‘Running a country is no fun at all’

April 10, 2007

From yesterday’s Morning Edition on NPR:

This is the morning that kids were invited to the White House for the Easter egg roll. The roll for Laura Bush includes reading a children’s book. It’s called, “Duck for President.” The first lady will read the story of a duck who takes over the farm, then runs for governor, and then runs for the White House. He wins after a recount, but Duck gives it all up to go back to the farm. The duck concludes, “Running a country is no fun at all.”

According to the book’s publisher, “President Duck,” who didn’t realize being president would require a lot of “very hard work,” ends up with “a very bad headache” before passing his duties off to his Vice President.

By all indications, Laura Bush chose this book to read to the kids. (Maybe the First Lady has a good sense of humor?)

Sometimes, the jokes write themselves.

Unfortunately, the joke’s on us.

  • I’m not too sure the first lady has a good sense of humor ~ where her husband is concerned ~ but, maybe she does?? Or, she inadvertently stumbled upon an appropriate children’s book, that speaks both to her young audience and to her husband.

    LOL,

    Kelli

  • Maybe that’s why the Prez went elsewhere—he was afraid that the kids would start quacking at him.

    Funny how the “lost votes” in the recount were found stuck to the Vice President, though….

  • Has he lost Laura?

    BTW, what barnyard animal/thing was the vice prez? If it was what I think it was then big piles of semi autonomous talking cow shit is appropriate for a kid’s book.

  • Just Bill is right. Preview is our friend.

    “then a big pile of semi autonomous talking cow shit is NOT appropriate for a kid’s book.”

  • the jokes right themselves? maybe more truthfull than you meant…..

    I fixed the typo — and enjoyed the fact that just bill included a typo in his comment about my typo.

  • This book is great. My kids love it. Duck runs for office because he doesn’t like to do chores. Then seeks higher office because he doesn’t like the one he has. In his first election Duck campaigns for a kinder gentler farm.

    My seven year old heard campaign news on the radio yesterday and asked me if it was time for an election. I explained about primaries and she said at least George Bush can’t be president again. Here’s hoping!

  • I’m sorry for the people who think it’s only funny because both the duck and Laura’s husband are president. In truth, the resemblance doesn’t end there, as many of Bush’s recent speeches just sound like so much quacking, and he is demonstrably about as smart as a duck. The only thing that prevents a duck from being effective at clearing brush is an inability to hold on to the chainsaw.

  • In the sequel, former VP Duck (now president Duck) crowns himself King Duck and throws a lot of the other animals into prison for hating America.

    When a Press Duck asks why, he shoots that duck in the face. From then on all the Press Ducks stay in a row.

  • I think they chose the book because everyone is ripping the Decidicator and Laura wanted to show people that it’s hard being the leader of the free world.

    As a bonus, maybe her husband can finally understand that as well … although it’s too bad he won’t go back to the farm.

    Oh, and according to the author’s site, she was invited to the White House egg roll last year. Not sure if there’s a connection there.

    From then on all the Press Ducks stay in a row.
    –Racerx

    And Racerx gets the “Groan-Inducing Pun of the Day Award”! Congrats … I think.

    🙂

  • This book is actually a sequel to the far superior Click Clack Moo. While the end message is unintentionally funny, the book is actually a good primer for younger kids on how the election process works.

  • Sadly, in our version, President Duck’s handlers have a vision of a Permanent Waterfowl Majority and refuse to let him go home. They entice him to finish the war Daddy Duck chickened out on, and even encourage him to run for reelection. Then everything ends up getting covered in duck poop.

    I like the book version better.

  • Yeah, it’s true…back in ’64 when Hillary Clinton was a “Goldwater Girl,” Laura was a Texas Dem for Lyndon Johnson…

    LOL…the world upside down.

  • Laura has a history of passive/aggressive efforts to get back at George. Like for example her speech at the WH Correspondents dinner, when she said he never touches her, he does it with farm animals, and the ranching thing is a fake. This is the same deal – an expression of her hostility disguised as something else.

  • Between ‘Click Clack Moo’ and ‘Duck for President’ there’s a second book — ‘Giggle Giggle Quack,’ which my twin boys love me to read to them.

    In it the farmer goes on vacation, leaving his naive brother in charge of the farm. The Farmer leaves a bunch of notes, instructing his brother on how to run the operation — but duck gets ahold of them and rewrites them, so that the brother is tricked into doing foolish things that the farmer would normally have objected to.

    Hmm, do we know anyone else who manipulated a bunch of people into supporting something foolish that normally they would never have agreed to?

  • PLEASE !!!
    Laura Bush is dumber then a box of rocks. I can’t think of anything directly, but CB has written plenty about her grasp on reality and she makes George look like a genius.

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