April 11, 2014

You won't believe the tameness of the joke behind the TPM headline "Here's George W. Bush Telling A Very Dirty Joke At A Civil Rights Summit."

My post title is intended as a deliberately parody of headlines (like the one I'm quoting) that shamelessly beg for traffic, so let me help you resist clicking on this link by revealing Bush's joke.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act at the LBJ Library, Bush said: "Former presidents compare their libraries the way other men may compare their, well..." Pause for effect. Crowd laughs.

Does the word "very" mean nothing anymore? Even "dirty" without the "very" seems like a dumb exaggeration. Just call it off color... and insist that one must never indulge in any off-color humor anywhere in the region of civil rights. Not even to gently rib LBJ. LBJ!
Johnson was a sexual beast, and also fond of (literally) waving his dick around.... As for waving around his cock (a little extension of him that he had affectionately nicknamed "Jumbo"), he was said to piss in public whenever he felt like it, and if anyone dared confront him, he would whip his dick around and challenge the poor sap with, "Have you seen anything bigger than this?"

22 comments:

rhhardin said...

Johnson, they called him.

Limited Blogger said...

LBJ sounds like a man whose spouse did not speak well of him.

http://thefederalist.com/2014/04/11/even-president-obama-struggles-to-speak-well-of-his-spouse/

Paco Wové said...

Somehow, I suspect TPM's characterization would have been quite different had, say, Obama made that same joke in the same venue.

effinayright said...

Unfortunately, when someone refers to "the Johnson Presidency" most people think of Bill Clinton.

Wilbur said...

Paco Wove, you nailed it.

Michael K said...

Everybody knows what a "Johnson" so what is the big deal ?

Oh, TPM.

Pat said...

Reminds me of the time the Left tried to gin up some controversy over Laura Bush supposedly telling a bestiality joke:

"I'm proud of George. He's learned a lot about ranching since that first year when he tried to milk the horse. What's worse, it was a male horse."

Of course, that's the oldest country joke around, and only a city slicker would think it was about bestiality.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, it's just Josh being an asshole once again. The only difference is that you're starting to notice.

Patrick said...

Maybe the tone's not clear, and they were being facetious about the "Very" and the "dirty."

David said...

"Have you seen anything bigger than this?"

"What is it? Looks like a dick, only smaller."

ddh said...

It's only dirty in the way that saying "your mother" is fighting words. In any case, "very" almost always is superfluous.

Anonymous said...

LBJ. I visited his library in Austin last year for the first time. In the bookstore, they were selling children's onesies that were made in . . . Vietnam.

The Godfather said...

Unless it's absolutely essential, please don't mention LBJ: I won't sleep well tonight. God, I detest that man!

Anonymous said...

Verily

Smilin' Jack said...

Let's remember Johnson as he deserves to be remembered--with a few rousing choruses of "Hey! Hey! LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?!"

Rusty said...

Lyndon Johnson. A big dick in more ways than one.

iowan2 said...

Home recovering from surgery, I was forced to watch MSNBC,and FOX during the day.
I found the extreme sanitizing of the Johnson Adm. astounding.
Johnson was a not so very nice person, and wielded his power ruthlessly.
Johnson used that power to strong arm legislatures to vote for the legislation he wanted. Compare that to Obama and his total detached involvement with the ACA that somehow he placed his own name on, despite the fact that, other than talking, Obama did nothing to write, pass, and, as it turns out implement the law.

Kudos to Bush for bringing some historical accuracy to the events and adding some VERY subtle levity to the faux solemnity

William said...

We got the two most charmless and unlikable Presidents in American history back to back right after Kennedy's assassination. Kennedy, whatever his flaws, did not lack for charm, wit, and elegance. It's hard to use words like that in the vicinity of Johnson and Nixon. Maybe that's why Kennedy is so overrated.....They're trying to rehab Johnson's reputation. Inflation, rising crime rates, burning cities, a disastrous war. Good luck with that.

Hagar said...

Lyndon Johnson was the racist Southern SOB who put through the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

No wonder the Democrats can't stand him.

Deep State Reformer said...

George W. Bush is a "you know" with ears. So I guess he "wins".

Deep State Reformer said...

GWB is a six foot tall prick with ears so I guess he wins.

Gary Rosen said...

Liberals are trying to disown LBJ but he was the biggest big-government Democrat between Roosevelt and Obama.