George W Bush on Christian fundamentalists: 'those whackos'

The Telegraph ^ | 5/6/2009 | Damian Thompson

[markomalley]

I've always suspected that George W Bush wasn't really a big fan of Christian fundamentalists: he's an evangelical with Catholic leanings, not a Bible-basher. Now my suspicions have been confirmed by a new book about the worldwide religious revival called God is Back by the Economist's John Mickelthwait and Adrian Wooldridge.

What did Bush really think of Bible-bashers?

In the 2000 campaign, they report, Bush was visiting the Boeing Plant in Washington State when he was asked whether his enthusiasm for free trade with China might cost him the Christian vote. The reporter who asked him the question was from a hotbed of fundamentalism in Texas.

Bush: "You only think that because you live around those whackos."

Those whackos, eh? It's a good job the Democrats didn't broadcast that quote in Florida, where if a few hundred whackos has stayed at home we would have been landed with President Gore.

[markomalley]

I haven't read the book so I don't know if the quote was there or not or if this was in context or not. I further don't know if the authors of the book give an accurate reflection of Bush's words or not.

Have any of you read this book and would be able to say if Damian Thompson (the blogger who reports this) accurately reported what was written there?

If it is accurately reported, though, and accurately written about in that book, it provides an interesting insight.

I couldn't find this quote elsewhere on the web outside of the context of this story; however, Bush did visit the Boeing Plant on 5 May 2000 and trade with China was discussed.

[Doogle]

couldn't find this quote elsewhere on the web outside of the context of this story

..with the hatred of the MSM over the last ten years with GWB, you'd think it would have 23,000 hits on Google

[outinyellowdogcountry]

I don’t buy it.

[ken21]

ditto.

[markomalley]

..with the hatred of the MSM over the last ten years with GWB, you'd think it would have 23,000 hits on Google

I agree.

Having said that, Damian usually is a pretty good reporter / blogger...on the conservative side (as far as Brits go, at least), so I'll try to get to the local bookstore today sometime, in order to look for it and its context in this book.

[wombtotomb]

That was my first thought; A trip to Barnes and Noble is in order.

[RGSpincich]

Who was the reporter and where did he live? Lotta whackos out there Christian or otherwise.

[GreyMountainReagan]

“I don’t buy it.”

---

Me neither. Bush was, and wasn’t, a lot of things but he even spoke graciously about liberals.

Probably whoever wrote it misheard, lied or misunderstood. If Bush responds now it will just accoplish what the left wants. Discourd amoung the right.

The first lie generally wins.

[markomalley]

I didn’t really picture GWB as having especially “Catholic” leanings (other than on abortion / ESCR issues ... which, at least, shouldn’t be an exclusively Catholic issue)

[DocRock]

The only way I would believe this is if Pres. Bush was talking about Fred Phelps and his ilk.

[silverleaf]

I don’t buy it- out of character for GWB, unless said in a way mocking the reporter’s concerns (GW had a dry sense of humor that was used against him) and then used as a straight statement by the reporter to score agenda points.

I hate journalists. And I used to want to be one.

[WoodstockCat]

I have to dispute this account based on a first hand conversation with my pastor who was a W friend.

[CAluvdubya]

Yeah right...Bush is in the middle of a campaign for President and he calls any group of people "wackos" for the news to report about. Sure thing, that makes sense all right...not.

What's the matter, did someone get tired of bashing Palin?

[wombtotomb]

Very true.

[Grampa Dave]

We will have a decade or more of so called comments by GW behind closed doors or supposedly in private to sell books and articles to those stricken with Bush hatred syndrome.

[1rudeboy]

ROVE!!!

[ottbmare]

There is probably no group whose members can’t look around and find another bunch who are a bit further out and can be thought of as “those whackos.” Even the whackos in my community who think there are demons in my house because I have Waterford crystal vases consider the snake-handling churches in West Virginia to be whackos.

Bush’s comment may well have been made in jest, with Bush’s customary lack of verbal dexterity confusing what was intended as a teasing joke. Who among us hasn’t said something that misfired slightly? If every word you said was recorded or taken down, then analyzed and parsed, you might be found to have said something inappropriate or tactless, too.

[SaraJohnson]

I beleive it could happen. He is a Bush. His brother is out there right now taking swipes at Christians with McCain and his dad could barely stand Christians. This is a family that is into the global governance and unity b.s. Christians are against that in a big way. The Bushes are wealthy and worldly. Run of the mill Christians are not a part of that private world.

W was better with Christians politically for a Rino and tended to keep his promises to Christians. He was angry when Christians killed his Supreme Court plans for Myers...and nominating her was a broken promise to conservative Christians.

[King Moonracer]

I bet Bush was thinking about David Koresh types. Wacko could have been Waco. He saved the Clymer comments for the ... Clymers.

[reformedliberal]

Please explain what is thought to be demonic about Waterford?????

I have a house full of figural antique glass and (gasp) Papuan artifacts personally collected by us in the 1970s. I have very dear and close charismatic Christian friends and have had many traditional Christians in my home over the past 35 years. Only one JW ever even looked askance at them and even that person, an employee, never said a word or refused to work here. The Amish who have been here have either said nothing or asked intelligent questions, especially about the glass.

To bring this back to the topic, there was a concerted effort by the DBM to divide W from the Christian base throughout the second term, especially. I can’t ever take one thing those people write or say on face value without hours, if not weeks, of research.