January 24, 2006
Warmer out, but windy. Reminds me of Kingman. I went for a bike ride in the desert twilight, then came back and made hot cereal and read the morning paper. Here’s a headline that made me laugh out loud:

Bush says he hasn’t seen ‘Brokeback Mountain’

I’m not making this up. The Associated Press article says President Bush was at Kansas State University when a man in the audience said, "You would love it. You should check it out." The article also said, quoting now, "After some hesitation and laughter in the audience, Bush said, ‘I’d be glad to talk about ranching, but I haven’t seen the movie.’ The audience laughed some more, and Bush, who owns a ranch in Texas, allowed that, ‘I’ve heard about it.'"

Frankly, I was disappointed in the president. Here’s three things I wish he would have said:

• "Isn’t that the movie where they pack the peanut butter?"

• “Man, don’t get me started on that film. I’m going to cry just thinking about it.”

• “I may be the most powerful man in the world, but I’ve got to tell you, that tent scene sure made me pucker.”

Of course, these comments are more than any president is allowed to say, but if I had to guess, this is how George W. would probably answer if he was totally candid:

• “Don’t get me wrong, I love blue films, Cinemax is one of my favorite channels, but that’s a blue state film, I'm a red state guy and I’m just not going to go there. My wife probably will, and my daughters, but we’ll just wait and see. I’ll probably rent it, or watch it at Cheny’s daughter’s house.”

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.”
—George Santayana