Decision Points
George W. Bush's memoir entitled Decision Points was released on Tuesday. No I haven't read it yet, but I probably will. I was curious as to how it's been received so far, so I decided to cut and paste some reviews below.
1. David Kitchen of Huntington News:
In his surprisingly readable book, which is amply illustrated with black and white and color photographs, the 43rd president divides his "decision points" into fourteen categories, starting with one he considers to be the most important one of all, quitting drinking in 1986 at the age of 40. Absent this decision, Bush doubts that he would have become a two-term Texas governor and he definitely wouldn't have served two terms as president. On Page 25 he provides for the first time details of the DUI on the Labor Day weekend of 1976 in Kennebunkport, Maine, when he was arrested by local policeman Calvin Bridges who thought it odd that Bush was driving about ten miles a hour with two wheels up on the curb. The revelation of his arrest during the 2000 campaign cost him at least 2 million votes, he estimates.
I can hear those opposed to Bush retort that they wished he had continued drinking and not made it to the White House, but even Americans who voted for his opponents can learn from reading "Decision Points." For the record, the fourteen "Decision Points" chapters in the book are: Quitting, Running, Personnel, Stem Cells, Day of Fire, War Footing, Afghanistan, Iraq, Leading, Katrina, Lazarus Effect, The Surge, Freedom Agenda, Financial Crisis, and a brief Epilogue. Bush says he has his father's eyes and his mother's mouth, alluding to Barbara Pierce Bush's often sharp tongue and tendency to show anger quickly. Fortunately, he writes that he inherited his sense of humor from both parents; the book has anecdotes aplenty with Bush deprecating his real or imagined faults, including his tendency to make bloopers that provided fodder for his critics. The online magazine Slate called them "Bushisms."
But, seriously, folks, most of "Decision Points" is serious business, with Bush readily admitting, for instance, that instead of flying over Louisiana, he should have flown to Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, during Katrina, just as Lyndon Johnson visited Louisiana during a hurricane that struck the state during his administration. Bush says (Page 310) that the administration's response "was not only flawed...but unacceptable. The problem was not that I made the wrong decision. It was that I took too long to decide."
Of course, he has few good words for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. When he met them aboard Air Force One at the New Orleans Airport (Page 308) in the aftermath of flooding in New Orleans and asks "Who's in charge of security in New Orleans?" Blanco and Nagin point fingers at each other. He says his "heck of a job, Brownie" comment to FEMA Director Michael Brown was another error that was taken out of context. In fact, he writes, "Brownie" had done a great job managing the agency in 2004, the year before Katrina, when three major hurricanes slammed into Florida. There was more than enough blame to go around on the federal, state and local level, he writes.
Bush explains that the "Mission Accomplished" banner that served as a backdrop for him on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln was placed by his staff to honor the crew of the ship after their long deployment. (Page 257). It was a serious mistake, he admits, for him to appear with the banner behind him when the Iraq war was still in its early stages.
2. Ashby Jones, the Wall Street Journal
In his book, reports Greenberg, Bush slings “a few arrows at conservatives” who opposed his Miers choice. He says they were condescending and elitist and still appears annoyed by the backlash to her nomination.
“While I know Harriet would have made a fine justice, I didn’t think enough about how the selection would be perceived by others,” Bush writes. “I put my friend in an impossible situation. If I had to do it over again, I would not have thrown Harriet to the wolves of Washington.”
Bush discloses other nuggets, like that he wanted to nominate a woman to replace O’Connor, and says he narrowed it down to Miers and federal appeals court judge Priscilla Owen. But he concluded Owen, who was filibustered when he nominated her to the appeals court, would have trouble getting confirmed.
“What that shows,” writes Crawford, “is just how close Sam Alito came to never being Justice Alito. If Mr. Bush had opted for the fight over Owen, she probably would have been confirmed, and she would be on the Supreme Court today instead of Alito. Instead he tapped Miers, watched her nomination go up in flames, and then turned to the sure bet in Alito.”
3. Holly Bailey, Yahoo News
In "Decision Points," set to hit shelves Tuesday, the former president takes dead aim at McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, which he implies was run very badly.
Among other things, Bush questions why McCain, his rival for the 2000 GOP nomination, didn't better capitalize politically on the '08 financial crisis. As Politico's James Hohmann reports, Bush writes that he was puzzled by McCain's handling of the crisis, which included suspending his campaign and calling for a White House meeting on a proposed rescue package.
[Related: President Bush calls Kanye West's 'black people' comments 'disgusting']
"I thought the financial crisis gave John his best change to mount a comeback," Bush writes. "In periods of crisis, voters value experience and judgment over youth and charisma. By handling the challenge in a statesmanlike way, John could make a case he was the better candidate for the times."
Bush says he asked McCain to hold off on a meeting, citing concerns that it might jeopardize talks between congressional negotiators and then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. But Bush says McCain ignored his appeals--and thereby handed Obama an opportunity to describe him as "erratic."
At the subsequent meeting, Obama's "calm demeanor" and willingness to work through gridlock impressed Bush and his aides, according to the book. But when it came time for McCain to talk, Bush says, the Arizona senator had nothing to say. "I was puzzled," Bush says in the book. "He had called for this meeting. I assumed he would come prepared to outline a way to get the bill passed."
Bush also questions why McCain didn't ask him to campaign for him. Even though Bush's poll ratings were low, Bush thinks he could have helped with the GOP base. "I was confident I could have helped him make his case," Bush writes. "But the decision was his. I was disappointed I couldn't do more to help him."
