Debate leads to a shift in strategy (WaPo) "advisors... stunned"

[JoFerret]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2925-2004Oct2.html

Bush advisers were described as stunned by how negative the reviews were of the president's performance, which many of them regarded as not his best but not so bad. Bush was portrayed as upbeat while acknowledging to supporters that he knew he could have done better. His aides indicated they planned some retooling before Friday's debate, but maintained a sense of outward confidence.

<more.

[pinto]

1. Reality stuns them. That is the problem. n/t

[Kierkegaard]

5. Reality seldom reaches them.

That is the overriding problem. Him and his whole campaign team are in a freakin bubble.

[pinto]

12. yep. n/t

[Tight_rope]

105. Denial seems to be the repuke sin....They should say 3 Hail Mary's!

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. They don't have enough time

to retool the shrub before the next debate.

They should have thought of this a loooong time ago.

:smoke:

[aquart]

3. "Not so bad"???????????????

Lord, how much worse does he get?

Think George will order us to vote for him?

[gardenista]

46. Yep. That's what I want for my country. The "Not So Bad" President.

I'm gonna git me a bumper sticker.

Vote for Bush. He's not so bad.

Unfortunately, people might take it seriously!

[aquart]

69. That actually IS what people said in 2000, after we were stuck with him.

Before he began to slash and burn and spend.

[ljm2002]

100. I blame it on the movie...

..."Forrest Gump". Really, hear me out. ;-) That movie's message was "See, even a dumb guy can be a success, especially if he has a good heart"... later, when Dumbya came up for election, that message had been internalized and many Americans may have been influenced to "give it a shot", try electing the "dumb, but moral and plain-speakin' by gum" man as President. Yikes. Look where that's gotten us...

I never did like that movie.

:evilgrin:

[LiberalFighter]

109. Problem is that gw*s morality is not of the good

and his plain speaking is difficult to comprehend considering that he uses words that don't exist or in the wrong way.

[Eurotrash]

112. No shit, that movie sucked!

Even today, many years after seeing it, Forrest Gump remains my single least favorite movie of all time. Talk about glorifying American anti-intellectualism and fuzzy-feel-good stupidity. Yuck, just thinking about it still makes me want to :puke:

[LisaM]

122. You and me both

I had to watch the Oscars separately from my boyfriend, because he liked that movie and I hated it so much I wanted to throw stuff at the TV every time it was mentioned during the Academy Awards. So I watched with a friend who also hated Forrest Gump.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

121. I blame it on the play...

Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 2

Caesar and Anthony are discussing Cassius when Caesar says:

"Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous."

Freakin' pinhead intellectuals!

[Sinnerman]

88. ARROGANT as EVER

BY FAR THAT WAS BUSH'S WORST PERFORMANCE EVER, ARROGANT & SELF CENTERED. ESPECIALLY WHEN HE RESPONDED HE EXPECTS TO WIN. KERRY WILL CLEAN HIS CLOCK IN NEXT 2 DEBATES AND EDWARDS WILL EMBARRASS CHENEY

[bain_sidhe]

4. Nominated for the "Duh!" of the year award...

The longer the focus is on Bush's record, these strategists said, the more trouble he may have.

Gee, I wonder why?

[Disturbed]

6. Too late..

for a brain transplant.

[belle]

75. Yeah, how unfair is that, to focus on his record?

We should focus on his good points. Um...he wears nice ties. Sometimes. and they even appear to be tied straight.

[reprobate]

96. Karen ties the ties. Did I say that? Well, a pun my word.

[alcuno]

7. Stunned by the reviews? How about stunned by the performance.

He really was awful.

[Robbien]

19. Yes, I don't get it. Didn't they see for themselves

that Bush did a horrible job. They only realized it after the reviews? What's up with that?

[RobinA]

54. They've Been Getting Away

with this kind of performance since 2000, that's why they're surprised. Bush sucked versus Gore in those debates, but all anybody could talk about was Gore's sighs and the lockbox. They got a free ride last time around. Personally, I was "stunned" in 2000 when nobody seemed to notice that Bush didn't know anything. And I've been "stunned" ever since that more people don't notice this man's lack of clothing.

[alcuno]

59. They know darned well he was awful.

This is the advisors way of blaming the media for their faulty candidate.

