Amen. He is what he is; a smart cookie.
Posted on 02/22/2005 7:33:39 AM PST by Flightdeck
"It's over!" Or: "Worlds are colliding! Unfastened is Pandora's box, and it heralds apocalyptic days of doom - the end of the Republican reign." Or even: "Hell hath no fury like Bush's unbridled tongue: Tapes of President Bush speaking unedited, uncoached and unchecked are loosed to do their bidding!"
This is what one would expect to hear from mortified Bush supporters after just such a bombshell announcement - the release of private presidential tapes.
From a president who has coined (and I use this word as disdainfully as possible) words such as "misunderestimate," "Hispanically," and "the Internets" in rehearsed stump speeches and - Heaven help us! - an actual presidential debate, news that The New York Times has heard nine hours of unabridged and unaided Bushspeak is surely a conservative dystopia.
Doug Wead, an author and former aide to George H.W. Bush, provided the Times this series of a dozen tapes which captured Bush's thoughts, ideas and candor on every issue from his faith and quasi-blemished past to Cabinet appointees and gay marriage.
The disaster that conservatives crossed fingers in hopes of avoiding never came, much to the chagrin of the circle-and-slash W. crowd. One relieved Free Republic blogger put it best: "Thank God... [Bush] is what he is, has been and will always be: himself."
This guy got it exactly right: Bush is always Bush. Just imagine the incrimination that would come from nine hours of off-the-cuff, "private" recordings between Clinton and a trusted friend. Remember the 18-minute mystery gap that "happened" into Nixon's secretly taped conversation with his chief of staff? Or what about Lyndon Johnson's confidential tape stash? For a president, secret tapes are about as damning as it gets. But, these tapes don't incriminate or condemn: Bush in private is Bush in public. He is himself.
I admit it: Having never met the president, I find it difficult at times to defend him or his thoughts (or lack thereof). And I can't trust the explications he or his press secretary or Cabinet members put forward to the public as guiltless, spin-free and veritable. Now, enter secret tapes.
No preparation, no politicking, no putting the best foot forward; if you want real, this is it. The tapes are full of Bush genuineness like misused words, a Texan patois and that occasionally braggart swagger. It's a complete package; Bush is always Bush, and that's inclusive of those idiosyncrasies that make him the object of vituperative, filthy mudslinging.
Here's a sampling of W., unplugged:
Speaking about prominent evangelical minister James Robison, Bush told Wead, "I think he wants me to attack homosexuals. [I told him], 'Look, James ... I'm not going to kick gays, because I'm a sinner. How can I differentiate sin?'" But he added, "Gay marriage, I am against that. Special rights, I am against that." Hardly anti-gay, yet consistent with his religious roots. (A bit of clarification on the motives behind a constitutional amendment.)
Though he's made mistakes, Bush is keenly aware that one of his duties is national role model: Bush told Wead about his past, "I wouldn't answer the marijuana questions. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I tried." In Bush's words, "Baby boomers have got to grow up and say, 'yeah, I may have done drugs,' but instead of admitting it, say to kids, 'don't do them.'" I doubt any ambitious politician's desire to conceal a past (shameful or not) is entirely altruistic; however, when the unguarded stance to which he defaults in private is setting a meritorious example, that's certainly a start. Let's assume Clinton and Gore initially denied marijuana use for the same reasons.
His faith brings balance and pushes him to be a better man: He lists five life-defining moments: "Accepting Christ. Marrying my wife. Having children. Running for governor. And listening to my mother." He said of his experiences as a Christian, "I've sinned, and I've learned." And, "I read the Bible daily. The Bible is pretty good about keeping your ego in check."
Many in conservative circles are harboring enough ire at Wead to sink an anchored ferry, insisting he released these tapes to get publicity. In his defense, Wead says he withheld the juiciest and most intimate bits of tape. (He incidentally has a new book, "The Raising of a President," available.)
These tapes do Bush more justice than a passel of fawning NewsMax stories. They are uncensored and true. They define the president's uncontrived, unpretentious staidness more than any biography ever will. Never have secret recordings of a president done anything but bring dishonorable ignominy and reprehension to the highest elected office. In these tapes, Bush is his himself when he didn't have to be.
But what did I expect? After all, Bush is Bush.
Rainey is a journalism junior
What do you mean "in another week?" They started it almost immediately.
My hat is off to Rove. Someday they will substitute "Prince Rove" for "Prince Machiavelli," so great is his reach and subterfuge. In his very presence, one should greet him thusly: "Blessings and peace, shock and awe, oh noble prince."
This sounds remarkably like what you said on ATRW, post 51, slightly paraphrased, of course. You're famous! Sort of.
I heard Billy Crystol do just that last night on Fox News. It is as predictable as the tides.
There was a female reporter on the Talking Heads segment of FOX News Sunday that said that, but I think she had her tongue in cheek. She was a temp replacement for one of the Lib reporters, so you never know.
Not to worry, there are already callers to talk radio insisting that this whole deal was cooked up by Dubya.
One relieved Free Republic [blogger??] put it best: "Thank God... [Bush] is what he is, has been and will always be: himself."
PING!!!!
Amen. He is what he is; a smart cookie.
Bush Tapes Not a Precursor to Armageddon
(FR mentioned)Excerpt:The disaster that conservatives crossed fingers in hopes of avoiding never came, much to the chagrin of the circle-and-slash W. crowd. One relieved Free Republic
bloggerposter put it best: "Thank God... [Bush] is what he is, has been and will always be: himself."
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.
He started with the premise that Bush supporters, when first learning there were secret tapes of Bush conversations, feared what would be on them.
I can honestly say I never did. Learning what they contained only showed my lack of concern was well placed. The only umbrage I took was Wead's deceit, which he proceeded to compound by issuing his various lies about why he taped and what the plans for their use was.
I think that theory is stupid and offensive.
Bush is not going to let his spokesman say the conversations were thought to be in confidence if they were in fact taped with his knowledge.
This theory has been crafted by the left to explain why Bush is the same in private as he is in public. They do not like how well the tapes reflect on him and so started spinning an alternate scenario much akin to the CBS attack.
Bush, instead of being the victim of treachery (in this case a "friend" secretly taping him, in CBS the presentation of fake documents) is re-cast as the architect of pulling one over on the hapless media.
The media then becomes the victim of the machiavellian Bush administration.
What a crock.
" Just imagine the incrimination that would come from nine hours of off-the-cuff, "private" recordings between Clinton and a trusted friend. "
Jesse Jackson was Clinton's spiritual advisor after Monica.
Imagine if Jesse had secretly taped Clinton.
And offered them to the NYT- I bet their existence would never have seen the light of day.
Which would probably be a good thing, as even a triple XXX rating would't have been a sufficient warning.
Bill Kristol was mocking the lefties.
He was being dry as dust. I saw it, too.
Thanks for the ping!
"No preparation, no politicking, no putting the best foot forward; if you want real, this is it."
That's why these tapes are a non-scandal.
The fact that the NYTimes had to pose the question is the best proof that there is nothing they could use to hurt Bush in any of the tapes.
I guess it it time to back to the TANG issue!! LOL!!
"I don't know who the Freeper is who is quoted."
Actually, he was quoting me and last time I checked I was still a "she." Perhaps he felt the name "Virginia Queen" implied I was another type of queen.
I've always figured this whole bogus tape thing was done in an effort to resurrect the ghost of Watergate (Hillary!s glory days)
Remember right after the election, the mass media talking heads were telling us over and over that Bush might not be so popular in his second term, hands tied, yada yada, reminding us that Watergate hit Nixon and Monicagate hit Clinton in their second terms
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