On Notice

A great series of pictures. I love the second one in particular, where it looks as if Nancy just said something that alarms Bush but pleases Nancy–perhaps, “The server just admitted he spit in your champagne.”
Even better is the color guard shot. Nancy is in disciplined black and white, like the color guard. Her pearls echo his shirt. She and he are in sync. Laura, meanwhile,…in blotchy lilac and gray…looks out of place, poor dear. Even pledging alliance her face has a tense, angry look.

are more plainly revealing Bush as the perpetual militant.
I would have save petulantly militant

Pelosi treats Bush the way he developmentally needs to be treated: as a petulant and unpleasant child. In the top four pictures she has very maternal body language (she reminds me of an elementary teacher)–and that’s a good way to treat Bush. He never got a shred of unconditional love from his chilly and contemptuous mother. As his bewildered expression shows, Bush doesn’t know what to make of her. Or, in his mind, he could be confusing her with Laura. For Bush, older women are either “nice-mommy” or “mean-mommy” types. Cheney and Rove told Bush Pelosi was a mean mommy. But here she is being a nice mommy to him. No wonder he looks puzzled.

Don’t you wish you could know what she wispered in his ear? I just love these pictures! Bush has such a rueful look on his face. It’s almost as if she had told him his pants were unzipped! Which, metaphorically speaking, they are!

Priceless. Pelosi is brilliant here, I bet she knows exactly how this little chat will look in pictures. And notice that “reverse Merkel”, hand on Bush’s shoulder.
I would love to know what she said in the second pic.

God I hate these dinners. Let me augment: loved ‘em when I went to ‘em, now see them as just another horrible example of how the press is in love with celebrity. (And boy howdy, I sure was. Lookit! Me with Richard Hatch! The DC equiv of Oscar Season, you have a dozen of these to-dos, in which guys just get the same tux dry cleaned each week, and women have to shell out hundreds per dress, and heaven help you if you wear the same one twice… And before and after the dinner, everyone is running around with a camera to get pictures taken with the B and C-list celebs in the audience. It’s the powerprom!
But I digress. So, at this bizarre and journalistically inappropriate gathering you have these images of Pelosi with Bush — and that’s a logical image conflict. The power on display, the facial expressions — we’re looking at two equals in the midst of a real power struggle. Maybe even a constitutional showdown over Executive Privledge.
But why a shot pearing Pelosi with Laura? Would we have a similar picture with Hillary and Cindy McCain? And why is my first reaction a partisan dig about Laura looking like she’s got a shirt made from shiny beetle exoskeleton, obviously taken the last time Rove shed?
I think it’s because Laura has no political role in the universe, she’s pretty much taken on the role of hostess, State Dinner Fashion Plate and children’s book reader for the hot-button issue of literacy. Pelosi, meanwhile is second in line for the Presidency, and is proving to be a more powerful leader than anyone expected. I am taken aback by her “fashionable” image here. But because she is pretty in this context, let’s have her compete with the fashionable first lady.
And in doing so, I see a real shock: Pelosi looks prettier. The hair, the dress, even the hint of cleavage — she looks feminine. Not some castrating San Francisco hear-her-roaring womyn, but like a dainty pretty lady waving the soldiers off at the dock.
So, while I see the patriotism angle, what I see in that last picture as a continuation of the first bunch. She shows the power to beat Bush politically, as well as the power to dispell the fashion-first expectations of our sexist media habits — something Gingrich and Hastert never had to worry about.

#s 3 & 4 are such a great example of how he reacts emotionally(3) then quickly recovers to a more confident(4) look. Trademark W. And you know what she said made him take his glasses off quickly between 2 & 3. Boy, I’d love to be a fly on her chest.
Nice Bag.

“And in doing so, I see a real shock: Pelosi looks prettier. The hair, the dress, even the hint of cleavage — she looks feminine. Not some castrating San Francisco hear-her-roaring womyn, but like a dainty pretty lady waving the soldiers off at the dock.”
ohmygod. I’m sure you meant that other people carry around such stereotypes.
Open mouth, insert foot.

Actually, what this brought to mind was the notorious shots of Bush touching the German Chancellor Angela Merkle in a roughly similar but quite different way at a banquet roughly a year ago.

Speaker Pelosi has Bush’s number. It’s almost cruel, in a way, but in a good way. Never, not in a million, billion years did I think the Dems would get their act together, and now look at us, ready to take back our democracy. Democrats — good governance is in our DNA.

