I doubt this is a Bushism. As Grandpa Simpson says, "Ya ain't dumb, just ignorant." A little lame joke gone really bad. Waving to Stevie Wonder, that's embarassing. Except that that never happened.

Bush is the annoying uncle at family reunions, which everyone laughs because it's required. But, secrectly they wish the asshole would stop. And that's why this backfire is funny.

The ugly truth about Patrick Fitzgerald:

http://brutusworks.com/malloy-fitz.mp3

Sweet dreams.

Bush has already called and apologized to the reporter. The reporter was ok with the jokes, but just wished that Bush would have answered his question.

the way john stewart set it up on the daily show last night was much better.

There are two schools of thought here. The first is that if you keep pointing out every stupid thing an idiot does, people will shun him as completely without value. The other is that people will tire of hearing about trivial, banal stupidities and actually begin defending him.

I think we're seeing the second one. I can't count the number of times people have told me "We need to give Bush a break, he's doing the best he can." Like he's the handicapped guy making your hamburger at McDonalds, not the guy in charge of our nation.

It amazes me that people adopt this attitude, this "Yeah he's incompetent, but it's a hard job" type of nonsense. But there you have it. One has to wonder if, in the end, mocking really does much of anything - if instead we should be focusing on the actual laws broken by this guy, not how he pronounces 'nuke-you-lurr'.

But then again this is the age of mockery. If this generation is to have a slogan, it will have to be "Everybody's stupid except me." We should all get t-shirts.

It seems like Bush is just trying to be endearing... but ends up being extremely creepy. shudder

I'm generally fine with giving out little participation ribbons that indicate you did the very best you could given your own personal circumstances... unless you are the President of the United States.

I've never liked this whole "he's just people like us" shtick. First, he doesn't pull it off very well, but second, I don't want my President to be an average schlub. Whenever he tries it, I get the same creepy feeling I get when I receive a flyer in the mail advertising how cheaply some place is willing to perform laser surgery on my eyes. For a haircut I'll care about price. If somebody is proposing to slice up my eyeballs, not so much.

Likewise, what I want from a President is not the same thing I want from a drinking buddy.

The reporter was a class act, and the President did what was appropriate when one steps in it. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. All in all, a potentially embarrassing situation handled with aplomb by both parties.

Overage_Joe has a few good points.

However, in the beginning, he pontificates with a false dilemma. I doubt there's people who are flying to one side or the other because of excess mockery and I'm not saying these things don't happen. The thing about satire is, it's there not to convert but to sooth the sores of those who already believe in a ideal. Mosly: if you like the mockery, then you like, and take on an aire of self-satisfaction. If you don't like, then, well, you listen to AM radio to reaffirm what you already angrily believe is true.