It is exceedingly hard for me to ignore the irony of the seeing the names of Nick Lachey and George W. Bush on the recent cover of Rolling Stone -- especially since they've both been dumped on their asses lately. Why I know Nick Lachey's name at all goes to show you how deep pop culture's banal tentacles have slithered into America's nervous system. And Rolling Stone, a mag that debuted with John Lennon on its cover, is as much to blame as anyone. It has gone from a safe haven for sharpshooters as diverse as William Greider, Cameron Crowe, Greil Marcus and Hunter S. Thompson to an open-door factory for pop culture's worst region: The one where bubble-pop is born.
But they've redeemed themselves for one issue (only!) with this studied stab at George W. Bush, the worst president the United States has ever produced. And let's remember that important point, shall we? We produced him, meaning we voted him in -- or let him walk in unobstructed, for those of you still pissed at the 2000 election. Stone-cold straight: We gave him the keys and he crashed the shit out of the car. I mean, fucked it up bad. It's going to need an overhaul, from front to back.
But enough bashing: This article hits him where it hurts, and that would be the history books. Sure, progs like me have been saying that Bush is the worst president in history, but wingnuts right and left thought we were just talking that old paranoiac smack. But both slackers have failed to recognize, as usual, that we enjoy a little temoporal perspective, otherwise known as history, served up with our national ideology. Think of it as a dimension test. If you don't know where you came from, and you don't know where you're going, then chances are you're going to crash. Like Bush did, when he totally jacked up the car. Like Laura did before him when she ran over that guy. Or Cheney, when he shot that guy's face off.
Anyway, I never thought that I'd say this but [shiver]...read Rolling Stone. At least this month, where historian Sean Wilentz throws W. where he belongs: Under a microscope with a wide-angle lens. It's the funniest thing they've ever published. Serious.