Weekender 24/7


‘Idol’ thoughts


(Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Bush (center) poses with 9 of the top 10 American Idol finalists (top row, left to right): Ace Young, winner Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Bucky Covington, (bottom row, left to right), Kellie Pickler, Paris Bennett, Lisa Tucker, Mandisa, and Chris Daughtry at the White House Friday.

No, the deafening silence from Weekender 24/7 isn’t the result of a case of bloggers’ block. I’ve been on vacation.

Something I heard about today while playing catchup struck me as kinda odd. With the Middle East falling apart and the news seemingly getting worse every day, President Bush on Friday welcomed the finalists from the most recent “American Idol” competition, including winner Taylor Hicks, to the White House.

The president getting visits from entertainers and athletes is nothing new, though the photo of Bush grinning with the “Idol” pretty boys and girls seems like bad timing. But that’s not what intrigued me.

You’d think a media-savvy White House might be aware of the fact that it was only last April that the movie “American Dreamz” starred Dennis Quaid as a doofus president who decides to be a guest judge on an “Idol”-like reality show to boost his popularity.

The tagline for the film wasn’t exactly subtle. “Imagine a country where the President never reads the newspaper, where the government goes to war for all the wrong reasons, and more people vote for a pop idol than their next President.” Neither was Quaid’s performance or Marcia Gay Harden’s Laura-esque turn as his first lady.

Granted, the movie tanked at the box office. But you’d think someone at the White House would have pointed out the possible unflattering comparisons nonetheless. Maybe Karl Rove was otherwise occupied.

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