Being George W. Bush

George Bush On Oprah

George W. Bush is bored these days.

The 43rd President of the United States is addicted to Scrabble for the iPad. He takes the dog Barney out on the morning walk. And he tried getting his hands dirty for Haiti earthquake relief. Emphasis on tried.

Dubya’s low-profile post-presidency strategery is working. His approval ratings have quietly jumped 11 percentage points — from 34% to 45% –since he left office. “Miss me yet?” t-shirts are a hot-sell at Capitol gift-shops. He takes solace telling himself and reporters that history will respect him posthumously as an audacious war-time president. That he’ll be the 21st Century’s answer to President Truman.

George Bush Miss Me Yet

Except he won’t be. Instead, Bush may well go down as the Nero of the American Empire. The inept culmination of decades of political dynasty and nepotism. The epitome of imperial excess and decadence who drained the once great power’s war chest and international goodwill. Dubya read “My Pet Goat” while the World Trade Center burned.

*******

Bill Clinton just filmed his cameo for Hangover 2. Every international restaurant the Big-Mac-chomper-turned-vegan dines at becomes the hottest ticket in town. He whisks around the globe as the Teflon-coated ambassador of the Pax Americana of yesteryear. Dubya, meanwhile, is only cheered at Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers games. He is destined to swat away news anchors’ Iraq War hypotheticals for the rest of his life. Such is retirement for the most unpopular president in modern American history.

George Bush Watches the Rangers

Dubya is 64 years old. He has a quarter century to live with his mistakes and the reality that he ruined the family name. A quarter century to watch politicians grapple with his unfinished business. Unlike his predecessor Bill Clinton, Bush will not be a kingmaker for his party. He wasn’t invited to the Republican National Convention in 2008. In 2010, Republicans wouldn’t let him release his memoir “Decision Points” until after the midterm elections because they didn’t want the association. Publishers were similarly unenthused. Dubya secured a $7 million advance for the memoir, less than half of Bill Clinton’s $15 million “My Life” commission.

Decision Points by George W. Bush

Full Disclosure: I refused to buy “Decision Points” (Crown Publishers, $35). The country has lost enough money under President Bush, so I downloaded it instead. Dubya portrays himself as The Decider who ruled with his gut and didn’t much care what people say about him. The memoir’s terse, staccato prose befits the plain-spoken Commander-In-Chief.

Historians generally write-off presidential memoirs as the warped musings of restive former presidents trying to stake their claim to their legacies. Read Seymour Hersh or Bob Woodward if you want the real scoop, they say. Memoirs are more the stuff of cocktail party conversation fodder than historical study.

“Decision Points” is no different. Did you know, for instance, Dubya couldn’t live without the morning run? Or that the antiquated phone-lines aboard Air Force 1 were so overloaded Dubya spent hours trying to patch into Washington on September 11? Or did you hear why Dubya stopped drinking?

It was 1986 and George W. Bush had had a couple. He was in Maine with the family for the holidays. His dad and then-Vice President George H. W. Bush was there. So was brother Jeb. And, of course, Laura. And there was this gorgeous 50-something family friend. The future Texas Governor and U.S. president polished off his drink, poured himself another, and asked her: “What’s it like having sex after 50?”

Dubya is less personal about his presidential years. He downplays the barbarities of Guantánamo Bay. He boasts detainees had access to an extensive library including Arabic translations of “Harry Potter”. He skirts over much of the Iraq War intel and troop level oversights and insists “removing Saddam from power was the right decision”. That the world is better off without him.

Toppled Saddam Statue

It’s true. Saddam Hussein was a villain who gassed his own people. The problem is the same argument could be made about virtually any cruel dictator. North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il is a ruthless tyrant of comparable savagery who has actually developed and attempted to distribute WMDs. Yet Dubya chose to isolate oil-poor North Korea, and the rogue state’s plutonium supply quadrupled.

And everything Iraq was supposed to be—an Islamic threat to regional stability, hell-bent on nuclear power—Iran was. The CIA learned Saddam Hussein fabricated his WMD bluster because he was so scared of Iran. But Bush was chastened. His political capital spent. He listened to Condoleezza. He fired Rummy and talked Israel down from a bombing run. And the centrifuges in Nawaz kept on spinning


*******

The WMDs finally did go off in New York City. But they were the ones Warren Buffett warned us about. They were the ones concocted, not in bunkers outside Baghdad, but in AIG and Citi boardrooms throughout midtown Manhattan. Built not out of yellow cake but of the mortgages on yellow houses, unbridled derivatives, and money our homes weren’t worth.

