While the nation--thanks to the debate--seems to be waking up to Bush as the petulant bubble-boy president, I think there's more work we can do to advance and cement this image.
This is how Bush described the "hard work" he does for America in the debate on Thursday night:
"I understand how hard it is. I get the casualty reports every day. I see on the TV screens how hard it is. But it's necessary work."
When Bush uttered this brain-bendingly ridiculous and appalling statement, which seems to equate the Presidency with watching television, it rang a bell. That locution, "I see on the tv screens," sounded very familiar, so I did a little googling. Confirming my suspicions, as you can see below, I discovered it's one of Bush's absolute favorite rhetorical devices, appearing in speech after speech, in widely different contexts, going all the way back to 2000 and the Bush-Gore debates (no doubt it goes back even further, but I'll let someone else do the Nexis search).
While the obsessive recurrence of this verbal formula raises the intriguing possibility that his handlers purposefully include it in Bush's speeches, supposing that it adds to his "regular guy" image and helps the average "American Idol" viewer see him as one of them, it also resoundingly confirms one of the major negative media narratives now emerging about Bush in the wake of the debate: He's out of touch and living in a "fantasy world."
Bush, as the following litany makes clear, engages reality only as it is filtered through a "tv screen." We already know that he doesn't read any newspapers and that he relies entirely upon his staff to give him "objective information," but we can now see even more clearly that Bush's very notion of reality itself--especially horrifying, bloody, unpleasant reality--is an entirely mediated one. He's like the characters in DeLillo's "White Noise," for whom the actuality of a traumatic experience depends upon its appearance on the tv news (even if it's their own experience). An event does not exist for him unless it shows up on the tv. And it's only when it does show up on tv that he feels obliged to comment upon it, whereupon he usually asserts explicitly that it is simply the fact that he watched it on tv that in itself demonstrates his profound and humane understanding of others' pain or "hard work." Bill Clinton "felt" your pain. George Bush watches your pain on his home entertainment center.
(quotes and more in extended copy)
We know this is the most television-focused White House in history. From Rove's virtuoso manipulations of the CNN idiots and his arrangements of aircraft carriers for the most atmospheric lighting effects, to Rumsfeld's recurring and cranky obsession with the inconvenient appearances of things--like looted Iraqi vases and brutalized Iraqi prisoners--on American tv screens, it's clear that this administration has deeply schooled itself on the power of the television image in contemporary politics. But with Bush there's something more pathological going on, I think. Below are just a few of the many, many, many times he has framed his "understanding" of an issue or event overtly in terms of its flickering appearance on the tube. When you read through them all--and there's some real doozies in there--it's genuinely terrifying.
The Iraq Quagmire
"That's what you're seeing on your
TV screens -- the desperate tactics of a hateful few; people who cannot stand the thought of free societies in their midst." May 19, 2004
"What they can do is get on your TV screens, stand in front of your TV cameras, and cut somebody's head off in order to try to cause us to cringe and retreat. That's their strongest weapon." June 28, 2004
"The American people have seen horrible scenes on our TV screens. And the prime minister will be able to say to them that in spite of the sacrifices being made, in spite of the fact that Iraqis are dying and U.S. troops are dying, as well, that there is a will amongst the Iraqi people to succeed." Sept 23, 2004
"I said yesterday that our military cannot be defeated by these thugs. But what they do is behead Americans so they can get on the TV screens. And they're trying to shake our will and they're trying to shake the Iraqis' will. That's what they're trying to do." Sept 23, 2004
"You know, we weep when we see a person be beheaded on our TV screens. We value human dignity in our society. That's why it's very important for us to not send mixed signals to the world, not embolden these people." Sept 24, 2004
"As we're seeing on our TV screens, it's tough. It's incredibly hard work because the terrorists are desperate.... Those terrorists will not defeat our military. They cannot defeat our military. The only thing they can do is behead people and try to shake our will." Sept 23, 2004
"It's hard to help a country go from tyranny to elections to peace when there are a handful of people who are willing to kill in order to stop the process. And that's what you're seeing on the TV screens. You know, these people cannot beat us militarily." Sept. 23, 2004
Abu Ghraib
"The abhorrent pictures on our
