I'm bewildered why Bush is called "likeable!"

[glarius]

I absolutely abhor the way Bush (who, before he became the darling of the media, was described as a snearer when he first appeared in 2000) leans on a lecturn when he is giving a speech and works so hard at being ingratiating!....It's so blatantly obvious and insincere to me and is just sickening....At least once a day, he is described on TV as very likeable by the media......Every time I see him I wonder....When did he lose his snear and become loveable?....Sorry, but I STILL SEE THE SNEAR!...I pray to God you vote this moron out of office in November....before he has the whole world at war!...:loveya:

P.S....It's not only his snear, he has mean eyes.

[rocktivity]

1. Al Franken was on Dennis Miller's show last night

Dennis brought up Bush's "likeability," to which Franken responded, "Well, that's fine if you're electing the leader of a frat house!"

:headbang:
rocknation

[glarius]

2. I saw that!

My point is that I just don't think Bush comes across as likeable!...I don't get it....

[Not Me]

4. I agree...I can't for the life of me understand how he is "likeable"

He is condescending in tone, aloof in his mannerism.
And his gestures, especially his smirk, send strange (almost psycho) vibes to me.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. I STILL SEE THE SNEAR

He still sees the sneer, it's in the mirror, used to reflect off his beer, but now it's clear, he still has his sneer, isn't it queer?

Likeable... hah!! Give everybody a break.

[MrBenchley]

16. Bear in mind that Dennis Miller is a REAL judge

of what is likable...NOT.

Hell, Miller has to pay people to sit in his studio audience, which is among the lowest-rated regular progrtamming on basic cable.

[MrBenchley]

17. Bear in mind that Dennis Miller is a REAL judge

of what is likable...NOT.

Hell, Miller has to pay people to sit in his studio audience, which is among the lowest-rated regular progrtamming on basic cable.

[truth2power]

5. This country suffers from

collective Stockholm Syndrome, among other things.

[smirkymonkey]

24. You know, that is the only plausible explaination.

Otherwise, I cannot account for this collective madness.

GWB is the MOST UNLIKABLE person on the planet. He makes my skin crawl.

[Huckebein the Raven]

6. Could my sig be the answer ?

[Comadreja]

26. Yep, I think that's it...

Democrats like Kerry and Gore seem too intellectual for the average white male, Bush's supporters. Clinton had enough Elvis to make up for his superior intellect. They are just average folks with few if any talents, poorly read, comfortable with the status quo. Bush has absolutelt no talent, and exudes a barfly type of bonhommie that Joe Sixpack feels comfy with. Or so it appears.

[11 Bravo]

7. I've often wondered the same thing.

He strikes me as the smirking, swaggering little prick from the playground who knows that no matter how badly he fucks up, no one can touch him because Daddy will step in and make everything all better.

[Cleita]

8. If you say it often enough, then it will be true.

The Goebbelization of our media by Rupert Murdoch as the flagship, has
transformed the media into one big propaganda machine for the fascist wing of the Republican Party and George Bush. What does Murdoch get out of this? More deregulation of the communications industry so he can make more money. Murdoch has taken yellow journalism to new heights and the rest of the corporate media have followed in his footsteps for ratings and profit. I personally have stopped buying anything he has his finger in as far as news outlets. Gotta admit that I still like to watch "The Simpsons" and the "X-files" reruns.

[MrBenchley]

15. Wolf!

I think just the opposite. The more they say it, the phonier it will get to sound.

Hell, Faux Noise is pushing for Junior Birdman as hard as Rupert Murdoch can push them and all they can come up with to say about him is that he is "likable"?

So is Clay Aiken...and I doubt Clay would sit like a lump reading along with My Pet Goat in a crisis....

When "likable" is the adjective of choice at this stage, it means that even those trying to praise him can't say "brave" or "intelligent" or "principled" or "dynamic" or any other adjective with a straight face.

[VOX]

9. Everything about him seems majorly phony: the "macho" strut,

The forced smirk, the bogus West Texas accent, all the dress-up stuff, the brush-clearing photo ops, etc., etc.

There is not one real thing about that man, except his piss-poor attitude ("Who you talking to?").

Likeable? Pfft. Not in this lifetime.

[Zero Gravitas]

10. Parallel Universe Theory

The only explanation is that we are picking TV signals from a parallel Universe. That Universe also has a President named Bush, but the other President Bush is very different from out own. The Parallel Bush is

a) elected
b) likeable
c) competent
d) popular

as opposed to our Bush who was appointed by the supreme court, slouches and sneers and smirks and generally acts like a school-yard bully, who fucks up everything he does and is hated by the overwhelming majority of humanity. Maybe the other Universe is getting out TV universe and wondering why we've invaded a country that was no threat to us and why the President is acting like a mentally retard chimp. Or maybe the media in our universe is just a bunch of corporate whores.

[CBHagman]

12. The Washington Post used the phrase "popular wartime president"

...for about 18 months or so after 9/11. They went off him very noticeably after his State of the Union address this past January and finally seemed to be admitting that he was a more polarizing figure than they'd previously said. However, they still tried to put the best spin on the fact that Bush's glorious state visit to the United Kingdom was conducted at a distance from 100,000 demonstrators (the Post noted that it was "only" 100,000 demonstators, as though really unpopular people have to draw more than that).

