[Note: This column contains an attempt at humor and was exempt from the fact checking process.]
In the Fifties several notable rebels brought extensive changes to American culture. Kerouac took the old concept of "automatic writing"- to a new level when he filled a teletype roll with a novel describing his extensive travels in the United States post-war era. James Dean and Marlon Brando brought an exciting level of realism and authenticity to film acting, replacing the stilted posturing and line deliveries from an earlier period when movies were known as talkies. When Sun Records producer Sam Phillips wanted a white guy who could sing the blues, he looked around and found Elvis. Then he launched the young truck driver on a career that establish Rock'n'roll as a legitimate separate music genre.
George W. Bush lived his formative years in the Fifties and so it should not surprise historians that the man who streamlined the voting process and instituted an epoch of downsized government by reassigning the congressional power to declare war to one man, who just happened to also be the commander-in-chief of America's Armed Forces, may have been influenced by teenage idols from his youth.
Bush further endeared himself to rich folks by convincing the ecology minded that excessive taxation of the rich was ineffective and inefficient and threatened the extinction of the native America animal species known as: the fat cat capitalist.
What Kerouac did for writing, using the principle of automatic writing in such a way that it told a coherent story and included remarkable poetic imagery, Bush did for politics by using the previously established good will for former movie actor Ronald Reagan's story of a new morning in America, to spin his own yarns about patriotism and fighting for the country and including lush full textured legislative maneuvers to protect the rich from the money gouging tax principles urged by the ignorant but bloodthirsty common rabble.
Like St. George protecting a princess from the dragon, George W. Bush rescued the poor rich who were watching chunks of their savings disappear so fast that it elicited images of a ravenous shark chomping down on a bikini clad nymphet
James Dean and Marlon Brando brought acting into the modern era by eliminating ancient and stilted performances and replacing them with streamlined realism. George W. Bush jettisoned many of the so called reforms of the New Deal that outraged the wealthy and replaced them with massive infusions of bailout funds for enormous bonuses for the management of business that otherwise couldn't afford the giveaways
Elvis brought the concept of "three cords and a cloud of dust,"- accompanied by a snear-smile and some sexy gyrations to music and made a fortune. George W. Bush brought refrains of "Weapons of Mass Destruction,"- "no new terrorist attacks have been committed,"- and "electronic voting machines insure that no vote will go uncounted"- to the political stage and he parlayed that into a chance to do for the numbers for social security for corporations what Elvis did for the ratings of the Ed Sullivan show.
Connoisseurs of politics will always remember how George W. Bush brought about a virtual (pun?) revolution by using voting machines that automatically compensated Republican candidates for the numerous undeserved votes from stupid, ill-informed Democrats who voted like lemmings in search of the hereafter.
Historians may spin Bush's legacy in a negative way, but sociologists will soon be issuing studies that show that George W. Bush did for politics what Kerouac, Dean & Brando, and Elvis did for their professions in the Fifties.
When Marlon Brando was asked "What are you rebelling against?,"- his reply was: "What do you got?"-
Now, the disk jockey who still thinks his deuce coup is "the ginchiest,"- will play Ed "Kookie"- Burns recording of "Give me your comb"- just for Connie Stevens fans. It's time for us to split. Have a "real gone"- (just like your 401K funds) week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWo4YodR9Jo&feature=related
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