Back to the Future

"For $2.4 trillion, guess what word other than 'a,' 'and,' and 'the' - occurs most frequently in the acceptance speech George W. Bush delivered tonight," writes William Saletan. "The word is 'will.' It appears 76 times. This was a speech all about what Bush will do, and what will happen, if he becomes president. Except he already is president. He already ran this campaign. He promised great things. They haven't happened. So, he's trying to go back in time. He wants you to see in him the potential you saw four years ago. He can't show you the things he promised, so he asks you to envision them. ... Bush pointed to the wars he had launched and the bills he had signed, but he couldn't point to the benefits those laws and wars were supposed to deliver. The benefits haven't happened yet. They 'will.'"