[barb162]

66. same here. why is everyone first noticing now he is an IDIOT

Hey, I am glad they're finally noticing, but why has it taken 4 years?

[liberalcanuck]

98. I agree with you and I'm sure a lot of DU'ers feel the same way. It's

about damned time someone in the media gave a fair critique of this bonehead's performances. Remember the infamous "Something will come to mind - it just hasn't yet" line -- or something to that effect in response a reporter's question about if he could admit that he's made any mistakes? That whole performance was absolutely ludicrous (borrowing Tucker Carlson's favorite word)! I actually turned away from the tv screen in embarrassment. He's been consistently ineloquent.

[leftchick]

106. I think they KNOW he sucked dog doo doo....

How the fuck can they possibly admit it?

[Corgigal]

8. Bi-monthly checks

directly into your checking account can do that to someone.

[MatrixEscape]

9. Retooling? LOL!

As far as I know, brain transplants are not even on the surgical horizon ;)

Boosh = :shrug:

[roughandtumble]

32. Retooling means uping the meds.

Resident Gump has been in a buble so long he's lost touch. With out scripts, ear pieces, teleprompters and loyalty oaths, he looks like the petulant child he is. Fuck him.

[pa28]

81. They need "time release" meds.

Whatever he was on clearly wore off about halfway through.

[Cronus Protagonist]

123. Yeah, a drip would be best

That would also look cool on TV too. :)

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[Arugula Latte]

84. Welcome to DU, roughandtumble!

I like your style! :toast: :hi:

[annabanana]

97. Howdy rough andtumble!

Welcome to DU :toast:

[ljm2002]

102. "Resident Gump", indeed!

...see my post #100 too. I've always said that GWB is Forrest Gump's evil twin...

[Tight_rope]

108. Welcome to DU roughandtumble!

[Tight_rope]

107. Welcome to DU MatrixEscape !

[Leilani]

10. If they re stunned,

they really need to find a new group of friends.

What planet are these people living on?

[Rose Siding]

11. "Bush needs to keep reminding voters about Sept. 11, 2001"

That's all he's got- the myth that we need a cheerleader more than we need a leader.

snip>
Republicans said Bush must avoid debating Kerry on the details of micromanaging foreign policy and return to statements of principle with which most voters agree, from the threat of Saddam Hussein to the need to stay in Iraq. And, said one GOP strategist, Bush needs to keep reminding voters about Sept. 11, 2001, and the impact of the terrorist attacks on the country.

[lancdem]

14. I guess that means he'll bring up Sept.11

about a million times on Friday, no matter what the question is.

[Eurotrash]

113. Smirky's VERY FIRST WORDS in the debate

were "September 11th". Did anyone else notice that? I know I did. But my sighs and fits of uncontrollable vomiting soon abated as our man proceeded to thrash the dauphin. Ah, it was a hell of a show. Go go go, John Kerry!

[Philostopher]

16. Because as we all know ...

9/11/01 didn't happen on their watch.

Oh, wait ...

[JoFerret]

Wait for lots of Guns, Gays and God next time

.

[UCLA Dem]

22. It sounds like their advocating more of the same mantra...Stupid.

Trying to scare people into voting for Shrub. If they keep just having him say the same stubborn thing over and over again, I think things will just continue to get worse for Shrub. Thank God the Repukes haven't figured out that Americans don't want to hear to same stupid platitudes over and over again. They keep going like this Kerry is sure to not just win, but win big. In the end I think not being able to admit they've screwed up will be their undoing.

[0007]

37. .....and how hard it is to be president and how America is much safer

and the gigantic coalition we have.

[UpInArms]

51. wasn't that his place at Yale

[mahina]

68. The very first words out of his mouth in the first debate,

after thanking Lehrer and Florida, was.....
drumroll....
September 11th blah blah blah

Grrrrrrrrrrrr

[xxqqqzme]

118. yea, we need reminding!

Bcause EVERYONE has forgotten! I haven't forgotten Osama or all those WMD that were all over Iraq. I just cannot abide these assh*les



Is Sept 11 a special day?

[Lugnut]

13. Not so bad?

Delusional or denial? What would he have to do to be deemed putrid I wonder.

