The Daily Background

US Weekly editor Janice Min writes on Paris and George:

A prominent and rich family. A drunk-driving arrest. Serious doubts about intelligence. A misspent youth. Sudden inspiration through the Bible. It’s interesting how two of the most unpopular and divisive figures in America today–George W. Bush and Paris Hilton–have so much in common. And on Wednesday, June 27, they found themselves in an unusual competition: Whose legal crisis would dominate the news cycle?
[…]
But I get it. I understand why Paris Hilton trumps interest in Bush’s eavesdropping, whether or not she’s on the cover of Us Weekly. The Paris story may be getting old, but the Bush one feels even older. Cultural critics like to decry our tabloid obsessions, assuming that Americans are too apathetic, dumb, or lazy to follow important political stories as they unfold. But I think the real problem is that George Bush is no longer that guy Americans would rather have a beer with. Like Paris, he is someone we no longer want to think is “just like us.” He’s become a former political celebrity few want on their red carpet. From Abramoff to Abu Ghraib to Alberto Gonzales, and those are just the scandals filed under “A”…

I’ll take Bush news over Hilton news any day of the week. Also, as long as we’re talking about comparisons between dumb and dumber here (or maybe hypocrite and hypocrite-er), I just looked up Hilton’s Wikipedia entry and found this gem: “In November 2004, Hilton participated in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Citizen Change campaign to encourage youths to vote in the presidential election. She drew criticism after it was revealed she had neither voted nor registered to do so.”

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