Dumb Da-Dumb Dumb

For a newspaper that prides itself on being the acme of journalistic quality, the sure has some lousy op-ed writers. Witness this lunatic piece from Gail Collins, in which she recommends that Bush resign right now and make way for Obama. It's jam-packed with some laugh-out-loud lines, but here are a few of my favorites:

Putting Barack Obama in charge immediately isn’t impossible. Dick Cheney, obviously, would have to quit as well as Bush. In fact, just to be on the safe side, the vice president ought to turn in his resignation first. (We’re desperate, but not crazy.) Then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would become president until Jan. 20. Obviously, she’d defer to her party’s incoming chief executive, and Barack Obama could begin governing.

Yep, no violation of the Constitution there! It's great to know that, if the chief executive doesn't really want the job, they can just "defer" the position to anybody they want.

More:

The person who would like this plan least probably would be Barack Obama. Who would want to be saddled with the auto industry’s problems ahead of schedule?

And so...that means we should give him power right away?

Good God, Gail, there's a reason we have a transition period. You think Bush ought to resign now because he's a lame duck? Hell, he became a lame duck after the 2004 election. Should he have resigned then?

Or, possibly, you think Bush ought to resign right now because he's unpopular? Sure. Why don't we put an amendment in the Constitution that forces presidents to resign whenever their popularity drops below 30% in the Gallup poll?

Giving Obama a one-month headstart will not magically make America a better place. I guess Collins just wants to get in a last bit of Bush-bashing before the man leaves the White House. What on earth is she--and Maureen Dowd and Paul Krugman, for that matter--going to write about on January 21?