Bush’s Identity Crisis: Where’s the Rest of Me?

George Bush: “Is this me?” (photo: Roger L. Wollenberg)

George Bush is having more than a political crisis. It appears he’s having an identity crisis as well. How else to explain this picture of Bush and his “double” at the annual White House Correspondents dinner? I guess if I had so many people hating me and my policies I might find a doppelganger a consolation. Tired of taking the heat? Let the other guy fry a bit for you.

I guess people can no longer say of Bush that he feels “comfortable in his own skin.” Seems he feels more comfortable with someone else wearing his skin these days and who can blame him? The impersonator in his makeup looks waxy–like a model from Madame Tussaud. It’s almost like Bush is posing with a wax figure of himself. Eeeww creepy! The picture conjured in my mind the odd title of that Ronald Reagan autobiography Where’s the Rest of Me (based on a line his characater spoke in King’s Row).

The NY Times story is inadvertently (or advertently) hilarious. In this section, the Bush impersonator’s manager speaks of the first time Bush met his double:

Mr. Nolen said that Mr. Bush greeted Mr. Bridges by opening his arms and asking, “Is this me?” and that the president and the impersonator spent 20 minutes together. Mr. Bridges did his imitation of Mr. Bush and talked about the two and a half hours it takes to apply the makeup he needs to morph into the president.

“Everything but his eyes and teeth are fake,” Mr. Nolen said.

That’s not just true of the impersonator…Is there a genuine personal or political bone in the real George Bush’s body??

This particular joke raised my eyebrow quite a bit and must’ve made people laugh awkwardly:

One line, delivered by Mr. Bush, was particularly topical: “I’m feeling pretty chipper tonight — I survived the White House shake-up.”

One has to wonder how long Bush himself can last if he has to make a joke like this.