"Russ," LBJ, and the Body Politic

While considering the construction of political satire within Baker's short story/woven anecdote of his journalistic encounters with LBJ in class, I also began thinking about what this satire says about the American body politic. Generally, body politic refers to the idea that a nation's leader is both a physical and metaphorical embodiment of the nation and its subjects. For example, when Bush was president and made comments that may have come across as ignorant or silly (i.e., "strategery" and "nuc-u-lar"), many other countries began to stereotype all Americans in the same way. (As a sidenote, I've noticed many of my blog comments invoke Bush as an example a lot; however, this is not intended to "Bush bash" or be offensive...)

In regards to LBJ and the body politic, it seems as if "Russ" and his journalistic dialogue with the president comes to represent something beyond a facade of friendliness. What I mean is that Baker provides the reader not only with an insider's view of how politicians position themselves as "nice guys" to get ahead in a journal article, but how a false position of "you're my buddy" vs. not knowing someone from the Jolly Green Giant vis-a-vis the president can come to signify the United States' relationship to others outside the country and among fellow citizens. For instance, the same phone calls LBJ makes to Russ are much like the propaganda that surfaces during presidential campaigns; presidential candidates speak to viewers as if they know them and their situations in order to gain votes. Yet, aside from "Joe the Plumber," most candidates fail to recognize their potential voters/"fellow Americans" beyond the generalizations and directly by name. Finally, though the president/political leader may memorize other countries' leaders' names when preparing for a meeting or to reference their name in speech, some just as easily forget when that country is neither a threat nor a potential benefit.... (And, it's often assumed that many Americans operate similarly...) Just a thought.