USA: Ben & Jerry’s co-founder in anti-Bush campaign

Ben Cohen, one of the two founders of ice-cream company Ben & Jerry’s, is undertaking a road tour aimed at undermining President Bush’s credibility with voters.

Cohen told AP that the 12-foot effigy of George Bush, which has fake flamed shooting out of the trousers, is an acceptable way to refer to what he calls the president’s lies. The flames refer to the phrase ‘pants on fire’, meaning ‘liar’.

Cohen said that “In a polite society, you don’t go up to a person and look at them in the face and say, ‘You’re a liar’. We think it’s a lot more dignified and there’s a lot more decorum to say, ‘Excuse me sir, your pants are getting a little warm, don’t you think?’”.

AP reported White House spokesman Ken Lisaius as saying that most people in America support Bush’s policies, and that the president supports free speech.

The PantsOnFire campaign will continue its nationwide tour until the elections on 2 November.

Ben & Jerry’s is now a subsidary of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever.