In case you ever wondered if former president George W. Bush had any deep thoughts on literature, here’s the answer to your question: he took it very, very literally. Apparently there’s no room for fantasy in the former president’s view, especially when it comes to children’s lit. Former Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer revealed that the president refused to give Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling the Presidential Medal of Freedom because her books “encouraged” witchcraft. The same argument given by close minded pro-censorship folks everywhere.

Noted Muggle/compassionate conservative George W. Bush was apparently a devout Harry Potter hater.

The former commander in chief wasn’t about to honor J.K. Rowling, the talent behind the book series, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom…and for quite the logical reason.

“People in the White House…actually object[ed] to giving the author J.K. Rowling a presidential medal because the Harry Potter books encouraged witchcraft,” writes former Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer in his book, Speech-less: Tales of a White House Survivor.

That’s right. Good ol’ Dubya and his administration dissed the mega-selling British author, refusing to let her join the ranks of James A. Michener, Harper Lee and John Steinbeck. (Guess he figured the Secret Service could handle any Avada Kedavra curse flung his way.)

Bush distributed 81 medals during his time in office, mostly to war-related allies.

[From E! Online]

While I am not personally a reader of the Harry Potter books, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: anything that gets kids that excited about reading is a great and wonderful thing. Most kids read here and there because they have to for school. But the Harry Potter books don’t encourage witchcraft so much as they encourage a lifetime love of reading. The kind of love that gets devotees to stand in line for hours to get their hands on a book. How often do kids really do that sort of thing anymore? Sure, they’ll stand in line for hours to get their hands on the hottest video game or newest pair of “it” shoes.

How great is it that there’s a writer so inventive that she’s brought back an extreme devotion to reading – against all odds. Kids have so many other things to keep them entertained and over stimulated. It’s so close-minded and ignorant to say that J.K. Rowling wasn’t deserving of the medal of freedom because her books talked about magic. It’s fantasy. Would the former president refuse to let children watch a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat if he were given the option? Because Harry Potter has about that much reality. It’s fun and entertaining, and should be honored for it.

Shortly after Will Ferrell left Saturday Night Live, and a several months after the Iraq War started, I read an interview with Ferrell that has always stuck with me. Ferrell was taking about how much he missed SNL and being able to spoof the president on a weekly basis. He then recalled Bush’s famous “Mission Accomplished” speech, where Bush was wearing that flight suit, the incident only a few months old at the time. Ferrell said (and I’m paraphrasing), “I thought, that’s it! From here on out, every time anyone does an impression of Bush, he should wear the flight suit and stand under a ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner. Bush going out to eat, in the flight suit. Bush standing in the Oval Office, in the flight suit.”

To say that Ferrell has genius-level comedy instincts is an understatement. Now it seems that Ferrell is going to play perhaps his greatest character one last time. Will Ferrell will be playing George W. Bush in “You’re Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush”, a Broadway show that plays February through March. The stage show will also air on HBO.

Will Ferrell, the man who invented “strategery” and other Bushisms, is taking his spoofs of the 43rd president to Broadway and HBO.

The “Saturday Night Live” veteran will star in “You’re Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush” at New York’s Cort Theater, with previews in line for Inauguration Day.

The show will take a chronological look at Bush’s life — from his college days and time as the governor of Texas to the 2000 race for president and his two terms in office. Ferrell, who poked fun at the president with his successful impersonations on “SNL,” told CNN he likes that Bush “never thinks he’s wrong.”

“He’s arrogant with a school-boy attitude, and combine that with the fact that he is commander in chief — and, unfortunately, it’s very funny.”

He says viewers should “expect the unexpected” from the show — and some goofy nicknames, something Bush is known to dole out to members of his administration. The show will premiere on February 5 and run through March 15. HBO has also picked up the show, to air live on an undetermined date.

[From CNN]
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Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush was and is a thing of beauty - he’s the only comedian to really give the “character” of Bush the needed pathos, snark, silliness and oblivion. I was happily surprised when Ferrell returned on one of the Thursday night SNL mini-episodes, before the presidential election, to play Bush to Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin. I tend to think that Ferrell should have done this show a few months ago, but perhaps the timing is apt. By February, President Obama will be in office, but Bush’s legacy will still be affecting the world for decades to come.

Photo credit: PRPhotos

Laura Bush is like the Sphinx of the Bush Administration. No amount of good or bad news affects her, or her sky-high approval ratings. She’s calm and collected in the face of tragedy, a dutiful and loyal partner to the outgoing president. Through her eight-year tenure as First Lady, she carefully picked the issues that she worked on and spoke out about. Her most prominent issues included Afghan women’s rights, literacy, Burmese civil rights and her husband’s increased funding for health projects in Africa.

