I’ll bet real ranchers in Texas snicker every time they hear Bush is going back to “The Ranch”)

They’re just trying to set up painting Alito as a “common man” and this is another signal that Alito like Miers is in over his head and not really qualified for the position he’s applying for. Polish and camera readiness isn’t what sold Roberts. Like him or not he had the goods. All this posturing to show Alito in good light is designed to distract you and lower your expectations. And lowered expectations is NOT something I want to hear about when discussing an applicant to the position of Supreme Court of the United States.