BLOCK THAT METAPHOR

Lead paragraphs of Richard Brookhiser's current column in The New York Observer:

In 2001, scientists exploring murky river bottoms in Indonesia found a new creature, the mimic octopus, normally a bland, brown mollusk about two feet long. But by manipulating its tentacles and changing color, it can imitate deadly sea snakes and lionfish.

The two Democratic Party resolutions on Iraq that the Senate rejected last week were mimic octopuses, efforts to imitate a foreign policy. But perhaps Team Bush is also a mimic octopus, promising us a war on terror while leading us into uncertainty instead.

A mimic octopus? I don't think that's what Team Bush is. What's the sea creature that, when attacked, goes after its attacker, then gets bored and goes after some completely unrelated creature, gets pummeled, winds up beached on the shore, and uses all this as a sexual display? What creature is that? That's what Team Bush is. I'm sure I'll think of the name eventually.