Several months ago, the rumor was that Laura Bush was offered a multi-million dollar book deal, but details were sketchy, and Mrs. Bush never confirmed anything. With two weeks left in office, though, Mrs. Bush has finally confirmed the deal. She will write her memoir for an undisclosed amount thought to be in the multi-millions, and it will most likely be published in 2010.

U.S. first lady Laura Bush has agreed to publish her memoirs with Scribner, the publisher said on Monday, giving the normally soft-spoken former librarian a chance to offer her views on the Bush presidency.

The book is expected to be published in 2010, said Scribner, an imprint of publishing giant Simon & Shuster, itself part of CBS Corp. Scribner said it would offer “an intimate account of Laura Bush’s life experiences, including eight years in the White House.”

The publisher did not reveal terms of the deal, though publishing experts have said she could command a multimillion dollar advance. Susan Moldow, Scribner’s executive vice president and publisher, negotiated the agreement with Washington lawyer Robert Barnett, Scribner said. Barnett is known for brokering publishing and media deals for heavyweight politicians including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and President George W. Bush’s former aide Karl Rove.

Laura Bush said in a statement through Scribner she would “tell the stories of the extraordinary events and people I’ve met in my life, particularly during my years in the White House.”

From Reuters

I have no doubt that Mrs. Bush’s memoir will be one of many from this administration attempting to salvage President Bush’s legacy, but I still think it will be an interesting read. Mrs. Bush, a former librarian, is something of a elite reader, citing Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov as her favorite book. (The book has a torture scene, by the way). I’d be willing to bet this is one memoir that won’t be ghost-written.

What’s sort of funny (to me) is two things: first, notice how no one is offering George W. Bush any amount of money to write his memoirs. No comment on that. Second, Laura Bush already has a sort-of ghost-written, fictionalized account of her life - Curtis Sittenfeld’s The American Wife is a bestseller, and Sittenfeld has openly stated that she based her book almost completely on the life of Laura Bush. We’ll see if Mrs. Bush’s take is any better.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Laura Bush and George Bush are shown outside returning to the White House from their vacation on 1/1/09. They are also shown on 12/19/08 unveiling their official portraits at the Smithsonian. Credit: WENN. My acting coach in high school told me never to cross my legs away from someone if I wanted to make it look like I had affection for them.

Don King knows boxing. As the promoter of most of the top level professional boxing matches in Las Vegas, King has witnessed some of the best in the business not only hit like a pro, but duck like one, too. When King saw the President’s reflexes in ducking that flying shoe, King undoubtedly saw dollar signs light up in front of his eyes.

The boxing guru was so impressed with Bush’s shoe evasion tactics over the weekend, that he gave a statement to TMZ saying, “Bush has unbelievable reflexes … he can stick and move like a boxer!”

King, who is currently in the middle of a huge charity event in Florida, even came up with a trademark rhyme — calling the duck-and-move, “Aggression but with protection.”

[From TMZ.com]

You know Don King is readying a presentation for January 21st to deliver to Bush to try to get him in the ring. He could hype it it as a big charity event like Michael Lohan did. Offering the opportunity to get in the ring with George Bush would raise millions… hell, it may even finance the recent bailouts. Nations would pool together to pony up the money to put someone in the ring with W. It would be epic.

Of course this will never happen. It’s just fun to consider the possibilities.

George Bush is shown making a speech on 3/14/08. Don King is shown at the Angel Ball on 10/29/07. Credit: PRPhotos.

There’s a lot of buzz over this clip of President Bush going down the line of world leaders at the G20 Summit and not shaking anyone’s hand or being offered a hand to shake. Many people note that this video is misleading because he had already met with everyone earlier in the day and shook all their hands and that’s why he’s just kind of walking by, head down. One commenter on Huffington Post calls it “diplomatic protocol” and another says “But this is clearly not about being shunned by global leaders as he had previously met with each for a ceremonial hand-shake photo-op.” Others say it really looks like there’s a coordinated effort not to shake his hand and note that no one really looks him in the eye.

One of the most accurate comments may be this one:
“It makes sense that nobody is shaking his hand because they had seen each other previously, while some of the others had not seen one another. HOWEVER, the fact remains that they are still ignoring him. Other people would still chat or smile or laugh or toss off an aside. Not here. He is pretty much the invisible man.”

To me it looks like he’s trying to avoid shaking anyone’s hand for whatever reason, probably because he already met them all, and that toward the end of the line the other important people pick up on it. Once he starts looking up they figure he’s not into shaking hands and don’t offer one. It’s not like Bush put his hand out and got ignored, but there’s definitely some tension in the rarefied air.

