Althouse: "And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant)..."

July 25, 2008

"And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant)..."

"... when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness. The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow...."

Read the whole thing — in the London TimesOnline — or... wait... is this humor theme played out? This is a good example of something that takes no new insight. It's got to play out. This isn't satire. There's no critique of Obama in this, just continuous ga-ga admiration. I'm getting a tummy ache from all this candy.

ADDED: Just a bit of a sledgehammer. I know this guy is making fun of the deification. I'm saying that even this as a humor theme is played out. This is candy too. "The Daily Show" runs with jokes like this every damned night. I started blogging this article because I thought the mockery of the deification tasted pretty good. But then in the middle of putting up the post, I realized it was making me sick too!

24 comments:

rhhardin said...: The German press is impressed

That Barack Obama is a passionate politician who is fixated on -- and takes very seriously -- his desire for a better world. That he is an impressive speaker who knows how to casually draw his audience into his image of the world -- one who doesn't have any need to resort to the kind of cheap effects that tend to prompt the uproarious applause of an audience. That he is a typical American -- an idealist in the true spirit of the American success story who is now very casually making his claim to becoming something akin to the president of the world.

Der Spiegel (the mirror).; 7/25/08, 8:35 AM
paul a'barge said...: Malkin et al think this is a complete goof.

Seriously.; 7/25/08, 8:40 AM
Anonymous said...: rhhardin

That reads to me like an interesting combination of sarcasm and warning. Thanks for the post.; 7/25/08, 9:03 AM
Balfegor said...: The crowds of network anchors who had followed him from afar cheered “Hosanna” and waved great palm fronds and strewed them at his feet.

Missed an opportunity: They cheered "Obama in the highest," etc. etc.; 7/25/08, 9:08 AM
Moose said...: "No new insight"?

You mean like most of the coverage of Bush for the last 9 years?

I can't beleive Slate still has the "Wit and Wisdom" feature up...; 7/25/08, 9:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Life imitates art.

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides with the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon those with great vengeance and with furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."; 7/25/08, 9:33 AM
Roger J. said...: I know thats from pulp fiction; but is it really from Ezekial?; 7/25/08, 9:47 AM
Anonymous said...: Well they butchered up the actual verse (Ezekial 25:17) but all the more appropriate in this situation where reality gets in the way of good storytelling. At least we knew the movie was "fiction".; 7/25/08, 10:13 AM
NoBorg said...: You're right that it's not very original, but it is pretty funny anyway and more or less hits the nail on the head.

I mean, look at the Der Spiegel quote above. Oh good, Obama has a "desire for a better world"! Unlike all those other politicians who want things to get worse? And thank god his speeches don't have any of those "cheap effects", but only really substantial stuff like "yes we can!".

The same German press who has lambasted Bush's "unilateralism" for years because he didn't ask the Europeans for permission on every detail of US foreign policy for the last 8 years is now talking about a President of the World.

Well, at least it's impossible for them to claim to be "unbiased" with a straight face.; 7/25/08, 10:23 AM
dbp said...: Ezekiel 25 (King James Version) has got the following in it--which is pretty much like the 2nd half of the bit from Pulp Fiction, I have no idea where they got the first part.

17And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.; 7/25/08, 10:41 AM
El Presidente said...: Just the fact that it has become acceptable to mock pre-President Obama should be of grave concern to his administration.

I can't find the video, but John Stewart was 'booed' or at least 'oohed' when he first made fun of Obama.; 7/25/08, 11:13 AM
james said...: Overcome your attachment to monkey mind by joining the chant . . .

Hare Barack, Hare Barack
Barack Barack, Hare Hare
Hare 'Bama, Hare 'Bama
'Bama 'Bama, Hare Hare; 7/25/08, 11:45 AM
vnjagvet said...: If the criticism of the spoof is that a little of it goes a long way, I agree with that. But I sent this out last night to a large audience, and got no negative comments.

Most thought it pretty funny.; 7/25/08, 12:34 PM
Moose said...: Leadership is only leadership when everyone agrees with you.

If they don't, then it becomes mandates, and then no one likes you. Try asking your kids to brush their teeth at night. You'll get the idea.

