George W. Bush has been mocked for physically resembling Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Newman. Some of his political enemies deem him closer to an animated cartoon character than a real person. Yet I'm not sure that for the majority of Americans this projected unreality doesn't represent a comfort zone. After all, it stems from clownish innocence. Yes, there is a dark side - precisely the sort of dark side which raises certain clowns to mythological states (note the Native American mythological figure Coyote). For me such clowns possess fluid centers - chameleon souls - enabling them to slide in and out of dangerous situations without being scathed.
So am I implying in Burning Bush, the above web animation, that our 43rd president has attained a mythological quality? Yes, I suppose, to a degree, I am.
© 2004 Peter Schmideg