[webartery] Bush in Buffalo (fwd)

[Alan Sondheim]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 19:35:44 -0400
From: Martha L Deed <mldeed1 at juno.com>
Reply-To: webartery at yahoogroups.com
To: webartery at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [webartery] Bush in Buffalo

President Bush was here today.  Interesting angle:  He sat on stage with
four or five other (all) men, each of whom spoke extemporaneously,
well-prepared, but without notes.  Bush maintained a close relationship
with a music stand which held his notes.  Even so, he lost his place a
few times.  The mayor of Buffalo did not attend, citing "philosophical
differences" involving sending jobs overseas, and afterwards some of the
"uniforms," who attended to provide good photo background, commented to
local TV reporters that they would like to receive the Homeland Security
funds owed since 2002 to this part of the country.  (Maybe they'd like
some reimbursement for today's security costs, too.)  Protesters outside
the building where the show was held got more coverage on at least one
major station than the President.  Maybe it was because they had more to
say:  many of them were union members, mostly middle-aged, mostly men.
They were allowed a place within earshot of the President.

I especially liked Bush's imitation of Johnny Carson -- the right-hand
chop that Carson used when enthusiastic applause cut too deeply into his
monolog time.

I was surprised -- tho' perhaps should not have been -- that huge images
of the World Trade Center fires and the bombing of Baghdad were flashed
at length on a giant screen.  Behind the men on the stage:  large
photographs of grimy firemen and other uniformed personnel at Ground Zero
-- a truly exploitive and even cynical co-option of tragedy in the
furtherance of a political career.  Bush stood before these terrible
images and declared "We didn't know. . . " etc.

It was a tough day for truthtelling.  Thought some of you might like to
know.

Martha Deed



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