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George W. Bush meets Oscar Wilde
George W. Bush, meet Dorian Gray
ANNE R. FABBRI
Has any artist noticed, as I have, George W. Bush’s facial transformations since he first appeared on the national stage eight years ago?
First there was the good-guy neighborly image of Bush’s first Presidential campaign. Then there was the smirk and swagger of his "Mission Accomplished" performance on the deck of the carrier Abraham Lincoln. Now the President is beginning to resemble what he probably was all along: the spoiled kid on the block, pouting because things didn’t go his way.
To contemplate George W. Bush’s face in the afternoon of his Presidency is to look at a 60-something walking definition of “assisted living”: Mommy and Poppy were around to make things easier, admission to Yale (the family bailiwick), membership in the right clubs, bail posted when arrested for D.U.I., a sinecure in National Guard (including an honorable discharge after going AWOL) when others were fighting and dying in Vietnam.
Think Dorian Gray brought to life in the 21st Century: When the reprobate Dorian stabbed his portrait, all his misdeeds became reflected not in his portrait but in his face. Even Bush’s daily two hours in the gym and meanderings on his mountain bike cannot halt the transformation.
What would Oscar Wilde say were he here now? Would he demand royalties from the White House?
To read a response, click here.
.
ANNE R. FABBRI
Has any artist noticed, as I have, George W. Bush’s facial transformations since he first appeared on the national stage eight years ago?
First there was the good-guy neighborly image of Bush’s first Presidential campaign. Then there was the smirk and swagger of his "Mission Accomplished" performance on the deck of the carrier Abraham Lincoln. Now the President is beginning to resemble what he probably was all along: the spoiled kid on the block, pouting because things didn’t go his way.
To contemplate George W. Bush’s face in the afternoon of his Presidency is to look at a 60-something walking definition of “assisted living”: Mommy and Poppy were around to make things easier, admission to Yale (the family bailiwick), membership in the right clubs, bail posted when arrested for D.U.I., a sinecure in National Guard (including an honorable discharge after going AWOL) when others were fighting and dying in Vietnam.
Think Dorian Gray brought to life in the 21st Century: When the reprobate Dorian stabbed his portrait, all his misdeeds became reflected not in his portrait but in his face. Even Bush’s daily two hours in the gym and meanderings on his mountain bike cannot halt the transformation.
What would Oscar Wilde say were he here now? Would he demand royalties from the White House?
To read a response, click here.
.
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