General Bethlehem in The Times

Paul Villarreal, The Protocol's favorite delusional PUMA general, is at it again, getting his name dropped in the NYT as part of a new generation of freelance dirty tricksters. The Gray Lady soft-pedals his achievements, though, calling them a "harsh series of spots that attack Obama and make some claims that have been widely debunked." He is, in fact, batshit crazy:

My adversaries rightly fear me. They constantly seek to marginalize me and they expend vast amounts of energy trying to get others to ignore me. Because my foes cannot hope to compete with me head-to-head, theirs is a sound strategy and one I have become used to over the years. I imagine Custer, similarly, had a gameplan heading into Little Bighorn. This is how I feel about my opponents' tactics. I don't concern myself much with what they do and instead focus on what I need to execute vis-a-vis my own battle plans.

The labored military metaphors, the sense of destiny and entitlement, the evidence of a somewhat sad life spent dreaming of martial glory . . . you could only make this shit up in one of the worst movies of all time:

GEN. BETHLEHEM

If he wishes to rise above mere thuggery, a military commander must be classically educated. Philosophy, history. Even a sense of the dramatic. (a beat) Do you know what I did before the war? Do you think I was in the army? I sold copying machines. I was a salesman. The talent to lead men and devise and execute a battle plan were locked away inside me. If Nathan Holn hadn't come along, I'd still be selling copying machines. Can you imagine the wasted life? Can you imagine the magnitude of it? But war... War gives men like me a chance.

What's stranger, this clown making the Times or dozens of studio executives watching The Postman and saying, yeah, that's pretty good, audiences will love it? Only The Protocol knows.

The October Protocol hands out hope like candy from its pockets.