神马文学网'Decision Points': What George W. Bush's Memo...
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Photo-Illustration by Stephen Kroninger: Bush: Tome Pennington / Getty Images
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Early on in his newly released memoir, George W. Bush writes with great credibility, and a welcome absence of histrionics, about his slow-motion turn toward faith. There was no fiery epiphany. There was a growing comfort with the calming release of prayer, a gradual appreciation of the moral truths contained in the Bible. There were doubts too. "If you haven't doubted, you probably haven't thought very hard about what you believe," he writes. And that principle is very much in evidence when he makes the first major decision of his presidency, in favor of federal funding for research on existing stem-cell lines but not for raiding frozen embryos — potential lives, he believes — to harvest their cells. To reach that decision, Bush conducted a White House seminar that included talks with advocates, brilliant ones, on all sides of the issue. "The conversations fascinated me," he writes. "The more I learned, the more questions I had." Whatever you think of his policy, the process was impeccable.
I mention this not only because it reveals Bush at his best but because it was so much at variance with the rest of his presidency. (See "George W. Bush, His Mom and Her Fetus: Not So Weird After All.")
The presidential memoir is among the more dreadful of literary forms. Most of them are far too long, and suffocating for the heavy woolen tone of false modesty that swaddles the egomania at the heart of the matter. They are defensive, evasive and stiff. Bush's effort is all that, but better than most. It reads well. The anecdotes are occasionally revealing. There is emotion, and it is real. The pace is brisk enough to delude the unwary reader into a suspension of disbelief at first, but gradually the weakness of this chatty strategy becomes clear: Bush breezes through fundamental and earth-shattering decisions without slowing down to acknowledge their moral complexity. At the most important moments of his presidency — most notably, the decision to go to war in Iraq — he refuses to honestly consider opposing points of view or see the long-term, ancillary effects of what he is deciding. (See pictures of U.S. troops leaving Iraq.)
Some of the decisions he makes are wise, like the belated move toward a counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq. In other cases, like Hurricane Katrina, he successfully defends his efforts and candidly acknowledges his mistakes. But as the pages turn, a familiar sense of the man unfurls: impatient, petulant, shallow — quite the opposite of the stem-cell decider. Bush writes that his true feelings as he found out about the 9/11 attacks — and chose to sit, famously impassive, as a Florida class read "The Pet Goat" — were, "My blood was boiling. We were going to find out who did this, and kick their ass." It was an understandable reaction, but an emotion he never quite transcended or transformed into strategic thought. (See a photographic farewell to George W. Bush.)
In the book, Bush never stops to wonder if, maybe, his team should have spent more time focusing on al-Qaeda before Sept. 11 — as the outgoing Clinton national-security team had strongly suggested — or whether he should have taken more seriously the infamous Aug. 6, 2001, memo from the CIA warning of an al-Qaeda attack on the homeland. And later, he never stops to wonder if the U.N. inspectors, whom Saddam Hussein had allowed back into Iraq, were not finding weapons of mass destruction because, maybe, uh, the WMD didn't exist. And still later, he expresses shock at the Abu Ghraib abuses without ever admitting — or, perhaps, finding out — that practices like enforced nudity, the use of dogs and stress positions had become common. And of course he never acknowledges the subsequent reporting, by multiple news outlets, that proved Abu Ghraib was different from other interrogation sites only in that photos were taken. In a particularly appalling moment, Bush simply decides to permit waterboarding enemy detainees because, as he told Matt Lauer, "the lawyer said it was legal." (His belief in the efficacy of torture is also at variance with other accounts, especially those provided by FBI agents, but he doesn't acknowledge that either.) (Comment on this story.)
