Heads of State

The news story: The final episode of HBO's Game of Thrones included a scene in which a replica of President George W. Bush's head is displayed on a stake in several scenes. Shipments of the DVDs have been halted, and the scenes will be cut from future broadcast and distribution.

Read about it: ABC News | Boston Globe | Hollywood Reporter

The thought exercise: Is the President such a public figure that there's no line that can't be crossed when it comes to using his image in entertainment and political speech, or should a line be drawn and never crossed? And if there ought to be a line, how far is too far? And what about non-President citizens who look like the other heads on the other spikes?

Goose, meet gander: A Florida pastor hanged President Obama in effigy about a week before the Game of Thrones story made headlines. Looking for an entertainment-related analogy? He's been portrayed in comic books as a barbarian, a participant in erotic manga and more.

Heckling the President

The news story: Daily Caller reporter Neil Munro interrupted President Obama during his June 15 remarks about the administration's new immigration policy. Munro was praised by Daily Caller editor Tucker Carlson.

Read about it: ABC News | Times of India | Washington Post

The thought exercise: Screaming questions at the President after an event is over is a long-standing Washington tradition, but is there ever a legitimate reason for reporters to be heckling the President during his remarks?

Goose, meet gander: President George W. Bush was heckled by Senators in Australia, and one man who heckled Bush said he lost his job because of it while another received press for getting a visit from the Secret Service.

Fore!

The news story: President Obama spent part of Father's Day playing golf. Which wouldn't be a big deal, except that it marked something of a milestone: It was the 100th time the President played golf.

Read about it: CBS News | USA Today | Washington Times

The thought exercise: Should Obama really be playing so much golf? Says a Mitt Romney press release: "As millions of Americans continue to struggle to find work, President Obama has now played a total of 1,710 holes since taking office. A lot of Americans have had to make sacrifices these last four years. We would expect our president to do the same."

Goose, meet gander: Sure, Obama playing golf hands Romney some low-hanging fruit to score a few easy political points, but the former Massachusetts Governor spent 212 days of his final year in office out of the state.

Pretty Crappy, Don't You Think?

The news story: At their state convention over the weekend, the Montana Republican Party showcased a bullet-ridden outhouse with a fake birth certificate inside it as the "Obama Presidential Library."

Read about it: Huffington Post | Talking Points Memo | The Blaze

The thought exercise: What might the outcry have been had a state Democratic Party similarly highlighted an outhouse with a copy of The Pet Goat inside as the "Bush Presidential Library"?

Goose, meet gander: Sure, there was mocking of Bush's library. Even with an outhouse image. But did this ever happen at a state party event? Google fails us.