Generalissimo El Busho: Essays & Cartoons on the Bush Years

by Ted Rall

Ted Rall is best known for saying today what will become conventional wisdom tomorrow. His GENERALISSIMO EL BUSHO is the ultimate chronicle of the most polarizing presidency in modern American history, a brilliantly tragicomic week-by-week dissection of the Bush Administration's follies and crimes as seen by America's most courageous editorial cartoonist and political writer. Ted Rall, who has traveled and reported from the world's hottest trouble spots, recognizes a dictator when he sees one. And he doesn't scare easily. Having seized power extraconstitutionally, Bush and his cabal of corrupt businessmen made it obvious that they intended to rule with ruthless zeal. Unlike most of his fellow journalists, however, Rall refused to be cowed--even in the wake of 9/11. Others came out of the woodwork during 2003, but Ted Rall's ferocious denunciations of our ersatz president and his assaults on our precious freedoms stood virtually alone during the flag-waving weeks and months following the attacks on New York and Washington. And unlike every other commentator, Rall used two different forms of media--cartoons and essays--to speak brutally honest truth to power even as he fended off death threats. Brave, uncompromising and fiercely devoted to traditional American values of freedom and integrity, Ted Rall's GENERALISSIMO EL BUSHO collects the best of his hilarious cartoons and brutally honest essays during the Bush years.

Genres: Politics, Comics, Nonfiction, History

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Ted Rall is a prominent left-leaning American political columnist, syndicated editorial cartoonist, and author. He draws cartoons for the news site WhoWhatWhy.org and the email newsletter Counterpoint, and writes for The Wall Street Journal opinion pages.

His political cartoons often appear in a multi-panel comic-strip format and frequently blend comic-strip and editorial-cartoon conventions.

The cartoons appear in approximately 100 newspapers around the United States. He is a former President of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and twice the winner of the RFK Journalism Award.

He is the author of 20 books.

Reviews

[Ty Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish that I had been aware of Ted Rall and his work during the months following September 11, 2001. As it was, I felt alone in my political mind as my country bull-rushed into Afghanistan and two years later into Iraq. These moves made no sense to me at the time. Was I un-patriotic? Thanks to Ted Rall...I now know the awful reasonings behind these unjust wars.

[Taylor Cayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful reminder of what was going on during those crazy years (2000-2004). Easily digestible essays, good discussion.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first three essays, then skimmed the rest; it was too hard to think about all the political mess that was happening in the Bush years. I love his cartoons, though.

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ten stars. Drafted as 2001 and 2002 unfolded: unfiltered during a time of media gags and lies.