Dubya confesses he was “blindsided” by the financial crisis. He focused on the meat-and-potato measures of jobs and inflation and “assumed any major credit troubles would have been flagged by the regulators or rating agencies.” But the near collapse of the global financial system wasn’t the low-point for the most unpopular president in modern American history, nor the “sickening feeling” there were no WMDs in Iraq.

No, it was when rapper Kanye West said Dubya didn’t “care about black people” when he bungled the Hurricane Katrina response. The similarly image-rehabbing celebrity has since apologized to Dubya, confiding last week “I really connect with him on a humanitarian level
 I felt that too (because of Taylor Swift).” Dubya accepted Kanye West’s apology.

Kanye West and Taylor Swift at the VMAs

As much as Dubya claims to not care about what others say about him, his last two years have been consumed by introspection. Flash back to the winter of 2008. After Lehman failed, after GM became Government Motors, the White House mounted one of the most aggressive legacy-rehab campaign in recent memory. The White House invited the media gauntlet to interview Dubya and Laura about the last eight years. CBS asked Dubya what we were all thinking: knowing what you know now, would you still have gone into Iraq?

This was December 2008. More than five years after Dubya’s fateful decision to invade Iraq. Over 3000 American troops had died since then. He could have given the Winston Churchill answer: I kept us safe. Not another terrorist attack occurred under my watch. But he didn’t.

Instead, Dubya furrowed his brow. He sighed. He didn’t have a canned answer for this one. He hemmed and hawed until he finally said, “I’ve never really thought of it that way before.”

George W. Bush attended Yale University and Harvard Business School. We know he didn’t get in because of what George W. Bush knew but who George H.W. Bush knew. But surely the lesson of perspective or hindsight must have rubbed off on young Dubya in one of his classes.

You almost pity Dubya. Again and again he comes across the naĂŻve fresh-face who let his daddy’s neocon friends get the better of him. He recounts feeling bullied by four-star generals. He worried Dick Cheney would no longer be his friend if he didn’t pardon Scooter Libby. But fear not. In his November 9 primetime interview, Dubya told NBC’s Matt Lauer, “I’m pleased to report we are friends today.”

You probably didn’t watch it. No one did, really. The end of Bush’s self-imposed media exile ran against ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” and Bristol Palin. Bush spent the rest of the week squirming in Oprah’s chair. Laughing it up with Rush Limbaugh. And after a few more book signings, he’ll come home to Dallas again as a triumphant, best-selling author.

“Decision Points” will spend a couple weeks on best-seller lists, a couple years collecting dust on Midwestern coffee tables, before it is unceremoniously boxed up in dingy attics. A hard-back reminder of a presidency and decade most Americans would like to forget.

And one of these mornings, Dubya will take Barney out for the morning walk. He’ll pick up his iPad. He’ll land on a Triple Word Score with the word Legacy. He’ll rack up his 30-something points and pretend to not see the irony.

*******

           

See Also: Who Owns The Debt?, Now’s the Time to Hold President Bush Accountable for Torture, Britain To Pay Reparations To Victims Of Bush Administration Torture, George W. Bush Blames Sarah Palin for Losing the 2008 Election, Bush Admits to War Crimes, America Yawns, Review: ‘Decision Points’ by George W. Bush, Bush At Large, The George W. Bush Plagiarism Controversy, and Still lapdogs: Media figures host Bush’s rehabilitation tour.

[tags]george w. bush, being george bush, legacy of george bush, decision points, memoir, book, presidential legacy, bush presidency, iraq, new orleans, hurricane katrina, kanye west, politics, article, book review, essay, column[/tags]

Email

0
From The PBH NetworkHot On The Web
  1. Oh, George Bush released a book, and it wasn’t filled with pictures to color in?

