Bush mistakenly compares himself to a horse bandit.
As Texas governor, President Bush admired a 1916 painting by W.H.D. Koehner hanging in his office. In 1995, Bush wrote a memo to his Texas staff describing the artwork:
[T]he painting is based upon the Charles Wesley hymn “A Charge to Keep I Have”. I am particularly impressed by the second verse of this hymn. The second verse goes like this: “To serve the present age, my calling to fulfill; O may it all my powers engage to do my Master’s will.” […]
When you come into my office, please take a look at the beautiful painting of a horseman determinedly charging up what appears to be a steep and rough trail. This is us.
But in his new book, The Bush Tragedy, Jacob Weisberg explains that the painting has nothing to do with the hymn and “circuit-riders who spread Methodism across the Alleghenies in the nineteenth century.” It actually depicts a horse bandit:
The artist, W.H.D. Koerner, executed it to illustrate a Western short story entitled “The Slipper Tongue,” published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1916. The story is about a smooth-talking horse thief who is caught, and then escapes a lynch mob in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. The illustration depicts the thief fleeing his captors.
Scott Horton has more.
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94 Responses to “Bush mistakenly compares himself to a horse bandit.”
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Bush….horse thief….
Works for me.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:05 pmThis, my friends, is what poetry is all about — the unwitting revelation of truth.
It’s poetic, is what it is.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:05 pmLOL, Ralph! rAmen!!
January 25th, 2008 at 3:05 pmThief, yes.
Horseman, no.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:06 pmThe illustration depicts the thief fleeing his captors.
Appropriate for Bush when Jan 20, 2009 rolls around. The horse will be a plane to Paraguay though.
Bush/Cheney
Hague Trials ‘09
Buck Fush
January 25th, 2008 at 3:07 pmExcept that bush is askeert of horses. Has anyone ever seen the texas rancher near a horse, let alone on one? Why is that? He’s a cowpoke, a man’s man, the lone ranger. Maybe he fell off a pony on his 6th birthday and never got over it.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:08 pmrAmen, Annie.
rAmen.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:08 pmWell after all in his world, He thinks he’s like Lincoln so it’s kinda the same… no?
January 25th, 2008 at 3:08 pmHow Apropos.
This Nazi Chimp and his Crime Cabal hijacked this country 8 years ago and has been ripping us off since.
(i.e. ripping sections from the Constitution, Bill of Rights, gouging the American People with soaring gas prices etc.)
Yup.
Horse thief.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:12 pmGotta say, though — that landscape doesn’t look anything like the Nebraska I’ve seen.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:13 pmIt’s very telling that Bush, with his fear of horses, would have such a picture in his office. Nothing but a bad actor (and a criminal and traitor and failure).
January 25th, 2008 at 3:14 pmFirst close to truth out of bush’s mouth. Bush will have an unprecedented amount of Secret Service protection when he leaves office 103 fulltime SS for him and his family for 10 years. His protection costs during his last scenic tour was $25,000/hour. No wonder he canceled the fund for 9/11 workers helping New York. Those pesky volunteers trying to help New York expecting healthcare, what next?
January 25th, 2008 at 3:15 pmHere’s what the Sand Hills actually look like.
I think the artist took a few liberties.
Hmm… “took a few liberties”… who does that sound like?
I know! George W. Bush! The parallels are eerie, aren’t they?
January 25th, 2008 at 3:17 pmhorse bandit….not quite accurate. Nazi pig…absolutely. War criminal…no doubt about it.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:17 pmHerr dubyah, the war/peace/Lincoln-like/horse bandit-president
January 25th, 2008 at 3:17 pmFirst Lincoln and now this. Such a wonderfull understanding of history and the world around him. How can anyone question his handling of the presidency?
January 25th, 2008 at 3:18 pmBush….horse thief….
Works for me.
Comment by Leftside Annie — January 25, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
Bush….horse shit….
Works even better!
January 25th, 2008 at 3:20 pmBush comparing himself to a thief is likely the first thing he has gotten correct — even though he did it accidentally. Karma, perhaps?
