The death of Ted Kennedy has brought Kennedy's biographer Adam Clymer into the news again, which reminded me of the first incident that signaled George W. Bush's On Fire potential. September 5, 2000:
The Republican presidential candidate George W Bush has said he regrets the fact that people heard him make an insulting comment about a journalist, but he refused to apologise.
Just before a campaign speech in Illinois, Mr Bush said to his running mate Dick Cheney: "There's Adam Clymer, major league asshole from the New York Times."
Mr Bush later said he did not realise that live microphones were going to pick up the remark, but he stopped short of an actual apology.
This video made me feel kind bad for the guy. I mean, sure he's the worst president ever, but it's just sad to see him walking by all the other world leaders with his head hanging like that.
This election cycle has been a distressing one in terms of how few on fire moments we were given to play with. Senator Obama has been far too measured, too cool, and too deliberate to deliver any serious unintentional comedy while Senator McCain is too angry and often times far too creepy to be entertaining.
The flashes of promise from both campaigns have come from those surrounding the candidates. Reverend Wright remains scorching hot for his inability to tone himself down while Daddy Yankee's agonizing endorsement of McCain will surely ruin his career. Just yesterday, Dick Cheney quite publicly endorsed McCain. This further enhances Cheney's on fire status as he certainly knows his backing is toxic.
For 16 years we have had a Commander-in-Chief that has been on fire. Presidents Clinton and Bush gave us limitless material. Neither Obama nor McCain has shown himself to be a worthy successor to Bush in the on fire arena. This uncomfortable truth is the reason why WHS is refraining from an on fire endorsement.
Oliver Stone's "W" is going to be this year's "The Passion of the Christ" when it comes to the promise of unintentional comedy. There have been grumblings about the timing of this film's release date being right around election day (Lionsgate's site just mentions Fall 2008 whereas I have read the possibility of either October 17 or October 31 - my query to the studio hasn't been answered) but from a "strike while the iron's hot" perspective, you can't ask for this to come at a better time. The President is simply scorching right now and perhaps from a studio perspective, this film can't come out soon enough. The guy didn't even take the short flight to go to his own party's convention. Whether he was welcome or not is besides the point. His presence in itself is widely considered to be so radioactive that there are certainly more than a few Republicans that were relieved that he didn't make the trip to Minnesota. It's not a hard call, but I rate George W. Bush, both the fictitious account of him played by Josh Brolin and the real Bush, as a "strong buy" if you want solid returns on your comedic investments.
These pictures were taken August 19, 2008 at 16:00 and 16:02. I was waiting to claim my baggage at JFK's Terminal 2, standing next to a livery driver waiting for his passenger. After a few minutes I hear a man introduce himself to the driver, "Good to meet you, Karl Rove". The name placard the driver was holding didn't say "Rove", so I thought whoever said that was joking. Well, I turn around and it's none other than Rove.
I stared at him, he stared at me, and then he took a look at the book that was in my hands ("Legacy of Shadows: The History of the CIA" by Tim Weiner). He began to look very agitated and started texting at breakneck speed while trying to watch CNN on the tv above the luggage carousel.
I didn't ask for his autograph, although I was REALLY tempted. It would've been pretty amazing to have his autograph on that particular book of mine. My brother said it would be like when Hitler signs the book in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
The photos are of VERY low quality, but I didn't want him to catch me and send me to Guantanamo for a waterboarding. I'm going to throw in the most on-fire video of Rove for free, as well.
George W. Bush is in China again and I'm preparing for another round of unintentional comedy. His Asian trips have been second in humor only behind his trips to Africa. All politics aside, I'm beginning to really miss this guy, as neither Barack Obama nor John McCain will be able to provide us with that perfect blend of overconfidence, awkwardness and occasional bitterness - the ultimate recipe for classic youtube clips.
This is an older highlight but amongst the thousands of other W follies, this one may have been lost in the mix. So, in honor of his trip to the Olympics, here it is again (and please note 30 seconds into the clip where he stands at attention for no reason, I think he's actually getting ready to bow, but realizes just how incorrect and possibly racist that may appear and just stops himself).
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