Is it wrong of me to admit that I miss Bush? It’s certainly blasphemy for one such as myself, a die-hard liberal through and through, to admit that the man who wreaked havoc on America left a great void that can never be filled. No longer can I turn to the White House with eager eyes, ready for the first slew of embarrassments and hilarity, ready for the first ridiculous policies I could artfully skewer with biting phrase and sarcastic amusement. For days, in fact, I have been trying vainly to think of something political to make fun of. Yet, there is nothing. Palin has silently glided off the radar, though I’m sure she is always there… lurking. McCain is back to participating in his duties with vigor, and an utter lack of excitement. Bush seems to have gone happily back to his ranch-ownin’ ways, and my life is empty. I know that it is possible to make fun of Obama, but I just can’t find it in myself to do so yet. It is easy to satirize those you despise, but hard, very hard indeed, to do so to those you admire. I know that Obama has already made mistakes. I know that not all humans are perfect. But I simply can’t write anything biting about him or his administration. I think that the relief is still too great. The over-whelming relief that this torture, this body of lies, this corrupt administration (yes, I know all political administrations are corrupt, but I wouldn’t trust a Republican one before a Democratic) are finally GONE, that it seems blasphemy to write on the savior. Yes, I know I previously said I missed Bush. Yet, I think it is more the wistful longing you have for say, a broken arm that had become a part of you. It was painful, torturous, annoying, and generally a nuisance, but it was a part of you. And, however much we all despised him (which most of us did by the end) Bush is an American and a lovable man in his own goofy, bungling way. He was a part of us. Yes, it was a terrible part that we’d all rather forget, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was eight years of our lives (oh gosh! How long we suffered). Maybe, just maybe, Palin will serenely sweep onto the scene again, her happy bizarreness a new target for the “liberal media.” Then will the arm be broken once more, the groans will rise, and the void will be filled.
It is horrifying, but also strangely peaceful to think of- there is always another Bush to fill the void. Stupidity will always be present, and those ready to satirize it willing and waiting…
