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May 03, 2005
Tierney: Laura Bush Does Comedy
John Tierney has a little fun with Laura Bush's boffo comedy performance at a dinner on Saturday night.
Mrs. Bush's performance, and her husband's reaction, wasn't a shock to the reporters who cover the White House. For years they have tried to convince their friends outside Washington that Mr. Bush is actually not a close-minded dolt, and Mrs. Bush is no Stepford Wife or Church Lady. Yes, they're Texans who go to church and preach family values, but they're not yahoos or religious zealots.
Talking about the people who move to Red States, Tierney notes:
They're not moving for the churches, and they don't vote for Mr. Bush simply because he reads the Bible every day. One of the main reasons they like him is that he gets bashed so often. When Jon Stewart sneers at him, they empathize because they're used to being sneered at themselves.
They know what their image is in Manhattan and Hollywood, and they know they're not all that different from the Democrats in those places. They, too, watch "Desperate Housewives," and they're not surprised to hear Laura Bush doing Chippendales jokes. They've spent their own dollar bills there. They don't see anything the matter with that - or with themselves.
That's note-perfect. One of the reasons the Democrats turn off much of America is their snide attitude towards America and Americans, which is only leavened a bit every four years as they once again try to "get" religion.
Other Voices: The misnamed "Best of the Blogs" says Tierney has crossed a line: (Sorry, permalinks are busted over there, scroll down to "Hack")
There is a thin line between being a columnist who makes passionate arguments supported by facts and simply being a partisan hack. All journalists know where the line is. Paul Krugman respects it. George Will respects it. William Safire respected it.
Heheh. Krugman's not a partisan hack, he's just making passionate arguments? Please!
Trey Jackson has the video if you'd like to judge the First Lady's performance for yourself.
The Greatest Jeneration thought it was a scream.
Michelle Malkin decries the Wonketteization of the First Lady. I'll be charitable and assume that she's going by second hand accounts. After watching the whole clip I'd say it's somewhere between "G" and "PG"; pretty much harmless and only mildy suggestive. A lot of people seem to assume that "he tried milking the horse, and it was a male horse" joke is about masturbation (indeed, the response of the audience indicated that was their interpretation). But of course male mammals have nipples too. And anyway, milking the wrong type of animal (or the wrong gender) is almost a cliche about "city slickers". I'd be willing to bet you that joke was used in Green Acres on more than one occasion.
Posted by pat at May 3, 2005 09:40 AM
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