It’s been a while since I’ve shared my thoughts here. In the meantime, it’s been hard to keep up with the downward spiral of the administration. So here are some quick thoughts.

First, the good news seems to be that the timing was right (that is, somewhat left of far right) for the Supreme Court nominations. I won’t argue that Roberts or Miers should the first choices for progressives, but surely our worst fears have not materialized.

Second, a question: Will Karl Rove swing for his outing of Valerie Plame? Maybe he’s finally overreached, and will get burned. Ditto, Tom Delay. Maybe years of success have finally made them vulnerable to thinking they were untouchable, and they lost control. I think that’ll be true politically; I certainly hope it’s true legally as well.

But the real question is — at last — can we advance a progressive agenda among the (roughly) centrist voters who were hoodwinked by Bush, and are finally smelling the stench of arrogance, incompetence and sheer foolishness emanating from that wing of the Republican party that has so distorted American political life? Say it with me: “It’s the Gulfs, (Persian, of Mexico), stupid.”

To put it another way: Our challenge isn’t Bush, who’s apparently self-destructing (maybe in hindsight we’ll see that as inevitable). Rather, our challenge is capitalize on his implosion to recapture the American “center,” and bring it leftward back to the center.