Why This Columnist Likes ‘Dubya’ for President Bush

To be or not to be Dubya?

The Shakespearean question comes to mind as we assess George W. Bush’s first week in office. Is it all the “honeymoon” he is to get, or is it a prelude of great things ahead? It all depends on what the meaning of “is” is.

Anti-Bush people like the designation. It incorporates the slang “dub” -- meaning someone clumsy and inexperienced. Golfers use it to characterize a bungled stroke.

Nevertheless, President Bush likes it. I have used it on occasion to distinguish him from his father.

Historians recall the 1840 presidential campaign between Martin VanBuren and William Harrison. Two pejoratives were coined – one aimed at Democrat VanBuren, the other at Whig Harrison.

“Oll Korrect” was intended by dissident Democrats to denigrate the brogue of Irishmen chanting “all correct” for reelection of VanBuren. Democrats also put down Harrison as “fit only to sit in a log cabin and drink hard cider.”

Whigs stole both charges and publicized them as approval of their party. The Whigs won. OK entered our common language. Log cabins became badges for subsequent candidates like Abraham Lincoln.

Political pundits are all atwitter over the juvenile pranks of sore losers at the White House executive offices. As they left to well-deserved obscurity, they pried the letter W from their computer keyboards.

I will continue to use Dubya as it suits the topic. It is a clever device incorporating the verbal sound for the first syllable of the letter W. Columnists need a colloquial moniker for our new president in order to avoid redundancy – a journalistic sin for which there is no salvation.

I could use just the initial W – an even shorter, celebrity sobriquet than O.J. (for the noted murderer) or J.C. (for the only Republican African- American congressman).

However, this might jeopardize the W key on my computer by some closet liberal in our newsroom. Imagine the consternation of readers trying to follow my prose if “wow!” came out “o!”

The Washington Post described more serious examples of Clinton staff mischief – quoting the Internet gossip Drudge Report, and the British news network Reuters. They allege widespread vandalism of the Executive Office building by departing Clinton juveniles.

President Bush is reported as having ordered his incoming staffers to clam up about what they found when taking charge. Thus, we will have to await a National Enquirer interview of painters and janitors to learn the extent of damage.

For now, let us concentrate of the high-level trashers still trying to whittle President Bush down to their caricature.

Far greater vandalism – of the Constitution – was the wholesale, last minute pardons by Slick Willie for indicted or incarcerated friends. It is a lawful prerogative of a president not subject to question or appeal, but it was abused by Clinton.

Included in the 140 pardons and 35 clemencies was Clinton’s brother Roger who served a few months in prison for drug offenses, and one for Susan McDougal who did time for refusing to testify against the Clintons in the Whitewater fraud.

Impossible to justify is the pardon for billionaire tax evader Mark Rich who fled to Switzerland where he donated a million dollars through his ex-wife for Clinton’s campaigns.

This queasy deal was consummated in 20 minutes by lawyer Jack Quinn, Clinton’s former White House counsel recently hired by Rich.

Clinton’s ability to parse words and concoct deeds is phenomenal. His last act as president was to arrange an unprecedented banana-republic farewell as Bush was taking the oath of office.

There was a big-jaw review of an honor guard accompanied by band flourishes a few notes shy of “Hail to the Chief,” a 21- gun salute, a farewell-3 speech in which he boasted “we did a lot of good,” a declaration (threat?) that “I’ve left the White House but I’m still here,” an hour of shaking hands with 1,500 of his White House personnel, and a Nixonian wave as he boarded an Air Force Special Mission jet for a 15-minute hop to New York City.

The show was a pathetic example of his chutzpah and super ego. I still remember how President Harry Truman and wife Bess – immediately after Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration – were driven to the train station for the trip to Independence, Mo. That was class.

Dubya’s first week surprised Democrat leaders and the media with his grasp of issues, decisiveness and good humor. His best revenge on liberals would be to sanitize their intended insult.

Shakespeare summed it up well: “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

PARTING SHOTS

Mr. and Mrs. Clinton accepted a record $190,000 worth of gifts – mostly household furnishings for their two new homes -- as they moved out of the White House.

Advice to the Bushes: count the spoons.

* * *

Sen. Teddy Kennedy threatens to filibuster the nomination of John Ashcroft for attorney general. SHOTS friend, J.B., calls it “fili-bluster.”

Lindsey Williams is a Sun Herald columnist

Williams –dubya

Sunday – Jan. 28, 2001

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