I miss President George W. Bush, "Dubya" as I affectionately called him. I don't miss his policies or politics, but the material he and his administration gave me as a commentator.
First there were the lost weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The deciding factor to invade a country in a war that has killed thousands of Americans and thousands more Iraqis was based on either false or fabricated intelligence. What was the response that came from the White House? "Our bad."
Then, there was the time when we sacrificed our national integrity and broke a few national laws along the way when the Bush White House developed a fondness for rendition. There wasn't any real outrage when the American public found out that its government had transported supposed enemy combatants to secret prisons around the world and tortured them. Instead, the nation gleefully joined in on the comedy act and said, "Those silly boys in Washington are up to something new every week!"
Except they weren't. The silly boys in Washington always propped themselves up against the "Defend America" platform but somehow managed to let security at American nuclear sites lapse. When the media discovered the Port of Miami was scheduled to be sold to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the public was appalled, but few were incensed when reporters discovered that less than 10 percent of all incoming cargo at American maritime ports was screened for explosives and other potential national security breaches.
To top the hilarity off, after President Bush told then-director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Michael Brown that he was "doing a heckuva job" when thousands were stranded for weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, the vice president shot a man while quail hunting.
Sometimes, I think truth is stranger than fiction, and the truth of the Bush administration's comedic tragedy gave me column fodder for months.
Then Sarah Palin happened. Oh, the humanity! Each week there was something new and funny to write. There was the time when Palin commented that she could see Russia from her house. There was the time when Palin accused candidate Barack Obama of palling around with terrorists, forgetting that her own husband belonged to a political party that had secession on its mind. There was the time when she took the holier-than-thou abstinence position, forgetting her 17-year-old daughter was pregnant. All of this played out over the soundtrack of a reasonably powerful person mangling the English language where even "Dubya" could no longer recognize it.
Today, for the columnists, who every once in a while like to diverge from serious subjects to comedic ones, hope again lies on the horizon. Palin may have left office with 18 months left in her gubernatorial term, but surely her ambition won't keep her away from the national spotlight for long. Amusement can still be found in the "birther movement," where far right crazies keep coming out of the boonies to challenge whether President Obama was born in the United States. And even in the White House, the president himself has provided comedic fodder by answering a question last week about the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Gates after police thought he was breaking into his own home. Within 30 seconds, Obama changed the national dialogue from a debate on health care to a "teachable moment" on race.
Maybe the comedy reel will keep on rolling.
Matthew Christ is a political science sophomore. His column appears weekly.
