Dear AP, You can pretend, but the cat’s out of the bag

People know the president is an idiot. The writing is on the wall, and no amount of soft-selling his positions on bass fishing at the ranch is going to pull his scorched feet away from the fire. Peter Daou notices some catch and release reporting on the whole bass/perch/he's fucking joking, right? issue from earlier today:

Explaining CBA: How a Very Fishy Bush Story Gets Lost in Translation ~ Reuters and the Associated Press offer dueling versions of Bush's latest embarrassment, providing us another glimpse into the world of CBA (cover Bush's ass). Asked about the highlight and lowlight of his presidency, Bush offered these thoughtful bookends: on the one hand, September 11th, on the other, catching a big fish.... no, not Osama.

Reuters explains: "U.S. President George W. Bush told a German newspaper his best moment in more than five years in office was catching a big perch in his own lake. "You know, I've experienced many great moments and it's hard to name the best," Bush told weekly Bild am Sonntag when asked about his high point since becoming president in January 2001."I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound (3.402 kilos) perch in my lake," he told the newspaper in an interview published on Sunday. Bush said the worst moment was September 11 when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington."

Enter the AP with a classic CBA version. First, the headline: Bush Jokes About Best Moment as President. [emphasis added]

Yeah, he's a real comedian, that Preznit. A real Stephen Colbert... um....

Daou also catches the mistranslation from bass to perch that I assumed was probably the case with English to German then back to English.

Daou is somewhat incensed that the AP adds the laughline in to cover what was probably an appalling lack of thoughtfulness and perspective on the part of the CEO president.

Me? Well, I think most of the media plays along just to keep from losing their access, but the public has, um, gotten the message.

See here.

President Bush's approval rating has slumped to 31% in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the lowest of his presidency and a warning sign for Republicans in the November elections.

31%? It's the Baskin-Robbins President! He's 31derful!

Hey, next stop, the high 20th percentile! When he breaks into the 20s, I am going to buy Shakespeare's Sister a present for doing her part to bring down the redneck Caligula.

crossposted down by the nutty coconut