Trust the government?

I'm not entirely sure what Keith Olbermann is trying to say with this segment (via the hit or miss Crooks and Liars site, they of predictable politics and dubious musical taste), but it does underscore the nagging suspicion that much of what our government feeds us either stems from incompetence or constitutes outright bullshit.

Frankly, things have seemed a little fishy from the start. The revelation that after the shoe bomber guy tried to light his feet on fire, the cigarette industry successfully lobbied to allow matches on flights (even though you're not allowed smoke on flights, or to light anything on fire, for that matter) perfectly revealed how corrupt our system is, even when national security is at stake. But Olbermann's hit parade is a strong reminder just how much we've endured from our semi-elected manure shovelers.

I’d wish President Job could run again just so I could not vote for him again, but I have a feeling he’d get elected a third time all the same. We live in a nation of passive idiots, run by devious opportunists and behind-the-scenes special interests. What troubles me is not that this administration is terribly different from that of any past administration. What troubles me is that more than any past administration, their decisions will prove destructive and dangerous for at least another generation, on a global scale

By the way, the Olbermann segment also highlights the weakness of our mass media, and their unwillingness or inability to speak truth to power. The stuff Olbermann brings up should have been brought up more persistantly as events transpired. Even now, with so many chinks in President Job's armor, the press plays patsy to the man holding the purse and puppet strings.