Bush Gets Animated in New Tv Satire

The transformation of president George Bush into a cartoon character proved to be relatively easy. His short, simplistic and often confused statements helped.

That is the view of Donick Cary, creator of a new cartoon series, Lil' Bush, out tonight on the US cable channel, Comedy Central, which has about 90 million subscribers globally.

Lil' Bush portrays the president and hhis aides as a gang of children - Lil' Condi and Lil'Cheney - running wild in the White House and worldwide.

When Mr Bush appeared at the White House correspondents' dinner last year beside an impersonator, anyone other than those at the front tables had trouble telling who was who. Lil' George can pose the same dilemma.

Compare Lil' George speaking about his role in life - "I hate doing what I'm told. I want to be a decider" - with Mr Bush's: "My job is a job to make decisions. I'm a decision - if the job description were, what do you do, it's decision maker. And I make a lot of big ones and I make a lot of little ones."

Lil' Bush began life in the autumn as a series of short cartoons made specifically for mobile phones. The first of the made-for-television episodes begins tonight with Lil George visiting Iraq to hunt for some good news as a Father's Day present for dad, the first president George Bush.

In the second episode, Lil Cheney, who bites heads of chickens and sucks their blood, has an affair with Barbara Bush, with scenes that might be too crude for some tastes. But Comedy central will be no stranger to complaints as one of the most controversial cartoons around, South Park, is one of its biggest shows.

Mr Cary, whose credits include The Simpsons, said: "Somehow, this president that we have, lends himself to thinking in a simplistic, cartoony fashion. He's always been about sound bites, one-word answers, move ahead, act from the gut."

He sees Washington politics as a schoolyard. At one point, Lil' George, left unsupervised by his father in the Oval Office, launches nuclear weapons at schoolmates Lil' Hillary (Clinton) and Lil' John Kerry.

Iggy Pop provides the voice for Lil' Rummy. With the departure of Donald Rumsfeld as defence secretary in November, the makers considered dropping the character but decided against it, in order to keep Iggy Pop.

Comedy Central has been the source of tough satire about the Bush administration since 2001. The Daily Show, with Jon Stewart, is an antidote to those Europeans who still think Americans are not as critical of the Bush administration as they are.

The initial reviews of 'Lil Bush' have been poor, with critics judging it to be too obvious, too crude. Newsday said today: "So. Who knew South Park was such a beacon of taste and restraint? At least it is by comparison with Comedy Central's new animated satire."