The literary White House, part 3 (!)
They’re doing it again: earlier this week, former Bush adviser Karl Rove compared himself to both Grendel and Beowulf. Before that, he was Moby Dick.
Now, Rove’s ex-boss, one George W. Bush, is doing it – in a speech defending America’s continued presence in Iraq, Bush cited – wait for it – Graham Greene’s The Quiet American:
“In 1955, long before the United States had entered the war, Graham Greene wrote a novel called The Quiet American. It was set in Saigon and the main character was a young government agent named Alden Pyle. He was a symbol of American purpose and patriotism and dangerous naivete. Another character describes Alden this way: ‘I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused.’”
Again, Bush was citing a book about the dangers of American overseas naïveté to support his argument in favour of staying in Iraq. The best part is, as can be seen here, Bush’s critics have often cited the character of Alden Pyle to criticize the president’s foreign policy.
What’s next? “My fellow Americans, there was once this guy named Chauncey Gardiner…”
Good Lord. I’m willing to bet they have a list of literary genius posted on a bulletin board somewhere and the speechwriters throw darts at it to choose which title they’ll bastardize next.
They’ve set standards too high. If they’d just give it up and reference “The Jetsons” instead (or “Married With Children”) then at least some of the population would have an idea of what they’re getting at.
[…] Quill & Quire explores the Bush administration’s recent (and rather funny) tendency to compare themselves to literary characters: They’re doing it again: earlier this week, former Bush adviser Karl Rove compared himself to […]