The media pundit's pundit. Written by NYC insider Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine covers news, media, journalism, and politics.
President Thumb?
: I saw it first from an anonymous poster in my comments:
“Regardless, I can’t vote for someone who looks like a thumb.
Howard Dean does look like a thumb.”
So surely, I thought, this meme has to be everywhere and I’m just catching up. 
But the only other reference I could find was in a comment on Tim Blair’s blog. It quoted Lucianne
Well. He doesn’t have that bulge you find on the big toe. So, I vote for thumb.
If you’ve seen the first Spy Kids movie – he looks like the Thumb Bad Guys (I think that’s one of them in the picture on Jeff’s front page).
Funny – I never thought of myself as an anonymous poster, but of course that’s what I am…
Jeff. When you’re right, you’re right.
See the proof here:
http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/coverv/89/185089.jpg
Instead of the President, he should be the Prince! (Prints)
nosleep
These kind of comments are extremely unfair and childish and reduce the seriousness of the electoral process to one of physical characteristics. Besides, anyone can see that Dean is best represented by a fully extended and isolated middle finger. Ha!
I’d rather to have a president who looks like a thumb than the one who not only looks “dumb” but also really is “dumb”.
blogger frograbbitmonkey commented last week that her mom applies the same, er, rule of thumb to elijah wood as frodo.
http://radiocomments.userland.com/comments?u=107946&p=1131&link=http%3A%2F%
Anyone seen ‘Thumb Wars,’ or ‘Thumbtanic?’ We could have ‘Thumb Election!’
Three words:
Penis with ears.
Here’s some more thoughts on our candidates:
http://thisisreallyhappening.typepad.com/reallyhappening/2004/01/in_case_you_mis.html
Billy Crystal – “It’s not how you feel, it’s how you look.” American public – “It’s not your abilities, it’s how you look”, or “It’s not your abilities, it’s what I can learn about you from those 30 second ads”.
“Really, I’m a liberal. I’m not a flack for the right wing!”
“Howard Dean looks like a thumb”
“Your search, chimp site:www.buzzmachine.com – did not match any documents”
Hipocrite, it’s obvious that Jeff, like MANY DEMOCRATS AND LIBERALS, does not like Dean. Hence he feels no compunction about mocking him. Doing so does not make him a phony. He’s not knocking “the nine dwarves” or calling the Democrats “closet socialists,” for the love of god.
Besides, Dean does sorta look thumbish.
But I love your implicit logic: anybody who doesn’t like and attacks the guy *I* support…why he’s an agent provocateur! Not a real liberal! A right-wing shill! In fact, HE’S WORKING FOR BUSH!! Doesn’t that kind of crap embarrass you?
(By the way, as stupid as I still feel for repeating a false allegation about MoveOn’s involvement with the Bush=Hitler ads previously, this little bit intentional noxiousness on your part relieves a great deal of my conscience. At the very least, you now have also lost the credibility to criticize.)
I’m not saying he’s not a liberal.
I’m not saying he’s working for Bush.
I’m saying that this avowed liberal seems to have no qualms mocking candidates for the way they look, but seems never to have mentioned the far more widespread bush=chimp comparison. That adds continued doubt to my mind as to his liberal bonefides.
Additionally, you can critizize all you want. What you lost was the ability to make factual assertions without backup, because you are a notorious liar.
To be fair to our Mad How, he looks a bit like Sarge on Gomer Pyle USMC. But for those bum knees, he’da made a decent looking Jarhead. Donchathink?
Hipcrite: You’re right. OK, it’s out. I’m not a liberal. And how do I know? Because I have a sense of humor (and you don’t). Jeesh. It’s just a joke. And he does look like Thumb Thumb.
He still looks a tad better (albeit in a thumbish way) than President Chimpy no?
What a silly item, eh?
To A.L. and Hipocrite:
He (and those who support him )who lives by hate,
will most certainly have to suffer the consequences of that hate.
