Tony Soprano=GWB?

Katherine Mangu-Ward | May 7, 2007

Carmela Soprano is caught reading Rebel-in-Chief, a chronicle of "the Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush" by The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes. An entertaining close analysis of her choice of reading material from the Worldwide Standard:

First, we must remember this is Hollywood and Carmela’s reading Rebel-in-Chief is probably meant to reflect poorly on her and her sense of judgment. Carmela’s support for this highly unpopular president (remember, she voted for him) is the same as her standing by Tony Soprano. Both are equally repugnant and, of course, murderers of hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of people. Some think Carmela should leave her loutish husband. While she’s at it, she ought to leave that loutish president. Her husband may be arrested any time. Her president may be arrested anytime as well, for war crimes. All in all, a bad sign....

It should also not surprise us that Carmela is a conservative. Remember in the second season when A.J. asks his mother “Why are we here?” Carmela’s response: “From Adam and Eve.” In the first episode of this season, when Bobby talks about putting up a wall between us and Mexico, Carm adds “Amen.” Not that Tony Soprano thinks any different. After all, he has now joined the war on terror by providing a cell phone number of a possible terrorist to the feds. This goes back to my first point, that Tony Soprano and Bush are the same, at least in the eyes of his wife, though in some respects Tony is more like Clinton.

But like I said, we shouldn’t read too much into this.

More on The Sopranos as a lens for peeking at politics here and here.

Comments

|5.7.07 @ 4:00PM|#

Where's the fucking ziti?

|5.7.07 @ 4:05PM|#

But Carmela gives good head. Can anyone imagine Laura the Xanax Queen doing that?

ed|5.7.07 @ 4:14PM|#

Yes, nightly.

Ralph Cifaretto|5.7.07 @ 4:15PM|#

I hear Ginny Sack's getting a ninety five pound mole taken off her ass.

Russ 2000|5.7.07 @ 4:28PM|#

probably meant to reflect poorly on her and her sense of judgment.

No, it was probably meant for a laugh.

|5.7.07 @ 4:31PM|#

ed, you dog--getting wood over Laura!

Betcha GWB doesn't.

|5.7.07 @ 4:45PM|#

I watch the show. I find it entertaining. If I'm going to read too much into it, it would be regarding some of the fans. The whole cast is despicable. There is not one decent person on the show. In fact I can't think of a redeeming characteristic of anyone on the show. They are all pure scum. So sometimes it bothers me when people talk about if Carmella should leave Tony, or Tony should whack some other guy. To my way of thinking, those questions only matter if you can get past, all of these people should be in prison (or juvenile hall).

Meh, it's just a TV show, but sometimes I wonder about some of the fans.

The Wine Commonsewer|5.7.07 @ 5:04PM|#

The Sopranos is a great show (Warren is right though, they're all thugs).

The lesson here is not whether Carmela is a conservative. The lesson is that life ain't no bed of roses. Well maybe it is, thorns and all.

Here you got a guy with all the imaginary power on earth, yet his kid is still flunking math, his daughter dates guys he doesn't approve of, & he has constant problems with the help. Even though he's whacked a few problem employees, it still hasn't solved his labor problems.

In the meantime he has issues with his now dead mother, relatives who are nothing but a giant pain in the ass, and the government is looking at him kinda hard.

So I figure, if Tony Soprano can't make it happen, none of the rest of us have got a snowball's chance on the 4th of July of leading a hassle free life.

And you thought YOUR in-laws sucked.

|5.7.07 @ 5:06PM|#

Warren,

As a capo in the Corelone family in the Xbox 360 version of The Godfather, I agree completely.

Excuse me, I must go shoot Don Barzini.

|5.7.07 @ 5:24PM|#

Dis here's a nice little occupation ya got gonin', GW. Be a shame if anything was to happen to it...

|5.7.07 @ 6:01PM|#

Now that you mention it. Does being in the mob predispose one to a political party. The Kennedys soured organized crime on the Democrats, but have they been better off under Republicans since Bobby died?

|5.7.07 @ 6:38PM|#

Does Bush want to put a wall up between Mexico and the US?

I did not know that...in fact I think compared to the knee jerk conservatives and protectionist left he is pretty open to immigration and migrant workers. To be honest I think he might be better then Ron Paul on this issue.

I could be wrong about Bush and immigration but if i am right all roads lead to Fred Barnes being an idiot.

|5.7.07 @ 7:15PM|#

Carmela's response: "From Adam and Eve." I

That doesn't mean she's a conservative.

That just means she's gullible.

|5.7.07 @ 8:10PM|#

Carmela's response: "From Adam and Eve."

Basically was a way of telling AJ to shut up.

|5.7.07 @ 8:56PM|#

That doesn't mean she's a conservative. That just means she's gullible.

There's a difference?

thoreau|5.7.07 @ 9:00PM|#

Iron Lungfish wins the thread.

|5.7.07 @ 10:21PM|#

"Meh, it's just a TV show, but sometimes I wonder about some of the fans."

That's pretty much my stance on 24.

|5.8.07 @ 9:37AM|#

joshua corning,

Bush has backed the 700 mile border fence bill. Indentured guest workers + border fence + more money for the Border Patrol = Bush Plan.

John Payne|5.8.07 @ 3:35PM|#

I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this, but in an episode in the second season, a very minor character is shown reading "Anarchy, State, and Utopia."

|5.8.07 @ 6:08PM|#

Truth to tell, the only person I know in real life who literally believes "we all came from Adam and Eve" as described in the Bible is a liberal Democrat.

Actually, she describes herself as a Fabian Socialist, but she votes Democrat.