[will work 4 food]

15. HOW THE HELL

can they be stunned by that imbecile? He could never speak well off the cuff. He is a word stumbling retard. We have over four years of him babbling, stuttering, stupid facial expressions and weepy eyes. What the hell is there to be stunned about. It came off exactly as I expected it would.

[barb162]

67. agree, why do you suppose though everyone is now seeing him

as he is. There was nothing different at the debate that he hasn't been doing for years. He hasn't spoken in logical sentence structure in years. He doesn't even answer questions, he just throws out 5 second sound bites. But that is what he always did.

[belle]

77. Simple: because this time, Kerry was right there to hand him his ass.

With a smile. Sometimes, people don't see things until someone else points it out for them, you know?

[liberalcanuck]

99. Or because the corporate whore media wanted to make sure

the polls got tighter -- therefore ensuring that people tune in.

God how I hate the media. If they were fair at all they'd be mocking this complete fool everytime he opened his stupid mouth from 2000 on.

[warrens]

103. You obviously don't have enough Kool-Aid in your diet

They think he's a young godling, a paragon of manly Americanism, second in holiness only to Christ...and some of them are suspicious that Christ was a liberal.

They cannot let themselves see the shallow, ignorant, sociopathic, petty, inept, vicious little thug normal, non-Kool-Aid drinkers see.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

21. This is satire, right?

Right? Right?

[lancdem]

23. Nice try

but that manicure quote attributed to Kerry in that Fox News story was fabricated by reporter Carl Cameron.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com

[JoFerret]

24. Ah! Lil Twinkie

...the ways of the almighty are mysterious.

[Robbien]

25. The trip was just another publicity stunt

He sat around in comfort on Air Force One. De-embarked. Glad handed. Then back to his cushy seat in the air. Easy work if you can get it.

If anyone thinks Bush was effected by the devastation, they should look at the devastation he so easily is causing in Iraqi cities. Bush couldn't care less.

[Rose Siding]

27. Maybe Bush should go to bed at 9:30 rather than 10pm?

We know that heavy drinking can wear a feller out!

[Zen Democrat]

80. He doesn't go to bed at 10 pm. .....

He just retires to the private residence to hit the bottle.

[librechik]

36. didn't Twinkies go bankrupt?

that would explain the ersatz nature of your remark

[Jim Sagle]

39. I prefer Ho Ho's myself. But then I am a Dean man at heart.

;-)

[Jacobin]

38. Why do you suppose that he is so horrified by the concept of

Hardworkhardworkhardworkhardworkhardwork.

It's apparently his new mantra to replace terraterraterraterra, thinking that he has worn that one out and that the American people are as frightened of 'hard work' as he is. It only shows how out of touch he is with people.

Please just go away.

[cidliz2004]

42. Not so hard to understand, They are used to adoration because

they "screen" supporters at campaign stops, they don't put Bush out too much without a limitation as to how hard his appearance is going to be. They censor reporters, don't do press conferences, do such control of Bush's appearances, they forgot what a REAL AUDIENCE WITH REAL REACTIONS UNDER A SOMEWHAT OPEN FORUM AGAINST A SHARP, HARDWORKING, WELL VERSED POLITICIAN WOULD BE LIKE....AND THEN THEY ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT BUSH COULD THINK ON HIS FEET AND DIDN'T GIVE HIM ENOUGH MATERIAL TO FILL 90 MINUTES. HIS CAMPAIGN EVEN FORGOT WHAT REAL REACTIONS ARE SINCE THEY HAVE SHELTERED THEIR CANDIDATE FOR SO LONG. I HAVE ONE THING TO SAY TO THE LOT OF THEM.....WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD ASSHOLES!

[crossroads]

73. Great Post!

Kudos!!!
:kick:

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

18. His advisors...

Are whistling past the graveyard and they know it.

[Nite Owl]

20. Not so bad?

I'm thinking it has got to be the worse debate performance ever? Who comes close to be any where near that bad.

They will make sure he controls the facial expression in the next two at least but this was his best shot material wise. No one likes what he is offering on healthcare or the economy.

[asjr]

26. Is the next debate the one they answer questions from the

audience? If so, he might put some love on them while he jibbers and jabbers.

