I assume most of you remember this:
I wrote quite a bit about it during the Bush years, usually tying it to Republicans’ anxious masculinity.
I have been reading a fascinating book called “The Wimp Factor
” by Stephen J Doucat that thoroughly examines the strange phenomenon of anxious Republican masculinity and the way it’s informing our politics. I will be writing more about it over time, but I just wanted to make note of one little thing that I didn’t know and I doubt that you all knew either:
By far the most compelling confirmation of the phallic meaning of the president’s aircraft-carrier cakewalk was found on the hot-selling “George W. Bush Top Gun action figure” manufactured by Talking Presidents. I originally ordered one to use as part of the cover design for this book. The studly twelve-inch flyboy not only comes with a helmet and visor, goggles and oxygen mask, but underneath his flight suit is a full “basket” — a genuine fake penis, apparently constructed with lifelike silicone.
I’ll just let that percolate in your mind for a bit.
Well, never let it be said that the Democrats don’t measure up: