I thought he had a lot of potential coming in. He was a doctor from the outside world. He said a lot of good things and had good ideas. But however good his intentions were, he has screwed up - a lot.
He was better than Byrne. But Prowler would have been better than Byrne, too.
Bentley's failings?
A) Hard core Bama fan. He acts like the most arrogant worst of them. Sadly I think that like them, he honestly believes the sanctimonious shit he spews.
2) Pandering. As soon as things get tough, he starts thumping the Bible. He's very narrow-minded when it comes to religion. No offense to the Baptists here, but he reminds me of almost every old south Baptist deacon I've ever met. Full of talk about God, Jesus and salvation but personally deeply flawed.
X) Sexual frustration. He came to power as the state's grandfather. He had his dowdy wife in tow and probably hadn't had sex in a decade or more. Then all of a sudden there was this:
Enter that power-thirsty thing on the left. In it's mad quest for power it was willing to wriggle in his lap, blow the wrinkles out or whatever. Could honestly have been nothing more than a few whispers and a casual touch, just enough to get blood pumping where it hadn't been since Wallace was governor.
That ugly old fuck was done for. I can't really fault him for that. I've seen many men lose their minds in that same pointless pursuit. Hell, I enrolled in and attended classes at the University of Alabama, turning down scholarships to much better schools because my head, heart and joystick were all full of a girl. We've all done stupid things for a woman.
His problem is that he could think of nothing else but her. He let her control things out of fear of losing her. If he had any sense at all he would have known he was going to lose her anyway.
What's amazing to me is the audacity. He's so smitten he really doesn't care what happens. He plows ahead defiantly. He honestly thinks that God is guiding him and that the people of this state love, adore and want him to remain as their political and spiritual leader. Again, no offense, but this is textbook Bama Baptist elder caught at some nefarious activity. "A'hm SAWWWRY. I'm a human and I done give in to temptation. I asked my Lord and Savior to forgive me and I could feel His love radiating. I am so blessed to be loved by a forgiving God. I will work hard to repair <insert damage here> and be a better man, walking in the grace and light of our Lord." And then go right back to whatever it was. Fucking. Stealing. Lying. Whatever.
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