# That's My Bush: Is this supposed to be FUNNY? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 29, 2001, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968 "2001-03-29T14:14:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/1 "2001-03-29T14:14:48Z")
Comedy Central is going to start showing a new sitcom called _That’s My Bush_, a satirical take on President Bush & his family. OK, I can deal with comedy poking fun at President Bush. I laugh as hard as the next guy at Will Farrell’s impersonation of him on _SNL_. However, I think a sitcom about a sitting president is just too much. And besides that, the joke about President Bush being stupid has worn thin. He graduated from **Yale** , fer Chrissake! Where did Messers Parker & Stone go to college? It sure as hell wasn’t Yale. What makes people think President Bush is stupid? [ul] [li]He sometimes has a blank look on his face.[/li][li]He occasionally loses his battles with the English language.[/li][li]Hi, Opal![/li][/ul] About the first point I have nothing to say. But the second point: I don’t get the big deal. So the man’s mouth and brain don’t move at the same speed. Big freaking deal. Does that make a person stupid? Thanks for allowing me to vent. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/2 "2001-03-29T14:42:29Z")
Why don’t we try watching the show to see if it will be funny? Every damn day there are comedians making jokes about who ever is in office and there are political commentators taking jabs at them as well. My God they are still making Monica Lewinsky jokes hasn’t **that** worn thin by now? I’ll tell you what thou I vote to not let the show air if we’ll just appoint an independant counsel to investigate Bush for the rest of his life with an unlimited budget who dosen’t have to answere to anyone. How about that? ---
**Author:** ![Xerxes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d2c977/32.png) [@Xerxes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xerxes)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/3 "2001-03-29T14:55:25Z")
> [@](#): > > However, I think a sitcom about a sitting president is just too much Maybe you view your President in a different light than most hold our (for instance) Prime Minister, but I’ve always enjoyed political satire in the UK (and we’ve quite a history of it). Anyone remember the early ‘Spitting Image’ series? It was a must see (got a bit stale later on). Interestingly, quite a lot of politicians on both sides of the political divide would be riveted, too. So, although I’m not allowed to vote over whether a US show is too much, I will always vote in favour in the UK. Besides, some of it (like it or not) is very, very incisive (bits of Rory Bremner (not all))? ---
**Author:** ![Xerxes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d2c977/32.png) [@Xerxes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xerxes)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/4 "2001-03-29T15:13:14Z")
On a more serious note… > [@](#): > > So the man’s mouth and brain don’t move at the same speed. Big freaking deal. Does that make a person stupid? No, it doesn’t. But think about this - we’re here having a discussion about whether or not his asynchronous mouth/brain activity makes him stupid. I’d venture that most people don’t have that debate - they’ll just form an opinion on their own. And sometimes not based on very much. Bear in mind that for most people outside the US, the soundbites are all we get to see of your leader. To some extent he’s one of the faces of America. If he mis-speaks often he can be the most intelligent, thoughtful guy but still come across as a simpleton. Bear in mind also that some news networks see a clip of a toungue-tied president as a bit of a coup. Not all, but some. So it can matter, to some extent. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/5 "2001-03-29T15:28:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rastahomie \* > Comedy Central is going to start showing a new sitcom called _That’s My Bush_, a satirical take on President Bush & his family. > > OK, I can deal with comedy poking fun at President Bush. I laugh as hard as the next guy at Will Farrell’s impersonation of him on _SNL_. However, I think a sitcom about a sitting president is just too much. And besides that, the joke about President Bush being stupid has worn thin. It’s my understanding that Bush is going to be portrayed more as a **Cosby** -esque character than an **Everyone Loves Raymond** -esque character. I don’t quite get the point of the sitcom, but it’s not to portray Bush as stupid. 'Course, I don’t have to worry about it at all - I don’t get cable. Sua ---
**Author:** ![kiffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kiffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiffa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/6 "2001-03-29T15:46:41Z")
Well, you can’t deny that there’s lots of bushisms material available. Frankly, I wouldn’t give it much thought becoz the humor in american comedies/sitcoms are terrible [yawn] and nothing like the biting wit in british comedies or magazines for that matter. Check out the photo captions in any Economist edition. Or check out the BBC parliament broadcasts; they can be a real snort compared to the CSPAN snores. Would I watch the Bush program? No way in hell. Disrespectful? Not to bring up a whipped horse, but remember the guy is president appointed by what I consider to be the utmost disrespect for the american voter even done by the so-called supreme court. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/7 "2001-03-29T16:46:09Z")