If all the good Doctor can muster are daily diatribes/clarifying statements for yesterday’s diatribes, what the hell makes you think he could effectively lead more than the 37% of America currently willing to vote for him? Aren’t ya’ll the ones who claim Dubya’s the most divisive figure since…. whatever.
Just what sort of magic do you think will convince the rest of us to forget all the bitterness he’s put out there, and then breathlessly rush to embrace him?
Take all the shots you want at Dubya — it’s your privilege as an American citizen. I don’t recall a single time he’s called YOU the kinds of things you and Howie call Dubya on a daily basis. Your own hate betrays you, and I guarantee you’ll feel foolish for it later in life.
Grow up and debate the issues, for cryin’ out loud. Leave the silly and childish personal attacks for those who are better (and funnier) at it.
All right, you think “thumb” isn’t fair?
I’ll tell you, then — every time I see no-neck Howard, my first thought is of a Preparation H advert.
Charlie: don’t get me wrong — there are a LOT of colorful descriptors that come to mind whenever I see the good Doc’s face on TV/Net/print… I’m trying to channel a recently concluded 26 yrs AF career worth of conservatism to something better than “I hate that m**********r nearly as much as my last wife!”
It’s a work in progress, Bro.
Howard looks like a thumb? That would explain why he’s so opposable.
“Notorious liar”?
I’ve posted all of five times here, and made a factual assertion exactly once.
(Oh wait…trollbait…)
Funny,
I called him a penis and Hipocrite didn’t blink at that.
from Oblomovka here – on groups, but also applicable to individuals –
http://www.oblomovka.com/entries/2003/10/13#1066058820
The great secret of satire is that it can be applied to anyone, good or bad. The British have bad teeth, Americans have giant chins. Rednecks drawl, toffs stutter, New Yorker’s shout. Sub-cultural foibles are a universal weapons.
…
It’s not enough. You have to have a good reason to attack who you do with those tricks. You have to justify it, otherwise you’re just playing to the crowd’s prejudices without giving them a bone of a new idea…
It’s not enough.
Sez you.
You have to have a good reason to attack who you do with those tricks.
No I don’t.
Now I got it!
How about Lee Harvey Oswald several years on and a bit paunchier?
Posted by me in the WP forum.
From: GMROPER Jan-9 10:03 pm
To: Lindsay Howerton (WPFORUMS) unread (14 of 14)
2971.14 in reply to 2971.1
The most interesting theory I’ve heard, and it’s just a theory you understand, not proven, but the most interesting theory is that Howard Dean looks like a thumb. Now, I’m not saying the theory is true, but he has NEVER answered the question of whether or not he looks like a thumb, and people are asking. That’s where some of these “theories” come from, from front runners not answering questions. Now, I’ve looked closely at my thumb, and I can see a resemblence, but that doesn’t mean anything, afterall, I’m a Republican and my vision thingy may be off kilter. But, until Dr. Dean is willing to answer the question people are going to theorize that he is a thumb.
Just a thought
I’ve been calling Dean “Howard the Duck” for months because he’s all wet. He’ll also bomb as much in the general election as HtD did in the theaters.
I haven’t seen anything like this since some comic said Richard Nixon “has a face that looks like a foot.’
I remember years ago someone comparing Garth Brooks’ looks (it may have been Garth himself) to a thumb wearing a cowboy hat.
No doubt about it, Mad How’s an “opposable” thumb. Bud Norton nailed it!
Go on, call him a thumb. However, don’t get all bitchy about the other side calling Bush a chimp. It’s really as simple as that.
Ed writes: “don’t get all bitchy about the other side calling Bush a chimp.”
I havn’t seen anyone get bitchy about Bush being called a Chimp, and I can see that there is a faint resemblence, but it ain’t nearly as funny as “Howard the Thumb” after all, Chimps share 98+% of our DNA, do Thumbs (except for Howard of course)?
And, “Opposable Thumb” is an even BETTER description.
Easycure,
To get a reaction, you have to put it in yiddish, like Al D’amato did. (putzhead)
