Reacting to the Laura letters. Plus: Digital International. Blair blahs. Lt. Pantano in the dock. PBS canceled. Hitching rides. Plus much more.
p>
RED IN THE FACE
br>
Re: "That's Why the First Lady..." letters in Reader Mail's
How
Funny Was She?
and Wlady Pleszczynski's
Milking the
Horse
:
/p>
p>The most striking feature of all the angry mail prompted by
Wlady's criticism of Laura Bush's blue stand-up routine (other than
the goofy, endlessly repeated talking-point-like use of the phrase
"lighten up") was the anger itself. What we had on display here was
a parade of conservatives heavily invested in Laura Bush the Good
who knew in their heart of hearts that she'd [messed] up royally.
They bitterly hated Wlady daring to state the obvious, as it made
them feel like fools for having made such a poor investment choice.
And who among us likes to play the part of the fool (other than
me)? No one. Hence, the lashing out at Wlady, who, judging by his
record of writings, possesses more cool-dude attributes in his
pinky than all the outraged "lighten uppers" have in their entire
bodies combined.
br>
--
Rich Smith
br>
Yucca Valley, California
/p>
Please add my boos and hisses to those who panned Laura Bush's
talk. The whole purpose of the Correspondents Dinner, is to take
the opportunity to speak with tongue planted firmly in cheek. One
of the most enchanting parts of both the Bushes personalities is
their ability to make fun of themselves. It makes them human and
helps to put Joe and Jane American on a par with them.
To those who compared them to the Clintons; my God! To compare
these two, who are so comfortable in their own skins that they can
tease each other in public, with the other two is nuts. You have
cold Hillary and affable Bill, but can you really recall anytime at
these dinners them doing anything but taking potshots at their
critics under the guise of humor?