January 25th, 2008 at 3:22 pmDidn’t they used to hang horse thiefs?
Theresa
January 25th, 2008 at 3:23 pmThis sounds like an Onion headline — “Bush tries to compare himself to Lincoln; compares himself to horse bandit by mistake”…
I can’t want to see what the next TP item will say — “Bush attempts to cross Delaware River while standing in a boat”???
January 25th, 2008 at 3:23 pmHave you noticed how often Bush expresses his own self-identity as that of a martyr, usually on a religious mission? I wonder how many degrees of separation there are between the psyche of GWB and the psyche of a suicide bomber…
January 25th, 2008 at 3:24 pmI followed a couple of links, and and found an article from Scott Horton in Harper’s Magazine. Here’s the choice quote:
So Bush’s inspiring, prosyletizing Methodist is in fact a silver-tongued horse thief fleeing from a lynch mob. It seems a fitting marker for the Bush presidency. Bush has consistently exhibited what psychologists call the “Tolstoy syndrome.†That is, he is completely convinced he knows what things are, so he shuts down all avenues of inquiry about them and disregards the information that is offered to him. This is the hallmark of a tragically bad executive. But in this case, it couldn’t be more precious. The president of the United States has identified closely with a man he sees as a mythic, heroic figure. But in fact he’s a wily criminal one step out in front of justice. It perfectly reflects Bush the man. . . and Bush the president.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:25 pmSurely it was a joke that george tried to milk a male horse his first year on the ranch. Noone is that dumb.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:26 pm“The illustration depicts the thief fleeing his captors.”
————————————————–
Hmmm…maybe it wasn’t so accidental after all. Perhaps that even while Bush was governor, he may have anticipated a future need to flee to Paraguay…
January 25th, 2008 at 3:27 pmI think the artist took a few liberties.
Comment by ralph the wonder llama
The Sand Hills are bordered by the Platte on the south. I’ve hitchhiked through that area, and it indeed looks similar. Perhaps the Sand Hills was the closest geographical point of reference, and not exactly accurate.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:28 pmI can’t want to see what the next TP item will say — “Bush attempts to cross Delaware River while standing in a boat�??
Comment by missmolly — January 25, 2008 @ 3:23 pm
“Bush chops down endangered tree species; thought it was cherry tree”
January 25th, 2008 at 3:29 pmHey, Abe Lincoln rode a horse! And Shrubwit has rode a horse! That’s a significant connection that many people overlook.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:31 pmI guess I’ll have to defer to your experience, barfly.
The illustration just looked a little heavily wooded to be Nebraska (let alone too mountainous). The photos that I linked to looked a lot more like the Nebraska I’ve traversed — grassy plains with mild rolling hills.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:32 pmI can’t want to see what the next TP item will say — “Bush attempts to cross Delaware River while standing in a boat�??
Comment by missmolly — January 25, 2008 @ 3:23 pm
“Bush chops down endangered tree species; thought it was cherry treeâ€
Comment by Dr. Matt — January 25, 2008 @ 3:29 pm
Wrong president! I think he’s got a bunch of rails to split; that may be what he fantasizes about when he’s clearing brush.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:32 pmThat just fits. a smooth talking bandit. On second thought, this dolt talks as smooth as a brillo pad against your throat.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:34 pmGigi, you find that bracelet yet?
It’s real pretty, you’ll like it…
January 25th, 2008 at 3:35 pmTheresa; you are correct. Horse theft is a hanging offense. W. just admitted that he deserves to hang. Get your nooses ready, folks.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:36 pm“Bush mistakenly compares himself to a horse bandit”
He’s far more accurately compared to a horse’s ass.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:36 pmYes the picture is Bush and he did the same thing to the American people. But unlike the horse thief Americans will still say All Hail The Chief even knowing they have been robbed blind. If they doesn’t say something about the American people nothing does.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:36 pmyawn
Comment by good_golly — January 25, 2008 @ 3:34 pm
Yet, you still *had* to comment….typical reich-wing narcissism.
