Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Guess He Wasn't So Bad After All

You all know that with the exception of Supreme Court appointments, tax cuts, and his love for America, I was no big fan of George W. Bush. For me, "compassionate conservatism" was a long way of saying "liberalism." Big gummint, fix everything from Washington DC, fight a war against an enemy you refuse to name without a clear goal in mind. But even his late-term low polling numbers are beginning to look good now next to the Messiah's.

The last place on earth I would look for W. to be outpolling Obama is in the rich, liberal enclave of Martha's Vineyard. Well, if T-shirt sales are any indicator, Bush today would be elected if he ran against Obama. Yeah, I know, it's not scientific. But it's fun.

The Boston Globe, a noted liberal newspaper, breathlessly announced that they were shocked--shocked--to find out that during his weekly vacation, Obama was less popular than Bush, at least on Vineyard T-shirts. On August 18, the Globe reported: "One barometer of the plunge in excitement has been the sale of Obama-themed T-shirts, which designers had been banking on after the craze of last year [Obama's last visit there]. Clothing labeled with the president's name sold by the thousands, helping to salvage a tough economic year for the island. But this year's T-shirt sales are much less brisk, merchants say." Except for Bush tee-shirts, of course.

A local clothing merchant says: "Last year, Obama gave you goose bumps, but I don't think you're going to see that this year." Last year this merchant sold 4,000 tee-shirts emblazoned with "I vacationed with Obama." This year, his hottest item is one depicting George W. Bush with the legend "Miss me yet?"

T-shirt sales in Martha's Vineyard are off across-the-boards, but then so is everything else. A year ago, Obama didn't even need a boat to get to Martha's Vineyard. He just walked over from the mainland. The economy was terrible, and Obama was blaming it all on Bush. To paraphrase Dinah Washington's best-selling hit--"What a difference a year makes." Even loyal Vineyardites (Vineyarders? Vineyardians?) aren't buying the "Bush did it" mantra anymore. They have given Obama nearly two years to make some inroads into the recession. There are few indicators that his massive government programs are doing anything except deepening the debt and the deficits needlessly.

As for the tourists, they're aware that they're about to get taxed heavily for Obamacare and the stimulus packages that didn't stimulate much of anything except unemployment in the private sector. So, many visitors who might have sojourned there during Obama's visit decided to hold onto what little money they have left just in case they're next in the unemployment lines. They're cringing at the thought of which socialist policy Obama might next push through against their will.

For the tee-shirt folks, I suggest a new one. A picture of a homeless person, wearing a shirt with Obama's picture and the legend "mission accomplished."

13 comments:

Tennessee Jed said...

Bush had his faults for sure, but Obama singlehandidly has elevated him in presidential populaity polls. There are some great Tees out there although the GTFO coming in 2012 is a personal favorite

Notawonk said...

i LOL'D! when i saw that t-shirt of "Bush 2012"....WANT!!! if for nothing else but to rub it in the left's face. yeah, i'm in that kind of a mood today.

Unknown said...

Tennessee: I was tempted to turn the article into a Bush memorabilia collection, but I was able to control myself. I did pick a couple of the tamer examples. The GTFO is very funny too.

It had simply never occurred to me that the best historical rehabilitation that Bush could get would be from his successor--unintentionally, of course.

Unknown said...

Patti: I've come to realize that I'm going to miss some of the fun after leaving San Francisco. I used to order T-shirts like the Bush shirts because it really pissed-off the locals in Sodom-by-the-Bay. But here in Caliente, pretty much everyone agrees with me.

Writer X said...

Oh, LawHawk! Your t-shirt idea is brilliant! Get that printed at Cafe Press! Stat!

Unknown said...

WriterX: I've missed you. I was thinking of suggesting the idea to Cafe Press (I've been patronizing them for years). I'm so pleased with myself for coming up with it, that I'll offer it to them for free. LOL

Game Master Rob Adams said...

I love that shirt "Miss me yet?" it has a picture of Bush and the caption above.

StanH said...

“W” was a very decent man, but like you when I heard “compassionate conservative,” I nearly yacked. And lets not forget his daddy Bush, also a fine man, “kinder, gentler,” twaddle. Those two guys are the classic Rockefeller Republicans aka RINO.

AndrewPrice said...

That's hilarious! I never would have guessed an enclave of elitists in an elitist state would even allow Bush t-shirts to be sold, much less buy them, much less buy more of them than Obama's.

Unknown said...

Sorry, everyone. I had to go into the big city of Bakersfield to shop with my daughter who had managed to cut off the tip of her finger with a power saw yesterday. Her husband doesn't know whether to cry or kill her. So she needed help and I needed food.

Came home hours later to a a power failure. No computer, and worse, no air conditioning. It was 103 inside the house. So the power's back on, and the air conditioner is running. It's down to 74 now, so I can breathe again. LOL

Unknown said...

ACG: That seems to be the most popular seller. I picked a different one just to let everyone know there's lots of variety.

Unknown said...

Stan: That's another reason I was able to vote for W. He is a decent man, and a patriot. And no matter what I have to say about his policies, the alternatives were Gore and Kerry. That's another way of saying there were no alternatives.

Unknown said...

Andrew: It is amazing just how rich and liberal the Martha's Vineyard purchasers of Bush shirts are. Obama must have really let them down.

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