When George W Bush appeared at the White House correspondents’ dinner last year beside an impersonator, everyone other than those at the front tables had trouble telling who was who. A new cartoon that debuted on Wednesday night on the American cable channel Comedy Central could pose the same dilemma.
Lil’ Bush portrays the Bush administration as a gang of children — Lil’ Bush, Lil’ Condi and Lil’ Cheney — running wild in the White House and worldwide.
Compare Lil’ George speaking about his role in life — “I hate doing what I’m told. I want to be a decider” — with Bush’s: “My job is a job to make decisions. I’m a decision — if the job description were, what do you do, it’s decision maker. And I make a lot of big ones and I make a lot of little ones.” Lil’ Bush began life late last year as a series of short cartoons made specifically for cellphones.
The first of the made-for-televison episodes began with Lil’ George visiting Iraq to hunt for some good news as a Father’s Day present for dad, the first president Bush.
In the second episode, Lil’ Cheney, who bites the heads off chickens and sucks their blood, has an affair with Barbara Bush, with scenes that might be too crude for some tastes.
According to Donick Cary, creator of the new cartoon series, the transformation of Bush into a cartoon character proved to be relatively easy: his short, simplistic and often confused statements helped.
Cary, whose credits include The Simpsons, said: “Somehow, this president that we have lends himself to thinking in a simplistic, cartoony fashion. He’s always been about soundbites, one-word answers, move ahead, act from the gut.”
Cary sees Washington politics as a schoolyard. At one point Lil’ George, left unsupervised by his father in the Oval Office, launches nuclear weapons at schoolmates Lil’ Hillary (Clinton) and Lil’ John (Kerry). — Â