Nancy Pelosi, you disappoint me.

On Monday, the House was ready to vote on the so-called “bailout bill” when our Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., decided to add one more point to the day.

“We have been hearing, I think, a very informed debate on all sides of this issues,” Pelosi nodded as she commended her Republican counterparts on their questioning contributions to the discussion — though I’m not sure how constructive it is to label the bill a move toward socialism, even if it is.

Unfortunately, her compliment to the rest of the House would have been better suited as an apology given what came out of her mouth next.

“$700 billion. A staggering number, but only a part of the cost of the failed Bush economic polices to our country.”

And there goes the intelligent debate.

In one of the most chaotic points in our country’s history, our elected officials gathered in a show of bipartisanship — strained as it may be — and took the time to debate and devise a solution to the Wall Street domino effect brought on by the subprime mortgage crisis. And at the height of the discussion, our Speaker decided to throw a hissy fit about George W. Bush.

The American people are no longer just sick of the Bush policies, they’re sick of hearing about him. Our current president may be the most overexposed, overanalyzed and overdone individual on the face of the planet. Hell, when people start writing books comparing the man to the character of Prince Hal in “Henry IV”, it’s pretty obvious we’re digging a little too deep into a public figure’s psyche.

The intense amount of interest is understandable, don’t get me wrong. Our nation has been transfigured into a twisted heap of forgotten freedoms, corrupt public officials and confused ideals. I don’t think that’s really the result of Bush alone, but he certainly has a role to play. Then our presidential hopefuls threw his moribund presidency onto the funeral pyre and exchanged damning words as some cathartic attempts at change.

But with the failure of Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers and the near game-ending pitfall AIG found itself in — which, frankly, was the only possible failure to merit panicked “Great Depression” invocations — these political positions “change” and “reform” hold all the weight of a Pamela Anderson marriage announcement.

Change is not coming; it’s already here, and it’s about to destroy our current way of life. In times like these, visionaries and idealists are not needed, dispassionate pragmatists are.

Which is why the Bush invocation derails any conception of progress. Was Bush to blame for our current crisis? Partly. But it doesn’t matter anymore. If you want an administration figure to point the figure at, choose Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson — he has far more to do with keeping this country afloat than Bush at this point. And even in that sense, he’s more representative of the Wall Street boogieman than any neo-conservative specters of American arrogance.

Last night, the Senate passed a revised version of the bailout bill — now referred to as a “recovery” act; I guess billions of tax cuts change the meaning — and the House is expected to vote on the measure come Friday.

However, one thing is clear: In the time between now and when the bill hits Bush’s desk, I don’t want to hear another word about him. From Pelosi, from the Democrats, from the Republicans, from the media, anyone. Until we can inject some tranquilizers into our economic entropy, we have no president. There is only chaos-in-chief.

But for good measure, don’t mention him after that either. Barack Obama may want to point to John McCain as continuing Bush’s policies, but he’s got to supply his own. The same goes with McCain. Pointing out the source of our current crisis might help us solve it, but not if the policy that damned us is obscured by our distaste for Texan-by-way-of-Connecticut whose personality is more suited for a sitcom than the White House.

Because with our current situation, we shouldn’t be waiting for Bush to step down; we should be demanding that someone stand up.

I’m sure he’s praying for the same thing.

Jason Smathers ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in history and journalism.