Yes, in my post about a) how these dinners are stupid and sexist and b) how the image comparing the 2nd in line to the presidency to the less-than-politically significant first lady — soley because they are grrls — is sexist, my use of the sexist terminology was meant for facetious effect, not some personal endorsement of the inherent sexism with which America colors all discourse of women in politics. Since Laura’s “dutiful spouse” image was part of the Bush family selling point post-Hillary, Pelosi’s role in that picture is especially interesting. I took out the part about how Hastert’s Men’s Wearhouse Big’n'Tall suits were never similarly analyzed because I thought that was a gimme. Sorry if I was unclear.
Meanwhile — BOTH HOUSES of congress have voted in favor of the 2008 Iraq end-date. Amazing and historic. Given how many Democrats were nervous about appearing “weak,” or that the resolution wasn’t strong enough — it shows tremendous skill and influence by Reid and Pelosi.

Nah…. it’s Pelosi’s smirk with Bush’s, “What did she say?” look that is beautiful!!!! It’s that moment where his brain goes, “FIZZEL!” and nothing seems to make sence – such a wonderful moment.
What did she say? I can bet it was something that took down his hold on power…. I used to watch this dynamic with my grandparents. You know… “Honey, your dinner is at the supermarket and I am leaving you to clean up the dog doo in the living room before your important guests come in ten minutes…don’t slip”
I bet Pelosi said, “George, we have both the House and the Senate. Have a nice dinner, Dear.”

Can we get that second shot on a stamp?

“ not some castrating San Francisco hear-her-roaring womyn ”
…not ?
if not castration, then WTF do you think this is, seduction ?
granted, it’s not hear her roar; but, see her, indeed: do you really think Ms. Pelosi’s is unaware that her tête-à-tête is being visually seen, recorded, likely to be broadcast ?
Mommy Fearest
surely you meant to write, “not some surly San Francisco lesbian“…
…but didn’t have the balls
Hey ~ like they say here in The City : you can always spit it out !

Excellent Post, Bag !!
Indeed, wouldn’t we all want to know what was said that put that cartoon look on Bush’s face. I liked Marysz’s take regarding the nice mommy/mean mommy dichotomy, but while she bet on the nice Mommy reading of it — I go with the other angle, perhaps,
“The free ride is over and you can’t hide from the WAR CRIMES you’ve committed. Enjoy your soup, Mr. President.”
As for the Laura/Nancy pic..
The large, out of focus soldier is the main topic in this image. The other two, in focus, are showing us their positions in relation to him. Nancy’s clothes echo his. Her gaze is in his direction, she is offering both support and honoring his sacrifices, whereas Laura’s clothes are all for show – the Bushie Show. Laura is looking away from him and from the harm her family has done to him. She looks distressed and ever so slightly disheveled.
Bush has been perpetrating a lie for years that he’s fighting for America’s wellbeing (while in reality he’s destroying our Constitutional foundation and our honor). He’s protecting the world from harm (by killing, bombing, torture and conflict provocation). He’s doing God’s work on Earth (through violence, greed, spying, and lying).
The Media (2000-2006) has been 99% ineffective in holding his feet to the fire. We’ve heard about the injustices every day for years, but with the Republican deathgrip on the entire government, there has been zero consequence.
Just a few months of Democratic Congressional oversight have cracked his armor. A few more could have him defending himself in an official capacity – in Congressional hearings or at the Hague. People have been saying there isn’t time to impeach him. I disagree. There is time to ask the questions, review the evidence, start the process, bring the truth to light and punish this man for what he has done. Punish the whole inner circle that have caused our country and our world so much suffering. Let the trials take 20 years. Drag this uglyness throught the process until it ALL sees the light of day. Make the next war monger president think long and hard before starting a war of choice.
Pelosi is getting that ball rolling. She’s not being careless. She is making it happen.
YOU GO NANCY.

This post should be considered for the “2007 best post” award. The veins in Nancy’s pursed-lipped smile and Bush’s crooked glasses are priceless.
YOU GO BAG!

Thank goodness for the color guard protecting Nancy from Laura’s horrid dress color!