  2. TimSerVlad says:

    Good afternoon.
    We are a group of volunteers who care about the fate of those who got into trouble.
    We urge all people to help the citizens of Japan. In the Czech Republic we have organized a fundraising drive. They are very necessary for those who remained without a roof over your head. Hope very much for your help. One we can not cope with this tragedy. All the money will pass to the Embassy of Japan.
    Provide a report on the use of money.
    Requisites for conversion to U.S. dollars:

    Account name:
    Sergey Timofeev
    Account number:
    600 617 50 01
    Bank code:
    5500
    IBAN:
    CZ77 5500 0000 0060 0617 5001
    SWIFT/BIC:
    RZBCCZPP
    Bank address:
    Raiffeisenbank, a.s.
    Hvezdova 1716/2b
    Prague
    Czech Republic

    Answer all questions. Write to [email protected]
    Thank you all for your help.

  3. Foeneouby says:

    ????? ? ??? ??? ??????? ??????-????? / the karate k, prorok / un prophete 2009 dvdscr , the sims 2 ??????? ? ???????? / ament life, ???????? ?? ??? epson tx 106, ??????. ????? ????? v.1.01 2009/rus/repack.

  4. Foeneouby says:

    ??? ????????? ? ??? ???????? ?? ??????? parallels desktop v6.0.11822 for mac, gta ??????? ???????? , war for cybertron 2010/pc/repack/rus, directx 10 vista 64, need for speed own the city!

  5. Foeneouby says:

    ????? ? ??? ???????? ?? ???????? ???????? ??????? ???????, adobe premiere pro ?????????????? ??????? , ???? ??????? ? ????????? ??????, ??????? ??? vga save, ?????? 3ds max 9.

  6. Foeneouby says:

    ????? ? ??? ??? ??????? ????????? windows 7 ?? ????????, diskeeper 2010 14.0 build 896 , crack tuneup utilities 2011, adobe audition portable torrent, leadertask 6.9.7.0 rus!

  7. SpepayMop says:

    books on shared values
    xerox 5655 address book import
    4923 shadywood drive phone number
    1998 e320 problems
    cheap pastry boxes
    live web cam vaughan ontario
    books and dvds
    buy cigarette extinguisher online
    used book stores 62002
    free mobile bondage porn
    book sack
    canadain passport online
    kansas city royals web site
    best cell phone to track kids
    borders book stores ithaca ny

  8. SpepayMop says:

    dodge vin decode 1998
    technology and web design
    rubber stamping web sites
    james symons 1996
    famous events in 1996
    1996 bill dance 30
    global online services
    lost creek lake oregon dive sites
    board book english sheepdog
    grumpys music books chattanooga
    mini fuse for 1999 ford f150
    bates peterson wedding 2000
    the cricket in times square book
    7th grade science books
    biology solomon 8th edition online ebook

  9. TriniaRig says:

    ???????? ???????????????? ????????? ??? ?????

  10. tyyychkiyam says:

    ? ?????? ? ?????????, ??? ?????????? ?? ??? ?????? ????????? ????????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????.????????, ????????? ????????? ??????? ???????????? ??? ?????????? ????????? ? ???????? ?????? ??? ?????????????? ?????????? ???????, ???? ??? ???????? ???????, ????????? ??? ???????????? ?????????????.???? ??????: ??????? ????? ????

  11. sodytids says:

    ???????? ?? ????????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??????????????? ??? ????????? ?? ???? ?????????? ????????? ?????????? ???? ???????????? ????? ???????? ??????? ??????????????? ??????????? ??????? ??? ????????? ???????? ???????????? ??????????? ??? ??????????????? ? ?????????? ??????????-?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????????? ???????? ? 17 ??????????? ????????????? ??????? ??? ?????????? ??????????????? ????? ??????? ????????????????? ????? ?? 3??? 3????? ???????? ?? ?????? ???????? ????? ????.????????? ? ???????? ?????????????????? ???????????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ? ???? ????? ??????????????.????? ????? ??????????????????????? ??? ?????? ?????

  12. dachnik says:

    ??????? ??????? ????? ?????! ? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ????? ?????????? ??? ?????????? ????? ?? ????,??? ? ???????? http://dachnik.vn.ua.