[crossroads]

76. God! Answer questions from the audience? Real questions?

LOL, "Bring it on!"
:bounce:

[Boomer]

28. They were probably braced for much worse.

After all, the WH aides see the unvarnished Bush day in and day out and know what a raving maniac he can be. Their relief that he didn't have a complete meltdown and call Kerry a f**** on live TV or fall down and have a seizure probably colored their perception of his performance. They forget the American people have slightly higher expectations for their Great Leader.

[RobinA]

55. That's True

The truth we'll never know is that his staff sends him out into public and sweats bullets, prays, crosses fingers, hides their eyes, and takes a few stiff drinks that he'll return on two feet and still plausibily coherent. I'll bet even THEY can't believe what they've pulled off so far. It's like that old game called Tip-It, where you move discs around doing a balancing act until finally somebody makes a wrong move and the little man poised at the top comes crashing down.

[Art_from_Ark]

71. The "Tip-It" Pretzeldunce!

"Have your advisors constantly shift positions keeping you on a pedestal while shielding you from the public until they finally slip up and you fall flat on your face!"

[yardwork]

61. LOL!

[Marthe48]

94. Not enough Botox in the world!

n/t

[wabeewoman]

95. Great line...

Some repug commented to me about Kerry's botox. I'll have to say next time, yeah, too bad bush didn't have some during the debates!

[Marthe48]

120. Really?

Ha, too bad Botox is only cosmetic.

[liberalcanuck]

101. Not if Kerry keeps mentioning Bin Laden. He'll lose it. Everytime

Kerry brought it up he'd blink and twitch. It's like the mere mention of his failure to get Bin Laden has him dropping a hot load.

[BillZBubb]

29. I think they really believed if he kept repeating his "points" he'd win

"mixed messages"
"can't be a leader if Wrong war..."
"Saddam Hussein..."
etc.

What they failed to realize is how old that gets during a 90 minute event. You had better have something interesting to say to fill in the gaps--Bush* didn't so he looked pathetic. Actually he is pathetic so the public saw the real Bush*.

[neverforget]

30. Just wait till Edwards comes off as Mr Personality compared to

Dr. Death, then the White House will really be stunned.

[brooklynite]

31. Wonder if they'll overcompensate...

tell him not to show any emotion at all, and make him look like a robot?

[NeoConsSuck]

33. Stunned?

Well, if they're comparing it to his last press conference, then yes, I guess it wasn't so bad. LOL!!

[speedoo]

34. Balz is a very well-informed reporter who plays it right down the middle.

So, given all the puffery from the shrub advisors that he quoted, you can bet that things are very very unsettled for the shrub and the shrubsters.

[jackieforthedems]

35. They All Just Better Start

packing their bags!!! Their days in the White House are numbered.:-)

[A-Schwarzenegger]

40. This is what happens when you believe

your own advertising.

[hyphenate]

41. I am personally gratified

That the people of not only the U.S. but the world, got to see the idiot in true color as to the completely poor and totally blatant display of imbecility he maintains on a daily basis, and which many of us have been fully aware since before the 2000 election. It is only when the chimp is left on his own, without all those protective warm bodies that the people of the world can see the emperor without his clothes. I can only hope that the two remaining debates will highlight the rest of his weaknesses and total lack of honesty and intelligence and perhaps sway even more voters along the way.

[Peachhead22]

43. Idea for Karl Rove

Karl, just have Bush do the debate nude and covered head to toe in lime green body paint. And have him answer all the question in Esperanto.

Or Maybe have him fly into the parking lot of the covention center in figther jet and have him do the debate in a flight suit (stuffed with about half a dozen socks). Oh yeah, and tell him not to take off the flight helmet and goggles.

Or maybe the condescention of his last performance turned people off. This time just instruct Bush that whatever Kerry says agree with him and complement Kerry on the good ideas. Watch a tape of Gore in the second debate in 2000 to get an idea of what I mean.

========================================================

OK, in all seriousness. I hope he changes his demeanor radically next time. Then we can blast him for changing with the circumstances, "Not being himself-being fake", dare I say it...being a flip-flopper.

