Hate The Bushes If You Like But Mind How You Do It

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 12-6-2003 | Alec Russell

[blam]

Hate the Bushes if you like but mind how you do it

By Alec Russell
(Filed: 06/12/2003)

Many in Europe believe that America after September 11 will not brook an angry word against George W Bush. Well, those days are now over - at least as long as you follow American etiquette in how to hate a president.

Mr Bush on the Time cover

Denouncing Mr Bush is the latest trend to dominate the talk shows. This week the anger industry moved into new territory with the launch of Michigan's equivalent of the "Calendar Girls".

"Babes Against Bush" is a pin-up calendar whose pictures are to be accompanied by lists of Mr Bush's "mistakes and manglings of the truth".

"Sure it's not quite politically correct, but what better way is there to get guys to notice that the president is a bozo," said one of the participants, Eleanor Vast-Binder.

This is not just the whimsy of some sassy Michigan liberals. Time magazine, the grand and ever so slightly ponderous weekly news bible, gave its blessing to the trend in its latest issue.

Its cover has a picture of Mr Bush with a lipstick kiss on his right cheek and a badly bruised left eye. "Love Him! Hate Him!" says the headline. "Why George Bush arouses such passion, and what it means for the country."

Of course most Americans have better things to do this weekend than surf the internet to order their calendar. This is primarily a phenomenon of the West and East coasts, those traditional strongholds of anti-Republican sentiment.

Polls suggest a majority thinks Mr Bush is doing a good job and his personal ratings are even higher - the critical factor for any president.

But the nation is clearly polarised. Mr Bush's grin is either a heart-warming reminder that the nation is in safe hands or a smirk that embodies all that is weaselly and moronic about the man in charge.

In a sign of the mood, Gertrude Jones, an 81-year-old from New Orleans, decided she did not want wreaths or cards when she died. Instead her obituary message asked for donations "to any organisation that seeks the removal of George Bush from office".

The anger is fuelled by a welter of factors: frustration at Mr Bush's lingering popularity, resentment about the desperately-close 2000 election and indignation at his uncompromising policies at home and abroad, in particular his tax cuts and the war in Iraq.

It is a little disingenuous of Republicans to raise their eyebrows. Liberals are merely apeing the anti-Clinton fury that consumed conservatives in the Nineties. In recent weeks the Clinton-era anti-liberal rants have been supplanted on the best-seller lists by tirades against the administration.

The titles "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - A Fair and Balanced Look At The Right" or "Bushwhacked" tell you all you need to know.

But as Democrat activists found this week, it may now be OK to "feel" the hatred, but you have to be careful how you express it.

A Hollywood gathering billed by one of its organisers as a "Hate Bush" rally backfired badly after it was leaked. She had forgotten the golden rule of politics: denounce the policies, but mind how you treat the president, he is the father of the nation.

"We do not hate George Bush. I never used the word Hate Bush," the organisers said with clenched teeth at a hastily staged press conference, as Republicans huffed and puffed about "hate speech" and the affront to national dignity.

It is no surprise that the depiction of Mr Bush as a Frankenstein's monster on the cover of one of the most successful anti-Bush books, The Great Unravelling, is only on the British edition.

You only had to watch Thursday's gooey coverage on the networks of the First Lady previewing the White House Christmas decorations to understand the Democrats' difficulty.

The Bushes come across as the all-American presidential couple - hate them by all means, but mind how you do it.

[sinkspur]

My wife is begging me to take her to London next year, but I think I'll wait until 2005, after Bush is re-elected, so I can shove the fact up these limey's asses!

[Paul Atreides]

This is primarily a phenomenon of the West and East coasts, those traditional strongholds of anti-Republican sentiment.

As well as anti-America, anti-family, anti-Christian, anti-white male, etc.

[Kozak]

I wonder how many at the "Hate Bush" Rally arrived in their Suv's with "Hate is not a Family Value" stickers on the bumper?

[cleochatra]

"Babes Against Bush" is a pin-up calendar whose pictures are to be accompanied by lists of Mr Bush's "mistakes and manglings of the truth".


Shouldn't it be renamed to "Boobs against truth", and feature photos of Barbara Boxer, Tom Daschle and Hillary Clinton instead?

We could fix the pixellation on Hillary's privates so that they don't hang lower than Daschle's.

[Wait4Truth]

Just to show how low the RATS will go, over on DU they have an animated picture of Jesus Christ slapping President Bush in the face over and over again. It's sickening.

[rocksblues]

I listened to Sean Hannity interviewing Babe Ms. November and she freaked out when he asked her who the Vice-President was. She was a typical moron, she just kept repeating the same thing over and over like she was reading from a script. Sort of the same way that the morons at Verizon speak when you try to call in a trouble with your phone line. Ms. November didn't hate Bush but was against him because she kept getting turned down for health insurance coverage for a supposed pre-existing condition for her daughter. Yeah that's his fault I mean he is pro Big-Business and all. LOL

[Arpege92]

My hubby was watching an interview of one of those tramps from "Babes Against Bush" and when asked if she knew who the vice president of the United States was....she admitted that she didn't! I was a little glad that she admitted this, but I also thought she was real stupid.

[Jackson Brown]

This week the anger industry moved into new territory with the launch of Michigan's equivalent of the "Calendar Girls". --- "Babes Against Bush" is a pin-up calendar whose pictures are to be accompanied by lists of Mr Bush's "mistakes and manglings of the truth".

On Hannity today, he interviewed a "Babe" (against Bush). After she told about the calendar, Hannity asked here a couple questions, like "who is the Vice-president". Her answer was "do you mean the vice-president of the calendar company?". "No, I mean the Vice-president of the United States". The "babe" quickly, turned and talked to someone in the room with her...said what Hannity asked and then said, I "better not talk to him, I don't know the answer, I'm just a girl who posed for the picture and he's trying to fool me into saying something" (or pretty close to this).

A riot!

[tbpiper]

Eleanor Vast-Binder

Is that her name or are they talking her underwear? On another note, if see were reduced by 50%, would she be Eleanor Half-Vast-Binder?

[sinkspur]

I'll take your word for it; I've never been to DU.

[jwalsh07]

But the nation is clearly polarised.

Undoubtedly, it's us against the assholes.

[StatesEnemy]

We could fix the pixellation on Hillary's privates so that they don't hang lower than Daschle's.

There doesn't exist a graphics software package to even approximate such a transformation.

[Dog Gone]

My wife is begging me to take her to London next year, but I think I'll wait until 2005

Go next year only if you want to pay out the nose because of the currency exchange rates.

It's at least 50% more expensive than it was three years ago.

[Wait4Truth]

I don't blame you. I just go there to see what the enemy is saying. The RAT talking points are displayed there daily.

[Happy2BMe]

[Frank_2001]

Bimbos Against Bush is more like it...of course these are the type of trashbags that would be on their knees for Beelzebubba in a New York minute! Why even pollute the airwaves by giving them an interview?

[spookycc]

Thanks a lot!

spook wipes diet pop from monitor. :-)

[rocksblues]

You are right! But then again the more these moron's are heard by the so called independents the better for Bush.