The die has been cast, the dog has been hung, the bell has been poured as a strange looking Russian walks around mumbling some kind of enigmatic gibberish and the subtitles flash by too quickly to give us a clue. But not to worry, as the worm has turned and, yes, what was only a pipe dream of cryptic scrawls rendered by the nubbins of a discarded Ticonderoga #2 pencil in some smoke filled opium den of iniquity is now poised to be a reality. The plumbing gentlemen of the Democratic party will commence repair of the broken GOP shit pipe, with final sealing and inspection instigated 2008. The next step? The realization of a dream as seen through a smoky dark glass of fettered ambitions. So who gets the first flush? Is this the first blush (flush?) of spring? Oh plumbing fellows, mister plumbing gentlemen, purveyor of plumbing apparatus chaps, could this be the end of little Georgie? As Roy Rogers proctologist said, “Happy trails to you.”

Potty time ? pic # 1 broke me up, George looks like he’s just discovered sitting on something squishy which has arrived from his insides. In pics 2nd & 3rd Nancy whispers “I understand but *now* you clean this one up yourself.

Pelosi:”Now, now Georgie, don’t play with your food and behave!”
This is the kind of thing that has the Rush Limabaughs and Michael “Savage” Wiener scared stiff. The Man shown to be a petulant child brought told to behave, that its time for the adults to take over.

Bush has surrounded himself with women who worship him and help him in wifely ways; he likes being mothered at work via Harriet Myers, Condi Rice et.al.
Now one of these nice ladies has arrived on the scene who isn’t too impressed with him and doesn’t share his agenda. What to do, what to do?
The bafflement on his face that this mere female should condescend to HIM is hilarious. This is the BAG post of the year so far!

So if Nancy Pelosi knows these images are going to be visually seen, recorded, and broadcast, why doesn’t Bush? Pelosi is the picture of self-control, and she knows Bush has none. Bush HATES to be defied, whether by Congress or by Ahmadinejad or by Chávez or by the UN or by the White House Press Corps (when they stood up to him once). He has pathological anger-management issues no matter what the gender of those who piss him off. So I don’t understand the “mommy” references in the comment thread. Or the oldschool “castration” references. Pelosi has pissed Bush off, plain and simple. (Maybe I’m out of touch: Is it still considered castrating when a woman pisses a man off? I haven’t heard that concept in forever.) Pelosi knows Bush well, as the hand on the shoulder signifies.
A very funny scene.

Picture #2 is the proverbial deer in the headlights, if I ever saw one.

Three words. Tommy Alessandro’s daughter.
The woman was raised on power politics and she learned from an old school master. I agree this should be on a stamp.

It’s really amazing how GW has less and less control of his facial expressions as time goes on. He looks more and more like the befuddled and petulant little boy he is. And Nanci is making the most of it. I am a big admirer.

I love this! In the first picture Pelosi is saying something to the W. Second picture is their reaction, the W flummoxed, as usual and Pelosi just ever so slightly smugly smiling. Point and game to Pelosi.
Accepting her win, Pelosi executes a reverse Merkel (thanks, Kvenlander) and exits right, leaving the W with that thousand mile stare into space for which he has become famous. And yes, George, it is just as demeaning as when you did it to Merkel.
OMG, what a breath of fresh air she is! Feminine and powerful at once. How much more can we stand? And speaking of standing, did anyone see the Tuskegee Airmen presentation today? As they lined up for the colors, could Pelosi have stood any farther away from the W? Without falling off the stage, that is.

She has power, strength, poise and is articulate and resolute. In addition, she has the pearl choker thing going on in this pic aka Babs Bush. He can delude,deny and deal with anything but a strong and defined female defiance. Pelosi is so smart she checkmates him with all the right talk, moves and timing. These photos tell it all.

Pics 1 and 2 in sequence are priceless. In the 2nd it looks like Bush is having a Ralph Kramden moment. I can almost hear him saying “humminahummina…”

fantastic post.
the Dems need to Keep The Heat On, because Dubya does not do well when he is actually put on the spot or confronted with his “egregious” (to say the least) behavior. of course, there’s a real possibility that if he truly feels he’s been backed into a corner without options, he will choose to do something really disastrous or catastrophic. for years, it’s been really frightening to me to see how very very tightly wound he is, like he could snap at any second.
i hope at least some of the readers here saw the video of Pelosi and Bush at the Tuskegee Airmen Tribute, a day later, i believe. it certainly looked like they were continuing the dialogue displayed and commented on here, at the incomparable BagNewsNotes.

