In what may seem a curious turn of events, Bob Woodward, who wrote two suck-up books that fawned over the Bush administration, has now turned, in his latest tome, State of Denial, on his Bush buddies. Perhaps it's not so curious, after all.

We have long predicted that the powers behind the curtain may have had it with George W. Bush & Co., and even the Torture Republicans who control Congress. The scandals that are popping up like mushrooms just ahead of the mid-term elections -- from the National Intelligence Estimate, Musharraf's claim the US threatened to bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age if it didn't aid Bush's "war on terror," the revelations about Mark Foley's sexual come-ons to teenage male House pages, to Woodward's book -- may be signals of big changes ahead.

Woodward, a former naval intelligence officer turned journalist, made his name, along with Carl Bernstein, by uncovering the Watergate scandal (or as the late Sherman Skolnick claimed was the courier for those who wanted to overthrow Richard Nixon, short of assassinating him). In any event, Woodward is the consummate Washington insider and, if there is any truth in his having had a hand in bringing Nixon down, who better to turn to in bringing down the Bush II administration?

Before you break out the champagne, there are some things to consider.

First, why do the people who were instrumental in helping Bush seize the White House and the most extreme element of the GOP gain control of Congress want both gone now, when they have profited the most? Have they had a stroke of conscience? Do they realize if they push for more wealth for themselves at the expense of the people, the whole system will collapse? Are they fearful that the psychopaths in the administration can't prevent the psychopath-in-chief, whose mental state is at the breaking point, from pulling some catastrophic stunt, such as slinging nukes at Iran or North Korea? Or have they decided it's time to put the other branch of the Money Party in power, the Democrats, so it can take the blame when the whole house of cards comes tumbling down?

Second, bear in mind that it is the people behind the curtain who control the electronic voting machines that some 80 percent of the electorate will use this year. Given the past three stolen elections, if the Wimpy Democrats defeat the Torture Republicans on November 7, how can the voters be sure it was by their votes and not machines rigged to guarantee the outcome?

Undoubtedly, diehard Democrats and even sane Republicans will cheer at "their victory."

But the Grand Old Torture Party-controlled lame duck Congress can do much damage between November 8 and January. Moreover, who's to say the Democrats would clean up Congress and the White House, commence impeachment proceedings, undue all the damage of the past decades, restore our stolen liberties, reinstitute the constitutionally mandated system of checks and balances, and end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the bogus "war on terror?" After all, the Democrats blew it when they failed to impeach Ronald Reagan and Poppy Bush for Iran-contra, with the lame excuse that they "couldn't put the country through that again" -- as if we were little children who didn't have the intellect and maturity to deal with criminals.

Also remember, the more desperate Bush becomes, which is shown by his increasing bellicosity, the more dangerous he becomes. Plus, October is a long way from over and Karl "Rasputin" Rove has promised a surprise.