The National Enquirer has a new story this week that seems like speculation about how Laura Bush’s new memoir may be a tell-all about her husband’s problems. They say she’s going to dish about how Bush started drinking again after 9/11. They also claim that Laura thought Bush had something going on with Condoleezza Rice at one point, though, so their source is a bit suspect.

President elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle visited current President George Bush and his wife Laura at the White House yesterday. Thousands of people waited at the gates of the President’s mansion to welcome Obama, who will take office on January 20.

Laura Bush gave Michelle a tour of the living quarters in the 132 room mansion, which is six stories and includes 35 bathrooms, and introduced her to the staff. Mrs. Bush told Entertainment Tonight that there is a lovely connected suite of two bedrooms which would be perfect for the first daughters, Sasha and Malia. Michelle has spoken positively of Laura Bush in the past and it is thought that the current and future first ladies would get along well.

Their husbands, on the other hand, have an understandable political rivalry and people thought there might be some awkward small talk involved in their meeting. According to Obama’s spokesperson they discussed the economy and foreign policy.

President Bush called Obama to congratulate him when it was known he was the victor on election night, and said in that oddly phrased way of his “What an awesome night for you, your family, and your supporters. Laura and I called to congratulate you and your good bride.”

Obama’s good bride Michelle said she would ask her mother, Michelle Robinson, to come with her family to the White House in January to help her granddaughters ease into their new lifestyle. The first grandmother is still deciding whether to take her up on the offer. As the Telegraph mentions in the quoted text below, it would be the first time that three generations have lived together in the White House.

There is also speculation over where Sasha and Malia will go to school and what kind of dog they’ll adopt as a pet. Their dad famously promised them a puppy, but said in a press conference on Friday when asked about it that the dog needs to be hypoallergenic because 10 year-old Malia has allergies, and they are also interested in a rescue dog. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, says that Obama’s quest for a hypoallergenic dog gives the wrong impression to the public because there is no such thing and even hairless dogs trigger allergies to some extent.

When the Obamas do finally move into the White House in January, they will be determined to take their normal family life with them – and that includes Michelle Obama’s mother, who has reluctantly agreed to leave her home on Chicago’s South Side and move to Washington. The nation’s new First Granny is Marian Robinson, 71, who regularly looked after Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, while their parents were campaigning. Remarkably, the Obamas have never had a paid nanny.
It is the first time in living memory that three generations of a presidential family have all moved to Washington, although Mrs Robinson has not yet decided whether to take rooms in the White House or live nearby. Mrs Obama “begged” her mother to come with them. “The girls are going to need her, as part of their sense of stability,” she told Newsweek. “And what is true for my mom is that she does anything for us and her grandkids.”

Concerns for the children’s transition are uppermost in Mrs Obama’s mind. She has already called Hillary Clinton – not just for advice on her new role but also on the challenges of bringing up children in the glare of the media spotlight. As President-Elect, Barack Obama continues to drive his girls to school, but once they get to Washington they will never travel anywhere without a secret service guard of at least five.

Sasha and Malia are currently students at the exclusive Chicago University Lab schools. Despite their liberal politics, the Obamas are expected to opt for another private establishment in Washington. The three under consideration are believed to be Georgetown Day School, Maret School and Sidwell Friends School, the Clintons’ choice for Chelsea. Wherever they go Sasha and Malia will have to get used to constant supervision. Jackie Kennedy was so concerned about Caroline going out to school that she brought other children in and installed a classroom in the White House.

Lack of freedom is something the family will increasingly have to get used to. Susan Ford, daughter of Gerald and Betty, said the trouble with the place was that you could never do anything for yourself. Drop a sweater and more than one staff member would fight you to pick it up. Gone are the days, it would seem, when arguments about leaving out the butter are heard in the Obama household. Gone, too, are the pleading requests from the girls to have a dog.

[From Telegraph.co.uk]

Do you remember when Obama reluctantly stepped forward with his mother in law after his victory rally at Grant Park? Joe Biden presented his 90 year-old mother and it was like Barack was obligated to show his mother in law. Obama is totally unflappable but I bet you that his MIL gets on his nerves. Not all husbands would willingly live with their MIL, but the White House is huge enough that it doesn’t seem like something Obama will need to worry about much if it does happen.

Photos are courtesy of Whitehouse.gov and were taken by Joyce N. Boghosian (Michelle Obama and Laura Bush seated), Chris Greenberg (header photo above), and Eric Draper (all other photos)