Kerry's got him by the short and curlies folks, and this story makes it 10 times worse for them. It gives the public advance notice thsat if he's radically different he's being phony. If he doesn't change he confirms to the wider public that the first time wasn't just a "bad night", he really is an idiot. If he changes, he's a phony idiot.

[Gregorian]

44. Well the table wasn't completely tilted, for a change.

They got a dose of the truth. They shouldn't be stunned. They should be happy the lapdog press gave them so many years. Sorry, time's up clowns.

[VegasWolf]

45. "shift in strategy" = increase medication n/t

[JohnOneillsMemory]

79. LOL- His advisors are all looking more closely at the KoolAid barrel now!

"But...but...our boy has killed waaay more folks than Kerry!"

[jobycom]

47. Just in: Advisors stunned by reports that Big Foot was fake!

Reality, meet disconnect.

[Gem]

48. "Trying to keep them on a leash."

Cartoonists: How about drawing Bush holding a leash attached to daughters lying on the floor.

[soothsayer]

60. Need 'em in an Abu Giraffe naked butt pyramid, just like bushie likes

With a redneck pointin' at 'em pretending to have a gun

[Dr Fate]

49. Kerry has been under fire throughout the campaign-he is innoculated...

...while Bush refuses to do real press-conferences and hand-picks his audience-he is not used to critcism...

He has never heard criticism from his advisors, his audiences, and God knows not the press-so it should be no suprise that he is easily shaken up.

Their "mixed messages" talking point was supposed to be the theme-oh well!

Anyway, I think they overplanned & under thought this debate...

[Chelsea Patriot]

93. Only criticism from his Ma, The Old Sow!

You can bet The Old Sow is giving it to him as we post.

The Sow is right...He has and always will a complete fuck-up!

Only now, her fuck-up oldest shoat is taking the whole Bush sty down with him!

Sue-e-e-e-e-e-e-e, Barbra!

[jobycom]

50. Funny thing is, I agree with them. I thought it was one Bush's better jobs

That's not saying much, I know, but Bush was that stupid in all three with Gore, in his debates with Richards and Mauro here in Texas. He was that stupid in every press conference I've ever seen him in. In this debate, I thought he actually showed just a smidge more awareness than in the past.

I'll bet advisors are stunned. Bush has been getting good press for being more stupid than that for a decade now, why'd the press go and change? It's so sudden, I wonder if the press is planning some big surprise to spin it back to Bush, and this was just stage one of a master plan.

[Robbien]

56. You are right. The difference here

is the public perception of Kerry. The public and the media has been beaten over the head with the idea of Kerry being a wishy washy flip flopper. They were surprised when it turned out he is not what he has been painted and was very much better than that. So the public and media turned their attention to Bush.

When Bush and Gore debated, Gore was painted as a stuck up know-it-all snob. The debate confirmed that message for them. Bush breezed through unscathed.

[RobinA]

57. I Thought

he was slightly better than in 2000 as well. The thing is, this time Kerry, unlike Gore, didn't give them anything to divert attention with. "Sure Bush is stupid, but Gore sighs a lot." This time around it was just Bush being stupid.

[Amigust]

52. Like grade shool teachers who forget how to talk with adults

"which many of them regarded as not his best but not so bad"

They've been focusing so long and hard on this dunce, their sense of proportion has gotten out of whack. Time to spend some R&R with grownups again.

[VegasWolf]

53. Bush says "Life is like a box of chocolates!"

[Wilber_Stool]

58. Bush/Cheney

They're not as dumb as they look.

[cleofus1]

62. ha ah ha!

dumb asses...

this one thing gives me hope.

[Erika]

63. America Is Finally Waking Up....

to the point that W is a deterrant to international peace.

[crossroads]

83. LOL!!! Good One!

:kick:

[deadparrot]

64. They're just realizing that he's appalling NOW?!

[barb162]

65. I was totally surprised that GOP types like Scarborough

were dissing him that night.

[The_Casual_Observer]

70. upbeat - up your ass chimp

[crossroads]

72. Reality is a bitch for the GOP!

OMG! They believed their own lies!!!
:kick:

[belle]

78. "Oh what a tangled web," etc.

[belle]

74. ahhhhh...(just savoring it)

[crossroads]

82. Sweeeeeeeet!

:kick:

[will work 4 food]

85. .

