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I Survived the Bush Presidency
David Kuo served as special assistant to President Bush and the Deputy Director of the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. He later accused President Bush of reneging on “compassionate conservatism” and manipulating Christian voters.
There's still this certain measure of disbelief that things could have turned out as poorly as they did. Obviously, [Bush] comes off a wickedly divided election and gives a widely heralded inaugural speech, one of the best of the 21st century. There's this sense of this man with this momentum and guiding ethos and it's just like it evaporates.
As with most train wrecks, there's this part of the brain that says, “This can't be happening, there has to be this other explanation.” But then the rational part of the mind says there is no explanation. The truth is that the people of the administration are guided by no particular agenda other than the continued expansion of their own power for the sake of owning power. There's no fundamental reason for governing. They're not trying to accomplish something. I guess that’s what happens when you're not fundamentally grounded. It's Gertrude Stein: "There was no there there."
Zig Engelmann is the author of The Pet Goat, the book President Bush was reading with schoolchildren when he was first informed of the 9/11 attacks. He continued reading for several minutes before being escorted away by aides. Osama Bin Laden later brought up the book while mocking Bush in a videotape.
I wrote this story that they were reading during 9/11 and I've really hated to be associated with that kind of publicity, but there it was. That's what they were reading in the Booker Elementary School when he got news of 9/11. It was a horrible event and a horrible situation in terms of how Bush handled—or didn't handle—it. It struck me that, “Holy cow, what's our priority now—listening to kids read a book or doing something about this unbelievable disaster?"
There was a reporter who said to me, "Well, everyone gets 20 minutes in the spotlight, and this is your 20." Well, I don’t like the color of that spotlight one bit. Just being associated with it is ugly.
No one learned the price of crossing Bush more than former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. After being appointed to serve New Mexico by Bush, he was fired in 2006 after he refused to comply with the administration’s politicization of the office.
Given the fact that we live in a short attention-span culture, I think people will forget a lot of this. I just hope that the courts don’t forget. I hope that the career people [in the Justice Department] don’t forget. I am hopeful that the integrity will be restored. Trust will take longer.
We were fired over two years ago. The matter has been reported incorrectly as being over. It’s still not concluded. I am hoping that after the civil lawsuit it goes to Supreme Court and we get a favorable ruling that specifically limits the use of executive privilege because this administration used it willy-nilly way too often. The Constitution clearly describes three coequal branches of government, not an executive branch and two lesser ones.
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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I wonder why anyone would bother talking to Brownie. The only qualification he had for the job was he was one of GWB's loyal Texas toadies. "Your doing a heckuva job, Brownie." I happened to be watching CSPAN and heard that unforgettable comment. It demonstrated the higher premium Bush put on personal loyalty than simple competence. Brownie had been slinking shamefaced alongside George during the visit to some Katrina-ravaged city. Brownie knew. As for Chafee, voters finally figured why not put a real Denocrat in office rather than a spineless RINO and beneficiary of the new American tradition of political nepotism.
Without Bush, America would not be ready for the great changes we are about to undergo.His role was to lead us to the edge of the Great Abyss so that we could see the error of our ways. He was the penultimate straw straining America's back. He played his part.
http://www.SayGoodbyetoGeorge.com
The arrogance of Christopher Shays continues to amaze me. Never once have I read or heard anything from him that acknowledges that he had a role in his own downfall. What mattered to the people of Connecticut was not the percentage of times he voted with Bush, but the issues he chose to support. (Starting with his appalling position on Katrina.) Mr. Shays seemed to forget he was elected to represent the people of Connecticut and chose instead to pursue his own political agenda. Like most politicians who stay too long in Washington, he began to think he knew what was best for the people, and that he was irreplaceable. During the last election, he brushed aside questions as if he, too, were part of the Bush administration. A far cry from the man who went door to door on his bicycle to get elected.
There was a time that Mr. Shays might have been a moderate republican and he says he represented his district more than he supported bush; but, whenever I saw him in a hearing (via c-span) he was coming from wingnut country. I was glad to see him go and I don't even live in the land of Lieberman.
Not fair to put Zig Engelman in this group.He was my college professor and has done more to get disadvantaged kids to read than anyone.Just crappy luck that those kids had to be reading from his curriculum.
Douglas Feith is incorrect. The Iraq War IS based on a lie. Bush's cronies attempted time and time again to tie Saddam Hussein to 9/11, which was NOT true. They then kept insisting he had WMD, which could be used against the US and its allies, even after weapons inspectors said there was no proof of this. They used intelligence that was known by several intelligence agencies to be false to try and convince us of nefarious doings by the Iraqis.
It was all WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG. This war has claimed the lives of over 4,000 Americans, and God knows how many 100,00s of Iraqis (a fact hardly ever reported - why are American casualties more important than Iraqi civilians?). And TO WHAT END????
