This is a scathing attack?

Via Drudge.

Funnyman Robin Williams has launched a scathing attack on President George W. Bush and his decision to go ahead with war on Iraq.

The "One Hour Photo" actor also criticizes what he sees as his country's mixed messages when it comes to national security.

He says, "America is broke, basically, but Bush wants to wage a war that costs pretty much a billion dollars a month.

America is broke? Well, I agree that this economy is not the one we had in 1998, but it is hardly the Great Depression. In 1932, we were broke. Now? No. Certainly we are in better economic shape than we were at the beginning of World War II. And Williams' proposed alternative is ... Well, he doesn't say. He says we can't afford the war, but doesn't discuss the cost of not replacing Hussein. He doesn't say what we should do, only that we can't afford to do what we are doing.

"We have a president for whom English is a second language.

The gibe about Bush's oratory has become commonplace. The man is no Reagan, when it comes to public speaking. But then, Reagan needed a script. Did you ever see him answer questions at a press conference? It was awful, with a few exceptional one liners, like "I'm paying for this microphone." Clinton was a far better speaker, in both scripted and especially contemporaneous situations. But being a good speaker doesn't mean the proposals you are speaking about are automatically good. Come on, Robin, if you want us to agree with you, give us something besides old and irrelevant sarcastic comments.

He's like 'We have to get rid of dictators,' but he's pretty much one himself.

Just how is Bush a "pretty much" a dictator? Can we have some specifics, please? Is Williams a candidate for the plastic shredder? Is the FBI about to arrest him for dissing Dubya? And, by the way, does Williams not want to "get rid of dictators"?

"In America, we have orange alert, but what the hell does that mean? We're supposed to be afraid of Krishna? Of orange sorbet?

I'm no fan of the color coding, either, but I haven't heard any suggestions concerning what should be done to keep the nation aware of the likelihood of another terrorist attack, either instead of or in addition to instead of the existing system. Williams certainly provides no guidance on the matter.

Then it's like, 'You can't go out and shop, it's too dangerous out there,' but if that happens then the economy falls.

Only two or three paragraphs ago, we were told that the economy had already failed. We're broke, remember? And of course, I haven't heard any Bush administration representative say it was too dangerous to go out and shop, much less Bush himself.

"The message is so mixed: 'Be afraid, but not too afraid.'"

Actually, I think the message from the beginning of the color coded threat level system has been "Be alert, but don't be afraid." In announcing the system, the press release stated, "At all Threat Conditions, we must remain vigilant, prepared, and ready to deter terrorist attacks." And while I don't know how much help it will be to have 300 million Americans being "alert," I certainly don't think it will do any harm.

I like Robin Williams. I find him hilarious, and I have for years. I think he is an excellent "serious" actor, as well. But, if this "scathing attack" was intended to be funny, I have to tell you, it didn't even make me crack a smile, much less laugh. And if it was intended to be a serious criticism of the Bush administration, then Williams seems to be completely out of ideas for solving the problems he is complaining about. And that is not funny, either.

I think I made the right choice when I stopped taking political advice from show biz types, and that was when Jane Fonda went to Hanoi.