Maverick idea: 'Top Gun' Bush action figure
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The new George W. Bush action figure comes with helmet and visor, goggles and oxygen tank.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A U.S. company that sells foot-tall "action figures" of President Bush has added a new "Top Gun" model sporting a fighter pilot's flight suit in time for Christmas.
The new doll comes with helmet and visor, goggles and oxygen tank, recalling the president's May 1 landing on the flight deck of a Navy aircraft carrier when he declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq.
Talkingpresidents.com has sold about 60,000 of its original, talking President Bush dolls -- clad in a conservative jacket and tie -- since the launch in December 2002, said co-owner John Warnock.
Phrases in the president's own voice, placed on the doll's sound chip, include, "Terrorism against our nation will not stand" and "Working to put food on your family." The dolls are assembled in China.
Warnock said, "I just thought it would be a fun, cool toy. The president has that neat Texas accent and he does mangle the language sometimes."
Competition for Warnock has sprung up from the president's home state, Texas. Toypresidents.com of Houston began selling a talking, business suit-wearing Bush doll with "real presidential cowboy boots" in August, said company president Jesse Combs.
"We've sold about 10,000," said Combs. "Our product is all positive. It doesn't make fun of the president."
Talking Presidents, based in Irvine, California, also sells talking dolls of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former President Bill Clinton and conservative commentator Ann Coulter. "The Ann Coulter doll is our best seller this year," Warnock said.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