We have utterly decimated the deep and profound respect held for us for generations by countries around the world and plunged ourselves deeper and deeper into economic and humanitarian nightmares thanks to ignorant war mongering jackholes like Douglas Feith, Richard Cheney and George W. Bush. As my mother used to say GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH!
Brownie? Why would you interview the ultimate hack, Brownie? The guy then says, "I can think of times being in the car or in a meeting and actually having a good, fun time."
What? "a good fun time"?
What does this have to do with being an effective president, or, for that matter, a decent human being. Brownie, you're continuing to do a heck of a job. "...a good fun time"?!?!?! Does that include New Orleans in 2005?
Douglas Feith STILL doesn't get it. It wasn't just "poor PR" that turned Americans away from supporting the criminal invasion and occupation of Iraq; it was finding out that it was based entirely on falsehoods, cooked "intelligence", and mendacious scare tactics. It was knowing that our blood and treasure was wasted by an out of control group of ideological maniacs who would shake in their boots if they were ever in combat themselves. Feith has family, I suspect. How does he face them knowing who and what he is?
David Kuo: Bush "gives a widely heralded inaugural speech, one of the best of the 21st century."
Since the only two inaugural speeches in the 21st Century were given by Bushie, makes sense that his was "one of he best."
Feith's comment's epitomize why many people have had such a problem with the Bush administration -- the problem isn't the actual policies that were implemented they feel the real issue is that the 'spin' wasn't quite right (even Laura Bush, who is normally above the fray, said recently the reason we had a problem with Katrina was because of an inflated media report of how many people were affected .....not the incompetence that ensued?????)
Another issue that is often espoused regarding Bush is that well, gosh darn it, he is such a nice guy....you know he probably is a nice guy but frankly he was elected for the office of President of the US -- not 'America's Best Pal' so when his administration screwed up on issues such as the economy, the Iraq War, Katrina, etc, etc a reasonable retort is NOT -- "Well I know he made some pretty horrific decisions on that issue, but you know he really is a good guy....."
Finally, and really most importantly there is the total lack of accountability for anything that didn't go as planned...I'm sorry but this administration had no problem claiming victory in Iraq (can you say Mission Accomplished) but when things went badly it wasn't their fault -- it was that Americans weren't patriotic enough (maybe GWB should have had Cheney from poppy's regime on his staff -- you know the Cheney who told the US public the reason we could NOT go into Iraq was because we would not be able to get out easily.....Cheney does know that we currently don't destroy news footage from the 80's and 90's...????)
Bush somehow even claims credit for the fact there were no acts of terrorism during his watch (oh, except that pesky 9/11 thing) -- he couldn't be accountable for that!!
He has said that he feels no regret for anything he has done regarding the economy...in a recent interview he felt that it was something that happened 10 or so years ago that caused this...case closed.
If it was good, then it was because of him and if not, well.....
Anyone who supported the Bush administration and got burned can't be a victim... because they supported the Bush administration.
In all the scenes of malfeasance depicted in the HBO film Recount, the Brooks Brothers Riot was the one that made my blood boil the most. To hear that Roger Stone has had some sleepless nights over his participation in that shameful moment in our history actually makes me feel better somehow. I'm not happy for his suffering, but I am glad to hear some sense of awareness and the ramifications of participating in this 8-year nightmare. The soul-searching won't bring back all the human lives lost to the Bush administration's hubris, but it's a start.
Washed up liberal congressmen and losers making benign comments to denigrate GWB don't deserve much contemplation.
When the "A" team starts to write their memoirs, I'll pay closer attention.
What a bunch of cheap shots from The Beast.
I still love this Web site, though.
Fieth should be in jail awaiting trial for his role in this war. Instead, he is out yammering on. As for Stone, he is guilty and I hope that he does not find the relief that he seeks. Those who died and those they left behind deserve it.
Doug Feith is a neo con opportunist - just the kind of self-important people we do not need in DC anymore. And Roger Stone, give me a break - who cares what Black, Manafort, Stone or Kelly thinks - they make millions regardless of who is in office from foreign governmetns - they are modern day white collar mercenaries who only think of themselves. The notion that Stone cares about one kid killed in Iraq is a joke.
So Bush's first inaugural speech was one of the best of the twenty-first century was it, David? Good heavens--it was the first one of this century! And I'm sure it will be surpassed by a mile next week.
"There's still this certain measure of disbelief that things could have turned out as poorly as they did. Obviously, [Bush] comes off a wickedly divided election and gives a widely heralded inaugural speech, one of the best of the 21st century"
lol
thats like saying that A is the best first letter in the alphabet
doug feith needs to shut the hell up.
Thank you.
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