Time for your nappy, sport.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:36 pmDoes anyone know does America have to protect an ex-President if he leaves the country? I mean relocate his residence. Just curious.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:36 pmComment by Fritz — January 25, 2008 @ 3:36 pm
Ding*Ding*Ding*Ding*Ding!!!
We have a winner!
Don’t forget to claim your door prize on the way out, son.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:37 pmOur Presi-Dunce is a horse thief and cattle rustler. Instead of livestock - he steals preferred and common stock - oh yes and DEMOCRACY, he replaces that with his brand of privatized pirate-ism and fascist corporatism.
Don’t they hang horse thieves, or is a guillotine an acceptable substitute ?
January 25th, 2008 at 3:38 pmhis frequent attempts at comparing himself to others suggests to me that he has some kind of inferiority complex or very low self-esteem. i can understand why.
i wonder if lincoln, or truman or your average horse thief compared themselves to others as often as dumbya has.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:41 pmGeez - Bush can’t do anything right. Even gets the picture in his office wrong.
Such a dummy!
January 25th, 2008 at 3:42 pmI wonder how many degrees of separation there are between the psyche of GWB and the psyche of a suicide bomber…
Comment by epm — January 25, 2008 @ 3:24 pm
W does his killing without harming himself. Chicken $hit or perhaps horse $hit.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:42 pmFirst he’s Abraham Lincoln, now he’s a horse thief. Who will Bush be in TP’s next blog, Walter Mitty?
January 25th, 2008 at 3:42 pmIn herr dubyah’s last state of the union address he’s going to claim he’s Jesus.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:46 pmI went to an antique auction in the sand hills in Broken Bow, Nebraska. Lots of conservative old farmers who would kick the crap out anybody as crooked as W. Or a generation back, hanging might have been a real possibility for thieving criminals like W.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:47 pmRonald Reagon was in the beginnings of Alzheimers as President as some of his comments about trees and oxygen would show…so maybe, just maybe there is a physical reason for bush’s actions and comments ? Just reaching for a reason.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:50 pmcomment by jb @ 3:47 pm
Just shows how far we’ve fallen. And we haven’t reached bottom yet. Cowards in Congress are falling all over themselves in rushing to make Bush’s crimes retroactively legal.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:51 pmRonald Reagon was in the beginnings of Alzheimers as President as some of his comments about trees and oxygen would show…so maybe, just maybe there is a physical reason for bush’s actions and comments ? Just reaching for a reason.
Comment by texaslady — January 25, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
He has permanent brain damage from 20 years of booze and drugs.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:53 pmCongress reminds me of all groups…AMA, Unions, that refuse to police themselves….they protect so that when their butt is hanging out to dry their mates will protect them.
What other reason could this Congress have to not clean up when they have brooms and opinion on their side.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:54 pmHow Apropos.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:59 pmFirst he’s Abraham Lincoln, now he’s a horse thief. Who will Bush be in TP’s next blog, Walter Mitty?
Comment by Badmoodman — January 25, 2008 @ 3:42 pm
Part of me thinks that Bush really lives in that kind of world of his own.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:01 pmI find that going to out of the way places like the Sand Hills is kind of like going back in time. True, the locals are conservative people, but nothing like what we call conservative nowadays. These are hardworking, honest folk who brook no nonsense, not the slack jawed, lazy, crooked scum that are bastions of the modern (since Reagan) conservative movement.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:01 pmComment by epm — January 25, 2008 @ 3:24 pm
Well I guess those AP pictures with him sporting a Halo doesn’t really help his delusions of grandeur…
January 25th, 2008 at 4:05 pmdon’t* bad grammar…
January 25th, 2008 at 4:05 pmDamn, the rider ESCAPED the lynch mob..
January 25th, 2008 at 4:09 pmI’m sure that’s what he’s comparing himself to..
What do ya mean “Mistakenly”? Bush Is a Dirty horse thief, except that he doesn’t have any horses on his “ranch” is afraid of them and can’t ride.
Vyan
January 25th, 2008 at 4:09 pmDoes anyone know does America have to protect an ex-President if he leaves the country? I mean relocate his residence. Just curious.
