Farewell to Bushisms, Hello to Change

In light of the recent inauguration of President Obama, video clips of the President will probably no longer appear in their previous genre: comedy. Already, the Daily Bushism calendars have vanished from shelves, and many online sites will end their daily ridicule of the former President. Jacob Weisberg, the man in charge of Slate's Bushisms, finds "the Bush who flails with words, unlike the Bush who flails with policy, to be an endearing character." When Bush made mistakes, he wrote, he showed an ability to laugh at himself that is rarely found in world leaders. "Through his willful, improvisational and incompetent use of language, he tempers (very slightly) his willful, improvisational, and incompetent use of government."

Conversely, Obama has shown a tremendous sensitivity to his media image, and he is very much in control of it thus far. Through his weekly video podcast, he bypassed the media and spoke directly to the American people. During the campaign, his sense of showmanship, from buying 30 minutes of network television to the fireworks and fanfare at the DNC, has captured the American imagination and helped us all to believe that "yes we can." He continued that trend through election night and his Inauguration. Even whitehouse.gov (not to mention change.gov) looks like it came right out of the middle of his campaign. The man is a rock star, and now that he's President, I doubt he's going to let that change. He'll try to keep his image as flawless and inspiring as ever, bringing that change we all need. Now we have said farewell to President Bush and hello to a President who has sold himself as an inspiration. The American people have already bought it. Politics have gone from cynically comical to hopeful optimistic.

Some, perhaps most, will not miss President Bush at all, but, in the words of Weisberg, "you can't ... despise someone who regrets that, because of the rising cost of malpractice insurance, '[t]oo many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country.' "

Read the article here.