  13. stenring says:

    1. Central Bank Of Barbados
    One Dollar qty:4
    Five Dollar qty:1
    Twenty Dollar qty: 1

    2.United Arab Emirates Currency Board
    Five Dirhams qty:2

    3.Bank Of Ghana
    Ten Cedis qty:1

    4.Banco De Espana
    100 Cien Pesetas qty:1

    5.Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency
    One Riyal qty:1

    6.Banco Central De Honduras
    Un Lempira qty:1

    7.Reserve Bank Of India
    Five Rupees qty:1

    8.Bahrain Monetary Agency
    One Dinar qty:2
    Half Dinar qty:2

    9.Banque Du Canada
    Un Dollar qty:1

    10.Repvbblica Italiana Cinquecento
    500 Lire Cinquecento qty:1

    Can you please tell me how to get these appraised and where to go?

  14. theomsgroom says:

    I am a newbie here! I would like to with pay attention to to firsthand friends, deracinate down reborn ideas and learn more knowledge. Hankering you whim into me here!

  15. ClileHedwaw says:

    Consult with your doctor and your medical support team about changing insulin doses and an extra prescription for insulin.
    But, by doing so, you increase your risk of breaking your hip or worse from falling down the stairs.
    Nose job is the type of plastic surgery that has a very high success rate.
    Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article.
    Body acne may be light, moderate or severe.

  16. The Slave of the Husband…

    Trying to find in advance to studying additional from you afterward!……

  17. Noah Shaak says:

    Souls in the Waves…

    Very good Morning, I just stopped in to visit your website and imagined I’d say I liked myself….

  18. Thorn of Girl…

    Great info may be observed on this world wide web blog….

  19. Woman of Alien…

    Fantastic operate you have carried out, this website is really neat with superb data. Time is God’s means of maintaining anything from going on without delay….

  20. Wonderful Article…

    Enjoyed every bit on your article post. Definitely getting excited about read more. Really Cool….

  21. fsgb80v7cbwe says:

    Online Article…

    Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose…

  22. lida says:

    Great website…

    please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web…

  23. Woman of Alien…

    Excellent get the job done you have done, this page is de facto great with amazing details. Time is God’s way of maintaining every little thing from going on without delay….

  24. The Absent Game…

    Among me and my husband we have owned far more MP3 gamers over time than I can count, together with Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few many years I’ve settled down to one line of gamers….

  25. The Ships’s Voyages…

    I think engineering just makes it even worse. Now there’s a channel to hardly ever treatment, now there wouldn’t be a chance for them to discover….

  26. Whispering Misty…

    So sorry you can miss the workshop!…

  27. The Birch of the Shadow…

    I believe there may perhaps become a number of duplicates, but an exceedingly helpful checklist! I’ve tweeted this. Quite a few thanks for sharing!…

  28. The Ships’s Voyages…

    I believe technology just causes it to be even worse. Now there is a channel to never ever treatment, now there will not likely become a chance for them to discover….

  29. Thorn of Girl…

    Excellent information and facts can be found on this online blog….

  30. Woman of Alien…

    Perfect work you’ve finished, this site is de facto amazing with amazing info. Time is God’s method of retaining every thing from taking place without delay….

  31. The Absent Game…

    Amongst me and my husband we have owned a lot more MP3 gamers over the years than I can count, which includes Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few many years I’ve settled down to one line of players….

  32. Healing’s Dragon…

    to uncover troubles to further improve my site!I suppose its okay to create usage of a number of of the ideas!!…

  33. randki says:

    The Birch of the Shadow…

    I feel there may well be a handful of duplicates, but an exceedingly useful list! I’ve tweeted this. Several thanks for sharing!…

  34. Third Flower…

    My wife and i are actually now delighted that Albert could carry out his research as a result of the tips he had as a result of your online page. It really is on occasion perplexing to simply generally be freely giving steps which some individuals coul…

  35. orchestra says:

    Souls in the Waves…

    Fantastic Early morning, I just stopped in to visit your web site and imagined I’d say I appreciated myself….

  36. Woman of Alien…

    Excellent get the job done you have got completed, this great site is basically great with great facts. Time is God’s way of keeping all the things from taking place simultaneously….

  37. rose parade…

    […]just below, are some totally unrelated sites to ours, however, they are definitely worth checking out[…]…

  38. The Absent Game…

    Among me and my husband we’ve owned a lot more MP3 players over the years than I can count, together with Sansas, iRivers, iPods (basic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few decades I’ve settled down to one line of players….

