The Bird Was Perfect But Not For Dinner

December 4, 2003 7:43 AM

The Bird Was Perfect But Not For Dinner The bird is so perfect it looks as if it came from a food magazine, with bunches of grapes and other trimmings completing a Norman Rockwell image that evokes bounty and security in one of the most dangerous parts of the world. But as a small sign of the many ways the White House maximized the impact of the 2 & 1/2-hour stop at the Baghdad airport, administration officials said yesterday that Bush picked up a decoration, not a serving plate.
posted by y2karl (40 comments total)

cry fowl and let loose the dogs of madison ave.
posted by clavdivs at 7:48 AM on December 4, 2003

And why, exactly, does this matter to you? He used a prop of a turkey because there wasn't a good looking turkey. BFD. He still served Thanksgiving dinner, didn't he? It's about as ridiculous as this guy, who tried to make a scandal out of his (erroneous) belief that the meal had been served at 6 a.m.

This constant niggling on every little thing, no matter how trivial, just makes people look petty.
posted by pardonyou? at 8:30 AM on December 4, 2003

Was this Turkey fake, as well?


posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 8:39 AM on December 4, 2003

Fake President Serves Fake Turkey.
posted by Blue Stone at 8:43 AM on December 4, 2003

That Bush is a fucking asshole!
posted by xmutex at 8:45 AM on December 4, 2003

Ooh, y2karl, nice catch. Can somebody draw up some articles of impeachment? I'd do it, but I'm eating a sandwich right now.

mmm....righteous indignation...*drool*
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:51 AM on December 4, 2003

That turkey could have been made out of plastic for all Karl Rove (and many conservatives) care. That photo will be everywhere come election time.

The "Mission Accomplished" fakery was just *too* fake for Joe Sixpack. This will do just fine.
posted by skallas at 8:52 AM on December 4, 2003

And it was a Kellogg Brown & Root turkey, too.

This constant niggling on every little thing, no matter how trivial, just makes people look petty.

I know you are but what am I?
posted by y2karl at 8:55 AM on December 4, 2003

The big question is: did the soldiers get real turkey in their meals, or turkey loaf? Cause if it was turkey loaf, we've got a scandal.
posted by Ty Webb at 8:59 AM on December 4, 2003

pardonyou?: "And why, exactly, does this matter to you? He used a prop of a turkey because there wasn't a good looking turkey"

It's fitting, considering we have a prop of a President.

But rather than serve turkey dinner, why doesn't Bush get off his duff and make sure all the soldiers have proper body armor? At $1,500 a shot that's less than a steak and two veggies at a Republican fund-raiser per soldier.

Why doesn't he? Because it wouldn't that make a good photo-op. And since the media doesn't show photos of American dead or American coffins coming home, Bush simply doesn't give a shit.

Or is that form of supporting the troops just "petty niggling" in your book?
posted by Reverend Mykeru at 9:06 AM on December 4, 2003

What's more interesting in that WaPo article are these two grafs:

White House officials do not deny that they craft elaborate events to showcase Bush, but they maintain that these events are designed to accurately dramatize his policies and to convey qualities about him that are real.

"This was effective, because it captured something about the president that people know is true, that he really cares about the soldiers and gets emotional when he sees them," Mary Matalin, a former administration official, said about the trip to Baghdad. "You have to figure out how to capture the Bush we know, even if it doesn't come through in a speech situation or a press conference. He regularly rejects anything that is not him."

I like Josh Marshall's take on the above:

So fake scenes are good becaue they capture deeper truths about the president "that people know [are] true." That's classic. Sorta like how the Santa Claus story captures the deeper meaning of Christmas or that other story about the Stork.

Great.

The article also points out that that story about a BA pilot spotting Air Force One (y'know, the one where the White House changed their story yesterday) didn't happen. BA is saying that neither the old version nor the new version happened. The turkey is a mountain out of a molehill; the Post buried the lede, and more untruths are getting spewed out of the White House pressroom. Business as usual, I guess.
posted by Vidiot at 9:36 AM on December 4, 2003

'Correspondent Mark Knoller said Sunday on "CBS Evening News" that the misleading information and deception were understandable, but that he had been "filing radio reports that amounted to fiction."'

Not fiction. Not from this White House. Say it ain't so! I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked!
posted by whatever at 9:56 AM on December 4, 2003

This constant niggling on every little thing, no matter how trivial, just makes people look petty.

They learned everything they know from the Repubs during the Clinton Administration.
posted by crunchland at 9:58 AM on December 4, 2003

Homer: Okay don't panic, remember what the instructor said. :remembers:
Instructor: If you ever get into trouble, all you need to do is..
Ned: Feels like I'm wearin.. nothing at all! Nothing at all! Nothing at all!
Homer: Stupid sexy Flanders!

On a side note, I finally saw the Stupid sexy Flanders episode--yay! I am a lookalike, you know.
posted by y2karl at 10:00 AM on December 4, 2003

Look, if Clinton had been in a similar situation, and visiting the troops in harm's way, I would approve of the very same precautions being taken. Just a practical reality. And the turkey thing is kinda silly. Aren't there more substansive things to report about?

