Bush: Miss Me Yet?

Minnesota Public Radio’s Bob Collins saw this billboard as he “whizzed past it on I-35 in Wyoming last week on the way back from Wrenshall.”

President George W. Bush "Miss Me Yet?" billboard seen on I-35 in Wyoming by MPR's Bob Collins

President George W. Bush "Miss Me Yet?" billboard seen on I-35 in Wyoming by MPR's Bob Collins

He’s rather bemused at the reception his blog post on this has gotten:

FoxNews asked me to be on today to talk about the billboard. I declined, noting I don’t know anything other than that there’s this billboard. But it’s interesting how the story has spiraled from the blog, to the NPR blog, to a couple of national blogs, to Drudge etc. True, I’m intrigued by the mystery of it all, but it’s also a reminder of how the truly trivial can grab our attention. I write about deeper, more meaningful news, too. Maybe that’s the bigger story here: Can blogs exist without the trivia?

Ah, the joys of blogging.  Quite often, our “serious” posts go unnoticed whilst seemingly trivial posts go viral.  Go figure.

Aside from the amusement factor over the billboard, the interest level is ratcheted up because no one has yet figured out who put it up. Collins’ NPR colleague Mark Memmott ventures,

At first glance, it would seem to be from some person or group who isn’t thrilled by President Barack Obama’s performance so far — unless it’s a more ironic message from those who didn’t think too much of Bush and want to remind voters about him.

I’m guessing Dick Cheney.  (Well, probably not — but he is from Wyoming and it would be pretty funny.)

UPDATE: I’m reliably informed that Collins was in Wyoming, Minnesota not Wyoming, the state.  (I-35 runs north-south from Laredo, TX to Deluth, MN, missing Wyoming by about 1000 miles.)  This reduces Collins’ drive time considerably but ruins the Cheney joke.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. steve says:

    I suspect it is a result of the Citizens United decision. I am betting it comes from Goldman Sachs or AIG. Runner up goes to bin Laden. They sent a bomber from Nigeria and we have not responded by invading Nigeria. Ahh, for the good old days when running AQ meant predictable American leaders. IOW, look for those who most benefitted from Bush in office, besides Cheney.

    Steve

  2. Margaret says:

    Since I-35 doesn’t go through Wyoming, guessing Cheney is not the source. Wyoming, MN, however is adjacent to I-35, just North of the Twin Cities Metro.
    I can help with geograpy, but missing Bush?????? As we say here in MN, uf da…..

  3. yetanotherjohn says:

    I think W. made a better president than Gore or Kerry would have. I think he was better thab Obama is now. But the reality is that is a minority view in this country (though give Obama some more time in office and that may change). Just as we can find fault woth Obama for not recognizing the reality of how unpopular his health care and deficit spending is, those who still remember Bush fondly should recognize that it is democrats game plan to run against Bush again in 2010 so let’s not make it any easier for them.
    To put it another way, imagine the impact on Brown in Mass. if a bunch of these billboards had been put up. For the short term joy of tweaking the donkeys nose, we might be in a world of hurt.

  4. Triumph says:

    I love this bill-board. Bring back the Decider–get rid of the liberal!

  5. DL says:

    I suspect that our first African-American president would hope this changes!