Confusing your heart with your dick

September 12, 2004 5:58 PM

When you hold a moment of silence for 9/11, it's good to stand with your hand on your heart. But if you're the President, you reach for your crotch.
posted by tapeguy (40 comments total)

Oh yeah, link via Jason Kottke. Also note Solicitor General Ted Olson, second left, who's trying to find his wallet. Laura Bush gets top marks, though.
posted by tapeguy at 5:59 PM on September 12, 2004

"ugh, maybe I shouldn't have had that freedomburrito."
posted by milovoo at 6:02 PM on September 12, 2004

The way to a man's heart?
(through his stomach, of course)
posted by kamylyon at 6:05 PM on September 12, 2004

Funny that he's holding his hand only a few inches above where the little girl to his right is holding it. Little Girl: 1, the President of the Country: 0.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:09 PM on September 12, 2004

OMG. I'm about to go WhingeFilter on this. I think I might have to start a MeFi movement: Members for a Bush-Free MetaFilter Environment. MBFMFE.

First order of business: to get a better name. Second order of business: to demand that the BushFiltering stop. I suggest a simple IP Ban on anyone who uses the word "Bush" in a FPP.
posted by five fresh fish at 6:40 PM on September 12, 2004

Maybe he was just flattening out his suit. I find myself doing that often when I wear uncomfortable suits. Maybe the shot just caught him mid-pat.
posted by afx114 at 6:41 PM on September 12, 2004

afx114, that's pathetic, trying to come up with excuses for Bush's disrespect, especially when the just-released unretouched version of the photo proves it's actually much worse than we thought!

Oh yeah, and terrible, terrible FPP. But not so terrible as to keep me from posting on it.
posted by soyjoy at 6:46 PM on September 12, 2004

More a news of the bizarre filter. Does it judge them man? Probably not, but a strange photo to be sure.
posted by shagoth at 6:50 PM on September 12, 2004

Also note Solicitor General Ted Olson, second left, who's trying to find his wallet.

You know, Olson's wife was on one of the hijacked planes, so regardless of politics, you might want to cut him a little slack.
posted by TBoneMcCool at 6:52 PM on September 12, 2004

Holy shit -- and I think his tie is a little crooked too!
posted by eatitlive at 6:53 PM on September 12, 2004

i suggest a simple ip ban anyone who uses the word bush in a fpp ---
How about "shrub?" :)
posted by barrista at 7:03 PM on September 12, 2004

For fuck's sake. He's not trying to grope himself.

He's just hungry.

Duh.
posted by armoured-ant at 7:27 PM on September 12, 2004

Geez. If this is the level of criticism of President Bush, then I can comfortably look forward to his inauguration in January.
posted by davidmsc at 7:29 PM on September 12, 2004

posted by dhoyt at 7:37 PM on September 12, 2004

Oh, no such "criticism" of any other president has ever occured. Oh my. Plenty of posts here go out of bounds, into the real of obsessiveness/hatred. This one is more or less traditional as regards the way Americans treat their presidents.
posted by raysmj at 7:38 PM on September 12, 2004

As someone who thinks Bush is a vile person, and a bad president, I have to say this post sinks Bush-bashing to an all time low.

[this sucks]
posted by y6y6y6 at 7:40 PM on September 12, 2004

I suggest a simple IP Ban on anyone who uses the word "Bush" in a FPP.

Note of course that the word "Bush" didn't appear in the FPP.
posted by clevershark at 7:47 PM on September 12, 2004

What is the official societal protocol here ?

I'm no Bush fan, but really now - I never learned the proper "hand over heart" gesture either. Funny, that. GW and I share a school !

That must be it.

And, I guess the gesture must be intended to convey "sincerity".

I can find infinite fault with GW Bush, but on this point I'd guess that he and I are equally culpable.
posted by troutfishing at 8:00 PM on September 12, 2004

Geez. If this is the level of criticism of President Bush, then I can comfortably look forward to his inauguration in January.

Well, I thought it was funnier than the fact that none of the 22 terrorists he named in October 2001 as "among the most dangerous: the leaders and key supporters, the planners and strategists" have been captured.

I tried to make the front page post as slight as possible - didn't even mention Bush by name, as clevershark pointed out above. That said, it is a pretty 'slight' link, it's just a simple photo by itself. If I had made it into a bit more of a bash against him, I knew it'd be a lame FPP (obviously, FPP that needs an explanation like this must automatically be lame) and prime candidate for deletion. Anyway, I posted it here because I thought - in the context of all those other stories, like choking on the pretzel, dropping his dog - it was funny, because I thought other people might also find it funny or odd and might not have already seen it (it's only since seeing it at Kottke.org and after posting it here that I realised that bloggers like Atrios made a fuss over it before I did).