Boy, are next year's elections going to be entertaining. And I can hardly wait for the conventions. (I watch those of both parties.) Make the popcorn, already.
posted by konolia at 10:00 AM on December 4, 2003

I don't care about the fake turkey, and the explanation that it's a standard fair for holiday time military cafeteria's seems plausible. What does bother me is this:

Bush's standing rose in a poll conducted immediately after the trip. Administration officials said the presidential stop provided a morale boost that troops in Iraq are still talking about, and helped reassure Iraqis about U.S. intentions.

So because he's capable of boarding an aircraft and showing up for din-din on time he does better in the polls. I don't care who it is, but the fact that these photo ops work sicken me. No wonder the evening news back home always has the human interest drivel right after the drive-by shootings and death-by-stray-gunfire.
posted by substrate at 10:03 AM on December 4, 2003

But rather than serve turkey dinner, why doesn't Bush get off his duff and make sure all the soldiers have proper body armor? At $1,500 a shot that's less than a steak and two veggies at a Republican fund-raiser per soldier.

Why doesn't he? Because it wouldn't that make a good photo-op. And since the media doesn't show photos of American dead or American coffins coming home, Bush simply doesn't give a shit.

Or is that form of supporting the troops just "petty niggling" in your book?

Sorry, Rev, I must have been mistaken. I thought this was about Bush's credibility being called into a question because of a fake turkey. I didn't realize the real issue was body armor, fundraisers, the media, and pictures of dead American soldiers. (By the way, love the "everything is about everything" logic. Very persuasive!)

They learned everything they know from the Repubs during the Clinton Administration.

Absolutely. Hence the hoary (though no less true) adage: "Two wrongs don't make a right."
posted by pardonyou? at 10:15 AM on December 4, 2003

And since the media doesn't show photos of American dead or American coffins coming home, Bush simply doesn't give a shit.

Why the media doesn't show American coffins returning home.
posted by Vidiot at 10:28 AM on December 4, 2003

This constant niggling on every little thing, no matter how trivial, just makes people look petty.
Sen. Hillary Clinton also was blasted yesterday for her trip in Afghanistan, something about holding up the troops while she ate. Only glanced at the the linK on daypop top 40 links. It is petty(or the over abundance of news) on both sides even heard Senator Clinton applaud Bush.
posted by thomcatspike at 11:18 AM on December 4, 2003

Was this Turkey fake, as well?

No, but that really doesn't have anything to do with it, does it. That's not the photo being used at fundraisers.

This constant niggling on every little thing, no matter how trivial, just makes people look petty.

Admittedly, there's likely have been less of a joke about this were it someone else, but guess what- Bush has to accept ridicule for this as part of the image he himself helped create. He's the photo-op president, carefully crafting "Mission Accomplished" banners and press statements behind blue screens with whatever he wants to push written several dozen times behind him. He went for a gimmicky photo-op, he got called on it. Deal with it.

Likewise, deal with the fact that Bush is going to continue being called out on the visual and verbal gaffes. Again, it's the theme of the image, and it's not going away. Bill Clinton was the slick huckster. Al Gore was the Liar. Howard Dean is the angry guy. George W. Bush is the dumb one.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 11:23 AM on December 4, 2003

Sorry, Rev, I must have been mistaken. I thought this was about Bush's credibility being called into a question because of a fake turkey. I didn't realize the real issue was body armor, fundraisers, the media, and pictures of dead American soldiers...

You ARE mistaken, and Reverend Mykeru's point stands. You and the other Bush apologist's sad conviction that "support for the troops" means assembling the press corps, flying with them on a luxury jetliner into Baghdad, posing with a fake, press-relations turkey for numerous photo-ops, then cutting and running before taking any time to find out for himself what conditions might be like for the soldiers he placed in harm's way for his own political purposes....it all really speak worlds about the mindset of Bush sycophants. Our Fearless Leader, Right or Wrong...or as Fake as the Turkey He Carries. Pathetic....

Was this Turkey fake, as well?

No, that's really the President. Thanks for the comparison.

Kevlar footwear, son. Kevlar footwear.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 11:31 AM on December 4, 2003

XAUZYPHYR, Bush isn't the photo-op president. He's a photo-op president, and we haven't had any other kind for a long time, and likely won't ever again.
posted by peeping_Thomist at 11:45 AM on December 4, 2003

So, fold_and_mutilate, you'd be happier if Bush was mugging with actual meat?
posted by NortonDC at 11:49 AM on December 4, 2003

"and we haven't had any other kind for a long time"

I forget........ Who were the other presidents who've repeatedly used fake props to demonstrate their down-home honesty?
posted by y6y6y6 at 11:52 AM on December 4, 2003

Who cares that the turkey was fake. I think the horrible part is that the soldiers were fooled into expecting shania twain and got shrub instead. He could have at least sung "That don't impress me much" in a leopard bodysuit.
posted by srboisvert at 12:14 PM on December 4, 2003

Bush Lied. People Dined.
posted by pardonyou? at 12:26 PM on December 4, 2003

I think the horrible part is that the soldiers were fooled into expecting shania twain and got shrub instead. He could have at least sung "That don't impress me much" in a leopard bodysuit.

THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING!
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 12:28 PM on December 4, 2003

This constant niggling on every little thing, no matter how trivial, just makes people look petty.

yes, pardonyou?, people who are paying attention tend to get really petty when someone loots the treasury and trashes the constitution. small minded fuckers, we are.
posted by quonsar at 12:33 PM on December 4, 2003

Yes but was he wearing pants?

Look carefully at those photographs, and free your mind!!

I think I'll have a turkey sandwich.
posted by hama7 at 12:44 PM on December 4, 2003

yes, pardonyou?, people who are paying attention tend to get really petty when someone loots the treasury and trashes the constitution.

I don't know -- shouldn't it be the exact opposite? It seems to me that focusing on the trivial only detracts from more significant grievances.
posted by pardonyou? at 12:59 PM on December 4, 2003

Who were the other presidents who've repeatedly used fake props to demonstrate their down-home honesty?

I'd mention the person most responsible for Presidency by Photo Op, but apparently "he can no longer speak, feed himself or recognise his own wife and children". Which I suspect is a fairly pleasant state to be in at this point in our history...
Yes, I know Altzheimer's is not a pleasant thing, but it's still far better than he deserves
posted by wendell at 1:00 PM on December 4, 2003

Oh, NortonDC, of course he wouldn't serve actual meat! We know how he feels about killing a poor, defenseless turkey.

Actually, the more I think about it, I am glad he didn't use this Thanksgiving to bring the ratio to 3:1. That stunt is tired. That being said, I would have had a more enjoyable holiday if they hadn't had a newsflash in the middle of the Macy's Day Parade to show me these two fake turkeys.
posted by hoborg at 4:08 PM on December 4, 2003

"But as a small sign of the many ways the White House maximized the impact of the 2 & 1/2-hour stop at the Baghdad airport, administration officials said yesterday that Bush picked up a decoration, not a serving plate. "

So what's that he's doing in the picture in the 3rd post? That appears to be him picking up a serving plate. I assume that everyone will now attack the WaPo or y2karl for lying, right? Right?

"I forget........ Who were the other presidents who've repeatedly used fake props to demonstrate their down-home honesty?" God, I hope you're kidding.
posted by superchris at 7:13 PM on December 4, 2003

pardonyou? "Sorry, Rev, I must have been mistaken. I thought this was about Bush's credibility being called into a question because of a fake turkey. I didn't realize the real issue was body armor, fundraisers, the media, and pictures of dead American soldiers."

Well, you stand corrected. Sorry about bringing up that whole concept of "priorities" without express written consent of the RNC, Fox News and Richard Melon Scaife's accountant.

But ultimately, when right wingers are involved, it's not about credibility, body armor, fundraisers, the media, or pictures of dead American soldiers.

It's about Clinton getting a blowjob.

It always is.
posted by Reverend Mykeru at 8:00 PM on December 4, 2003

Oh, by the way, since I'm making friends and influencing people on the right, have a gander at this Thanksgiving illustration. It's heart warming, really.
posted by Reverend Mykeru at 8:09 PM on December 4, 2003

...slowly stepping away from Reverend Mykeru...
So, about that turkey thing...
posted by superchris at 9:06 PM on December 4, 2003

I dunno but I feel making a big deal about this actually hurts the Dems.

Focus on something that actually *matters* as opposed to a photo op. Made up bird for a made up holiday.

Anyone else read this thread and every now and then have Big Bird pop up mentally?
posted by Dagobert at 1:58 AM on December 5, 2003

It's about Clinton getting a blowjob.
In the thread, You brought it up...
posted by thomcatspike at 5:36 AM on December 5, 2003

Republicans, this is what you get when you impeach a president for getting some head.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:55 AM on December 5, 2003

Dagobert:

"I dunno but I feel making a big deal about this actually hurts the Dems."

Nothing is more frustrating and fascinating than the spectacle of people who I assume are Democrats/Liberals/ and/or progressives not criticizing pseudo-cons because they think it will hurt Democrats. Meanwhile the well-organized and tireless corporate media-enabled Conservative attack machine churns away, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I've got an idea: Let's criticize Conservatives when they deserve to be criticised, both big and small rather than wait for some assumed knockout punch.

Does it matter that the turkey was a prop? I guess in the vast order of things with the eventual entropic heat death of the universe, no. However, it is a exemplar of the sort of fascist (in the actual sense of the word) image consciousness that obsesses the Bush administration and which they front as a cover while they dismantle the country bit by bit.

I don't think it hurts one little bit to point out that this is a phony president with a phony policy of phony photo-ops and phony issues masking a Conservative class and culture war to roll back the 20th century.
posted by Reverend Mykeru at 7:52 AM on December 5, 2003