Good Lord...

Bush-Derangement Syndrome season is definitely in full swing (again). Some of these folks might not make it past the elections without a visit to the happy home if the democrats don't win some seats.

For instance, you may recall that Bush recently gave a speech and suggested the current chaos in Iraq would one day be seen as a "comma" along the road to an eventual democracy. A few netrooters seized on that remark:

And a lively Internet debate has broken out about the origins of the phrase, with some speculating that Bush means it as a coded message to religious supporters, evoking the aphorism "Never put a period where God has put a comma."

Too bad that's not in the Bible, nor even in current conservative evangelical lexicon. As the WaPo points out, it's modern origination was Gracie Allen:

But it turns out that the phrase "never put a period" originated not with a Christian conservative figure or biblical passage but with Gracie Allen, the comedienne wife of George Burns. And the phrase is a favorite not of the religious right but of the religious left. The United Church of Christ, which is devoted to fighting for what it calls social justice and opposes the war, adopted the phrase in January 2002.

Turns out the Agonist Blog started the fire, suggesting Bush sprinkled his speeches with secret code words only evangelicals would understand. Maybe Bush is trying to trigger a special jihad from the Church of Christ, or perhaps signal undercover double agent Pastor Barry Lynn?

Keep in mind the last time Bush was accused of passing secret messages was when he used the "hook em horns" gesture for the University of Texas. Some folks attributed it to a satanic gesture, setting up Bush as both el Diablo and an evangelical at the same time.

Let's see if the WaPo story triggers a correction from the Agonist, especially since he seems to have such high regard for WaPo honcho Bob Woodward (now that he's come back hard to port).