Maureen Dowd Likens George Bush to Clark Gable

In today's NYT, columnist Maureen Dowd relays some thoughts on last Saturday's Gridiron Dinner in Washington. She writes,

I sat next to a presidential gag writer, Landon Parvin. He was saying jokes work best when Republicans make fun of Republicans and Democrats make fun of Democrats.

President Bush, looking spiffy in white tie and tails, swung by to talk to Mr. Parvin. He didn't look my way, but proceeded back up to the dais.

Suddenly, W. turned around, stopped and looked right at me. Then he flashed a wink, not a flirty wink but a mischievous Clark Gable "I've got your number and you think you've got mine but I win" wink.

This is telling. It seems that Dowd is an accomplished wink reader. Go figure. Now I've always thought that a wink was not much different than a simple nod of the head or a salutatory wave of the hand. But, no! According to MoDo, a wink can be compared to recollections of winks by movie stars to discern its subtle intricacies. In this case, Ms. Dowd saw President Bush as a "mischievous Clark Gable" communicating, "Frankly, Mo, I win."

I wonder. By conjuring up the image of tall, dark, handsome Clark Gable in a wink of George Bush's eye, is Dowd growing soft on the President? Does she now subconsciously see him as a sexy, leading man rather than a political adversary? Can we expect some kinder, gentler words from Dowd when she writes of the Bush administration? Maybe next we'll see some words about George Bush's broad shoulders and his disarming smile.

Nah! On second thought, probably not.