As I read on, trapped in the sketchy carelessness of this presidency, I was surprised by how angry I didn't become. For me, at least, weariness has replaced anger. Bush's was an exhausting presidency that will, I suspect, be remembered more for its waste — of time, lives, money, moral standing and economic strength — than for anything else. We have survived nearly a decade now since Sept. 11, and the cataclysmic events of that day have receded, not just in memory but in importance, compared with the global economic changes and Wall Street sociopathy that together challenge America's future pre-eminence. We have not been successfully attacked since, a matter of luck and skill. We do have Bush to thank, in part, for that — but far too much testosterone was spent kicking irrelevant butts and landing, breathless with self-regard, on carrier decks to celebrate victories that were Pyrrhic at best. We struggle to recover from the thoughtless carnage of his tenure.
See a story on George W. Bush's final days in office.
See George W. Bush's eight biggest economic mistakes.
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Butch Cassidy
As a journalist, Joe Klein is a bottom tier has-been, but still a legend in his own, booze-soaked mind. “As I read on, trapped in the sketchy carelessness of this presidency, I was surprised by how angry I didn't become”. Well Joe, cowards perfect a way to subdue their anger so they don’t risk getting punched out. You can get angry at me though, because it won’t make any diff if we come face to face: I don’t like snakes or back-shooters and you’re both, so I would certainly slap you around and knock you off those stiletto heels you wear on Saturday night.
昨天, 22:01:25– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Jim O'Sullivan Hello you may be interested in reading on a site I have come across www.gingerfightback.com about the extent of Bush and Blair's relationship - very funny if not wholly accurate.
Best wishes昨天, 19:23:58– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Jean Pierre de Lutz GREATEST! Shocking and sad. American insularity perpetuates the myth of America is first in everything, it inflames a culture of "uber alles" the populist right and its appendices use to further blind-sight the average American who follow these shoot from the hip modern cowboys à la Bush - Palin - Demint & Co... right over the cliff we are barely reeling from. No, in truth besides military power and unethical politics we are far from first, and yes we can thank the right for bearing the larger share of responsibility in generating today’s and yesterday’s crisis – funny how all forget S&L and ENRON and…, a history of crisies generated by conservative policies. nor has any President had to confront such a powerful but mostly cloaked opposition bent not only on stopping progress but finalizing the Reagan administration' efforts to dismantle social progress made under and since the New Deal. No wonder our society is regressing, has become the most violent of advanced societies, the question is how far will it go. If the extremists of either side but most threatening today from the right lets start with doing away with the Department of Education.
昨天, 15:39:27– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理說讚的人
Brandon Miller
Trish Melsha He left the country both morally and financially bankrupt. His team liked to say they created their own reality. A reality built on Frank Luntz slogans that in the end had no reality at all has now come crashing down on us all in the form of credit card wars, unfunded tax cuts, fraud instigated lending, false credit ratings, homes in foreclosure, uninsured sick, jobs gone, crumbling neighborhoods, cities, counties and states. Decency was replaced with indecency simply because the indecent were louder. I can't imagine what Mr. Bush could possibly say that would interest the nation. He has already done quite enough.昨天, 12:50:28– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理說讚的人
Brandon Miller
NotFooledTX
karport In his first budget Bush refused to increase the Defense Budget (FACT) and after 9/11 failed to take and have an immediate military response to demonstrate to the world we can and will strike. We invaded Iraq for no logical reason and continued occupation. He failed to act as a fiscal conservative and the results are evident. Katrina was a blip on the timeline. The fact is he failed to lead as a conservative and made Clinton look good. Bush made conservatives look incompetent and our Defense is now tired and broke and throwing rocks at Obama is the failure to take responsibility for almost killing the real conservatives. When we are now supposed to look up at Sarah Palin and Beck that is crazy. I hope Newt makes a run for President at least he understands policy and not childish Tea Party nonsense. 昨天, 10:28:11– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理說讚的人
