The sign was elegant and simple, yet it synthesized my thoughts about George W. Bush better than any essay, documentary, or editorial cartoon I’ve yet seen. It is a picture of Bush in a suit, walking outside, carrying an American flag underneath his left arm, in total disregard for flag protocol. He is scowling at someone and he is extending his right hand to give the infamous one-fingered salute (or “flipping the bird”, as some call it.) The caption at the bottom of the sign, in all-capital red letters, says “IS THIS ALL WE GET??”
This was my favorite sign among hundreds that I saw as I marched the streets of Portland, Oregon, in protest of George W. Bush’s second inauguration (you can see the signs and photos for yourself at my photo gallery — http://radicalruss.net/photos/thumbnails.php?album=137). Over two thousand of us showed up to protest the re-election and policies of the Worst President Ever. I’m sure our displeasure registered in King George’s semi-conscious mind as much as a mosquito bothers a rhinoceros, but there’s still a few of us that take that petition the government for a redress of grievances point seriously.
What is it about George and his hand gestures? That picture I mentioned above isn’t the first time he’s been caught flipping someone off. There’s a fabulous clip circulating on the “internets” from George’s campaign for governor of Texas where he’s preparing for an on-camera interview and he jokingly flips off the camera.
Now think about it. You are a public figure. You are in front of a camera, tape rolling, you’re embarking on a campaign to win the votes of the people, and you’re clowning around, throwing the most obscene hand gesture in our culture. Do you think no one will notice?
Can you even imagine any past president of the television era – Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, or Kennedy – ever flipping off anyone or anything where the public could see the gesture? (OK, maybe Nixon.) At least the most uncouth thing Clinton did was hidden from public view in the privacy of the Oval Office (thank my non-existent supreme deity for that!)
Then there’s George’s other favorite hand gesture, the index-and-pinky-finger extended “hook ’em horns” salute. It’s an innocent enough gesture used by the students and alumni of the University of Texas, and is meant to signify the school’s mascot, the longhorn bull. George’s use of the gesture makes no sense, of course, considering that the president never attended the University of Texas. He went to college at Yale University and Harvard Business School. He didn’t even go to high school in Texas; those years were spent at the prestigious Andover prep school in New England. Bush’s last genuine Texas educational experience was eighth grade at San Jacinto Junior High School in Midland, Texas, whose mascot is the Mustang.
One might think that George’s “hook ’em horns” salute is merely a ploy in his carefully manufactured aw-shucks-I’m-just-a-simple-hard-workin’-average-joe-from-Texas, -not-a-son-of-wealth-and-privilege-educated-in-elite-New-England-schools image. Certainly, he does not intend his gesture to be interpreted in one of the other four ways it can be interpreted. Heavy metal fans recognize the gesture to mean that someone or something “really rocks”. Satanists recognize it as a salute to Lucifer. When reversed (palm inwards), practitioners of American Sign Language use it as the symbol for the word “bullshit”. And in most European cultures, it is a sign meaning, “your wife is having an affair without your knowledge.” On the other hand, maybe not; maybe George does think Lucifer really rocks and maybe Laura knows something we don’t know.
However, the image on that sign to me really signifies the true measure of George W. Bush. Fuck you; I don’t give a shit what you think. And frankly, why should he? He’s never been held to account for anything in his life. Whenever he’s gotten in trouble with the law, his father’s name and connections helped to bail him out. Whenever he was bankrupting a fledgling oil business, his dad’s rich Saudi oil buddies were there to bail him out. Whenever he’s had a disastrous moment in his presidency, Fox News, Dick Cheney, and a spineless Democratic party have been there to bail him out. He has the name, the money, the power, the three branches of government, the media, the voting machine manufacturers, and the swing-state elections officials on his side; why should he concern himself with what you or I think?
Think of the saddest or silliest public images that instantly evoke memories of our television-era presidents. Kennedy’s fateful ride through Dallas and the coffin carried through Washington as little JFK Jr. salutes. Nixon’s arms raised above his head, hands displaying peace signs (or was it, ironically, “V” for victory?) as he boarded a helicopter after resigning in shame. Ford stumbling down the stairs as he disembarked Air Force One. Carter’s incessant smile. Reagan wearing a cowboy hat and riding his horse. Bush Sr. vomiting on a Japanese dignitary. Clinton playing the saxophone on the “Arsenio Hall” show. (Sorry LBJ fans, I couldn’t think of a Johnson image. Forgive me; I wasn’t alive at the time.) All presidents are human, but whether the image is calculated or spontaneous, you can really only come up with one or two sad or silly images for each president.
Now, compare that to the myriad of sad, silly public images of George W. Bush, and try to think of one that isn’t insulting, bumbling, or derogatory as well. Dropping his dog on the tarmac in front of a group of shocked little girls. Spitting on the lawn of the White House (our lawn!) as he walks to a waiting helicopter. Wiping off his glasses on the dangling blouse of an unsuspecting producer on the David Letterman show. Patting his wife on the ass as she approaches during a formal, public, televised event. Wiping out on his mountain bike. Addressing the public with a pronounced scrape on his face suffered while eating a pretzel (my guess is it was one of those Johnny Walker Red pretzels). Reading “My Pet Goat” as the World Trade Center burns. Striding across the aircraft carrier in the bulge-inducing flightsuit beneath a banner reading “Mission Accomplished”. In addition to any one of the hundreds of times he has bungled the English language while speaking in public.
Even the one image that Bush fans would likely point to – standing on the rubble of the World Trade Center with bullhorn in hand – would not have been necessary had he and his national security team been doing their job in August of 2001, instead of ignoring briefs like Bin Laden Determined to Attack inside the United States in favor of clearing brush on his critterless ranch. (Speaking of which, why are there no images of this supposed Texas rancher on horseback?) That’s a heck of a moment to be proud of, isn’t it? Standing over the pulverized remains of 3,000 innocent Americans vowing to exact revenge on their killers. His proudest photo-op is the result of the biggest intelligence failure in the history of any administration and the worst attack on American soil. I guess when the world gives George lemons, he makes lemonade.
Yet, despite all of these images, there are a sizeable number of people in this country that idolize the man. My theory is that the Bush supporters interpret the images, which to me indict Bush as an arrogant, bumbling cretin, completely differently. They buy the hard-workin’-average-joe image. When he mangles syntax, they feel at ease because he “speaks their language”. They spit on their lawns and pat their wives’ asses, too. Who among us hasn’t choked so hard on a pretzel that we’ve fallen over and bruised our face? Who hasn’t either flipped off someone who’s getting on our nerves, or at least wished we did? And when those terrorist bastards took down our buildings, he was just like an action hero with a snappy one-liner about vanquishing the evil-do’ers. To the Bush supporters, he’s not so much President of the United States as he is Ass-Kicker in Chief – John Q. Public, John McLain from “Die Hard”, and John Wayne all rolled up into one.
Well, forgive me for expecting more out of the President of the United States. I want a president who is a Rhodes Scholar, not one of the frat boys from “Road Trip”. I expect the president to speak better than I do, to be smarter than I am, and to be more dignified in public than I am. I don’t expect obscene gestures and collegiate hand signals. But perhaps Bush’s hand gestures are telling us what the next four years have in store for us. When Bush outlines his policies for the next four years, just remember that one-fingered salute, because that’s what America will be getting. And when Bush begins to speak, remember what the “hook ’em horns” gesture means in American Sign Language, because that’s what will be coming out of his mouth.
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