One of the things that I tell people is that I separate my politics from my sports, music, and comedy.
I could care less what any athletes, musicians or comedians think about politics. However, I will not boycott them unless they are vicious or hateful. I judge them only by their ability in their profession.
I bring this up because two people that I have deep admiration for are comedian Robin Williams and former First Lady Barbara Bush.
I have always admired Barbara Bush. I voted for her husband and her son, but always thought she was the best of the bunch.
She was the tough old battleax in the mold of Elaine Stritch. Yet beneath all that discipline, somehow she remained likable.
Long before Hillary Clinton began her plan to take over America in 1992, Barbara Bush was asked why she did not communicate her views on abortion more forcefully to her husband. It seemed that they disagreed on the issue. She responded by saying, “I’m not the President.”
Yet she was not docile. When Her husband jumped out of an airplane to reenact his World War II jump, he found the thrill exhilarating. When family spokesman and former press secretary Marlin Fitzwater was asked if there would be another jump, he replied, “No. Barbara won’t allow it.”
She is such an earnest woman. About a year ago she and her husband were speaking to reporters, one of the few times they did after they left office. After forgetting some words, Barbara Bush, without hesitation said, “We’re old now. We forget stuff.”
When the twins got in trouble, they were sent to their grandmother’s house for the weekend. For most kids this would be a reward or an escape. Not these twins. I am sure some paint peeled off of the wall. They straightened up pretty quickly.
Yet this same woman who could be that tough let slip to reporters that she was delighted that her son, who himself was a handful growing up, was now having to deal with his own children misbehaving.
She also left the White House feeling a sense of peace. She moved back to Texas, and had no regrets. She did not need political power.
Barbara Bush is a woman I admire because she was always comfortable with herself. She let her hair turn white. She did not color it, even though people felt that people would think that her husband was her son.
Her white hair led her to become the target of a joke by comedian Robin Williams.
“President George Herbert Walker Bush has only been President a few short months, and already he has managed to put his wife on the dollar Bill.”
The “Barbara Bush looks like George Washington” crack became a staple of Williams’s routine.
This is where I separate my politics from my comedy.
I do not agree at all with the politics of Robin Williams. He is a staunch liberal.
Yet in terms of comed, the man is a genius. I rate him as the greatest comedian of all time. Of every comedian, he is the very best.
He is so lightning quick. I will never forget when a woman in the audience went to the ladies room, and he quickly left the stage, went into the audience, and took her fur coat. When she came back, she could not find it. She looked on stage and saw him prancing around, with her fur coat draped on him like the local pimp on the street corner.
As for comic genius, his closest resemblance to Barbara Bush came when he turned into “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
His three minute routine about Scottish people and golf still brings me laughter to the point of tears.
Yet it is more than a joke that links these two people.
They both had to face a serious health matter in March of 2009. They both needed heart surgery.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/04/barbara.bush.surgery/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/05/robin.williams/index.html
My father had heart surgery twice. There is nothing funny about it. Yet he came through it at age 48, and again in 2007 at age 66. He is hanging in there.
I truly believe that some things are more than coincidental. Maybe it is a God with a sense of humor, but even for those that do not believe in God, I just cannot chalk it up to chance.
A fabulous comedian and a fabulous First Lady will hopefully both be with us for a long time to come.
I wish good health to Barbara Bush and Robin Williams.
eric
Enjoy it and soak it up for all you can.
As I watched all the greats I grew up with pass away from Sinatra to Sam Kinoson each time my sense of mortallity would come a greater realization.
But when my dad passed it was like a the one with all the lessons that really mattered had left.
Stay as close to him as you can so you dont regret what you could of done with him while he was here.
The fortune I had of having him in my arms when he took his last breath is a gift that no hollywood schmuck or politician will ever be able give any of s.
bless your dad, hes done well, let him know.
That very well could be in the cards for me in the not-so-far future. It’s scary. I wish them all well.
JMJ
I am a proud registered Democrat, but I’ve voted for the Republican
head of the ticket in the last three elections.
The reasons are simple, the less government in our affairs, the better,
AND the more government in our security, the better. As far as in the bedroom, well, that’s individual preferences.
