Humor: Laughing Without Guilt
By Neil Genzingler
The New York Times
October 3, 2004
THE BOOK: ”Generalissimo el Busho: Essays & Cartoons on the Bush Years,” by Ted Rall (Nantier Beall Minoustchine).
WHAT IT’S AIMING FOR: Overthrow of the United States government.
WHAT IT ACHIEVES: Oddly, some valuable historical perspective.
ANALYSIS: Ted Rall, a cartoonist and columnist for Universal Press Syndicate, is more hostile to President Bush than most members of Saddam’s inner circle, as this collection of his work from recent years makes scaldingly clear. There’s nothing really humorous here; the satire mixed into Rall’s screeds is far too bitter for that. In a piece from October 2002, he calls the military mission in Afghanistan ”Operation Enduring Failure.” In another 2002 piece, he refers to the Bush administration as a ”circus of hypocrites.” The best part of the volume, though, is its earliest material, centered on the 2000 election. Rall, unlike practically everyone else, allowed the president no honeymoon. He labeled the election stolen early and often. The resolution of the whole mess was far too casual for his taste; there was, he felt, too much at stake. Given all that has happened since, it appears he was right.
NUMBER OF TIMES IT’LL MAKE YOU LAUGH OUT LOUD: None. The fume-o-meter, however, for both pro-Bush and anti-Bush readers, will be close to exploding.
BETTER USES OF THE $19.95: None.