Does it help to know that Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who created _South Park_ and are also doing _That’s My Bush_, consider themselves Republicans and voted for Bush? (Stone was quoted in a _Wall Street Journal_ article as saying he wants to portray Bush “a really cool guy who has human failings but always tries to do the right thing.”) The show is going to be a (probably somewhat, uh, vulgar) parody of sitcoms, only set in the White House, with the current First Family comprising the characters. But hey, don’t let the fact that you obviously haven’t seen the show yet and didn’t know anything about it except for the title and the network dissuade you from your little rant. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/8 "2001-03-29T17:00:17Z")
Well, I do think the office of the president is inherently worthy of respect. I do not think the same of the holder of the office. I think this show may come close to crossing that line. I won’t know until I see it, and I won’t see it because I don’t have TV. But, if they can put on the show and make money, more power to them. I also don’t think Bush is stupid; on the spectrum of presidential brightness is probably lower than average but I would say it is a pretty high average. Now, I do think that while he is politically intelligent he is policy-uninformed. I just don’t think he has an interest in the minutae of policy that many presidents do and that makes him appear stupid in comparison. He is a very big picture Chief Executive. I don’t know yet whether that will be a good or a bad thing. But then, I don’t look to the president as a legislative leader, that is Congress’s job. In times of calm, I feel we place too much emphasis on the role of president. Now, in the OP there was a factual question posed. I know this isn’t normal for the Pit, but I am going to answer it: Trey Parker started out at Berklee College of Music and later transferred to the University of Colorado, Boulder where he majored in music and film. He did not graduate. Matt Stone attended the University of Colorado, Boulder, majoring in math(!) and film. As far as I know, he did graduate. ---
**Author:** ![sorrel554](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@sorrel554](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sorrel554)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/9 "2001-03-29T18:01:40Z")
I read an interview (in _Brill’s Content_, I think) with one of the creators who said that they planned to do this show before the election, and they were going to go ahead with it no matter who won. So they weren’t simply planning all along to pick on Bush. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/10 "2001-03-29T18:43:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pldennison \* > The show is going to be a (probably somewhat, uh, vulgar) parody of sitcoms, only set in the White House, with the current First Family comprising the characters. This is more in line with what I’ve been expecting based on the ads for the show. All the ads I’ve seen have been related to past and current sitcoms. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/11 "2001-03-29T21:27:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rastahomie \* > **And besides that, the joke about President Bush being stupid has worn thin. He graduated from Yale, fer Chrissake! Where did Messers Parker & Stone go to college? It sure as hell wasn’t Yale.** Well, given that his qualifications for getting into Yale were much lower than mine (and they sure as hell didn’t accept _me_) and that he got in as a “legacy” (Daddy went there first), you’ll forgive me if I’m not too impressed. I also doubt that Yale had the necessary cojones to flunk the son of the director of the CIA, so you’ll forgive my skepticism about whether his modest C-average was earned. > [@](#): > > **What makes people think President Bush is stupid? > [ul] > [li]He sometimes has a blank look on his face.[/li][li]He occasionally loses his battles with the English language.[/li][li]Hi, Opal![/li][/ul]** Which reminds me of something I heard recently: friend of mine said that Our President, on one of those occasions when he tried to speak, introduced the word “Hispanicly” to the English language. Can someone give me a cite? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/12 "2001-03-30T01:13:27Z")
Don’t forget he attended Harvard too, to earn his MBA. But the points **Max Torque** raises apply to that admission as well. (Plus, back in 1964 when Dubya matriculated at New Haven, Yale didn’t allow no girlies in. And the number of racial minorites, Jews, financial-aid students, etc., was quite a bit lower. Sort of a paradise for wealthy Anglo-Saxon whiteboys.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/13 "2001-03-30T01:22:12Z")