Obama is surfing the love wave right now, which is sort of like finding a bar in a dry county - you don't really question the decor - you just thank god it's there.

Bush has created (rightly or wrongly - not the question here) such a ripe target for derision on the world stage that Obama looks much, much better than he would outside of that context. Hell, even Hillary would have scored well overseas.

What happens when the press starts looking for something other than puff pieces on Obama will be the kicker. If they really do their homework (read John Kass in the Chicago Trib) they'll start seeing the reality behind nominating a Chicago Democrat for President. He has more sticky fingerprints on him than a Chicago Cop's night stick after a trip to the donut shop.

What will really be interesting is the reaction by the impassioned masses to revealing his actual rise to power - how much will they be willing to overlook?; 7/25/08, 12:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Pop quiz (apparently by the good people at National Review). Pick out the "We Are The World" lyrics vs. Obama speech lines.

A: "We can't go on pretending day by day that someone, somewhere will soon make a change."

B: "This is the moment we must help answer the call."

C: "But if you just believe there's no way we can fall."

D. "The world will watch and remember what we do."

E. "Let us realize that a change can only come when we stand together as one."

F. "We cannot afford to be divided."

G. "These now are the walls we must tear down."

H. "This is the moment when we must come together."

I. "They'll know that someone cares, and their lives will be stronger and free."

We Are the World: A, C, E, I.
Obama's Speech: B, D, F, G, H.; 7/25/08, 1:36 PM
MadisonMan said...: It's unfair for me to take that quiz -- at one point I could ID all the singers in that song. (Watching it on MTV beat studying); 7/25/08, 2:03 PM
Revenant said...: I am bemused to realize that I immediately recognized all the "We Are the World" lyrics.

That part of my brain could be being used for storing something more useful, like lesbian pornography or something.; 7/25/08, 4:00 PM
M. Simon said...: Ann,

What is with the Pam Anderson ad on the sidebar?

And how did she get three arms?

And if it is not an arm it is especially impressive. Especially for a lady (Pam Anderson a lady? Well, I'm being generous).; 7/25/08, 5:01 PM
Fen said...: What is with the Pam Anderson ad on the sidebar?

Agreed. Its a bit disgusting.; 7/25/08, 5:07 PM
blake said...: Bush has created (rightly or wrongly - not the question here) such a ripe target for derision on the world stage that Obama looks much, much better than he would outside of that context.

Rightly or wrongly, Bush didn't create that.; 7/25/08, 6:40 PM
Revenant said...: The main difference between Bush and Clinton, where international relations are concerned, is that Clinton was good at bullshitting; Bush isn't.

Take Kyoto, for example. Clinton made some very pretty speeches about global warming, made a show of signing the document... and he knew it would never be ratified. He didn't even submit it to BE ratified. He took it home, threw it in a drawer, and forgot about it. Along comes Bush, who comes right out and says "we're not going to ratify Kyoto". Now, anyone with a brain already knew that (the 95-0 Senate resolution against Kyoto was a big hint), but Bush had committed the cardinal sin of not merely rejecting the international consensus but admitting to having done so. *That* is the kind of thing that made him a hated figure internationally.

Of course, part of being a good diplomat is being able to blow smoke up people's asses -- to promise them the moon, then deliver nothing, all without them realizing they've been suckered. Bush is atrociously bad at this. Both men launched wars in the face of UN opposition, for example, but Clinton managed to keep a straight face while arguing that he was respecting international opinion. So even as people ranting and raged about how *America* was acting like a bully, Clinton himself escaped most of that condemnation. It was quite a song and dance routine.

My sense is that Obama isn't good enough to pull it off. Clinton was good at thinking on his feet, but Obama runs into trouble when not following a script.; 7/25/08, 7:21 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The Pam Anderson ad is an anti-meat ad. I agree it's a bit over the top, but I've never rejected an ad.; 7/26/08, 1:58 AM
Anonymous said...: Really insightful analysis, Rev.; 7/26/08, 8:33 AM
vbspurs said...: Ditto on what Sevan Machos said, Rev. That was perfect.; 7/26/08, 12:44 PM