I won't be watching the State of the Union address tonight. I feel guilty about it, because watching the State of the Union seems like something an informed citizen should do. But...no. Ever since the 2000 election I have been unable to look at the face of the current president of the United States. I mean, I could look, but after a while my brain slides away and I find myself waxing the floor. I can listen to him speak, although all my synapses spark wrongness with every word I hear, and at some point I’m apt to start muttering (or shrieking) at his plans for my country. The folks here at Eat Our Brains who know me personally know that this is not like me. And I never had this reaction with other presidents–I watched Nixon like a hawk (well, he bore watching, God knows), and Reagan (with some fascination at his acting chops) and could form entire and cogent sentences critiquing their policies. George Bush? Not so much. Not at all. He gives me the creeps on a molecular level, even before the policies and opinions come into play.

And yet, I know there are women who find the president, not only watchable but sexy. Will they be watching the State of the Union and admiring the president’s manliness and power? Will they be listening to what he says?

Okay, I don’t get Fabio or Brad Pitt or Justin Timberlake, either (and I think Ian McKellan is the sexiest man alive, regardless of which team he plays for). But George W. raises distaste to a level of flight or fight for me. I’ll read all about it in the paper the next day, and that will have to do.