Is this the one where they’re supposedly going to portray the Bush twins as nymphomaniac, bulimic lesbians or something? Personally, pick on the prez all you want, but their kids should be off limits. I always felt soooo bad for poor Chelsea. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/14 "2001-03-30T01:34:53Z")
I recall hearing (God only knows where) that one of the side effects of the Florida debacle was that Stone and Parker’s new sitcom had to be put on hold until they knew who they were going to be satirizing. Also, I wouldn’t put too much stock in statements by the creators that they are Republicans. I’m not saying it’s not possible, just seems unlikely that members of the Grand Old Party would make a major motion picture featuring Satan getting fucked in the ass by Sadam Hussein. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/15 "2001-03-30T05:06:40Z")
To take this issue from a completely different standpoint: Please, Comedy Central, for the love of all that is holy, please stop trying to make your own shows!! You’ve had two successes that I can think of - South Park and the Daily Show, with Win Ben Stein’s Money a marginal third. Everything else you’ve ever done has sucked various bits of donkey anatomy! See, for example: Strip Mall The Upright Citizen’s Brigade That show whose name I can’t remember with the 40-year-old high school student Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush VS (the short-lived Greg Proops vehicle) And that’s just off the top of my head. I know I’m missing a few more just from the last couple of years. So going just off track record, I’m not at all hopeful. ---
**Author:** ![jeyen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a4c791/32.png) [@jeyen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeyen)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/16 "2001-03-30T05:33:28Z")
[small hijack] > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by pldennison_ > Does it help to know that Matt Stone and Trey Parker … consider themselves Republicans and voted for Bush? I don’t think this is correct. [ul][li]This Dallas Morning News [article](http://www.dallasnews.com/bush/265446_bark_18ove.ART.html) reports that Parker and Stone did not vote.[/li][li]This Salon [interview](http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/08/parker_stone/index.html) has Parker and Stone admitting that they didn’t vote.[/li][/ul] And I can find no information indicating that either Parker or Stone has declared himself a Republican. [/small hijack] Regarding the OP, I’m looking forward to the show. I like pretty much everything Matt and Trey have done so far. I’m fairly confident I’ll like this new effort too. I think Matt and Trey will find plenty about Bush to make fun of. Including acting stupid when he does it. When, not if. Jeyen ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/17 "2001-03-30T13:06:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pldennison \* > \*\*But hey, don’t let the fact that you obviously haven’t seen the show yet and didn’t know anything about it except for the title and the network dissuade you from your little rant. :rolleyes: \*\* OK, I concede that ranting about the show before I’ve seen it was wrong. I also concede that _if_ Messers Parker & Stone were going to do the same kind of show regardless of who won the election, then I’ll cheerfully retract this whole rant. However, I stand by these points: [ul] [li]Having a sitcom about the sitting president is at best silly and at worst disrespectful.[/li][li]President Bush is _not_ stupid.[/li][li]Hi Opal![/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/18 "2001-03-30T13:50:41Z")
**rastahomie** , I’m not going to discuss your first to points (them’s GD material), but I will take issue with your third point. You, sir (or ma’am), are a scoundrel. ---
**Author:** ![jesuslynch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e99b99/32.png) [@jesuslynch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesuslynch)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/19 "2001-03-30T14:36:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > **Is this the one where they’re supposedly going to portray the Bush twins as nymphomaniac, bulimic lesbians or something?** This story got started on [FreeRepubic.com](http://FreeRepubic.com) if I’m not mistaken. I read an interview where Trey and Matt said they were not going to do anything of the sort. Personally, I’m just going to keep reading the _Enquirer_ at the news stand and buy the issues that show the one in Austin showing her panties. ---
**Author:** ![Avumede](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/avumede/32/7235_2.png) [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968/20 "2001-03-30T15:38:39Z")
The show won’t be funny. This should be obvious based on what they are trying to do: parody the sitcom form. Parodies of sitcoms are not funny, because sitcoms are not funny. You can parody something that’s serious, but not something that is not funny (and tries to be). It just doesn’t work. If you disagree, how many people found the spin-off episode of the Simpsons amusing? Anyone? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-my-bush-is-this-supposed-to-be-funny/59968.md?page=2)