George W. Bush and pop culture's perception
During his eight tumultuous years in office, President George W. Bush has been portrayed in popular culture as a hubristic cowboy, a puppet of Dick Cheney, and the worst mangler of the English language since Shakespeare鈥檚 Dogberry. Oliver Stone鈥檚 new biopic, 鈥淲.,鈥� even focuses on Bush鈥檚 supposed 鈥渄addy issues.鈥�
And those are the gentler depictions. He鈥檚 also been branded a liar in Neil Young鈥檚 鈥淟et鈥檚 Impeach the President,鈥� accused of being in cahoots with Saudi oilmen in Michael Moore鈥檚 鈥�Fahrenheit 9/11,鈥� and pilloried in the post-hurricane Katrina mash-up video 鈥淕eorge Bush Doesn鈥檛 Care about Black People.鈥�
Bush is hardly the first White House occupant to endure invective from entertainers, and such clashes tend to be particularly pronounced when a Republican is pitted against left-leaning creative types. But the 43rd president鈥檚 time in office has marked a fundamental turning point in the relationship between popular culture and politics. The proliferation of new forms of media 鈥� coupled with a democratization of communication that allows anyone with a modem to become a filmmaker, broadcaster, or pundit 鈥� has meant that no other sitting president has had quite so many slings and arrows to suffer. Against such a backdrop, Bush may find it exceedingly difficult to control the final narrative of his presidency.
鈥淚 believe Bush鈥檚 legacy will be almost entirely shaped by pop culture,鈥� says Leslie Kreiner Wilson, executive director of Americana, the Institute for the Study of American Popular Culture. 鈥淧op culture has always had some impact on our perception of presidents, but the media explosion since the 1980s has made things much harder on the presidents since then, like Bill Clinton and George W.鈥�
Other observers believe that history鈥檚 verdict on Bush will be more forgiving than, say, his depiction in the TV sitcom 鈥淭hat鈥檚 My Bush鈥� or the Eminem protest song 鈥淢osh.鈥� Put it this way: Bush鈥檚 ratings can only go up. When the Siena Research Institute asked 744 leading historians and political scientists to rank Bush as a president, the results spawned a 鈥�Rolling Stone鈥� cover story proclaiming him the worst president ever. But the institute鈥檚 Tom Kelly, a history professor at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., says it takes at least 25 years to establish the academic record of a presidency. By then, emotions are lower and perspective is clearer.
鈥淧op culture is like cartooning,鈥� says Mr. Kelly. 鈥淚t creates a sharp image which reflects more, probably, about the mind of the individual who creates the image, than reality 鈥� although that doesn鈥檛 mean the image is wrong. But, also, it tends to pass.鈥�
Still, Kelly says, some pop-culture images do linger. For example, a combination of Johnny Carson jokes and Chevy Chase impersonations on 鈥�Saturday Night Live鈥� created an enduring image of Gerald Ford as being more prone to pratfalls than Inspector Clouseau.
But there鈥檚 a profound difference in today鈥檚 media landscape, argues Donick Cary, creator of the Comedy Central cartoons 鈥�Lil鈥� Bush鈥� and 鈥淭he Adventures of John McCain.鈥� 鈥淔orty years ago, a comedy take on a president would be 13 episodes of 鈥楽aturday Night Live鈥� in a year,鈥� says Mr. Cary. 鈥淣ow, every day, as soon as there鈥檚 a [presidential] debate there鈥檚 literally 100,000 takes on the Internet as well as 鈥�The Daily Show,鈥� 鈥�Colbert Report,鈥� Bill Maher.鈥�
Indeed, YouTube and the blogosphere have produced thousands of new commentators fixated on presidential politics.
鈥淧residents, more and more in this country, are seen as Olympian figures who have the power to fix everything,鈥� says Reason magazine writer David Weigel. 鈥淚t makes sense that the culture revolves around them.鈥�
Bush well understood the importance of the popular-culture vote. During his 2000 campaign, he accentuated his image as a regular guy. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 an accident that, for a number of years, we always heard about [Bush] going back to the ranch to clear brush,鈥� says John Matviko, editor of 鈥淭he President in Popular Culture,鈥� and professor at West Liberty State College in West Virginia.
But that cowboy persona was turned against him by dozens of YouTube impersonators 鈥� most notably Will Ferrell 鈥� who lambasted Bush as a country yokel who 鈥渕isunderestimated鈥� the importance of elocution.
鈥淸Bush鈥檚] entire presidency was about the projection of an image, so the fact that there have been so many pop-culture representations of him is a logical extension of that,鈥� says Bernie Heidkamp, a contributor to PopPolitics, an online magazine about the convergence of politics and pop culture.
If Bush was clearly not destined to inherit Ronald Reagan鈥檚 mantle as 鈥渢he great communicator,鈥� the events of Sept. 11 gave him the opportunity to present himself as the great uniter. When the president stood on top of the rubble of the Twin Towers with a bullhorn, his poll ratings rocketed. For a while it seemed that entertainment narratives, such as Showtime鈥檚 2003 movie 鈥淒C 9/11: Time of Crisis,鈥� would fundamentally redefine Bush as a hero.
But no amount of carefully choreographed images 鈥� such as Bush鈥檚 鈥淭op Gun鈥�-like landing on an aircraft carrier for the now-infamous 鈥渕ission accomplished鈥� speech 鈥� could withstand the growing unease among entertainers about the Iraq war and the USA Patriot Act.
Soon, largely Left Coast artists started squaring off against Middle Americans. And, sometimes, things got ugly. Bush鈥檚 character was assassinated in the movie 鈥淒eath of a President鈥� and he was the subject of further abuse in 鈥�South Park鈥� and 鈥�Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.鈥�
Bush found plenty of defenders in the blogosphere, plenty of whom have hung on. But even some supporters eventually became disillusioned at the administration鈥檚 handling of the war and hurricane Katrina. Worse, questions began to mount as to whether the administration had deceived the public about Iraq鈥檚 supposed weapons of mass destruction. The moment Bush lost the pop-culture war might be when 鈥�24,鈥� a show that seemed to be a cheerleader for the war on terror, depicted its fictitious American president as a duplicitous villain.
Still, Bush supporters believe that the pop-culture 鈥渞ecord鈥� will be trumped by a long-term vindication of Bush鈥檚 war on terror. 鈥淩onald Reagan was thought to be a fool or a cowboy, but the press started to realize that he actually helped to end the cold war,鈥� says Ronald Kessler, author of 鈥淎 Matter of Character: Inside the White House of George W. Bush.鈥� 鈥淭o some extent, it鈥檚 the same with Bush.鈥�
