Comedy Central has served as my primary source of information on the Bush administration for years now. It’s not that I don’t value the efforts of traditional news networks—it’s just that I feel Comedy Central is the most fitting for any and all things Bush related. So you can imagine my joy when I came across Comedy Central Salutes George W. Bush. The DVD is simply a collection of episodes and clips saluting our 43rd President in the most suitable way possible.
The DVD contains four whole episodes devoted to the Bush administration. While you can watch any portion of the DVD separately, if you decide to play them all you will be greeted with South Park’s season ten episode "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce," which first aired in October of 2006. The episode revolves around another 9/11 conspiracy, this one masterfully crafted by none other than Eric Cartman. Cartman uses a numerological chain of logic in order to link Kyle to the attacks. I won’t bother reviewing the whole episode here, since it is just a piece of what the DVD offers, but I will admit that it was a wonderful addition to the collection. The whole episode mocks the insanity that flooded some people’s minds after the attacks and takes a general stab at conspiracy theories themselves. It was the perfect inclusion for a starting episode, since the 9/11 attacks and the nation’s reaction to them really kick-started the chain of events surrounding President Bush that are continuing to unfold even to this day.
The next episode (really two mini-episodes) is the very first one ever aired of the show Lil’ Bush. The first mini-episode, "Iraq," revolves around Lil’ Bush, Lil’ Cheney, Lil’ Condi, and Lil’ Rummy (all based on the various members of the Bush administration) sneaking into Iraq to find the perfect Father’s Day gift for George Sr. The second mini-episode, "First Kiss," is about a bet between the group of four to see who can get kissed by a girl first. This episode introduces Lil’ Laura, Lil’ Bill, and Lil’ Hillary. I had never really seen any Lil’ Bush episodes prior to this DVD, but I'm definitely going to check them out now. I found both to be incredibly funny in a refreshingly smart way. Lil’ Bush’s decision to go to Iraq for “some reason,” some clever Halliburton references, the issue of abortion, and the sway of one’s morals based on voter opinion are only a few of the great moments that these two episodes offer.
The only downside to this collection comes in the form of the Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the creators of South Park) creation, That’s My Bush. I understand that the sitcom, starring Timothy Bottoms as President Bush, aired early on in the Bush administration (middle of 2001), but I still think it could have been better than it was. The episode on the DVD is the sitcom’s first episode, "An Aborted Dinner Date." I really like the idea of the episode, in which the President tries to host a dinner uniting members of the pro-choice and pro-life movements while at the same time keeping his promise of a dinner with his wife. I think mocking the reused sitcom themes we have all seen on TV (in this case being in two places at once) while at the same time tackling a rather complicated political issue is admirable. My problem is with the execution. Maybe I’m just spoiled with great impressions of President Bush that I’ve seen over the years, but Timothy Bottoms’ recreation of Bush is rather pathetic. Perhaps they were attempting to mock the bad acting in most sitcoms, but even if that was the case, it was a move that made the episode more of a burden than a joy to watch. In addition, the use of a surviving aborted fetus as the head of the pro-life movement was just a bit too tasteless for me. I consider myself a fan of South Park, but just could not get into this Parker and Stone creation. I can see what they were trying to do, but the overuse of the laugh track, the poor acting by the principle characters, and many of the other things they poked fun at were all at the expense of actual humor.
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