Free Republic

"... this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall gather 'round for a hug and a good cry." -The Gettysburg Address as it might have been delivered had Lincoln been less emotionally cold In Robert Draper's new book, Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush, the president admits to crying quite a bit -- mostly in private -- ever aware that the troops, not to mention the enemies of America, are watching him. In the past I heard people, from those on television to...

WASHINGTON --Under that famously self-confident exterior is a president who weeps - a lot. President Bush told the author of a new book on his presidency that "I try not to wear my worries on my sleeve" or show anything less than steadfastness in public, especially in a time of war. "I fully understand that the enemy watches me, the Iraqis are watching me, the troops watch me, and the people watch me," he said. Yet, he said, "I do tears." "I've got God's shoulder to cry on. And I cry a lot. I do a lot of crying in...

Karl Rove told George W. Bush before the 2000 election that it was a bad idea to name Richard B. Cheney as his running mate, and Rove later raised objections to the nomination of Harriet E. Miers to the Supreme Court, according to a new book on the Bush presidency. In "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George Bush," journalist Robert Draper writes that Rove told Bush he should not tap Cheney for the Republican ticket: "Selecting Daddy's top foreign-policy guru ran counter to message. It was worse than a safe pick -- it was needy." But Bush did not care...

The Skinny is Keach Hagey's take on the top news of the day and the best of the Internet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just whose brilliant idea was it to disband the Iraqi army? The former U.S. boss of Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, says President Bush knew about and supported his plans to dissolve Saddam's military, according to letters he released to the New York Times yesterday. Annoyed that Bush was quoted in a recent book as suggesting that he had gone a bit Rambo out in the desert, Bremer disclosed his spring 2003 correspondence with the president. The impetus for Bremer's action...

Looking to the day he leaves the White House, President Bush says he'll concentrate on making speeches and running an institute that promotes democracy around the world. He also admitted that he cries "a lot" on God's shoulder. Bush made the revelations to Robert Draper, for his book “Dead Certain,” which will be released on Tuesday.

September 2, 2007 In Book, Bush Peeks Ahead to His Legacy By JIM RUTENBERG WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 — When President Bush is asked what he plans to do when he leaves office, he often replies curtly: “I don’t have that much time to think beyond my presidency” or “I’m going to sprint to the finish.” But in an interview with a book author in the Oval Office one day last December, he daydreamed about the next phase of his life, when his time will be his own. First, Mr. Bush said, “I’ll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol’...