Oy
Amy Argetsinger, Village idiot
According to Amy Argetsinger in the Post, “First daughter’s decision to wed privately disappoints a public fascinated by her coming of age.”
Click on the thumbnail for a better view
There are really so many kernels of undigested corn gems in this steaming turd of an article, I don’t know where to begin. I don’t know what world Ms. Argetsinger lives in, but I don’t know anyone who gives a shit about Jenna’s Bush’s nuptuals.
What, you want more? Of course you do! We’re talking about the president’s daughter here, and media organizations as varied as “Access Hollywood” and Agence France-Presse have poured into this tiny community — home to George and Laura Bush’s 1,600-acre ranch — to cover what some consider the celebrity wedding of the year.
But despite the widespread interest — and despite the blond First Twin’s increasingly public profile as a published author and do-gooder — the White House has repeatedly made clear that this is a private event.
How about the fact that the President in question is the most unpopular and despised president EVER? Or thet “First Twin’s” previously public profile as a drunk and a drug user who not only got thrown out of other countries, but didn’t have the class to leave.
Pardon me if I doubt that America’s very impressed, or really very interested in the wedding of some rich guy’s rich daughter when the rest of us are struggling to feed our families and put gas in our cars thanks to her father’s failed war and weak-dollar economy. We can’t afford bread here in the real world, why would anyone care to watch while Jenna Bush eats cake?
But that was a different era — before the growth of the wedding-industrial complex and the 24-hour news cycle. And they were different brides, well into adulthood by the time their parents entered the White House and well past 30 at the altar. In Jenna Bush, we have the first White House bride in decades whom the public truly watched grow up — and one who has trod a fascinating tightrope between private citizen and public celebrity.
That’s an interesting way of describing Ms. Bush, because from what I understand, and as google confirms, the Bush Family has ” tried to keep their daughters out of the hurly burly of the campaign and out of the public spotlight”.
[May 25, 2000] They don’t campaign. They don’t appear in political ads. They don’t pose for pictures. George W. Bush’s twin teen-age daughters so treasure their privacy that their reluctance to become public figures was at the forefront of the family deliberations over entering a presidential campaign. …
From BUSH KEEPS HIS TWINS OUT OF PUBLIC EYE - Charlotte Observer ($$)
[Dec 19, 2000] She’s been adamant about keeping the daughters out of the public eye. “Where you see the tiger in the tank will be about protecting that zone of privacy,” Dr. Whillock said. Mrs. Bush also has been overseeing the completion of the new ranch house near Crawford that will become the Bush family’s …
From Laura Bush expected to provide calming influence,… - Dallas Morning News ($$)
[Jun 8, 2000] Mrs. Bush, still described as a stabilizer to her husband, says she often keeps the TV off to avoid seeing hurtful things about her husband. The Bushes have tried to keep their daughters out of the hurly burly of the campaign and out of the public spotlight that shines on the Texas governor, …
From George W. Bush: Easy to underestimate - USA Today
Amy also seems to forget that Clintons had a daughter who grew up in the public eye too. That would be Chelsea Clinton, who people like Presidential candidate John McCain felt free to malign and make fun of, even though she was about 13 years old. You remember Chelsea: she’s the one who’s not falling down drunk all over the place, getting kicked out of Argentina, or acting like a spoiled little shit.
Which is why First Twin-watchers were stunned last year when it was announced that Jenna would not only write a young-adult book about poverty and HIV in Central America — “Ana’s Story” — but also embark on the requisite public speaking and interview circuits. Suddenly, Jenna was everywhere, displaying a natural poise and likability as she parceled out personal anecdotes (Henry’s pre-dawn proposal on Maine’s Cadillac Mountain; how her dad makes the two of them sleep in separate rooms; how she’d love to meet Chelsea Clinton) in a husky, cool-girl voice.
This is what most ordinary people recognize as “trying to rehabilitate your reputation”.
“People are fascinated by this remaking of Jenna” from party girl to serious educator/advocate type, said Jellison, who has studied American weddings and followed Jenna’s trajectory. “That may be creating more curiosity about her.”
Oh wait, I thought she was a “burrowed into a close-knit group of friends who loyally protected her privacy.” Where does this “party girl” stuff come from? Oh wait…
I guess in the long run, Ms. Argetsinger’s fawning profile is of little import, but with ordinary Americans unable to fill their gas tanks or afford to feed their families, when thousands of our kids are coming home dead from the First Family’s pointless war, when our infrastructure is falling apart, it’s hard not to point out how crass, how out-of-touch, and how truly tasteless the courtesans of the Village really are.
It must be nice to live in whatever dimension Amy Argetsinger lives in. It must be nice.
One Response to “Oy”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Well, since we can’t afford bread, why not have a circus?