Mocked

But not everyone has welcomed the doll.

Mark Morford, a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, last week wrote: "There he is, all faux manly and squinty and artificially buffed up, his gull-wing ears toned down and the thin-lipped brow-furrowed monkey confusion so common to his scrunched little face apparently erased."

President Bush's appearance in full US pilot regalia was justified because he partly flew the S-3B Viking aircraft that took him to the aircraft carrier.

But the flight and visit were denounced by some commentators as a political stunt.

Mr Bush never saw combat during the Vietnam war, because he remained in the US with the national guard.

In December 2002 a President Bush doll celebrating his best-loved gaffes sold out in a week.

The foot-tall figures featured clips, including: "We're working hard to put food on your family," and "I will not hold this nation hostile".