Posted on 05/02/2005 8:23:14 AM PDT by areafiftyone
First Lady Laura Bush may have stolen the show with her surprise comedy routine at this weekend's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, but her jokes and one-liners have made her no new friends among conservative Christians. In an official statement, one 'pro-family' advocacy group warned that Mrs. Bush's jokes at the President's expense were in violation of the Biblical command that wives respect their husbands.
Some shocked by Mrs. Bush's reference to herself as a "desperate housewife"
WASHINGTON, DC—The First Lady may have stolen the show with her surprise comedy routine at the 91st White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, but not everyone appreciated her jokes and one-liners poking fun at President Bush. At least one organization of conservative Christians quickly lashed out at Mrs. Bush's performance, warning that her remarks at the President's expense were a public refutation of the Biblical command that wives should respect their husbands.
According to an official statement released over the weekend by the Coalition for Traditional Values, an organization that seeks a more flexible relationship between church and state, Mrs. Bush's jokes at her husband's expense amounted to a public emasculation of the President. Pastor Roy DeLong, the statement's author and chair of the group, warns that the First Lady's performance comes at a time when the Mr. Bush's "manliness is already under attack."
Laura: Meet Ephesians
As a believer, President Bush is no doubt familiar with the passage from Ephesians that says 'Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands, as unto the Lord,'" says Mr. DeLong. "That means that just as Christ is the head of the church, the husband is the head of the wife. That is not the
Mrs. Bush interrupted a speech being given by her husband at the annual dinner, remarking that "I have a few things I want to say for a change." She then proceeded to mock his performance, both public ("if you really want to end tyranny in the world, you're going to have to stay up later") and private, noting that by nine o'clock, Mr. Bush, whom she referred to as "Mr. Excitement," is typically sound asleep.
"One of the Proverbs says that 'a virtuous woman is a crown to her husband, but she that maketh him ashamed is as rottenness in his bones," notes Mr. DeLong. "I bet President Bush is feeling pretty rotten today."
Manliness in question
The rebuke to the First Lady's stand-up act comes on the heels of mounting concern about the President's image. Last week, Mr. Bush was seen holding hands with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Then the President raised eyebrows anew when he asked a crowd of supporters in Galveston, TX if they celebrated Splash Day, an annual gay pride event in that state, best known for attracting tens of thousands of buff men, wearing little more than suntan oil.
Even some members of Mr. Bush's famously loyal party looked askance at his recommendation during a speech on the nation's energy needs last week, when he encouraged Americans to consider driving hybrid vehicles, widely believed to be 'gay' cars.
Depraved housewives?
While the Coalition for Traditional Values was the first conservative advocacy group to jump on the First Lady's comments, more criticism is expected. In her remarks, Mrs. Bush likened herself to a desperate housewife, a reference to the hit show on ABC, noting that she watches the show with Lynne Cheney, wife of the Vice President.
"Desperate Housewives" has come under heavy fire from pro-family groups, including the American Decency Association, which has called for a boycott of ABC for airing the "degraded" show. Last fall, Mrs. Cheney asked the federal government to step in to protect the nation's children from the "Desperate Housewives."
"Desperate Housewives" has come under heavy fire from pro-family groups, including the American Decency Association, which has called for a boycott of ABC for airing the "degraded" show. Last fall, Mrs. Cheney asked the federal government to step in to protect the nation's children from the "Desperate Housewives."
You won't catch me watching THAT trash.
"In an official statement, one 'pro-family' advocacy group warned that Mrs. Bush's jokes at the President's expense were in violation of the Biblical command that wives respect their husbands."
One pro advocacy group eh...awfully unspecific, that could be anybody including some wacked out fringe group predciting the rapture this Friday. That is if the author didn't just plain make it up.
I guess the offensive part just went over my head.
This is a bunch of, well, you know. I'm a conservatice Christian and I thought she was very funny. Just something else to try and make the Christians look like a bunch of prudes. Sorry - we know better!
I only heard the "Mr. Excitement" comment and the "stay up later than 9 o'clock if you're going to rid the world of anarchy" comment but I didn't find anything offensive and I'd like to think I am a pretty conservative guy...to the contrary, I thought Laura Bush was very funny! She can certainly give "one liners" better than Leno!(of course that's not saying much...my cat gives better "one liners" LOL)
And THAT is a distinct possibility.
I have a feeling this article was written as a parody.
Part of the humor is the "irony" of the comments. It was great. G.W. is a very lucky man!
The pdf linked says it was written by "Pastor Roy DeLong, Chairman, Coalition for Traditional Values". But Roy DeLong is not the Chairman of the TVC-- that is Rev. Lou Sheldon.
I know this all too well because somehow I got on their email list and get spammed with all of their press releases and fundraising appeals-- and I can't get off the list. And I get mail from Sheldon just about every day accordingly.
And I did not get any such release in my email.
A google Search of "Roy DeLong" and "Coalition for Traditional Values" yeilds only a few hits, none of which show any indication that DeLong is part of the TVC leadership. A search on "Roy DeLong" and "Traditional Values Coalition" yields nothing.
There are a couple of links on the webpage to these websites and their quotes but I didn't want to post the links. If you go on the website you will see the links. These groups are a bunch of weenies!
The television show deserves criticism and I have read criticism from the left as well as the right. Laura's jokes were jokes and should not be taken seriously. This reminds me of the left and their tirade against Ann Coulter's humor, calling it "hate speech." What do you do with someone who has no sense of humor?
"I'm sorry, but these people need to lighten up they sound like nuts!"
They are nuts.
Just another attempt to develop a wedge issue.
See above.
Nobody can create a wedge issue like advocacy groups. IMHO Mrs. Bush only violated the command if the President had no idea what she was going to say and was embarassed by it. Knowing W. as little as I do, he probably howled.
Not the kinds of jokes I would have necessarily told, but no reason to bash the First Lady. However, the picture of Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Chippendales did leave me a little nausious (sp?).
Shalom.
Actually they could have asked me. I'm a conservative Christian and I didn't find them funny but rather crass and something I would have expected at a Clinton dinner.
Can't really use that one, the Dems don't claim to have any class. If you don't claim to have any, nobody gets upset if you don't.
However, I see no problem with what the First Lady did, as long as her husband was not ambushed by it. I am sure he howled during the practice sessions.
Shalom.
She then proceeded to mock his performance, both public ("if you really want to end tyranny in the world, you're going to have to stay up later") and private, noting that by nine o'clock, Mr. Bush, whom she referred to as "Mr. Excitement," is typically sound asleep.
Now that is some funny stuff!
Why can't these prudes find something really indecent to protest?
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