Hey, Turd Blossom!

Doonesbury cartoon creator Gary Trudeau defends his 'Turd Blossom' reference to Karl Rove in Editor and Publisher:

"I felt that [President] Bush's nickname for Rove was illuminating. 'Turd blossom' has so many connotations, none of them flattering. It's a small masterpiece of nastiness.

The strip was pulled or (worse yet) edited by many newspaper editors across the country, many of whom presumably did not know that Turd Blossom really is the nickname Bush gave to Rove a long time ago. See the strip at Slate today.

The nickname comes from a real blossoming flower in Texas, which springs up in cow manure "turds". Bush says Rove is the only guy who can make shit smell like flowers, and he himself is living proof of that.

The funniest thing to me about the strip was the idea that George "No Brain" Bush would call Rove into his office in such a way, rather than vice versa. Wonder if Trudeau will now broach the subject of Rove's extra-marital affair (see below)...?

UPDATE: Doonesbury does it again today, suggesting that "Turd Blossom's" failures could be rewarded with... a promotion! Trudeau nearly got it right: fact is, Rove and his fellow conspirators (including Libby and Card) are getting a pay rise instead.