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‘Sixteen Little Words’

(From the new musical by George Bush & Karl Rove, The Buck Stops There.)

Calvin Trillin

July 31, 2003

(From the new musical by George Bush & Karl Rove, The Buck Stops There.)

First Tenet said, “The fault is mine. I should have looked at every line.” Then someone at the NSC Said, “No, George. Please. Not you. It’s me.”

It’s everybody’s fault except the boss’s. They’re coming forth to take the blame in hordes. They all say they’re the one the albatross is. There’s clanging as they fall upon their swords.

Now Bush’s aides are all contrite. A queue is forming (on the right)– All volunteers to claim that text. A White House steward may be next.

It’s everybody’s fault except the boss’s. They’re coming forth to take the blame in hordes. They all say they’re the one the albatross is. There’s clanging as they fall upon their swords.

The words that were the most persuasive In turning citizens invasive Had been exposed as bunk before. But in a speech that pressed for war, Those words described a looming threat. So all the vetters failed to vet.

It’s everybody’s fault except the boss’s. They’re coming forth to take the blame in hordes. They all say they’re the one the albatross is. There’s clanging as they fall upon their swords.

Calvin TrillinCalvin Trillin is The Nation’s “deadline poet.”


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