[acmavm]

91. This Daryl Cagel cartoon is priceless. Words couldn't describe the

situation half as well.

[democrank]

86. Try as they might

Bush`s handlers can`t make a strawberry sundae out of a pile of dog crap.

[Bread and Circus]

87. It's because they are not used to an honest appraisal of his performance..

Frankly, I think the press was too kind in their criticism of
him in the debate. He was downright terrible.

[Starlight]

116. He didn't curl up in a ball & pee on himself.

That's the best that can be said of his performance.

The moron has never been out in the *real world* before. He's used to having an audience of drooling idiots who cheer & clap every time he farts. :eyes:

[sendero]

89. Stunned in Iraq, stunned by the debates..

... these people are always stunned because they live in a fantasy land.

[Ilsa]

90. This statement reminds me of that saying aobut the definition of insanity:

"Republicans said Bush must avoid debating Kerry on the details of micromanaging foreign policy and return to statements of principle with which most voters agree, from the threat of Saddam Hussein to the need to stay in Iraq. And, said one GOP strategist, Bush needs to keep reminding voters about Sept. 11, 2001, and the impact of the terrorist attacks on the country."

Yeah, Rethugs, keep trying the same old failed strategy. That's what he did in the first debate: he used those "principles" or soundbites with no backup praise chorus instead of giving concrete information. If they follow this strategy, Kerry has it locked for sure.

[54anickel]

92. WTF, there's that "Global Test" crap! That and flip-flop is all they've

got?

snip>

"It's going to be more of a substantive slog, and there Kerry gave us some openings," Rove said. "This global test thing was very big. This was shorthand for all the questions people have about the guy."


snip>

Other Republicans were privately less optimistic about the race, fearing that Kerry's debate performance could erase much of the impact of months of Bush-Cheney ads portraying the Democratic nominee as a flip-flopper. They said they were surprised by Bush's lackluster performance, even granting that the president is not the most skilled of debaters.

Asked whether he worried that Bush was on the defensive over his record in Iraq, one GOP strategist said: "I'm far less worried about that than that we had firmly pinned down as a wishy-washy flip-flopper and that's now not nearly as pinned down as I wish it were." The strategist, who declined to be identified to speak freely about the president's campaign, indicated that the debates offer Bush the opportunity to drive home that argument decisively and that in the Coral Gables debate he failed to do so.

snip - but they're gonna keep at it?>

Bush's team indicated they plan to stick to the strategy that has guided their campaign by redoubling efforts to portray Kerry as a flip-flopper. "While Senator Kerry was very articulate, I don't think he cleared up what voters believed to be a central flaw in his candidacy, which is that in response to very serious threats, his response is very often to vacillate with the politics of the moment," Bush's campaign manager Ken Mehlman said.

[dansolo]

104. Too many people were watching

I think that the reviews of Bush are more closely related to the number of viewers than on his actual performance. When 25% of the population was actually watching the debate, they realized that they wouldn't be able to gloss over Bush's inadequecies. If the public wasn't paying attention, like in 2000, I expect they would have been far more brazen in trying to spin it more to Bush's favor

[Lisa]

110. "a sense of outward confidence"

Well, that about sums it up, doesn't it! Dubya and Co.'s "fake it till you make it" strategy is clearly falling apart -- on the economy, in Iraq -- and at last, on TV in front of a hundred million viewers.

[leQ]

111. 'spoze we should start the countdown to the october surprise

because i can assure you, they're getting desperate. and we all know what happens when neocons get desperate.

[Eurotrash]

114. "Terror Alert Level Raised to Crimson Red Nationwide!"

The headlines in all the "news"papers and TV "news" outlets on the day following the second straight dismal * debate performance. Mark my words.

[SKKY]

115. As Moonbeam so eloquently reviewed Bush's performance...

...during the debate- "He Sucked. No I take that back. He Suckity-Suck-Sucked!"

[robbedvoter]

117. Or as Wolcott put it:

Bush, as I wrote in Attack Poodles, went through a battery of irked expressions that ended with him imitating Tony Perkins in the final shot of Psycho, looking as if he had a fly on his nose.

[Walt Starr]

119. Oh boy, get ready for a "re-tooled" shrub

Oops, too late. He's already a tool.