"President Bush is resting comfortably in Bethesda Naval Hospital"?

[steuard]

During lunch today I caught up on the Onion for the past week or two. I've been trying to figure out whether there's any deeper meaning behind a series of news briefs from the past few months:

• Bush Tumbles Wildly Down Washington Monument Staircase
• Crocodile Bites Off Bush's Arm
• Bush Passes Three-Pound Kidney Stone
• Bush Dragged Behind Presidential Motorcade For 26 Blocks
• Bush's Eyelid Accidentally Nailed To Wall
• Single-Engine Cessna Crashes Into Bush

Is the President supposed to be suicidal? Targeted by assassins? Incompetent? Suffering from bad karma? Or is all this just some sort of wish fulfillment?

Edit: New today: Spider Eggs Hatch In Bush's Brain.

Comments

[jminnis.livejournal.com]

Wish fulfillment.

It will be interesting to see how similar articles are taken by supporters of Obama. To date, he hasn't really been roasted by many comedians.

[nemene.livejournal.com]

I predict there will not be anywhere near as many about Obama.

[steuard.livejournal.com]

Well of course there won't be anywhere near as many about Obama, at least until and unless he has a few years of "failure" under his belt (as perceived by the public at large, rightly or wrongly). I mean, Bush's approval rating is near historic lows right now, right? That's presumably the impetus for much of the nastiest commentary and satire out there.

Come to think of it, I predict there will not be anywhere near as many about Obama, either. :)

[jminnis.livejournal.com]

Thing is, every Presidential candidate that I can remember got roasted by comedians before the election. To date, they've avoided seriously making fun of Obama, probably in some part due to the fact that anyone whose Obama humor was off key was labeled a racist (rather than not funny, which is how people who missed Bush, McCain, Palin, ... were labeled).

[steuard.livejournal.com]

Maybe I just didn't follow enough comedians to recognize the trend. I recall the Onion having a fair number of stories mocking Obama's grandiose themes and inexperience. Let's see, here are a few: "Obama Suddenly Panicked After Gazing Too Far Into Future", "Obama Clinches 'Joe Cabernet Sauvignon' Vote", "Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship To Ease Concerns About His Lack Of Experience", and "Obama Warns He May Cease To Exist Unless America Believes In Him". I also watched a reasonable number of Daily Show episodes leading up to the election, and it certainly seemed like Obama got his fair share of the mockery there.

(As for the racism accusations, I can't make any strong statements there: I ignored them as best I could, since I found them every bit as obnoxious and outmoded as the folks on the other side who played up Obama's race or who emphasized his middle name.)