I agree with other commenters about how hilarious and revealing the first two shots are, but I’m also amazed by the third shot of her hand on his shoulder. A couple of things strike me: first, I agree with kvlander’s, Jim Johnson’s and especially Cactus’s comment that this is just as demeaning as the Merkel shoulder grab, only it’s orders of magnitude more effective. Angela Merkel responded reflexivly and immediately to rebuke Bush; here, Bush is clearly put in his place. She looks to be actually physically controlling him – note how his left shoulder looks pushed down. She appears (by both her expression and her gesture) to be telling him “I said, sit DOWN.” To use jtfromBC’s allusion, she’s saying you’ll just have to sit in your dirty diaper until this is over.
Another difference from Bush’s Merkel-touch: there, he pretended to be looking like he didn’t really mean to do it, that it was just something that he thought of as he walked by her; here, Pelosi looks like she is completely in control and knows exactly what she’s doing, and Bush knows it too.
Finally, it looks like she pushes him to the left, then strides off to the right, as if she is deliberately demonstrating her power over him. (Pushing him out of her way, metaphorically?) A friendly gesture would have been to put her left hand on his left shoulder, or right on right. No wonder he looks like he’s been had.

Boy Howdy, W been goosed, right out in public, and he’s not too sure exactly what he’s feeling.
And then he’s Vacant again.
As Bush becomes the Fool, he becomes ever more the Emperor with no clothes.

Bush’s sneak attack on Merkel had the sexual predatory overtones of copping a feel, which Pelosi’s there-there-honey pat doesn’t have. There’s a difference between the messages “I can take what I want” and “Poor George . . .” And much different reactions to those messages. Merkel *wasn’t* put in her place.
http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/2006/07/a_touching_man_.html

Thanks for this post, Bag. I love the adult and child dynamic of the Speaker and the prez. The soldier reminds me of those cartoon images with the angel and devil sitting on his shoulders.
What to think when they are both saying the same thing?

It’s Pelosi’s “My Pet Smote” moment.
In the first shot, it’s clear by her barely restrained smile she knows that what she is about to say will get him. By the second shot, she looks triumphant, but not in a vindicative way. The second photo is wonderful. It’s obvious by the third shot that he can’t stand being touched. Maybe because he uses touch as a way to control and manipulate people. By the last shot, he’s settled into his usual smirk, with a touch of gastric upset.
I wish we could get beyond the fact that Pelosi is a mother, particulary the denigrating use of the word “mommy”. Do we talk about male politicians in the context of their roles as “Daddy?”

AnonWoman: certainly we refer to some male politicians functioning as father figures if that description fits; even the word Daddy can be used. See the earlier post about whats-is-name from Law and Order who may run for President. His appeal is a father-will-take-care-of-you one, and we said as much.
It’s Bush’s private pathology that makes him respond to women as nurturers first and people second–it’s not Nancy’s problem that he sees women as mommies. Nor is it necessarily sexist of a commenter to point this out.
I wish she was President

In the midst of six years of rage against the machine – a profound feeling of vertigo at the bottomless pit of GOP calumny and hypocrisy – Pelosi’s confirmation as Speaker brought a tear to my eye. I thought I was immune to any sentimental feelings about America until I saw her take the gavel.
In these pictures I see a changing of the guard. Look what men’s hypocrisy – even war crimes – the slaughter of 650,000 Iraqis no less – has wrought. It’s time for women to right the wrongs of men. Men have bankrupted us. Daddy drank the half the rent and lost the other half at the track. Time for Mommy to make things right again.

Going along with the “mean mommy” theme, Bush did actually make a joke about it during his speech, something about how people thought he and Pelosi wouuldn’t get along because she is “bossy”, but so what, he gets along with his mother.
Freudian?

If we’re going to have a woman run for President in 2008 — and why wouldn’t we — let’s go about it in rational fashion. We impeach and convict Bush and Cheney, and have Pelosi run as an incumbent.

Freudian?
No. Transparent.
For maybe the first and only time.

PJ – Love the “Pelosi-incumbent” concept.
Perfect.

Another thought…….that famous Merkel grab was seen as an insult by every conscious woman in the country. I think it’s quite possible that Pelosi chose to specifically show the W just how demeaning it is. The only question is, did he get it?

The second photo made the front page of the Italian daily, La Stampa — a paper in which the photography regularly catches power dynamics. And there is something very Italian-American about Pelosi in the sequence — the knowing smile, the reassuring pat, the reminder of what the rules of the game are..

