A few articles converged for me this morning.
First, one from Jeff at Soma Vacation in which he describes the neglect that can happen when college boys live somewhere. I used to be a paperboy in that town, and I hated having to deal with guys in student housing. Sure, there were nice students, but the bad ones were the hardest to get money out of, and the most slovenly.
And I’d read the description of George W. Bush in US News and World Report:
He loves to cuss, gets a jolly when a mountain biker wipes out trying to keep up with him, and now we’re learning that the first frat boy loves flatulence jokes. A top insider let that slip when explaining why President Bush is paranoid around women, always worried about his behavior. But he’s still a funny, earthy guy who, for example, can’t get enough of fart jokes. He’s also known to cut a few for laughs, especially when greeting new young aides, but forget about getting people to gas about that.
Just your basic good ol’ sociopath. For blogs that cite this article, the comparison of Bush to Frat Boy is common.
So if the President of the USA is basically a stereotypical Frat Boy, and if Frat Boys trash the place, then what should we expect to happen to the USA? Perhaps something like this.
A pipeline shuts down in Alaska. Equipment failures disrupt air travel in Los Angeles. Electricity runs short at a spy agency in Maryland.
None of these recent events resulted from a natural disaster or terrorist attack, but they may as well have, some homeland security experts say. They worry that too little attention is paid to how fast the country’s basic operating systems are deteriorating.
…
The American Society of Civil Engineers last year graded the nation “D” for its overall infrastructure conditions, estimating that it would take $1.6 trillion over five years to fix the problem.
“I thought [Hurricane] Katrina was a hell of a wake-up call, but people are missing the alarm,” said Casey Dinges, the society’s managing director of external affairs.
As the enduring image of Dick Cheney will be that of Elmer Fudd, Bush’s image will be that of the Frat Boy — irresponsible and immature. Why bother cleaning up? He’ll just be moving out soon.
28 August 2006 at 2:47 pm
Not sure if I’m up to the boggle challenge, you’ll kick my ass! Ah well, will be fun anyway… just try not to beat me too badly!
28 August 2006 at 6:35 pm
I was sooo very proud when I first saw the articles about Bush’s fart humor. I do not get the press letting him get off as if that is in anyway appropriate for someone currently in his office. I can see it as a cute story in a memior years from now but come on.