The Nation.



I Dreamt That George W. Bush Adopted James Frey's 3-Step Program--Denial, Larry King and Oprah--To Get to the Truth About the War in Iraq

Deadline Poet

By Calvin Trillin

This article appeared in the February 20, 2006 edition of The Nation.

February 2, 2006

Step One:
At first, when people said he'd lied,
He, bristling visibly, denied
A lie or even a mistake
In anything he did to take
This country into a debacle
That, like a nasty streptococcal
Disease, seems endless and resists
The many cures that he insists
Will someday get us unensnared,
While in his speeches he declared
That people saying he misled
Just helps the folks who want us dead.

Step Two:
This Larry King's a friendly sort,
Who won't object if guests distort
The truth a bit, so pols all like
To make announcements at his mike.
Though Presidents don't usually come,
I see Bush there, admitting some
Of what he said was slightly wrong.
And Bush has brought his mom along.
She smiles. He's sounding slightly whiny
While claiming falsehoods all were tiny--
Just unimportant details. And he
Says otherwise the war's just dandy.

Step Three:
Our Oprah, stern-faced, draws applause
With questions while he hems and haws.
She clears the mist that still enshrouds
His yellowcake and mushroom clouds.
She asks why, in the name of heaven,
He tied Iraq to 9/11.
Bush stares at her--a hollow stare.
He's all alone. His mom's not there.
He then admits, with eyes quite full,
His tales have been all cock and bull.
And Oprah says, "Well, fine. That's great.
For thousands, though, it comes too late."

Subscriber Login

4 ISSUES FREE

Subscribe Now!

The only way to read this article and the full contents of each week's issue of The Nation online is by subscribing to the magazine. Subscribe now and read this article -- and every article published since for the past five years -- right now.

There's no obligation -- try The Nation for four weeks free.

.

About Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin is The Nation's "deadline poet." He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1963 and has written the syndicated weekly column "Uncivil Liberties" since 1986. He has authored many, many books, including Tepper's Not Going Out and Deadline Poet: My Life as a Doggerelist. more...

Popular Topics
Most Searched

Issues »

Most Emailed

Issues »

Blogs

» The Notion

NBC Makes Mockery of McKay Legacy | Jim McKay's coverage of the crisis at the '72 Olympics set the gold standard for serious reporting. NBC's coverage in Beijing doesn't even qualify to compete.
Dave Zirin

» The Dreyfuss Report

Scheunemann, Iraq and Georgia | Where's the congressional investigation?
Robert Dreyfuss

» The Beat

Stephanie Tubbs Jones: Champion of Electoral Justice | Honor the late congresswoman by enacting the election reforms she sought.
John Nichols

» Campaign 08

One Last Clinton Scenario | It's probably Biden, but...
John Nichols

» Editor's Cut

A Fateful Crossroads for America | Faced with neocon policies that have led to a new cold war, will Obama show the courage to chart a new course?
Katrina vanden Heuvel

» ActNow!

From Fannie Lou Hamer to Barack Obama | Denver Public Library highlights how the civil rights movement changed American politics.
Peter Rothberg

» And Another Thing

Good-Bye, John Edwards | On policies and persons
Katha Pollitt

» Capitolism

Six Little Words | How Civil Rights Act could save America's labor movement
Christopher Hayes