  39. The Silent Shard…

    This can in all probability be fairly beneficial for some within your work I decide to don’t only with my blogging site but…

  40. Agen Bola says:

    News info…

    I was reading the news and I saw this really interesting info…

  41. The Ships’s Voyages…

    I think technological know-how just can make it even worse. Now there is a channel to by no means treatment, now there would not be a chance for them to find….

  42. Thorn of Girl…

    Very good facts is often identified on this web blogging site….

  43. The Slave of the Husband…

    Trying to find ahead to studying extra from you afterward!……

  44. new york escort says:

    new york escort…

    Being George W. Bush – Prose Before Hos…

  45. Buy meridia says:

    Buy meridia…

    Being George W. Bush – Prose Before Hos…

  46. The Ships’s Voyages…

    I think know-how just causes it to be even worse. Now there’s a channel to by no means care, now there will not likely be a opportunity for them to discover….

  47. The Slave of the Husband…

    Trying to get in advance to studying additional from you afterward!……

  48. Hi…

    really great post…

  49. Hellow…

    I saw this really great showcase….

  50. The Silent Shard…

    This could most likely be pretty handy for many of your positions I intend to do not only with my blog site but…

  51. http://www.animetube.net

    Being George W. Bush – Prose Before Hos…

  52. Check this out…

    […] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[…]
…

  53. Looking around…

    I like to surf around the online world, often I will just go to Stumble Upon and follow thru…

  54. Japanese Kidswear…

    […]here are some hyperlinks to web-sites that we link to simply because we think they’re really worth visiting[…]…

  55. gamer dating says:

    Cool sites…

    […]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[…]
…

  56. the blog services. after that, you’re done….

    and if you can do this everyday for your blog, you’ll start getting the traffic that you’ve been looking for in a short period of time. here’s another way to get free blog traffic.2) add news readers to your blog or…

  57. Wedding Reception Champaign il…

    […]Sites of interest we have a link to[…]…

  58. trinidad and tobago…

    […]although web sites we backlink to below are considerably not associated to ours, we really feel they’re truly really worth a go via, so have a look[…]…

  59. cell phone upgrades…

    […]Every when in a although we decide on blogs that we study. Listed below would be the newest internet sites that we decide on […]…

  60. Health Insurance…

    […]while the sites we link to below are completely unrelated to ours, we think they are worth a read, so have a look[…]…

  61. Asia Travel News…

    […]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[…]…

  62. online clothes…

    […]Every as soon as inside a though we select blogs that we study. Listed beneath are the most up-to-date sites that we select […]…

  63. Thorn of Girl…

    Superb information and facts is usually found on this internet blog….

  64. cougar women says:

    Websites you should visit…

    […]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[…]
…

  65. Dog supplements…

    […]Here are several of the web pages we suggest for our visitors[…]…

  66. how to get twitter followers…

    […]very few websites that transpire to be comprehensive below, from our point of view are undoubtedly effectively really worth checking out[…]…

  67. Thorn of Girl…

    Very good information and facts might be uncovered on this web blog site….

  68. Saskatoon Mortgage…

    […]although internet websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are truly worth a go via, so have a look[…]…

  69. Farmville 2 Hacks…

    […]usually posts some quite exciting stuff like this. If you?re new to this site[…]…

  70. ??? says:

    ???…

    My wife and i got quite joyful when John could carry out his survey through your ideas he gained from your own site. It is now and again perplexing to just happen to be giving freely concepts that some other people might have been selling. And we all d…

  71. ip location says:

    ip location…

    […]Here are some of the websites we advocate for our visitors[…]…

  72. Yuonne Ports says:

    Ryan Trapalis…

    Practically I don’t read article upon blogs….

  73. Asuncion Cheli…

    More or less I don’t read article of merchandise upon blogs….

  74. locate ip says:

    locate ip…

    […]check beneath, are some absolutely unrelated internet websites to ours, having said that, they’re most trustworthy sources that we use[…]…

  75. pokies says:

    pokies…

    The cards are produced known as ATZ, is in the pokies and sports dissipated has been an accolade to be. Or perchance you decided you exactly Victimisation things leftfield over from the backbreaking repulse. That existence the nearly unchanging, comfor…

  76. Another Title…

    I saw this really great post today….

  77. Top Degree Programs…

    […]we like to honor many other web web sites on the net, even if they aren?t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages really worth checking out[…]…

1 2
Hot On The Web