Like Obama, Critics Compared Bush To A Monkey
Both presidents have been portrayed unflatteringly
Conservative pundit Ann Coulter drew lots of criticism for her recent comment that Russian President Vladimir Putin's dealings on Syria to "make Obama look like a monkey."
But President Barack Obama is hardly the only president to be characterized this way. His predecessor, George W. Bush, was portrayed similarly throughout his eight years in office.
In a Nov. 30, 2007 CNBC segment, host Erin Burnett laughingly referred to Bush as "monkey in the middle" while showing video of him walking at a conference with German President Angela Merkel and then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy. She referred to a crush on "that man" (meaning Sarkozy) rather than "the monkey, the monkey in the middle." MSNBC host Joe Scarborough was clearly taken aback about how she described Bush.
Sometimes the comparisons weren't even so roundabout. In January 2006 liberal blogger Bob Cesca posted a piece, "Bush Looks An Awful Lot Like A Monkey".
And a month earlier the liberal site Daily Kos ran a series of posts advocating Bush's impeachment. One December 2005 article featured a pro-impeachment banner that included an unflattering photo of the then-president. The slogan "Chimpeach" is prominently displayed.
