Brothers from different planets:
An American travesty?

Are you as skeeved out as I am by Bush 43, our putative president, referring to ex-president Bill Clinton as "my new brother"? Yuck. Who are they, Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Whatever possessed the Bushling to make such a preposterously inane statement? Was this a blatant political ploy? A play for disaffected voters? A way to siphon off some of the slightly sleazy cigar-meister's amazing popularity for himself? Perhaps even a lame and futile attempt to make Bush-Wah a warmer and fuzzier commodity to the American people on the eve of his State-of-the-Union speech? Get a grip, guy! Even a positive who's-yer-daddy DNA test won't bring folks back to the fold!

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More to the point, is this effusion of quasi-Brotherly Love a good thing for America? Insidious? Or even dangerous? And if so, who might be Bush's next new brother? I shudder to contemplate the choices – and the consequences of this American Travesty ...

• Osama bin Laden? Stranger things have happened. After all, the Bush and bin Laden families were in the oil biz together for two decades. GWB himself was in partnership with someone in partnership with Salem bin Laden, funneling bin Laden money into Baby Bush's oil company, Arbusto, until Salem eventually died in one of those horribly tragic plane-crashes-of-convenience. And don't forget those now impossible to find news stories about Osama visiting the Bush ranch as a teenager!

• How about "Butcher of Baghdad" Saddam Hussein? Lobbyist Jack Abramoff? Pest-maven Tom DeLay? New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin? Bring back sibling rivalry! It's healthier, and more honest.

Weighing in with their views on this thorny conundrum via e-mail is a cross-section of LEFT-HANDED readers, identified here by pseudonyms to protect their privacy:

• "Shad," Motor City, tech writer: "Just goes to show people have more in common than they often realize and also that familiarity can either breed contempt or passion, depending on character revealed. That Walker Bush and [Clinton[ have found common ground and earned affection for one another is a beautiful testament to what can happen when people check their prejudices, prop their minds open and commit to moving on."

• "Mandy," Philly, spoken-word artist, writer, wife, mom: "Ewwwwwww. It's icky. I can't decide if it is a case of co-opting or worse. Maybe some kind of vampiric thing. I mean does Bush want to shelter in Clinton's big dog popularity or does he want to take it for his own? And then Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton? Like it is a dynasty and we don't have a choice? (Oh right, I forgot – WE DON'T.) And then the back-handed slap of "formidable"! That's what you call nannies and old nasty aunts. Not that I support H.R. Clinton – I truly think she would be a terrible choice – but let's try to focus on issues, and keep misogyny at bay."

• "Ken," N.J., retired insurance executive: "It's a good thing for America. I have a lot of respect for both men to put aside their politics and work together. There is much more to life than politics. Politics corrupts people."

• "Shane," Manhattan, writer-teacher: "Frankly, at this point, the Bushes and the Clintons can get in a canoe and go over Niagara Falls together for all I care. The world will probably be a better place without them. I do not hate George Bush – it does no good to hate because hatred hurts the hater not the hated.

  "That said, George Bush is a lousy president who has led this country to an abyss over which we are about to plummet. Bill Clinton was a bunch of missed golden opportunities as a president. I admire him more now because of his attempts at finding solutions to end world hunger, disease and illiteracy. I hope he pulls it off.

  "... I'm not voting for his wife until she explains why she wanted us in Iraq and why she seems to want to be on every side of every issue to get every vote. Damn the Democrats, damn the Republicans, a pox on both their houses. The Democrats have no ideas and the Republicans have the wrong ones. Boy, are things [bleeped] up."

• "Lotus," medical editor, Pennsylvania: "Talk about strange bedfellows! I'm tempted to look for deeply psychological explanations, but let's apply Occam's Razor. My guess is Bush-baby is desperate to boost his approval ratings any way he can, so he's inventing a pseudo-kinship to make him look more human. Or maybe Daddy has found a more interesting younger guy to hang out with, one who hasn't disappointed him at every turn. I don't know – this one is bizarre."

• "Jared," arts administrator and Navy veteran, N.M.: "Bush senior was never as dangerous or as stupid as junior."

• "Edward," artist/activist, Pennsylvania: "Hey ... isn't this GW and Bubba link famous already, in a way? I mean, Bill and Papa Bush have been palling around all over the place for a good while, un-embarrassedly ... and, of course, it was Clinton who managed to get the legislation through that Papa (and Reagan) both failed at ... NAFTA being most harmful ... or was it that Anti-Terrorism/Effective Death Penalty Act with its squashing of Habeas Corpus? ... or was it 'Salvage Logging'? ... or was it the deal that allowed pesticides back into children's food?

  "Bill, a Dem only a Repug (or a really dum Dem) could love. Both Clinton and GWB use that "Southern" accent to fool millions into thinking they are just Good Ol' Regular Guys ... as if they have human characteristics of empathy, concern, compassion, survival instincts, etc. Dims and Repugs are 'brothers' in Biz ?ber Alles family."

• "Celeste," graphic designer, Chicago: "Imagine that ... Bill and George as brothers ... playing in the same sandbox. This just goes to prove what I've always thought: Republican, Democrat – it doesn't matter. They're all the same.

  "Politicians don't live with the same rules as we do. Once you become a politician, you don't have to pay Social Security, you get a fab pension, you can vote yourself raises – you live outside this menial fray. You see, even opponents are friends away from the public eye.

  "All that chest beating, mud slinging and puffing up – it's just a show. Well, the way I figure it is, Bill set us up and George is following through. It's a perfect match. Now I wonder if Bill is going to play around with his sister-in-law."

• "Dermot," Washington, D.C., magazine editor/speechwriter/Philadelphia litterateur: "[This Reuters report] should be required reading for all those who insist there are substantive differences between the two corporate parties.

  "If there is a difference, it's this: the Republicans want the state to grab as much and as many of the world's resources as it can while the United States still has military hegemony, whatever the risks or consequences, while the Dems insist on maintaining the fiction of a democratic society, even though they are equally committed to U.S. global hegemony.

  "In the early 90s, the Bushes had nothing but condescension for Clinton – viewing him as white trash & themselves as Old Money. Of course, they are the white trash of Old Money, so there was lots of room for rapprochement. The mutual back-scratching that goes on now takes place because elder Bush and Clinton need (or desire) to stay in the public eye – they're addicted to their own celebrity. So they go around together, dispensing wisdom and posing for photo ops as they go poking into disasters. The real disaster is the ecological meltdown the planet is currently undergoing, but you won't find them having a lot to say about that."

I'll say.