Had an angry e-mail today from a chap in Florida -- a Glenn Beck fan, it appears -- who was offended that I referred (elsewhere) to a former president of the USA as "Dubya" and "the Bushman". Those are "insulting terms", I'm told.
Well, c'mon... Even the junior Bush's friends called him "Dubya". As for "the Bushman", I used it only as a familiar or slang term, in the same way I might have referred to a couple of his predecessors as "Ronnie", "LBJ" or "Tricky Dick". If I really wanted to insult someone, president or lesser mortal, I could find much stronger words. Believe me.
I think there are a lot of Americans, on the right and left of the political spectrum, who need to lighten up. As I said in reply to the e-mail, "It's never wise to be too reverent or serious about our politicians. Life -- especially political life -- is too short to take too seriously."
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