Can I be any more explicit?
Eric, you forgot to include another patriot, who saw the light on the right,
Ron Silver. He died at age 62, of throat cancer.
Did anyone read this morning the latest news coming from the volitile
M.E? In Pakistan, rioters overwhelm the government’s attempt to
quell the protests.
This should not be of any concern, but Pakistan has over 100 nukes and
it’s Khan (not Genghis) gave atomic secrets to the Iranians, Iraqis,
and Libyans. Under house arrest, there was little publicity when he
was released recently.
Sooooo, Madoff goes to jail for a ponzi scheme which cost billions
to charities, some funded by Jews who share their income with others, while Khan goes free, even though his crime may cost millions, in lives.
Something seems awfully wrong here.
In another past of the M.E., Israel, under continued pressure to lift
the boycott along it’s borders with the Gaza Strip and allow dual use
material into the Hamas run area, witnessed the shootings of two of its police., the result of a drive-by shooting.
Hey, Hillary, Britain and the EU, don’t you guys get it, when you pressure
Israel to do something inherently wrong, like allowing freedom of
movement in some Palestinian areas. This is the thank you in this game
being played by the Palestinians (pressure Israel to move back to the 1948 borders, get the world to condemn anything less, than force the issue
by killing more Jews, while Israel’s perplexed government hasn’t a clue as to what to do). Israel even allows foreigners to protest, violently, at
it’s defense fence..then gets blamed by the International community
when a protestor is injured.
I wonder how we in the USA would react if professional protestors
gathered by the hundreds on our side of the border..to protest our fence?
Here, more at home, Dick Cheney, told the American people that Obama has changed the war against terrorism into a police action.
Tell that to the Israelis.
I suppose the 50,000 plus rockets that Hamas and Hezbollah have
accumulated, mainly hidden in Arab homes, mosques and hospitals,
and ALL aimed at civilian centers south and east of their borders,
are just minor criminal acts. Yeah right.
I mean RICO was never intended to take out rockets and Katushayas.
Bill Cosby is my all time favorite. Barbra Bush is one of my favorite people in this world. She reminds me of my grandmother, strong, wise and giving.
Mick’s right keep your father close.
JMJ, if you are looking at repair work keep us posted.
Toma
Thanks, Toma. Hopefully things will work out well.
I heard about Ron Silver today. He was only 63, I think. His political evolution is microcosm of the broader neocon/Zionist movement in the US among many Jews in recent years. Here was a stereotypical Hollywood “liberal Jew” who became estranged from the Democrats and mainstream progressive and liberal values in favor of a very specific and narrow geopolitical view on Israel. It’s a strange tale. I wonder if anyone has written any comprehensive tomes on the subject. I would argue that Bush was terrible for Israel – that he basically ignored them for most of his term, tied our worse images of ourselves to them and their worst images on us, further inflamed tension in the region, and lessened the possiblities for a peaceful future. But to people like Silver, this was the ONLY way. There could be ONLY “one Jerusalem,” even though Jerusalem has historically been an either literallly or figuratively divided city for most of it’s existence. Their could be ONLY one answer to what he saw as a singular problem ONLY for Israel. Unlike our good host, who readily admits that he is not a Zionist because he’s an American first, one has to wonder what people like Silver thought. Was he an American, deep down inside? It’s a fair question. But not one for now. He was a good man, whatever the case, and I wish his family only condolances on this day.
JMJ
“Was he an American, deep down inside? It’s a fair question. But not one for now.”
Well like, duh ?
So then dont ask the question if its not a good one for now.
Its pretty simple.
He didnt see anything the libs could contribute to the war on terror besides empty movements and BSPC policies.
As a matter of fact in 94 he said everything you guys were doing was so wrong and so counterproductive that he couldnt stand being a part of it.
That would lead to ask if hes an American or not ?
Robin Williams may be a liberal, but he supports the troops via USO tours.
My favorite was his visit to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-RCIcZ1fIQ
Barbara Bush is my favorite first lady in recent time (all time fav is Abigail Adams). I liked Laura, but Barbara has more presence.