During 2001, when it was becoming apparent that George W. Bush was going to be a complete Presidential disaster, I joined with journalist Gene Gaudette, and the always funny Steve Young (yes, the same one that ran in Ca-48 awhile back) in labeling Bush's increasingly obvious ineptitude as "chimp-like."
The name "Chimpy" stuck, as Bush himself was making the name stick by his own actions, which were becoming alarming to those of us that simply wanted a President that would, "First, Do No Harm." By September 2001 it became clear to all what was happening inside BushCo, it was a disaster.
Still, the media picked up after Bush, cleaned up his verbal BM's, and spit-ups, and molly coddled this lout to such an extent that some like a certain "Kos," started getting angry and decided to try and do something about it. From the clip sites like Smirking Chimp to Buzzflash the Chimpy name spread far and wide. by 2006 the name was known everywhere left in blogland. More below.
Following the most ill-advised Presidential "fart-fest" ever, namely the "Flightsuit Fly-in" and "Mission Accomplished" speech/photo-op I had to agree with Gene and Steve on reducing Bush to the name, "Chimpy McFlightsuit."
Like some folks, I was horrified by the extreme arrogance of our ignorant President Bush who in his monomania had first started a grossly unnecessary war in the wrong place for reasons that were a pack of trumped up hooey and plain lies. Americans had died for nothing beyond the political deleriums of crackpots with advanced degrees. The carnage inflicted upon the Iraqis was unconsionable and actually criminal, and remains so.
But now in 2003, at the pinnicle of his popularity, and the very acme of his hysterical, wildly arrogant, self-congratulatory monomnia, Bush goes before cameras an issues the pronounciamento that "The US and its allies have prevailed" a while a "Mission Accomplished" banner hung in the background. Meanwhile troops were dying there, and those numbers would reach into the thousands.
Following the photo-op of the landing, speechifying, and flightsuit gig, "Chimpy McFlightsuit was born."
So when I see cons using "Chimp" as a name for Obama and Mrs. Obama, I have to laugh out loud. First, the political blindness required in order to use such a name against a successful and respected African-American man or woman is breathtaking in its scope.
Second, it is politically suicidal. You may energize the "base," and base is the right word here, but that base is a minority within the minority party and further angering of black constituencies is not going to help Pubbies one iota.
Third, Bush earned his moniker by a series of blunders, pronounciamentoes, and poor policy decisions that impact the lives of every American alive today. The Iraq Crime, The Afghanistan Trap, Katrina, AIDS, right wing extremism, crazy economic policies, and his arrogance, monomania, and general silliness all contributed to Bush earning the "Chimpy McFlightsuit moniker, he worked hard for it and earned it.
President Obama has not done anything quite as stupid as Bush except in one way, and that is his grossly ill-advised reaching out to worthless Republicans for support. It isn't coming, not in this life or the next one.
So, with a measure of pride, I have to admit to widely spreading the Chimpy Mcflightsuit moniker far and wide around the blogosphere and regularly using it to name the worst President since James Buchanan, thus the worst since the American Civil War.
I did it and I am going to do it more and more with the fervent hope that stupid cons will continue to try and use it on Obama. THEY WILL FAIL.
BUSH EARNED IT. OBAMA WON'T.
I did it and I am going to do it again so long as anyone tries to revise history about George W. Bush.
I have said my peace, let the cons, and baggies and revisionist liars all stew in their own juice.