TV screens have stained our honor." May 8, 2004
"We also talked about what has been on the TV screens recently, not only in our country but overseas. The images of cruelty and humiliation. I told his majesty as plainly as I could, that the wrongdoers will be brought to justice, and that the actions of those folks in Iraq do not represent the values of the United States of America." May 6, 2004
"Like you, I have been disgraced about what I've seen on TV that took place in prison." May 13, 2004
"Obviously, it was a shameful moment when we saw on our TV screens that soldiers took it upon themselves to humiliate Iraqi prisoners -- because it doesn't reflect the nature of the American people, or the nature of the men and women in our uniform." June 1, 2004
9/11
"Like the good folks standing with me, the American people were appalled and outraged at last Tuesday's attacks. And so were Muslims all across the world. Both Americans and Muslim friends and citizens, tax-paying citizens, and Muslims in nations were just appalled and could not believe what we saw on our TV screens." Sept 17, 2001
"The Global War on Terror"
"It is important for the American people to know their government is on full alert. And that's what that warning showed. We take every threat seriously. And the American people shouldn't be surprised that we're issuing alerts. After all, on our
TV screens the other day, we saw `the evil one' threatening, calling for more destruction and death in America." Oct 11, 2001
"The Greatest Generation was used to storming beachheads. Baby boomers such as myself was used to getting caught in a quagmire of Vietnam, where politics made decisions more than--more than the military sometimes. Generation X was able to watch technology right in front of their TV screens, you know, burrow into--into concrete bunkers in Iraq and blow them up." Oct 11, 2001
"Our children are growing up in a difficult time for America, because they see on their TV screens the fact that America is now a battlefield. When we were kids, a lot of us were kids, growing up, oceans separated us from danger. We were confident in our ability to resist evil because evil could never make it to our shore, unless it was created internally. But now we've entered a new period where we're vulnerable. It's tough for our children to comprehend that, I know." Sept 17, 2002
Beslan
"Today on our
TV screens, last night on our
TV screens we saw the horror of terror in Russia. And I can just imagine the heartfelt anguish of the moms and dads of the Russian kids. Our prayers are with those families. And yesterday is a grim reminder of the nature of the terrorists we face. That is why this country must be strong and diligent, never yielding." Sept 4, 2004
"Last night on our TV screens, we saw the horror of terror in Russia. And I can just imagine the heartfelt anguish of the moms and dads of those Russian kids. Our prayers are with those families." Sept 7, 2004
The Economy and the "March to War"
"The march to war hurt the economy. Laura reminded me a while ago that remember what was on the
TV screens -- she calls me, `George W.' -- `George W.' I call her, `First Lady.' No, anyway -- she said, we said, march to war on our
TV screen." Mar. 11, 2004
"Remember on our TV screens -- I'm not suggesting which network did this -- but it said, `March to War,' every day from last summer until the spring - `March to War, March to War.' That's not a very conducive environment for people to take risk, when they hear, `March to War' all the time." July 30, 2003
"As I mentioned in my press conference the other day, on our TV screens there was a -- on some TV screens -- there was a constant reminder for the American people, "march to war." War is not a very pleasant subject in people's minds, it's not conducive for the investment of capital." Aug 1, 2003
"We marched to war. I don't if you remember, on your TV screens, last summer it -- a year ago, summer -- it said, `march to war.' You turn on the TV, and there it says, `march to war.' That's not a very conducive environment in which people are willing to take risk. It's not a positive thought." November 10, 2003
Enron
"Perhaps you've seen on your TV screens some of the people that forgot to be responsible citizens getting their day in court. The message is -- should be loud and clear to people in the business world: We're not going to tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America." March 25, 2004
Gay marriage
"I took a strong stand publicly, laid out a constitutional amendment, which in itself becomes a benchmark for people to rally around -- in itself was a statement from the presidency that says the country has an alternative to that which they're seeing on their TV screens." May 26, 2004
Rwanda
"It was a horrible situation, no one liked to see it on our TV screens, but it's a case where we need to make sure we have an early warning system in place in places where there could be ethnic cleansing and genocide the way we saw it there in Rwanda." Oct 11, 2000 (Second Bush-Gore debate)
Spread the word. Bush isn't the "War President." He's the TV President.