The thread below, collecting historical analogues to Bush's wildly inappropriate remarks today, has gotten some hilarious stuff. I'll be promoting the best ones through the day, so keep participating down there. For now, here are four. First, remember: this is what Bush said:
The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch. (Laughter.)
Haha! Okay, so I asked you guys to put Bush in another time and place and see what happened. Lots of good ones in the thread, here are a few:
Joseph: The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Chicago, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Mrs. O'Leary's barn -- she's lost her entire barn -- there's going to be a fantastic barn. And I'm looking forward to setting the lantern down by her cow. (Laughter.)
MMY: The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this crucifixtion there's going to come a fantastic new savior, like he was before. Out of the rubble of Jesus's old body -- he's lost a lot of weight -- there's going to be a fantastic new Lord to lead us all into the Promised Land. And I'm looking forward to His helping me quit drinking so I can get there.
Sprocket: "The good news is - and it is hard for Yoko to see this now - is that we are gonna see a fantastic new Beatles just like they used to be. Out of this tragedy and senseless murder we'll see them rebuild. Maybe they can get Eddie Rabbit, or that funny praying mantis lookin' fella, who's he from? Yeah! The Cars! Love them Cars. Anyway, before you know it I'll be gettin' high as hell to a whole brand new White Album just like I was back in the old days."
Scott Shields: The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this misguided war is going to come a new Iraq, like it was before, only with Sharia. Out of the rubble of this Iraqi neighborhood -- this whole neighborhood was destroyed -- there's going to be a fantastic American military base. And I'm looking forward to bringing democracy to other nations from that base. (Laughter.)
More to come later. In the meantime, keep participating in the thread. I notice no one's used San Francisco's Great Quake from 1906...