That was so good, I had to reprint it in its entirety...for those who wish to know the truth about the man who may indeed become the 43rd President of the United States of America, here it is...as an aside, can anyone name the band who wrote Fortunate Son?
The Man Can Speak For Himself:
A few choice quotes from Fortunate Son
"You f'ing son of a bitch. I saw what you wrote. We're not going to forget this."
-George W. Bush to writer and editor Al Hunt, 1988 (very presidential !)
"You know I could run for governor but I'm basically a media creation. I've never done anything. I've worked for my dad. I worked in the oil business. But that's not the kind of profile you have to have to get elected to public office."
-George W. Bush, 1989
"If we have to use smoke and mirrors to give the impression that Bush is not what a lot of people think he is, then we'll do whatever it takes."
-Bush Presidential Strategist/Advisor, 1999
"As my daughter said, "Hey Dad, you're not nearly as cool as they think you are."
-George W. Bush, 1999
The following is a selection of some of the data from the new edition of
Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President:
AntiSemitism
In 1967, young George W. Bush abruptly called off his engagement to Cathryn Lee Wolfman. Friends close to the family blamed this sudden change of heart on Bush family pressure and disapproval of the prospective fiancee's Jewish stepfather. Although representatives from the Bush family later denied antiSemitism, in 1993, Bush as Texas Governor told the Houston Chronicle that he believed there was no place in heaven for anyone who did not accept Jesus Christ as his "personal savior." In 1998, before departing on a high-profile trip to the Middle East, Bush sophomorically joked with U.S. reporters that the first thing he would say to his hosts in Israel would be that they were all "going to hell."
Draft-Dodging
Although many draft-age Americans thought the war in Vietnam was unjust, George W. Bush's draft-dodging used his social status and backroom deals. Although the waiting lists for alternative service in the National Guard were over 100,000 names long, Houston oilman Sidney A. Adger contacted Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes for a special intercession on behalf of young Bush. George W. was admitted instantly into the Texas Air National Guard and was promoted to officer in an unprecedented few months, bypassing the required 23 month officer candidate programs. Bush flew the F-102 aircraft, which was being phased out of service at the time. Despite his claims to the contrary today, there was never any chance Bush would ever see action in Vietnam.
The 1972 Coke Arrest
Although the following information has received the most controversial reception thus far, it is only part of the larger pattern exhibited by Fortunate Son. This biography establishes that George W. Bush has never been required to play by the rules, not just in 1972. Upon finishing the first draft of Fortunate Son, J.H. Hatfield was bothered by the incongruous break in the pattern of young G.W. Bush's life. In 1972, Bush "volunteered" to work with inner-city Houston youth at the community center Project P.U.L.L. Hatfield began to suspect that the service wasn't voluntary, but court-ordered. This was confirmed by three sources who had the same story: Bush was arrested for cocaine possession but his father, Congressman George Bush, worked out a backroom deal with a friendly judge.
This information was first brought up by online journal Salon, where the community center was named as the "Martin Luther King Community Center." Bush campaign spokesman Scott McClellan responded to Salon's story with a firm, "We do not dignify false rumors and innuendoes with a response." After more research, Hatfield phoned McClellan and asked if it was Project P.U.L.L. where Bush performed "court-ordered community service." McClellan's response was a sudden, almost inaudible "Oh shit." followed by a, "No comment."
An interesting footnote to the 1972 allegations: Bush acquired a new driver's license from the Texas DMV in 1995 when a survey of his public records uncovered a "stale but nevertheless incriminating trail" of a past arrest.
BCCI Oil Money
The first of many G.W. Bush business ventures eventually bailed out or liquidated before bankruptcy was his oil company Arbusto Energy. In 1977, Bush received a $50,000 investment from James R. Bath, a Houston businessman who "made his fortune by investing money for [Sheikh Kalid bin] Mahfouz and another BCCI-connected Saudi, Sheikh bin Laden" according to Time correspondents Jonathan Beaty and S.C. Gwynne. Of special note is that Sheikh bin Laden is widely believed to be the father of Osama bin Laden, terrorist bomber of two U.S. embassies in 1998.
Bath, who had no funds of his own, is believed to have acted as the American representative for Saudi Arabian sheikhs who, as Hatfield describes it, used "their enormous financial resources to influence U.S. policy." As son of the recent director of the CIA, G.W. Bush and his oil startup were a perfect opportunity to buy influence. Ironically, it was with money allegedly tied to the family of Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden.
Campaign Trail Tricks
In 1988 Bush Junior joined his father's Presidential campaign. Fighting accusations that the candidate was "a wimp," G.W. Bush and spin doctor Lee Atwater ruthlessly brought the campaign into the modern age of dirty politics. G.W. Bush funnelled money to "independent" conservative groups who aired the racist Willie Horton ads which scared voters into thinking Dukakis was weak on crime, by exploiting the image of a rough-looking black man.
Bush coached his father to dodge his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal by counter-accusing anchorman Dan Rather of unprofessional behavior relating to the broadcast of an unrelated tennis tournament. Fearing that evangelist Pat Robertson was beginning to gain momentum, Bush scuttled Robertson's campaign by first leaking the news of Robertson's fellow evangelist Jimmy Swaggart's marital infidelity. Near the the end of the '88 race, Time magazine was left to wonder how unprecedented it was that "attacks on an opponent" could become "the primary target of a presidential campaign."
Four years later, using the similar tactics, Bush defeated the flamboyant, popular Texas incumbent Ann Richards in his own 1992 race for Governor. Recalling Willie Horton, Bush's first television campaign featured images of a women being grabbed at gun-point and other graphic crime scenes, with a voice over-accusing Governor Richards of being soft on crime. Although these ads were criticized as "scare tactics" they were the start of a campaign rife with personal attacks and manipulative television. When Governor Richards asked why all the businesses Bush had been a Director at since 1979 had lost a total of $371 million, Bush countered with a televised, hurt plea to not engage in "personal attacks." Even Republican political strategist Matt Broyles recognized, "It was sanctimonious for the Bush campaign to run six weeks of television commercials attacking the governor's record in office and then get outraged when she examined his business background."
Upon winning the Governorship of Texas, Bush became known for a casual, friendly style, often spontaneously visiting his fellow lawmakers in Austin. However, this single baby-boomer-style element of his legacy is overshadowed by the results of "compassionate conservatism:" a ravaged environment, growing disparity between rich and poor, Texas style cronyism, property tax reform that benefitted landlords and ignored tenants, diminished popular rights to abortion, legalization of concealed handguns despite protest from law enforcement, and finally, a stubborn refusal to approve Hate Crimes laws even after the brutal murder of James Byrd by three Texas racists in Jasper.
Bush is described in Fortunate Son as being politically to the right of his father. His lack of real compassion planned a nuclear waste dump 5 miles away from the poor, Hispanic town of Sierra Blanca. Rather than grant clemency to born-again death-row inmate Karla Fay Tucker, Bush waited until the last possible moment before grand-standing in the media spotlight and again refusing to reconsider, despite the pleas of prominent religious leaders.
With 54 pages of source notes, Hatfield's book is a researched, precision-cut account. It balances Bush the likeable fellow with Bush the politician America needs to get to know better. |
