Posted on 09/15/2011 2:56:54 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
They still called him Junior when we first met, in forlorn Midland, Texas, back in July 1986. He was known then for being the son of the vice president of the United States, the agonizingly named George Herbert Walker Bush. As a young staff writer at The Washington Post Magazine, I was trying to persuade Vice President Bush to let me spend several months with him for an in-depth profile I intended to write. But the veep was skeptical, and he left it up to Junior to pass judgment on me and my request.
“Come on down and visit,” the man who would eventually be known to the world as President George W. Bush drawled cheerfully to me over the phone. “But I won’t tell you any good stuff until I’m sure you’re not going to do an ax job.”
So began a long and fascinating acquaintanceship with the man who would become one of the most admired and, later, reviled presidents in U. S. history. Over the next 25 years, our paths crossed again and again, most recently in his Dallas office last April. I had just read Bush’s 2010 memoir Decision Points, and I was struck by his many references to history. In the back of my mind was an article that Karl Rove had written for The Wall Street Journal in 2008, which revealed (much to the consternation of the president’s derisive critics) that Bush had read 186 books for pleasure in the preceding three years, consisting mostly of serious historical nonfiction. Intrigued, I asked Bush whether he would talk to me about how his passion for reading history had shaped his presidency and perspective, and he agreed.
When I sat down to write about that meeting, however, a different story emerged...
(Excerpt) Read more at theamericanscholar.org ...
Fascinating memoir. Go to the link and read the whole thing. You won’t be sorry.
mrkd
Fascinating indeed. I think you’ll like this.
bttt
Thanks for a great read.
I copied this sentence right away - and it was also referred to in the first comment:
“It baffles me that grown people must convince themselves that those with whom they disagree are stupid or malevolent.”
We should remember this when discussing the GOP candidates (and forget it in the General;)
Excellent, thanks for the post.
I loved this and am so glad I got to read it..This man could be called a true friend to our president he is so kind..I for one have always loved and trusted George W.Bush he is my favorite..I could sleep so good at night knowing he was in charge..I love you and Laura,Mr President..God Bless and keep you...
A great read, though long. I read half now and will finish later.
Thanks for posting this, I was going to do that but I was too lazy!
VERY GOOD READ!
A great read....and totally believable.
This an American, my fellow FReepers.
Thanks a bunch ....required reading for BDS sufferers
Obama is only where he is at because he is a “writer”
I do not think he wrote his books and he seems nothing like a writer to me ....and if he is a writer what is he reading?
Thanks for letting us know about this excellent article. Well worth clicking through to read the whole thing.
Thanks for the link. Great read.
Fantastic read - all of it. Thanks for posting this.
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