Ranch, Haven, or Estate?
A brilliant observational piece by Salon today about the Crawford, Texas headquarters of Bush, Inc. It seems that Bush and his spin doctors have always referred to the Crawford estate as “the ranch,” thus conveying the idea that Bush gets back in touch with his “every-man roots” when he goes on vacation in Texas.
The First Lady often refers to the estate as a “haven” rather than a “ranch,” suggesting Crawford is a place for the President to retreat for some R&R. With 10,000 square foot home built on an 1,600 acre plot of land, an 11-acre man-made pond, and other amenities, Bush’s Crawford home hardly reminds me of the ranch I grew up on, or that any of my friends grew up on.
Of course, this is just the most recent revelation that the Bush, Inc. PR department has manipulated Bush’s image through language. His drawl, clumsy speech goofs, stuttering, smirks, and choice of words have all been carefully orchestrated to create an image of the every-day Joe Q. Public as President. It’s quite an amazing feat, actually, when nothing could be further from the truth.
Salon has made it their mission to initiate the dropping of the term ranch. I nominate estate as an even better alternative than haven, given that it implies luxury, wealth, aristocracy — the true nature of the Bush, Inc. headquarters in Crawford, TX.
And finally, some pics CEO George W. Bush getting back in touch with his heartland-roots:
[via Salon War Room]
[images courtesy of Google Images]