Bush and ‘Hollywood values’

October 2, 2007

As regular readers know, it’s really not my style to defend the president, especially when it comes to his unique rhetorical style, but once in a while, the criticism gets a little silly. This isn’t helpful at all — if Bush criticism is off-base, it makes it easier for the right to dismiss all disparagements, no matter how warranted.

I noticed, for example, this AFP headline ran overnight: “Bush attacks ‘Hollywood values’.” It piqued my interest, because I thought it would be odd for the president to suddenly go after the entertainment industry again, apropos of nothing. The report explained:

US President George W. Bush ripped into “Hollywood values” on Monday, in a surprise attack at the entertainment industry that overwhelmingly backs his Democratic foes.

Bush’s rhetorical broadside came as he paid tribute to the new chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, noting that his parents were well regarded behind-the-scenes players in the US movie industry.

“Many people are surprised when told about the admiral’s show business roots. After all, he is humble, well-grounded and filled with common sense. Not exactly what one thinks about when they think of Hollywood values,” said Bush.

Attacking Hollywood is an election-year staple for the president’s Republicans, many of whom are bitter about losing control of Congress in November 2006 and fear losing the White House in November 2008 elections.

No one takes more pleasure in criticizing the president than I do, but this is wildly unfair. Bush neither “ripped into” nor “attacked” Hollywood at all.

At a ceremony to honor Gen. Peter Pace as he’s forced from his post as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Bush acknowledged Pace’s successor, Admiral Michael Mullen.

“Admiral Mike Mullen comes to this post with a broad and unique range of talents and experience. Some of you may not know that his parents were highly-regarded members of the Hollywood community, who worked for some of the greatest entertainers of the day. Many people are surprised when told about the Admiral’s show business roots. After all, he’s humble, well-grounded, and filled with common sense. (Laughter.) Not exactly what one thinks about when they think of Hollywood values. (Laughter.)”

It was a harmless joke. People laughed. There was no further mention of Hollywood, the entertainment industry, or popular culture. Why on earth did the AFP write a stand-alone story on this?

The comment came up, in a joking way, at the White House press briefing.

Q And then off-the-wall question. The President today said — (laughter) — he called Admiral Mullen — I’m characterizing it before I start. (Laughter.) Admiral Mullen, he called him humble, well-grounded, filled with common sense — not exactly what one thinks about when they think of Hollywood values. Can we assume that this means the President does not support Fred Thompson?

MS. PERINO: No. (Laughter.)

I know the hair-trigger is pretty sensitive, but this whole thing reminds me a bit of the recent “Mandela is dead” flap. Can we stick to actual dumb comments the president makes? Bush tends to give us plenty to work with; no one needs to make these stretches.

I wish someone would ask Bush what one thinks about Big Oil values.

  • I disagree. The Republicans have made a living bashing “Hollywood Values” — meaning immoral, anti-American, with a subtext of Jewish. Even jokingly, Bush’s reiterating that mantra is dangerous, and reinforces one of the main stereoypes that have been used to demonize Democrats for years.

  • Can I say – as someone with 25 years’ experience in observing my fellow denizens of Okeefenokee West, aka Hollywood – that the Mullens were indeed well-respected, and that Admiral Mullen obviously has the moral compass he does as a result of it being given him by his family. And the Mullens are actually the norm in Hollywood. The people one thinks of when one thinks of “Hollywood values” – the kids who are the fodder for the tabloids like Paris, Britney, etc. – are actually a minority that even Hollywood people roll their eyes about. And then there are many of those in the tabloids who actually do very good stuff, as a result of their own internal moral compasses, such as Angelina Jolie – one of the most serious humanitarians you can meet, she wouldn’t have been invited to Bill Clinton’s recent conference if she wasn’t, she made a movie (“A Mighty Heart”) that everyone knew wouldn’t be “commercial” because it was right to do it and tell that story. Brad Pitt has put several million of his own dollars into the development of “green” housing in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. George Clooney almost single-handedly got the world to look at Darfur (not that others weren’t doing the heavy lifting, but he used what he had to get the press to pay attention). One thing I learned here (and I admit it surprised me at first, then I realized that was my own stupidity) is that the “really cool people” really are Good Folks.

    Which is probably why there are very few Republicans to be found here. “Right wing” and “talent” are not words that can usually be found in the same sentence.

  • “[H]e’s humble, well-grounded, and filled with common sense. Not exactly what one thinks about when they think of Hollywood values.”

    He’s got me there. When I think of Hollywood, I don’t think of humility or common sense. If Bush is attacking Hollywood values, as AFP seems to think, then we all are.

  • “After all, he is humble, well-grounded and filled with common sense. Not exactly what one thinks about when they think of Hollywood values, said Bush.”

    Give me a break. Bush has no common sense or humility — I do admit, however, that Bush was well-grounded when he didn’t show up for his National Guard physical 35 years ago.

  • I would also agree with the commenter above who made the point that criticizing “Hollywood values” is really a sub-rosa criticism of “Jewish values.” In my exprience, the average person who is a member of that religion is far more likely to be interested in the promotion of social justice in every way than pretty much any other religious/ethnic group, and those kinds of values do indeed permeate Hollywood. It’s why “Jewish Republican” describes as strange a person as “Black Republican” does. The NeoCons are a distinct minority of American Jews.

  • I think it was kind of a f’d up thing to say. It’s like saying of the guy in front of all those people, “Gee, you’d expect him to have messed-up values because his parents had something to do with Hollywood, but he doesn’t.” And probably a lot of nice people live in Hollywood or are involved in the film industry. It’s like when he went after Massachusetts all the time during his campaign. It’s just screwed up.

  • I want to be a reporter. I want a job where I can sleep at my desk while the President of the United States launches an invasion because he wants to play war president, shits on the Constitution, calls Democrats cowardly terrorists coddlers, threatens to veto a bill that would benefit uninsured children and I only have to leap into action when he makes some mumble-mouthed comment about Hollywood.

    In other words, I want the only job that would allow me to do less than GeeDubyaBush.

  • Q And then off-the-wall question. The President today said — (laughter) — he called Admiral Mullen — I’m characterizing it before I start. (Laughter.) Admiral Mullen, he called him humble, well-grounded, filled with common sense — not exactly what one thinks about when they think of Hollywood values. Can we assume that this means the President does not support Fred Thompson?

    MS. PERINO: No. (Laughter.) I don’t know how you’re drawing that connection.

    Ms. Perino is not exactly the sharpest tack on the corkboard, is she?

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