American pariah

Big deal, lots of people want to be on American Idol. You’ve seen the length of those lines at the auditions.

Nigel, 58, also spilled that during the planning for the second annual Idol Gives Back fundraising special, which aired in April, America’s biggest TV show had a spat with no less a power than the White House!

He said that the show’s producers were so disappointed with President Bush’s efforts to combat the very poverty that the show was trying to relieve that they were embarrassed to have him on their TV show.

But Nigel said that Idol relented under pressure from the Pres's people, and allowed him to speak during the star-studded broadcast.

“The President is always saying ‘I want to be on [Gives Back],” said the Brit.

“We didn't ask the President this year to say anything because we are all a bit embarrassed about him, and the office insisted that, because the [primary] candidates were on it, the President would like to come on and say ‘thank you.’"

Of course Bush begged to appear on Idol Gives Back. Given that Bush has done exactly nothing about poverty in eight years, the television show appearance is basically his entire anti-poverty agenda.

Seriously, Bush just wants to be seen in the context of caring about poverty, and near people who are doing something about it. It’s all part of the stagecraft, the appearance of action and results in place of actual action and results, that has marked his entire term in office. In short, it’s insincere bullshit, backed up by nothing.

UPDATE: I agree with Richard Clarke.