Brandon Miller Adam Smith Doubtless Klein is happier with an Obama administration that has already allowed two successful domestic terror attacks (Little Rock and Fort Hood) and two near misses due to luck (Detroit and NYC) in less than two years in contrast to the focused Bush record of zero such attacks in seven years. Doubtless Klein is happier with the dithering of Obama on the Afghanistan surge that had our military twisting in the wind for several extra months allowing the enemy to prepare than the resolve of Bush to endure personal vilification and launch a successful surge. Klein like all liberals is a complete hypocrite. 昨天, 8:32:34– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Brandon Miller If you consider Little Rock and Fort Hood to be successful terror attacks under Obama, then you have to consider D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammed (and Lee Boyd Malvo) who killed a dozen or two people in late 2002 (and were convicted of terrorism), as well as the anthrax attacks of late 2001 that killed half a dozen people. Then there's the third jet plane that crashed into a building in New York City in 2001. Al Quaeda took responsibility for that, which the U.S. official word calls it the second-most deadly airline disaster in U.S. history, even though Canadian intelligence interrogated a suspect who gave them detailed evidence linking the alleged perpetrator to 9/11 conspirators. When did the Canadians do this? August 2004, when slightly more than half the country and much of the media were too busy re-electing Bush because he would keep us safer than John Kerry.And if you consider Obama's wish to carefully consider all options and devise a strategy in Afghanistan was "dithering", what phrase would you describe the fact that Bush pulled most of our troops (but not all) out of there six years earlier and never really gave it another thought? Was there no wind in Afghanistan during all that time? Not to neo-cons like yourself. For people like you, Republicans and their policies exist in a vacuum (the only place that ideology works), while Democrats exist in the mythology you make up about liberals that has you throwing all the failures of all the world at their feet. How about the way we put troops in to Iraq, but not enough, then declared "Mission Accomplished", then pulled back, then let both places get progressively worse until he FINALLY had the surge in Iraq (but still didn't do much in Afghanistan).昨天, 17:58:42– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理說讚的人
NotFooledTX
Dennis M. Campbell Bush was a weak president, replaced by another one.昨天, 7:37:37– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Christopher T. Dubowicz BUSH should be used as a poster boy for keeping ABORTION ON DEMAND leagal. Just imagine if he 'WASN'T' around. What would have happened ??? ONLY GOD KNOWS ....................2 天前, 23:29:54– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理說讚的人
NotFooledTX
Danny Burnz If he wasn't there we would still be getting attacked by Al Queda, Clinton let us get attacked by them three times and you guys make him out to be a HERO!!!!昨天, 7:41:14– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Brandon Miller "Clinton let us get attacked by them three times"?!? Uh, you can't count the number of times we've been attacked by Al Quaeda since then because Bush's whole point was to put our soldiers in harm's way. I mean, argue we're getting more of them now than we were then, but don't suggest we haven't been attacked thousands of times since Bush took over, if overseas attacks on the military is your metric.昨天, 17:56:26– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Paul Botticelli It is very revealing that, in his own words, Mr. Bush felt his blood boil and he became infused with seeking revenge. My thoughts - and that of anyone I encountered that day - was more like, "Oh my God! What has happened to all those people! How can they be helped?"
That was followed by, "Who did this?" "How did they do it?" "What might happen next?" "How do we defend ourselves now?" Then, finally, "how do we strike back?"
If Mr. Bush was like the rest of us and he, in fact, did go through a similar retinue, it is not surprising that he feels he has to portray himself in a John Wayne type persona. That is the mark of George Bush that has stained his presidency: his sense of low self-worth is so palpable when he assumes his "cowboy mentality" because he thinks he has to do so. His inferiority complex has been enormously instrumental in his flawed decision making.2 天前, 21:33:51– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理說讚的人
NotFooledTX Brandon Miller And even at that, he didn't get Osama Bin Laden or leave Afghanistan in a strong and stable position as an ally. The way Bush abandoned Afghannistan, Iran has been giving them as much financial aid and currying as much favor as we. Bush played right into Iran's hand with that one.昨天, 17:52:44– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Mark Werfel TRUTH: ?
Family of Secrets: http://www.familyofsecrets.com/
Boss Adedoyin Reading the book "DECISION POINTS" By George W.Bush reflects how people in power can be so reckless with the lives and assets of a nation. Bush is a failure in all ramifications putting into cognizance how he pauperized a robust economy. 9/11,WMD,Gitmo are all issues that could have been averted.