What I can't believe no one else has brought up: if they had a photo of Bush with his hand in the right place, why wasn't that used? Oh yeah, liberal media. Maybe he did actually stand there the whole time with his hand in the wrong place. Would it surprise you? Probably not. Would it change who you're planning to vote for? Of course not, but I knew that when I posted the original link.

When people can no longer make front page posts taking the mick out of the President, the terrorists win. Still, I guess we can comfortably look forward to his inauguration in January.

Whether the camera caught the President moving his hand about or not, he was still flip-flopping on the issue of where he thinks his heart is.

Sorry.
posted by tapeguy at 8:05 PM on September 12, 2004

i accept your apology.
posted by cell divide at 8:12 PM on September 12, 2004

posted by quonsar at 8:12 PM on September 12, 2004

heh. I want to see if he can rub his tummy and pat his head at the same time. This is clearly a man who inhabits the "My Pet Goat" zone.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:19 PM on September 12, 2004

Eh, it could have been worse. They could have caught him making an "adjustment" like big league baseball players sometimes do.
posted by jasonbondshow at 8:22 PM on September 12, 2004

In all fairness.
posted by dhartung at 8:45 PM on September 12, 2004

This picture changes everything, I'm voting for Nader!
posted by Mick at 8:52 PM on September 12, 2004

Note of course that the word "Bush" didn't appear in the FPP.

You're right. The word "Bush" should be banned entirely from MeFi.

dhartung: photoshopped! you can see his ligature is post-modern!
posted by five fresh fish at 8:53 PM on September 12, 2004

You're right. The word "Bush" should be banned entirely from MeFi.

Mefi, the internet, Washington DC... whatever :-)
posted by clevershark at 9:10 PM on September 12, 2004

If this is the level of criticism of President Bush, then I can comfortably look forward to his inauguration in January.

This is not my beautiful car. This is not by beautiful wife. This is not the best of the web. And you may say "My God, what have I done" when Bush is elected.

But I'll be letting the treads go by...
posted by namespan at 12:03 AM on September 13, 2004

quonsar's version made me laugh, so it wasn't a complete waste of time!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:40 AM on September 13, 2004

it's times like thse when i really wish I could post as "log-in".
posted by taz at 1:10 AM on September 13, 2004

Well, if you don't have a heart, where are you supposed to put your hand?
posted by password at 6:04 AM on September 13, 2004

what password said.
posted by nofundy at 6:13 AM on September 13, 2004

Also note Solicitor General Ted Olson, second left, who's trying to find his wallet.

Or, maybe -- just maybe -- he was trying to get his hand as close as possible to his heart while remembering his murdered wife. Prick.
posted by pardonyou? at 6:59 AM on September 13, 2004

oh, and what's with the dude behind him staring at bush' ass?
posted by afx114 at 8:26 AM on September 13, 2004

What I can't believe no one else has brought up: if they had a photo of Bush with his hand in the right place, why wasn't that used? Oh yeah, liberal media. Maybe he did actually stand there the whole time with his hand in the wrong place. Would it surprise you? Probably not. Would it change who you're planning to vote for? Of course not, but I knew that when I posted the original link.

How about this?
posted by pardonyou? at 8:33 AM on September 13, 2004

How about this?

Hello? Anyone? tapeguy? Bueller? Bueller?

Maybe you're right, though. At least one camera shutter did catch him with is hand in the vicinity of his crotch (assuming his crotch is located at his belly button). But there's no denying this was a big "fuck you" to the victims of 9/11.
posted by pardonyou? at 11:59 AM on September 13, 2004

oh, and what's with the dude behind him staring at bush' ass?

He was wondering when a new Iraq policy would pop out.

-sorry-
posted by lathrop at 12:55 PM on September 13, 2004

I think he is giving the steal sign to Cheney. I'm sure the veep was way ahead of him though.
posted by terrapin at 1:56 PM on September 13, 2004

I think this thread makes the President look like a human being, and most of the posters here look like assholes.
posted by ParisParamus at 2:04 PM on September 13, 2004

Wow. That really hurts, coming from you, Paris.
posted by five fresh fish at 2:45 PM on September 13, 2004