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The 'Gay Bush' Meme

In my “Defense of MSM” piece a few weeks ago, I likely surprised many readers in largely defending the blog phenomenon, accusing bloggers only of the sin of excessive hubris.

Well, there was one thing I forgot- for all its virtues, blogs have the bad habit of mistakenly spreading old or incorrect information like wildfire. One example was the George Smith incident of last year. Another is the new meme, making the rounds in the Blogosphere, alleging that George W. Bush was involved in “gay groups” when he was at Yale.

This seemingly originated in a post at a lefty blog called Cannonfire, who in the midst of covering the Jeff Gannon flap, referred to “persistent allegations surrounding George W. Bush himself," before unleashing this nugget:

Why is Bush so hostile to the idea of gay marriage? Perhaps because until 1977, George W. Bush was gay. According to a group of 29 Yale classmates who comprise "Gay Ivy Leaguers for Truth," Bush was "known to be at least sexually experimental throughout his time in college." One of Bush's alleged former boyfriends, Anthony Berusca (class of '70), told The Dallas Morning News that Bush was "deeply conflicted about being gay, even somewhat self-hating." Berusca is convinced that this conflict led to Bush's drinking problems, but describes the President as a "gentle, caring lover."

If true, this would be a pretty big deal, no? But alas, it’s a hoax- there is no “Gay Ivy Leaguers For Truth,” Anthony Berusca appears equally fictional, and to the best of everyone’s knowledge, the president of the United States is not a homosexual.

The meme originated during the presidential campaign on a blog called Fanatical Apathy, and the “Bush is gay” idea was clearly written as a parody of the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth campaign. That should be obvious to anyone reading it, but unfortunately, gullibility tends to be a weakness of the Blogosphere. It only takes a few to fall for something for it to take on the air of truth.

The hilarious Fagistan has the last word:

[Cannonfire] is the worst fucking website I've ever read. Click on the link only if you totally ran out of internet porn. It is called "Cannonfire" and promises to be written by a proud member of the "X-Files Wing of the Democratic Party." Totally my faves. It would be better if his imagined fantasies involved things other than Bush being gay.

Posted by Stephen Silver at February 21, 2005 10:50 PM