The American right is crowing over a mysterious billboard which has appeared in Minnesota. The advertisement, next to the I-35 near the town of Wyoming, Minnesota, shows George W Bush waving, opposite the line "Miss me yet?" So far, nobody seems to know who paid for it. Photos of the billboard in a snowy field have been passed around on the internet, with some speculating that it was a Photoshop cut-and-paste job. Now, though, its existence has been confirmed by an unimpeachable source: Minnesota Public Radio presenter Bob Collins. If the billboard is intended as irony, it's bone dry - and until its backer is identified most commentators are taking it as a pro-Bush statement. A popular right-wing website said the "clever GOP Photoshop" had upset "progressives and liberals", while one comment on the Fox News site read: "There should be one of these in every city across America."
Such excitement among conservatives recalls the 'guerilla' posters of Barack Obama as Batman's nemesis the Joker, which appeared mysteriously under concrete overpasses in Los Angeles last year.
Meanwhile back in Minnesota, Sheldon Anderson, the mayor of Wyoming, told reporters he was receiving calls every day about the Bush billboard. "Wish I could take credit for it," he said, adding: "If you find out, let me know."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Will Republicans kill the filibuster to end the shutdown?Talking Points GOP officials contemplate the ‘nuclear option’
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Actspeed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
‘An exercise of the Republicans justifying their racist positions’instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Do Republicans have a health care plan?Today's Big Question The shutdown hinges on the answer
-
The new age of book banningThe Explainer How America’s culture wars collided with parents and legislators who want to keep their kids away from ‘dangerous’ ideas
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young RepublicansSpeed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Gaza peace deal: why did Trump succeed where Biden failed?Today's Big Question As the first stage of a ceasefire begins, Trump’s unique ‘just-get-it-done’ attitude may have proven pivotal to negotiations