I'll reserve judgement on it until I read it. In the meantime, if anyone does read it, I'd love to get your impressions of it.
1. David Kitchen of Huntington News:
In his surprisingly readable book, which is amply illustrated with black and white and color photographs, the 43rd president divides his "decision points" into fourteen categories, starting with one he considers to be the most important one of all, quitting drinking in 1986 at the age of 40. Absent this decision, Bush doubts that he would have become a two-term Texas governor and he definitely wouldn't have served two terms as president. On Page 25 he provides for the first time details of the DUI on the Labor Day weekend of 1976 in Kennebunkport, Maine, when he was arrested by local policeman Calvin Bridges who thought it odd that Bush was driving about ten miles a hour with two wheels up on the curb. The revelation of his arrest during the 2000 campaign cost him at least 2 million votes, he estimates.
I can hear those opposed to Bush retort that they wished he had continued drinking and not made it to the White House, but even Americans who voted for his opponents can learn from reading "Decision Points." For the record, the fourteen "Decision Points" chapters in the book are: Quitting, Running, Personnel, Stem Cells, Day of Fire, War Footing, Afghanistan, Iraq, Leading, Katrina, Lazarus Effect, The Surge, Freedom Agenda, Financial Crisis, and a brief Epilogue. Bush says he has his father's eyes and his mother's mouth, alluding to Barbara Pierce Bush's often sharp tongue and tendency to show anger quickly. Fortunately, he writes that he inherited his sense of humor from both parents; the book has anecdotes aplenty with Bush deprecating his real or imagined faults, including his tendency to make bloopers that provided fodder for his critics. The online magazine Slate called them "Bushisms."
But, seriously, folks, most of "Decision Points" is serious business, with Bush readily admitting, for instance, that instead of flying over Louisiana, he should have flown to Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, during Katrina, just as Lyndon Johnson visited Louisiana during a hurricane that struck the state during his administration. Bush says (Page 310) that the administration's response "was not only flawed...but unacceptable. The problem was not that I made the wrong decision. It was that I took too long to decide."
Of course, he has few good words for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. When he met them aboard Air Force One at the New Orleans Airport (Page 308) in the aftermath of flooding in New Orleans and asks "Who's in charge of security in New Orleans?" Blanco and Nagin point fingers at each other. He says his "heck of a job, Brownie" comment to FEMA Director Michael Brown was another error that was taken out of context. In fact, he writes, "Brownie" had done a great job managing the agency in 2004, the year before Katrina, when three major hurricanes slammed into Florida. There was more than enough blame to go around on the federal, state and local level, he writes.
Bush explains that the "Mission Accomplished" banner that served as a backdrop for him on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln was placed by his staff to honor the crew of the ship after their long deployment. (Page 257). It was a serious mistake, he admits, for him to appear with the banner behind him when the Iraq war was still in its early stages.
2. Ashby Jones, the Wall Street Journal
In his book, reports Greenberg, Bush slings “a few arrows at conservatives” who opposed his Miers choice. He says they were condescending and elitist and still appears annoyed by the backlash to her nomination.
“While I know Harriet would have made a fine justice, I didn’t think enough about how the selection would be perceived by others,” Bush writes. “I put my friend in an impossible situation. If I had to do it over again, I would not have thrown Harriet to the wolves of Washington.”
Bush discloses other nuggets, like that he wanted to nominate a woman to replace O’Connor, and says he narrowed it down to Miers and federal appeals court judge Priscilla Owen. But he concluded Owen, who was filibustered when he nominated her to the appeals court, would have trouble getting confirmed.
“What that shows,” writes Crawford, “is just how close Sam Alito came to never being Justice Alito. If Mr. Bush had opted for the fight over Owen, she probably would have been confirmed, and she would be on the Supreme Court today instead of Alito. Instead he tapped Miers, watched her nomination go up in flames, and then turned to the sure bet in Alito.”
3. Holly Bailey, Yahoo News
In "Decision Points," set to hit shelves Tuesday, the former president takes dead aim at McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, which he implies was run very badly.
Among other things, Bush questions why McCain, his rival for the 2000 GOP nomination, didn't better capitalize politically on the '08 financial crisis. As Politico's James Hohmann reports, Bush writes that he was puzzled by McCain's handling of the crisis, which included suspending his campaign and calling for a White House meeting on a proposed rescue package.
[Related: President Bush calls Kanye West's 'black people' comments 'disgusting']
"I thought the financial crisis gave John his best change to mount a comeback," Bush writes. "In periods of crisis, voters value experience and judgment over youth and charisma. By handling the challenge in a statesmanlike way, John could make a case he was the better candidate for the times."
Bush says he asked McCain to hold off on a meeting, citing concerns that it might jeopardize talks between congressional negotiators and then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. But Bush says McCain ignored his appeals--and thereby handed Obama an opportunity to describe him as "erratic."
At the subsequent meeting, Obama's "calm demeanor" and willingness to work through gridlock impressed Bush and his aides, according to the book. But when it came time for McCain to talk, Bush says, the Arizona senator had nothing to say. "I was puzzled," Bush says in the book. "He had called for this meeting. I assumed he would come prepared to outline a way to get the bill passed."
Bush also questions why McCain didn't ask him to campaign for him. Even though Bush's poll ratings were low, Bush thinks he could have helped with the GOP base. "I was confident I could have helped him make his case," Bush writes. "But the decision was his. I was disappointed I couldn't do more to help him."
I'll reserve judgement on it until I read it. In the meantime, if anyone does read it, I'd love to get your impressions of it.