George W. Bush as Joe Six-Pack

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 08/11/2002 | Steve Kettmann

[Pokey78]

Ping

[Miss Marple]

This is such a nasty article that there are many things to comment upon.

I will choose one.

President Bush did not "insist" upon being center-stage at the Olympics. As head of state of the host country, it was his DUTY to open the games!

This guy who wrote this is a jerk.

[Numbers Guy]

a widespread sense of alarm in the general public about the direction in which the country is heading.

Yeah, sure . . . people are nervous about the economy, which is pretty common during a bear market, and will turn around by the end of the year. They're also nervous about future possible terrorist strikes, which they're certainly not blaming on Bush. There's no "sense of alarm".

He flashed a big thumbs-up sign, once he got out onto the mound in his New York Fire Department jacket, and popped catcher Jorge Posada's mitt with a solid pitch. People watching on live TV all over the world saw a man not just talking the talk about being confident and unbowed, but walking the walk. Everywhere, men turned to other men, also watching, nudged them in the ribs and said, "Not bad, " and felt in some way not easy to take away later that this was a man a lot like them. More than nine months later, this has been the public image Bush has worked hardest to project.

Or maybe, surprise surprise, this is the ACTUAL GEORGE W BUSH. Just possibly he IS a regular guy, comfortable in his own skin. It's just slightly possible that this is NOT an act, that this is simply who Dubya is . . .

Besides, you can't fake the pitch he threw at the World Series. He's the first politician I've ever seen who could throw a ceremonial first pitch right over the middle of the plate. Okay, Senator Jim Bunning probably could too . . .

[JoeSixPack1]

Cool :-) But being the original JSP, I wouldn't think of posting my 1 mile run time. :-)

[zarf]

He has turned himself into a kind of virtual sports-star- in-chief, and there is growing evidence to indicate this might have something to do with the disconnect between his continuing poll strength and a widespread sense of alarm in the general public about the direction in which the country is heading.

What a pathetic stretch of logic. The left is terrified.

[lsee]

It's easy to laugh, as many intelligent people do, when self-absorbed dweebs like Steve Kettmann make yet another half-witted effort to show how much he loves himself.

[cactusSharp]

I admit to reading every word .Here is what I read.
Symbalism over substance is the media game and here
comes a populist everyday joe President able to re-load
his own shotgun shells. Now how in hell can a demanding,
shaping, poll spewing, media ever hope to "fix" a statistic
spewing sports freak ? Is there no shame ? Now, know
what was so evident in this piece to me? When in hell
will the media allow sports folks write about sports?
My local Az Republic is the worst of the worst and local NBC"S Mark Curtis is flat unwatchable. Critical w/o a clue
in my opinion. Not one issue,discused from both sides was
even remotely mentioned by the writer,again a writer posing
as a sports writer no less

[Clara Lou]

This is just a lot of palaver. The author had a deadline and a certain number of words to come up with. This is it.

[arkady_renko]

When one mocks the President for torturing the English language, one shouldn't do this:

"Bush-Mays in '04? You heard it hear first."

Here, hear!

arkady

[BonnieJ]

Out-of-shape reporters everywhere are so jealous of him, this is now a big part of their negative focus...Pres. Bush's amazing health, discipline and physical abilities. And the way he relates so well to average Americans. They always turn the best of him into an insult, you can count on it happening over & over. Imagine if paunchy, phony Clinton had managed ANY of this! What would the coverage be like?

[marajade]

What exactly is this guy's complaint anyway? The fact that Bush likes baseball and is physically fit? I don't get it...

[marajade]

If Clinton had any of it we may not have had to suffer through Lewinsky for two years...

[Dark Wing]

A political analysis ping!

[section9]

Some of this piece is the product of liberal conventional wisdom, but as an insight into one of Bush's strategies, it is a good read.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[DeFault User]

Or maybe, surprise surprise, this is the ACTUAL GEORGE W BUSH. Just possibly he IS a regular guy, comfortable in his own skin. It's just slightly possible that this is NOT an act, that this is simply who Dubya is . . .

Well said. After witnessing years of posing, lip biting and crocodile tears from our Commander in Heat, some political pundits assume the "image" is the thing, not the real thing.

[linn37]

meoooow pfffffffft

[gunshy]

I know joe sixpack, he's been a friend of mine for years, and believe me, Bush is no joe sixpack.

[Fracas]

I didn't know Maureen Dowd was writing for the Chronicle under the name Steve Kettmann!

[alnick]

The author of this piece is extremely jealous of Bush's physical fitness. How pathetic.