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'Dealer'-in-Chief? Bush Hits Game Show

Prez's Deal or No Deal appearance latest in low-brow pol appearances

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 22, 2008 7:27 AM CDT

(Newser) – Increasingly overshadowed by the presidential campaign, George W. Bush got a bit of exposure last night—on a TV game show. The commander-in-chief appeared via satellite on Deal or No Deal to root for a soldier back from Iraq who was gunning for a million dollars in a suitcase, reports Reuters. "I’m thrilled to be anywhere with high ratings these days," joked the president.

Writing in the New York Times, critic Alessandra Stanley notes that, even more than Barack's bowling efforts or Hillary's beer-and-whiskey jag, a television appearance offers politicians "a free platform to rub shoulders with viewers who only glancingly pay attention to the news." Bush's Deal or No Deal stint is only the latest "macropopulist" gesture in a political arena where elitism has become what "communism was to 1950s politics: a career breaker."

Howie Mandel, left, is shown with contestant Capt. Joseph Kobes, right, who received a message of encouragement from George W. Bush on Deal or No Deal.
Howie Mandel, left, is shown with contestant Capt. Joseph Kobes, right, who received a message of encouragement from George W. Bush on Deal or No Deal.   (AP Photo/NBC, Adam Taylor)
George W. Bush appears on Deal or No Deal last night.
George W. Bush appears on Deal or No Deal last night.   (Courtesy NBC)
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George W. Bush appeared last night on the game show Deal or No Deal.   (whoisthemonkey)

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