However,I must commend him for his candor and acceptance of guilt.2 天前, 15:34:21– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Danny Burnz Maybe if Clinton had done his job there would have been no 9/11. Clinton, Kerry, and Gore all preached of the dangers of WMD in Iraq also. And where do you think we should house terrorist that attacked or killed you family or fellow country men?
Speaking of reckless, how about this socialist healthcare bill? Cap and tax that will make energy costs go up and kill jobs? Bowing and apoligizing to world leaders? Being ashamed of being the President of the GREATEST nation on earth?昨天, 7:46:19– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Brandon Miller We should house them in maximum-security Federal prisons like we do with hundreds of other terrorists and hundreds of other cold-blooded killers. That is, after all, the point of those places.
George W. Bush and Hank Paulson engaged Socialism to fix the world's financial system. When captialism truly runs amok, it's the only recourse. Insurance companies were killing more people than terrorists were.
Energy costs rising is the only thing that will make shifting to natural gas and renewable sources like solar and wind lucrative, and lucre is the only thing business cares about. So yes, again, when capitalism won't do the greater social good, you need to smack some sense into them by way of financial incentive. If solar were as widespread here as it is in Germany and Japan and China, it would actually become CHEAPER than oil is now. And oil is now subsidized by our government, as is coal and nuclear, so it's really not a paradigm shift to subsidize a safer, cleaner, cheaper, more democratic (small "d") energy source.
Obama isn't ashamed. We're the ones who should be ashamed, the way he's being treated despite all he is doing for us. We all gave Bush that first term without giving him a hard time on every last thing because we had become a nation at war and the country supports its president at a time of war. Well, newsflash, we're still at war, and his handling of Afghanistan is actually something most Republican lawmakers support him for. So how about you all chill out and take your own advice on how you treat a sitting president in a time of war when just about everything he's doing is CORRECTING a lousy course.昨天, 17:51:01– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Nic Ted Duplessis I apologize to white people, for Kanye West. Only a black rapper could have a war criminal, idiot, coke addict, rigged into office Halliburton/oil comp pawn like Bush accepting an apology from a citizen. Bush should be apologizing to us. Kanye west is not a La. Black and while he made a comment, he has done nothing to support blacks being jailed or blocked from returning to New Orleans by Bush, Jindal and Alberto Gonzales. Bush has killed hundreds of thousands of troops while attending fancy black tie events and making fun of not really finding any WMD’s in Iraq, to an audience of war profiteers who thought this mess was funny but yet Kanye West apologizes to him.
Even though Gov Bush of Texas laughed when a black handicapped man was dragged behind a truck by whites in Jasper, Texas, leave it to Kanye West to not know what the hell he is speaking of, when talking about Bush’s relationship to blacks. Kanye West is the type of black person that kept slavery going on for 500 years and I am sure it pisses white liberals off, who worked so hard to expose Bush but it pisses us off and makes us looks dumb at the same time. The only victim of Kanye West is us…the people.
2 天前, 13:46:40– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理 Brandon Miller It was a brilliant irony, wasn't it? Kanye West doesn't have any more intelligent people checking his lousy instincts than Bush did. Or maybe we're through the looking-glass and next it will be Max Cleland who apologizes to Bush. Or maybe it will be Mitch McConnell apologizing to Bush for asking him to rig his reelection in '06 by temporarily pulling some troops out of Iraq for him. I think Bush and West both have been on lithium.昨天, 17:40:56– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
patty jo bray Weary.2 天前, 12:58:26– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Nickname unavailable @Steve O
Well technically you are correct - the anthrax person was not caught. He committed suicide.
It was a USA based terrorist... (we have our share!)2 天前, 12:24:23– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Steve-O It was never proven that that guy was the anthrax terrorist. There is much doubt in fact that he was.....2 天前, 13:37:38– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理
Nickname unavailable I think you want dying. Either that or your rant is about dyeing wool socks2 天前, 12:21:30– 標記 – 喜歡 – 回覆 – 刪除 – 編輯 – 管理更多
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