Long Forgotten Sitcom From South Park Creators Being Lost To Time

That’s My Bush is a blatant callback to and parody of sitcoms from the 1980s that’s so over-the-top it doesn’t seem real. Boasting a snappy theme song (composed and performed by Trey Parker), musical bumpers between scenes, and the gratuitous use of canned laughter, That’s My Bush plays out like it takes place in the Different Strokes universe. While the series tackles a number of divisive political topics, the humor is firmly rooted in the fictional family and household dynamic of our 43rd President.

In fact, even though Timothy Bottoms portrays our then-commander in chief as a problematic yet lovable goofball, the only reason George W. Bush was the subject of Parker and Stone’s satire was because he just so happened to win the 2000 presidential election. Parker and Stone were ready to hit the ground running with a different series called Everybody Loves Al if Al Gore had won the election, and they would have made fun of him instead if the election turned out differently.

Each episode of That’s My Bush centers on a different political issue, and how George W. Bush reacts to it in the context of a family sitcom. For example, when First Lady Laura Bush (Carrie Quin Dolin) is mad at George for constantly prioritizing his job as president over their relationship, George tries to pull off a “two dates at the same time” scheme by having dinner with Laura in one room of the White House while hosting a televised dinner in the company of Pro-Life and Pro-Choice leaders in another room, with disastrous results.

Most of George’s schemes are encouraged by George’s wacky neighbor, Larry O’Shea (John D’Aquino), who often barges through the front door of the White House, tells a dad joke, cracks a beer, and makes himself at home.

From inviting his frat brothers to a live execution to being chased through the White House by a bear brandishing a rifle (there’s a Second Amendment joke in there somewhere), George W. Bush is always getting into trouble in That’s My Bush. When George’s hubris gets the best of him, he’s always knocked down a peg by his wise-cracking maid, Maggie (Marcia Wallace), who always has a clever quip ready to go. This method of storytelling makes for a wonderful workplace comedy about the president without ever being too heavy-handed in its messaging.

That’s My Bush wouldn’t be a true sitcom parody if George W. Bush didn’t have a signature catchphrase at the end of every episode. After making a fool of himself, learning an important life lesson, and getting made fun of by his wife, George and the studio audience always say in perfect unison, “One of these days, Laura, I’m gonna punch you in the face!”– a clear callback to The Honeymooners.

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While That’s My Bush was cancelled due to budgetary reasons, Trey Parker has reason to believe that the show would have been cut short due to the September 11 attacks anyway. There just wouldn’t be a delicate way to move the show forward in good taste after such a tragedy. But still, that doesn’t mean that the first, and only, season of this brilliant satire should be lost to time.

That’s My Bush isn’t available for streaming anywhere, but it has been backed up to The Internet Archive for posterity. If you’re a fan of South Park but don’t remember this show and all of its glorious stupidity, then you owe it to yourself to check it out. This is a once-in-a-lifetime series, and a great nostalgia trip if you’re looking for political satire that isn’t as venomous and vitriolic as what you’ll find on the air today.