President Hologram and the Triumph of Public Relations

By Mike Whitney

09/25/06 "Information Clearing House" -- -- All tyrannies are similar in one respect; they require a steady flow of propaganda to promote the interests of the state. That same rule applies to dictators, whose “strongman image” is vital to the maintenance of autocratic government and must be supported by a “cult of the personality.” This is particularly true of George Bush, who has been the centerpiece of the most prodigious public relations campaign in American history. Our Betsy McCall executive is either dressed up in flannel shirts and Stetsons, or flight-suits and goggles; whatever it takes to elicit greater public support and project the picture of a bold and decisive leader.

This is nothing new; there’s a long tradition of inflating the virtues of the “Dear Leader” while exaggerating his manliness and steely resolve. What is new, however, is selecting a character who is entirely excluded from the policy-making apparatus and then using him as a mere vehicle for ideological extremism.

That is new.

It’s widely known that Bush is an incurious poseur who doesn’t read the newspapers and has no interest in the grueling task of managing the government. His forte is following a carefully prepared Karl Rove script and modeling the costumes selected by confidante Karen Hughes. This allows him to slip naturally into his role as the “made-for-TV” president while brushing aside the niggling affairs of state.

Surprisingly, even devoted Bush-lovers are no longer taken in by this charade. There’s simply no one in America today who believes that Bush is part of the administration’s policy-making team.

Still, “the caravan passes and the dogs bark”; the press perpetuates this farce by magnifying the importance of every action, every comment, and every public appearance that Bush makes. They’ve produced an impressive collage of flattering Bush-photos which grace the headlines and the covers of America’s main news magazines. The illusion of leadership is scrupulously maintained even though the public knows that it’s a complete and utter fraud.

Bush is the most televised and photographed president in American history. It’s not unusual to hear his whiny drawl first thing in the morning when the radio goes on, and see his sardonic smirk last thing at night when the TV is flipped off. His persistent image is intended to reshape attitudes toward growing government surveillance and the portentous signs of an emerging police state. His speeches are used to weaken resistance to government intrusion and make Big Brother seem like the inevitable requirement of the new security paradigm.

But this is old news. Tyranny is built on force, surveillance and deception. That hasn’t changed with Bush.

What makes Bush original is that he is the first purely synthetic president we’ve ever had. There’s not a trace of the real man left. He is a mixture of mythic cowboy legend and the Old Testament “fire-n-brimstone” preacher-man, a John Brown-Ronald Reagan hybrid. The draft-dodging, hard-guzzling, cheerleading, business-flop has been transformed into a sanctimonious, war-mongering American Samurai resolving the world’s problems with just two “common sense” solutions; war and tax cuts. In Republican parlance, that makes him a “man of vision”.

George Bush is the ideal politician for the new century; a clay figurine who can be dolled-up in war paint and eagle feathers or corporate pin-stripes and powder-blue neck-tie. He is like a shaft of colored light crystallized on the night sky offering his finger-wagging injunctions to his people before disappearing into the ether. The Bush persona is completely devoid of content or substance; a luminous hologram cleverly concealing the radical dogma of his constituents.

Every utterance from chief executive’s lips originated in a right-wing think tank and was poll-tested with numerous focus groups. Every thought has been reduced into a snappy marketing slogan to manipulate public opinion. All of Bush’s so-called “deeply held beliefs” first appeared on a teleprompter screen in a recording studio or were furtively whispered into the presidential earpiece. Bush’s religious convictions extend no further than the false pieties and self-righteous dribble that are inscribed on the presidential cue cards. The Commander-in-Chief believes in nothing except the unlimited expansion of his own personal power.

The cult of the personality depends in large part on an effective public relations campaign that fashions the leader into the embodiment of the virtues of the state. He must be seen as the epitome of patriotism and forthrightness. His conduct must be above reproach. Bush’s personal history as a struggling alcoholic and business failure has been scrubbed from the public record. He has been transfigured into the blunt-talking cowpoke whose lack of sincerity and gravitas are taken for candor and fortitude. The media plays a critical role in this ruse. They provide an open platform for the endless repetition of Bush’s silly sound-bytes which are forever celebrated as the astute policy judgments of a “straight shooter”.

The appearance of popularity is indispensable to dictatorships. The Leader must be seen as strong and charismatic. This has been particularly difficult with Bush who hasn’t mingled with the public since 9-11 and cannot stick his nose beyond his White House fortress without an entourage of 3,000 armed paramilitaries and secret service agents.

As the most disliked president in American history, Bush’s popularity is mainly an invention of public relations organizations. They’ve limited his appearances to pre-arranged meetings with target audiences consisting of donors who willingly comply with a dress code that makes them appear like average, working class Americans rather than CEOs in the Fortune 500. The events are heavily scripted and look more like campaign advertisements than public gatherings. This type of manipulation is an affront to democracy, but it is effective none the less. When the footage appears on the evening news, it usually looks like a spontaneous and congenial interaction between the leader and his adoring flock.

The Bush presidency is a triumph in public relations. The country has been mobilized to support the narrow and unpopular agenda of a small group of western, white plutocrats while the American people have been duped into a war of aggression and seen the steady erosion of their civil liberties. The plan to control the world’s resources has been carried off behind the mask of an empty figurehead who is little more than a diversion.

Will we really be swindled out of our personal freedom by a shabby, soulless, Texas-phantasm who was conjured up by brainstorming PR executives?

If so, we can expect carbon-copies of the Bush presidency for decades to come.