The Asterisk

[Hogarth]

I'm curious to know why the president is being represented in text lately with the asterisk. Is it because his questionable election deserves an historical asterisk or because Kurt Vonnegut sketched an asterisk in Slaughterhouse Five to illustrate the human asshole? I'll accept either or both.

I ask because Gary Trudeau is now portraying the guy as a Roman helmet with an asterisk where his mouth would be, so I've always been inclined to translate it as the latter.

[corarose]

1. Because he wasn't elected he was selected

The Piece Of Shit is hated so bad no one wants to type his name.

[LittleApple81]

3. I thought it was Doonesbury originated...

Quale was a feather, Clinton a waffle, Bush an *

[corarose]

5. The writer of Doonesbury is smart man

I think that your right.

[teknomanzer]

10. On Doonsbury...

Originally Bush I was dipicted as the invisible Vice President during the Reagan admininstration (around the same time he did his Ron Headroom schtick) the asterisk looking thing was a visual dipiction of sound coming out of the invisible VP's mouth. Trudeau continued to use this visual gag for other things Bush related from Quail (just added a feather) on down to Bush Jr. So Trudeau did not start the asterisk meme, that was done here on DU I think as a notation that Bush was not elected, but rather appointed by judicial fiat.

[Hogarth]

6. Okay ...

... that makes sense, and I'm with you on it; but I'm still going to think of both connotations whenever I see it. Thanks.

[nostamj]

2. on DU it was 'mostly' the historical*

meaning that that history would record Bush* with an asterisk to make note of the challenged election results

[roughsatori]

4. It is adopted from a baseball statistical controversy

I forget the details but many here know their sports as well as their politics and can fill you in.

[Davis_X_Machina]

7. The short skinny....

In 1961 Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in a season.
There were 162 games played.
In 1927, Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in a season.
There were 154 games played.

So Maris broke Ruth's record absolutely, but not relatively (HR/game).

Commissioner at the time, Ford Frick, IIRC, declared that Maris would be listed in the record books as the single-season home-run leader, but with an asterisk, to indicate the somewhat dubious nature of his record.

[corarose]

8. I do remember someone talking about this after the selection

They said that Jr would be an * in historical books because of the selection and that there would be a note at the bottom of the page to explain why.

[roughsatori]

9. Thanks for that, I just emailed it to a friend NT

[gulliver]

11. Actually, Vonnegut's asshole picture...

... is in Breakfast of Champions, and has eight "arms" instead of the five or six as in the common asterisk.