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Now that the fart jokes are over (was:New era?)
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Michael O'Connor Clarke
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Jan 22, 2001 20:48 PST
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...to return to the original question...
The real touchstone for this “New Era” will be what your new Presidon’t
actually says, not what his spinmeisters have him say.
FWIW, I thought the inaugural speech was vapid, insincere bollocks – but
very, very scary bollocks: precisely because it all sounded so
impressive and faux-stirring, without actually conveying a single solid
piece of useful information beyond “we will cut taxes” (well, bugger me,
what a fucking surprise that was).
The danger is (preaching to the converted here, I’m sure): there are a
million metric shitloads of people in America (close to 50% of the pop,
it would seem) who are easily swept away by the artful nothingness being
peddled through this frighteningly wholesome and bland instrument.
But I’ve wandered. My point: what the writers had him say was fluff.
What he comes up with when he’s not scripted – there’s the really
terrifying material.
Viz: while there’s been a lot of discussion across the ’Net about the
speech, I’m amazed there’s been so little commentary on the Barb Walters
interview the night before. If you didn’t see the piece, there’s now a
transcript and some outtakes posted here:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/2020/transcripts/2020_010119_bush_trans.html
Please - go read it now before Cheney finds out and has his PR Spooks
tear it down.
Couldn’t sleep Friday night after watching this. Spent most of Saturday
morning in a slack-jawed daze – moments from the interview echoing
through my brain. Felt like I’d stared into the face of the abyss at
the cost of my sanity. I simply lack the vocabulary, the context, to be
able to interpret what I witnessed and fit it into any part of a
rational world view. This man cannot be the newly crowned emperor of the
universe - shit like this doesn't happen in real life.
Go read it. Please. If you live in the US – even if you don’t – you
need to take in this important historical document.
Here’s a representative quote:
BARBARA WALTERS: Can you tell us briefly your vision for America?
GEORGE W BUSH: My vision for America is that, it says our countries and
hope shines brightly for everybody. I’m going speak about it at my
inaugural address tomorrow. I’m going to talk about the fact that our
nation has got such a wonderful ideal, and yet some — some say it
doesn’t belong. This experience doesn’t belong to me. And so the vision
is a goal and a—and a clear side about the America promise.
======
Verbatim. Word for fucking brainless word.
Almost half of you voted for this. My 3½ year old son speaks more
coherently, even when he’s asleep.
Full praise to ABC News, btw, for posting an almost unedited
transcript. Still can’t convey the clear horror of watching the thing
on TV, though. To recreate the effect, you need to imagine that all of
Dubya’s parts were written by Pinter. For example, this section:
BARBARA WALTERS Do you consider Russia a friend or a threat?
GEORGE W BUSH I don’t know yet. I hope—I hope Russia is a friend.
…actually ran like this:
BARBARA WALTERS Do you consider Russia a friend or a threat?
GEORGE W BUSH (pause)…ummmm…(pause. Bites lip, looks away)…I…(pause.
Frown.)…I don’t know yet. I hope—I hope Russia is a friend (sheepish
grin).
=======
I shit you not. Ask around – maybe one of your friends taped the show.
Remember, as you watch or read - this is something he would have been
very, very well prepared for. The same spin doctors who crafted that
speech would have spent hours on message development, media coaching,
meticulous Q&A. He would have been groomed and prepped for HOURS. Yet
he still couldn’t string together a single lucid thought in the entire
interview. And this was EDITED. What the hell did they leave out? If
this is the stuff that made the cut – what further frightening inanities
hit the floor?
It’s too much.
Long ago, when I lived alone in the UK, I woke up in the dead of night
to discover drunken amateur burglars had broken into my house and were
stumbling around the living room -- pissing on my books, smashing family
photos and ripping my stereo out of the wall. Pretty fucking scary
moment.
We live in Canada now. Same thing’s happening all over again. On a
macro scale. There’s these alcoholic thieves crashing about in the big
rooms downstairs, about to make off with all the things I hold precious.
Only this time I don’t have a pool cue to hand...
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