But at any rate, I think the frat boy analogy is apt. There's a particular kind of phoniness adopted by certain types of men, including some in fraternities, and Bush displays it. He's actually quite aggressive, manipulative, thin-skinned, and vindictive, but he tries to cover it with humor (hostile humor, at that) and a smile. It doesn't work on people who have seen this sort of operation before.

As for the rest, who knows? Maybe they do believe in a plutocracy and that we're all just supposed to obey big corporate daddy.

[TrogL]

11. It's a popularity contest

Based upon socialization, not any grasp of the issues or *gasp* expertise.

All Dubya has to do is stand there and look "Presidential" and people will vote for him even if there's uncontrovertible evidence he just killed a baby in the parking lot.

That's the whole purpose of his visit to the Convention. He will stand there with perfect lighting and babble away in that faux-country folksy voice of his and all the idiots will swoon.

Same thing in the debates. He could announce that 2+2=5, but as long as he does it right and looks perty for the camera, he's a shoe in.

All Kerry has to do is do it better. Gore couldn't.

[MrBenchley]

13. For the same reason Kerry said Chimpy was a great debater

and Ali leaned against the ropes and let Fraizier punch away...

That's why you hear democrats agree. Because if there's one thing America loves, it's a smirky rich idiot....

Hope he goes out every day and tells folks "rich people evade taxes and that's why I cut their taxes" because he's so likable....

That's why you can only see him if you sign a loyalty oath....people like him too much.

[Vickers]

14. Yes, he's likeable, just like Ted Bundy

Remember ol' Ted? Man, he sure was likeable! Just like ol' Georgie.

George Bush and Ted Bundy. Just two likeable fellas.

[wadestock]

18. Misreading a goofy businessman....

You'll find this likable syndrome in almost any clod that succeeds out of sheer luck or coincidental events and develops a goofy philosophy about the whole thing. I've seen dozens of this type come and go where I work. People tend to look at these people and think that they have some innate personability...when actually the fact that they relate to people on some goofy level is much more to do with the fact that they have nothing really better to do at work.

You'll also find that these goofy incompetent people tend to form camaraderies .....didn't you ever wonder why they all have such fun together on the golf course? I hung out with people like this over the past 30 years and you'd be amazed how shallow and immature they actual are. These are people that generally don't mature because they think they have some innate abilities in the first place. Couple all this with W's alcoholism, and you have quite a jolly 6th grade level boy that can rear its ugly head most of the time.

He represents the quintessential businessman who has succeeded despite glaring inadequacies. Those who believe in Reaganism/Limbaughims and believe that the only way to success is in an individualistic self-centered focus find guys like W an icon they can believe in.

So the whole thing is really a combination of reading way too much into who the person is and misreading the apparent jovial behavior.

[terrya]

19. Did anyone see Chris Matthews' on "Real Time with Bill Maher"?

Matthews talked about this "likability" nonsense. He mentioned how stupid it was to imagine that you'd actually share a drink with Bush in a bar (well, maybe the drink part isn't THAT farfetched, if we're talking about Bush)

But Matthews nailed it perfectly. To decide how you feel about the direction of the country based on whether the candidate is "likable"...pretty low on the list of priorities, IMO.

[Lisa]

20. he plays cruel tricks on people ...

... and his "jokes" are usually at someone else's expense. Really it's a form of bullying. You can learn a lot about people by looking at what they think is funny -- and during the 2000 campaign, when I saw the types of pranks Georgie got up to (e.g. tricking a reporter into drinking contaminated water) I suspected the guy was really bad news!

It's possible for somebody like that to feign civility for a short while, under controlled conditions. But pretty soon, people catch on. Even if, as in Georgie's case, he's rich/powerful enough to bribe or intimidate folks into covering for him.

[Digit]

21. I am bewildered, too

I don't find him personable, intelligent OR compassionate, IMO.

I am mystified how they said he "won" the debates against Gore.
Since when do you judge who won based on who did "better" than expectations? So he managed to string a few sentences together...that made him WIN??????????

Gimmee a break!!!!

[GRLMGC]

22. Two words: Douche Bag

Wow, I cannot stand the man. He has this stupid ass smirk everytime he's giving one of his speeches that is really annoying. I usually change the channel whenever he's saying anything because, more likely than not, its a lie. One time, I actually watched him on his ranch and when he finished, he walked to his truck with this fake cowboy swagger thing and I couldn't help but exclaim "Douche bag!" Sigh. I think that about sums it up.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. He is considered "likable" for the same reason that Reagan

was (falsely) considered "the most popular postwar president."

The media kept repeating the phrase until the public started believing it.

[porkrind]

25. * is being "MARKETED" as "likable"

In "Real Life" his policies are just the opposite. This is why they try to oversell the whole "likeability" issue so much. This is just a case of "If you repeat the lie enough times it becomes the new reality."