Salon: “Since 2003, the perception that Bush is ‘warm and friendly’ has dropped from 70 to 57 percent. In that time, the notion that the president is ‘well-informed’ has fallen from 59 to 52 percent. However, 48 percent of the respondents still feel that the president ‘cares about people like me,’ though that number has fallen somewhat.”

I don’t know what’s more hilarious. The fact that Bush can be compared to “warm and friendly” (which, if you’ve ever been involved with voiceover, is the standard catch-all description that a producer will tell you to shift your voice to*) or the fey phrases used to quantify public opinion.

* — Yes, I had a brief career in voiceover. I was even paid professionally for a local FM radio commercial. But when I heard my voice on the radio used to sell a product, I felt as if I had commited adultery and vowed never to do it again. The irony here is that I’ve never been married. But during this brief time of lunch hour auditions and bringing my green apple and water bottle to these recording sessions, every producer would say, “Ed, do warm and friendly!” And it became almost a joke. It was almost as bad as the deep-throated Caucasian male that these producers were looking for and which apparently I could provide.