Tucked in the back of Sunday's Washington Post Magazine was the usual humor column by Gene Weingarten, devoted this week to allegedly feeling sorry for George W. Bush's low standing in public opinion, then relishing the idea of anti-Bush feeling in every single area of the newspaper, such as the horoscope:
Cancer (June 22-July 22)
Hold your head high. It is not your fault that you share an astrological sign with the president of the United States, who is, appropriately enough, a malignancy.
It's a satire, but there are days when it almost matches the bias of The Washington Post in weird sections like Food or Travel. Weingarten also borrowed from CBS's Charles Osgood in using Dr. Seuss as a model for conservative-bashing, as he imagined a Bush-bashing children's book:
...Then out of the box came Thing One and Thing Two,
And Sally and I did not know what to do!
They knocked Sally down, and she fell on her tush.
"I'm Cheney," said one. Said the other, "I'm Bush."
They attacked our four feet, with stompings and bites.
First they chewed on our lefts, then they trampled our rights!
They found Mother's money and flushed it away!
If we go to college, NOW how will we pay?
They smashed up our dishes, our toys and our bikes!
Our globe was on fire, and the golf bag Dad likes!
The mess they were making was torture to see,
"Torture is good," they told Sally and me...
That's mildly clever, but it feels more like a liberal partisan venting than humor. It ends with Hints from Heloise going postal on the President:
Dear Heloise: We have an ugly bush in front of our house. We had high hopes when we planted it there six years ago, but it has gone completely out of control and become an embarrassment. All the neighbors are talking about it and wondering why we haven't removed it. It's reflecting badly on my whole family. What's the best way to get rid of this unsightly, horrible thing? -- H.C.E., San Antonio, Tex.
Dear H.C.E.: This is a tricky one. Bushes can be really stubborn, and terribly resistant to removal. You need to buy several peach trees and plant them around the bush, creating an imprisonment or impoundment by peach trees. Technically, this is called im-peaching a bush. ARE YOU LISTENING, PEOPLE? DOES HELOISE HAVE TO DRAW A LITTLE CRAYON PICTURE FOR YOU?
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Nice post that again highligh
April 16, 2007 - 08:26 ET by jondelwicheNice post that again highlights the new paradigm: Dems love polling, not elections. The reality conundrum is that Bill Clinton never got close to 50 million votes on election day, but was a poll powerhouse, while W went over 60 million in 2004 and is a poll dud. How dare he stand up to Pelosi who roared back into office with her , uh, 130,000 votes........I think it helps Dems sanity to wrap themselves in those cozy polls by their media friends, but 1994 and 2004 showed that elections can be stunning and do matter. Conversely, the 2006 election " tidal wave!" has changed what? Reality can be harsh, as Imus and his liberal journalist friends (again) just learned.thanks for posting this column: the strained humor reveals their frustration.
Low popularity? You mean li
April 16, 2007 - 08:38 ET by MidAmericaLow popularity?
You mean like the fall and eventual demise of most if not all print news media?
And yet, Al Gore may have pop
April 16, 2007 - 08:59 ET by ucAnd yet, Al Gore may have popularity, as well as Hillary, and yet their policy proposals wouldn't help the economy or keep the world gaining more freedom.
Go figure.
For the record I am pro-improving our environment and cutting greenhouse gases and even canvassed door to door for months on such in 1991-1992. I still though see that Bush's priorities are sufficient at this time while government funded at Universities studies move forward and markets moves businesses towards such. If such is as dire as Gore proposses an whole different approach than his would be called for >> maybe even an international fleet of nuclear powered "chiller" submarines cruising under the polar ice caps.
Also, as a past general contractor and home improvement contractor I have known of and recommended and installed energy saving products for past near twenty years.
These examples are not satir
April 16, 2007 - 09:30 ET by mattmThese examples are not satire. Satire has irony, this stuff is merely low-grade psuedo-humor; one tiny notch above bathroom wall graffiti.
They would make good satire, if they weren't real, but were merely example of the unmitigated hatred and childishness of the Left.
BTW - Bush's "low standing" is directly related to this kind of insulting crap he's had to endure since the 2000 campaign. Clinton would have been gone in 1995 if the media treated him the way they treat Bush.
mattm - I had the same thou
April 16, 2007 - 09:51 ET by Dee Bunkmattm - I had the same thought - how juvenile – Shouldn’t making fun of someone’s name at least end by high school? I bet the schoolyard bullies are glad to have supposed adults to their dirty work so that they can make fun of any kids with the last name Bush now and they can feel proud that their bullying tactics are admired and condoned by adults.
I’m sure all Cancer’s appreciate that any juvenile person could call them a malignancy.
To these people I say – he’s rubber and you’re glue what ever you say bounces off him and sticks to you.
My friend passed away last we
April 16, 2007 - 09:55 ET by Gat New YorkMy friend passed away last week of cancer and he was born in July which made him a cancer sign. Words are a very powerful tool when used prudently and effectively. But they can be a vicious as a knife cutting through you if the communicator uses them irresponsibly or does not understand their menaing.
Gat - I'm so sorry about yo
April 16, 2007 - 10:18 ET by Dee BunkGat - I'm so sorry about your friend. It is vicious. My mom died of Cancer and was also born under Cancer. It was about 20 yrs ago and I was a teenager. Back then there were still people who thought it was contagious. I have some really bad memories all the way around about it and ignorant comments like this offend me. Or when people like Rosie O'Donnell, who could not hold a candle to the amazing person my mother was, say that bad people get cancer; it makes me wish that something bad would happen to her (not really but she really needs to be taken off the air). These people are so unbelievably insensitive.
it's definitely more important
April 16, 2007 - 10:22 ET by tumbler_2007No doubt this kind of abuse is more malicious by far when it affects our body politic and the honor of our President;
But curiously enough, this is now common everywhere in this Gen X society. Juvenile snot passing for enlightened humor; under every rock another C student being Coo-wul.
Don't we see it right here daily? --Lame insults tossed off with what the gag-writer believes is "flair," -- ? ? ? We see many gross attempts in NewsBuster's Blogs; not from the hosts, but by our participating hate-mongers. They have become numerous and bolder. God save us from unceasing banality.