Comment by texaslady
………..
Especially if they take flight and leave the country to avoid crimes, misdemeanors, or outrageous felonies here - or extradition to the criminal court at the Hague for war crimes. Under those circumstances rather than the U.S. taxpayer forking over protection. Let Poppy boo$h hire Blackwater to protect and babysit his criminal spawn/trash.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:09 pmIt might be more accurate if the picture depicted a moron milking the horse.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:09 pmyawn
Comment by good_golly — January 25, 2008 @ 3:34 pm
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and yet you are here. reliable as clockwork.
(don’t forget to tell the nurse to wake you in time of “wheel of fortune”.)
January 25th, 2008 at 4:11 pmJoe, Wheel of Fortune? Really?
I’d have put my money on The People’s Court. But then I guess the luster is gone since Judge Wapner died…
January 25th, 2008 at 4:13 pmBush is such a feeble minded narcissist that just because a pitcure bears a passing resemblence he creates a myth to add to his own mythical narrative.
Is there a character in The Pet Goat that looks like Bush?
-GSD
January 25th, 2008 at 4:15 pmChimpy is Zelig.
-GSD
January 25th, 2008 at 4:16 pmDoes the horse thief pull the horse over and milk it when he gets thirsty?
-GSD
January 25th, 2008 at 4:18 pmWrong president! I think he’s got a bunch of rails to split; that may be what he fantasizes about when he’s clearing brush.
Comment by gummitch — January 25, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
Oh no, I didn’t get the wrong president — I just figured that since Bush’s delusions include Abraham Lincoln and a horse thief, perhaps he also fantasizes about being the father of our country.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:21 pmUhhhhh. Isn’t Dubya afraid of horses?
Cheers,
January 25th, 2008 at 4:23 pmLater, he pointed to the picture on the wall of the dogs playing poker and said “Look! Barney’s got lots of puppy feets!”
January 25th, 2008 at 4:28 pmUnfortunately, it was at one time (might still be) displayed in the Oval. He gives an even more eloquent [wrong] description of the painting on the White House Oval Office video tour:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/flv/oval.v.html
January 25th, 2008 at 4:29 pmBush mistakenly compares himself to a horse bandit.
- - “Mistakenly” is the wrong term. It should be unwittingly since there was no mistake in what he was comparing himself to. And “unwittingly” describes this man in so many ways.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:33 pmAnd “unwittingly†describes this man in so many ways.
Comment by Badmoodman — January 25, 2008 @ 4:33 pm
It’s almost as if he’d been ‘dewitted’ from the years of alcohol and drug abuse…
January 25th, 2008 at 4:37 pmHorse thief seems a lot more appropriate than Lincoln.
To add to some comments above (he’s afraid of horses, Tolstoy syndrome, etc.), this guy has a Messiah complex.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:42 pmthis guy has a Messiah complex.
Comment by MapleStreet — January 25, 2008 @ 4:42 pm
Fits right in with his base, who suffer from a martyr complex.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:55 pm.
And when he runs to his ranch down south in Paraguay, what will that be called?
.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:01 pmBush’s Legacy…
America’s first retarded President.
Dayum. I’m embarrassed. :o(
January 25th, 2008 at 5:04 pmHow fitting.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:19 pmBush’s pre-campaign autobiography (written by someone else, of course), was actually based on a horse thief and Bush ended up stealing the election.
“A Charge To Keep”.
Bush thought a portrait of a horse thief fleeing a posse was actually “a horseman determinedly charging up what appears to be a steep and rough trail. This is us.”
Just shows you how confused he is about his own actions.
He thinks destroying the Constitution is an act of courage and altruism.
He thinks starting needless wars is an act of peace.
I thought Bush was afraid of horses.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:20 pmIf he’s afraid of horses, how can he take on
AL KYE-EEDA?
January 25th, 2008 at 5:21 pmLet’s hope Bush thinks of himself as a martyr, and he understands that he will need to soil that carpet in the Oval Office to achieve martyrdom. Or maybe he’s wearing a belt full of nails and bolts that he plans to set off during the State of the Union address?
