Well, it's over.

Bill Schneider at CNN says that Senate Republicans resent Bush for his "clumsy" handling of Lottgate. (A couple of days ago, the message from Senate Republicans such as Orrin Hatch was, in the words of The New York Times, "butt out.")

But how is this possible? Six weeks ago, Bush was a god among men -- Lincolnesque as a war leader, stunningly successful as a risk-taking campaigner (for some of these very senators!). He was beloved. He was the future fifth face on Mount Rushmore. It was incontrovertible fact that everyone in America worshipped the guy.

Don't GOP senators tremble at his very name? After all, the rest of us do -- certainly everyone in the media has told us that we do in the wake of 9/11/01, and in the wake of 11/5/02.

So senators of his own party can slag Bush. Gosh -- does that mean the rest of us can, too?