Wow.
I had to come back and look at these photos again. And again. It gets better every time.
New World dawning. Pelosi knows it. And maybe even Bush begins to understand.

The dreadful Dennis Miller appeared on The Daily Show recently and launched into his “jokes” against the new players on the scene, the Democrats. Pelosi? “She blinks! A lot! Ha! Ha! Have you noticed? She blinks a lot! Really! Ha Ha!”

so these pics are ‘helpful’ to dems?
who saw them?
who saw laura with nancy?
who saw nancy laughing/smiling with Dumbya?
who saw nancy with her hand on Dumbya’s shoulder?
how widespread was their dissemination?

Pelosi is strangely hot for someone who is closer to 70 than 60.

One of the best ever, great comments too.

She is a politician and don’t forget it!
The photos look great, the chimp and thorn in the side?
You may like the photos, but the war is still on and Iraqi are still occupied…
The surge is almost complete and no end in sight!
The House Iraq bill is toothless and wait till Senate gets through it.
Would she vote for impeachment?
Would she vote for withdrawal from Iraq now!?
Business as usual!

When I look at the Pelosi/Bush series, Pelosi is clearly laying some stunning revelation on Bush. She also seems to be “busting” him on something. There is a lot of talking on her end, much more than you would find in a simple commentary, so there is some kind of action on her part which she’s describing here as well.
In the first photo, Pelosi is saying something right off the bat which is suspicious news to Bush, given his expression. In the second, the power play has landed. In the third, is the wrap-up and warning. In the fourth, is the separation between the two, showing a satisfied Pelosi and Bush with a bad taste in his mouth.
This exchange would never have taken place if not for the last election. The Speaker has a new canoe, and she’s in Bush’s waters like never before.

Laura looks like a scold – but someone needs to clue Pelosi to put her hand up a bit *higher* when pledging allegiance – I made a similar mistake in middle school, and after the razzing I got, never did it again.
OTOH, that sequence with Bush is PRICELESS. I love Nancy! I’m so proud to be a LIBERAL WOMAN.
Hillary, OTOH – blech – what a player.

I hope that Angela Merkel got to see some of those stills, because if she did, my guess is that a letter of congratulations would be waiting in the Speaker’s office.

Ummm. Bush Jr. is so close to the edge.
so close,…………….
Why won’t someone go ahead and push him off? Just like the Spartan did to the black invader-messenger. Back him up to the edge, tell him in on uncertain terms that he is done for…., look deep into his eyes without blinking and give him the blade — right in the gut. Without flinching…..
All the taunting, teasing, toying, playing…. Face it, deal with it. Bush is an out-of-control monster.
Nancy, pull the wooden stake out and drive it through that black heart.
Now!

All these analyses can be true at once. Good people-hackers (I am not one) naturally (and by dint of experience) create the images, and tactile, aural, and pheremone-mediated messages that help them do what they want. Our decompisition of these performances rely on categories that are at best descriptive rather than definitive.
It doesn’t matter if her persona merges bits of Nice and Mean Mommies; in fact, the mix probably helps make her identity of Mommy firermer, since people have a (rightfully) hard time accepting some things that are too perfect as reality (just look what happened to the first “Matrix”). Similarly, if she can, her performance will include bits of the Daughter Who Doesn’t Embarrass him, and the Son Who Wouldn’t Have Been Competition.

Uggh:
“firemer”–>”firmer”
“pheremone-mediated”–>”pheremonally-mediated” adjectives are modified by adverbs.
Also: No hope filling Bush’s Real Father slot; “God” he thinks exists has glommed onto that receptor like carbon monoxide onto a hæmoglobin molecule, to a similarly-suffocating effect—not surprising, since the persona involved has been evolved to hold onto that slot and not to let go.

I am now prepared to retract all the glowing comments I have made regarding Pelosi.
What she apparently fails to grasp is that it is her job to keep working towards the goal that we sent the dems there for…..getting out of Iraq, not to just throw in the towel and say that there is nothing more she can do. I remember Barbara Jordan and Bella Abzug and neither of them would have said “there’s nothing more I can do.”
I’m totally disgusted with the entire democratic slate!

Brilliant! Pelosi at her best! “The reverse Merkel Hand” comment is also way up there in one of the best I can only dream Pelosi will stay her course. We are very much in need of a reversal of everything right now.