OK, with the promise of that, I’ll watch the speech, err, reading.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:23 pmBush compared to a horse thief has me LOL!
I wonder if Bush is going to be able to escape a lynch mob.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:52 pmTHis mutherfu(ker ain’t getting away this time. Hang you high mutherfu(ker. Hang you high
January 25th, 2008 at 6:28 pmAnd when he runs to his ranch down south in Paraguay, what will that be called?
.
Comment by Max-1
A Cruise Missle
January 25th, 2008 at 6:29 pmBush had it right. He is greater than a horse thief. He is a nation thief. Bush has stolen our tax dollars and he plans to live happily ever after in Paraguay thanks to the American taxpayers. Hee haw!
January 25th, 2008 at 7:12 pmI would like to see the state of Michigan rename Patterson Lake Rd. west of Toma Rd. (D19) to Bush Blvd. This road takes you straight to Hell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Michigan
This seems so appropiate: Hell’s main export is kitsch. It has a “fully non-accredited” college that sells “signed, sealed and singed” diplomas…
January 25th, 2008 at 7:32 pmThe story is about a smooth-talking horse thief-in-chief who is caught, and then escapes a lynch mob of the American people in the USA.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:46 pmRalph, you want poetry? How about a nice steaming-hot limerick?
A hard-riding man had a mission
to quickly escape from the prison -
the slipper-tongued thief
was a man of belief…
he believed that all horses were his’n!
The original horse-thief may have been caught again. And hanged. I hope so. He rides roughshod over the country just like the election-thief rides over our constitution.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:51 pmOur enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:51 pmPres George Bush, Washington DC, Aug. 5 2004
Godamn, GW Botch just can’t stop botching on himself!!!!
This is not just the WORST elected official in the history of the world, he is cursed with failure! He has BOTCHED everything he has every touched!!
Dumb to the core!! JUST PHU(KING STUPID!!
January 25th, 2008 at 8:05 pmQ: Is he the kind of “president” you’d like to have a beer with?
A: No, he’s the kind of azshole I’d like to whack upside the head with the empty bottle!
P.S. When you look at that question above, is that not one of the most MORONIC standards for choosing a PRESIDENT.
You get what you ask for…
January 25th, 2008 at 10:01 pmAnd when he runs to his ranch down south in Paraguay, what will that be called?
.
Comment by Max-1 — January 25, 2008 @ 5:01 pm
How about “The Great Escape”?
January 25th, 2008 at 10:08 pmYou know, I just love irony. But there’s gotta be a Hall of Fame out there somewhere for this one!
LOL!
January 25th, 2008 at 10:33 pmI think it is back to the drawing boards for Weisberg on that painting. One thing is for certain, that is definitely not the Sand Hills of Nebraska. If it is indeedin Nebraska, it could be in the Chadron area but that area is well to the west of the Sand Hills.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:46 pmGeorge W. Bush, you will NEVER be considered anything except a traitor, fool, and greedy mutherf(ker. It is time to take your own life. Go ahead and do it. You will have a better history if you take your own life now.
January 26th, 2008 at 1:05 amGeorge never understood “My Pet Goat” either. He always confused it with “Mary Had A Little Lamb”.
January 26th, 2008 at 9:13 amBush = horse bandit? No.
Bush = horse’s ass? Yes.
January 26th, 2008 at 3:40 pmGW Botch = Completely Useless American! A CUA!!!
HIS PARENTS, THE USELESS PHU(KS, SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEIR COLLECTIVE SCREW UP!! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEIR OFFSPRING IS A LOSER PHUCKWAD!!
ALL BUSHES=BOTCH=USELESS=USELESS FAMILY!!!
January 26th, 2008 at 6:25 pmI love the name of the book….”The Bush Tragedy.” That’s exactly what the last seven destructive years have been.
It may sound melodramatic, but it’s stilll true….
I don’t know if our country and the world can recover.
January 27th, 2008 at 3:15 pm