DECISION POINTS II
By William Urban
George W. Bush’s memoir is typical of presidential memoirs, being part a reflection on the events of recent years, partly to persuade historians to think better of what he was trying to do, and partly to raise some pocket change. The latter point is interesting — he was paid less than Bill Clinton for his memoirs, but Decision Points sold better.
This success came as a surprise to those who still liked him in 2010 as well as to those who hated him. Reviewers generally liked the book, even those who had disliked the man’s policies; many remarked on his lack of rancor (he expressed dislike of only a few people, very prominently Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder of Germany) and his engaging anecdotes. Those who disliked him are way out on the Left, now busy accusing President Obama of not having lived up to his promises of Hope and Change. It’s hard to imagine pleasing those folks short of applying a North Korean solution to America and perhaps the entire world. That is, no guns, no Bibles, no troublesome Constitution. Jail for some, and diets for all. No TV except MSNBC and Al Jazeera. Maybe not even that.
As noted above, George Bush wasted no time fretting about his enemies. They were everywhere, they were vicious, and they were supported by much of the media. Attorney General Holder seems to have forgotten about this when he complained that no president has ever been abused like Barack Obama has been. Bush mentions the accusations of being an alcoholic and taking drugs (“when I was young and stupid, I was young and stupid”). The criticisms would probably have been even meaner if his predecessor had not said that he didn’t inhale and his successor had not been in the Choom Gang in high school.
One major difference between the last three presidents is that Bush had a solid family life, with great love and respect all around. Barbara Bush was the center of family life — outspoken, supporting, and funny. Still, she did not push her son to adopt the religious beliefs that come across so forcefully in this memoir. His religion is often forgotten by critics who see him as the representative of wealth and power, unless it is just more proof of his stupidity. However that might be, he is clearly a child of Midland, Texas, out on the western plains. He went on to attend elite eastern schools, but he never lost his drawl or his cowboy walk. He read constantly — and not just coloring books. (after all, he married a librarian) and he was good company, both before and after he quit drinking,
He relied on Laura for a steadying hand. Mrs Kerry once said that Laura never had a job she knew of, after she grew up, but George Bush does not comment on that or the accusations that Laura was a Stepford wife — that is, she a robot programmed to be the perfect help-mate, but having no soul or independent thoughts or interests.
He is very generous to the people he worked with, defending those who were criticized by the press and the Democrats, and even praising many Democrats. Harry Reid is the great exception. He does not call Reid a snake, but a West Texas boy has strong feelings about creatures which lie in the reeds, waiting for a rabbit to come by.
It’s best, therefore, not to be a rabbit. It bothered Bush that for years critics said that he was merely a tool of other, more capable politicians. Consequently, he goes out of his way to describe episodes where he disagreed with his supposed puppet-masters. This was nowhere clearer than on the surge in Iraq. The Democrats wanted a pull out — Biden wanted to divide the country into three parts, Reid declared the war was lost — and Republicans were not much better. The military was frustrated, many senior generals recommending a withdrawal. But Bush took time to think, to consult and to read. From articles by junior officers he concluded that the policy of withdrawing combat troops so quickly had been a mistake, but that just sending them back to do the same job over again would be an even greater error. What he needed a whole new military strategy. Instead of trying to lessen the “footprint” that could be seen as an occupation, the additional troops would be placed right in Iraqi towns and villages, working with Iraqi forces and offering protection. Despite Democrat predictions of a disaster, the surge worked.
There is no lack of books detailing the inner workings of the administration. Bob Woodward was given free range of the White House to produce his books. Bush could have said that this was one of his major mistakes. I see it as a tendency to think well of people whom he should have mistrusted, much as happened with his first meetings with Vladimir Putin.
He was similarly surprised several times, not having been informed by his staff, the party leaders and especially not by his vice-president, all of whom were supposed to alert him to potential problems. He does not dwell on this, which is a weakness of the book. He is just too much a nice guy, one who did not like to criticize people and who trusted them too much.
He could have read more newspapers, but since the media had decided he was improperly elected and besides that was an idiot, it might have driven him to drink. He agonized over the war casualties, but he knew what would happen if he ignored Osama bin Laden’s attack or Saddam Hussein’s threats.
This book will probably not change many opinions. Presidential memoirs don’t do that. But this one is at least small enough to read quickly, and it is organized in a way that allows readers to concentrate on what is most interesting.
Opinions about George W. Bush are changing except among those who cannot forget the 2000 election and those who now think Barack Obama is a war criminal). One sign of this reassessment is the email going around of a smiling George Bush with the caption, “Miss Me Yet?”’
Review Atlas (June 12, 2014), 4.
