Dez Reviews George W. Bush's book, Decision Points

As much history as I have read, I've never picked up a former president's memoir. I don't know why, perhaps I assume it will be a less than candid assessment of his term, trying to paint it in the most positive light as possible. But I was quite interested when I heard that George W. Bush wrote his. He had been either so villified or so defended. (The knee jerk hatred of anything Bush always bothered me, as does the same knee jerk reactions to Obama today. Bush could have cured world hunger, and people would have still hated him. I am reminded of a quote from the ever quotable LBJ, "I could walk on water and people would complain that I can't swim.") Bush was often painted as a shallow thinker and he definitely did not come across as an articulate speaker when he had to deviate from a written speech. I guess I was just very interested in what this guy had to say.

First off, I like the way he organized his book. As the title suggests, he made each chapter center around a particular (or series of related) decision(s) that he had to make as president. (The first chapter is pre-presidency, and focuses on his born again Christian experience after being an alcoholic, which is crucial in understanding how he operates, but the rest of the book is all about his eight years in office). Although I read it cover to cover, one could feasibly pick it up and flip to the "Katrina" chapter or the "Surge" chapter and focus just on that issue. In the intro, he describes the presidency as a series of crucial decisions, and I like how he decided to make the book reflect that.


ABOVE: "I'm the The Decider"

The stress of the presidency must be overwhelming (although he never wallows in self pity, which he could have, being hit by 9/11 and Katrina in the same presidency just doesn't seem fair). As I was reading, I thought to myself that each of these individual issues would be intense enough to deal with, but then imagine many of these issues that are divided into nice chapters here were actually occurring simultaneously and overlapping. No wonder Clinton, W. and now Obama all seem to substantially age before our eyes as their presidency unfolds.

The first thing that struck me is that this guy really is thoughtful and articulate when given the chance to reflect and choose his words. Yes, I know he probably had some help and a good editor, but so has every other president who wrote a book. This book does seem to have W's authentic voice. I'm no big W. fan, I think he made some big mistakes while in office. But I wanted to read this because I wanted to understand his own reasoning behind the decisions that he did make. I came away with a much deeper respect for the man, even though I still disagree with him on certain issues. He thoroughly explains why he did what he did, he admits mistakes in many places, talks about how in hindsight he wishes he had done some things differently, but also defends his decisions very well. Of course, it is all his side of things and there is nobody here to present the counterarguments. But that is the privilege of writing a book, isn't it?



One of the things that I enjoyed was that W. pulled no punches when assessing other politicians or foreign leaders. He rips baffoon Howard Dean ("I really wanted him to be my opponent in 2004") and almost any French leader he meets. I love this story about one of his many encounters with Russia's Vladimir Putin: "On his visit to Camp David, I introduced Putin to our Scottish Terrier, Barney. He wasn't very impressed. On my next visit to Russia, Vladimir asked if I wanted to meet his dog, Koni. Sure, I said. As we walked the birch-lined grounds of his dacha, a big black Labrador came charging across the lawn. With a twinkle in his eye, Valdimir said, 'bigger, stronger, and faster than Barney.' I later told the story to my friend, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada. 'You're lucky he only showed you his dog.'" Funny story, but he goes on to explain how that story was very instructive to him on Putin's dangerous competitive pride, personality and desire to make Russia powerful and great again. Most accounts of W., even unfavorable ones, admit that he has considerable personal charm one on one. W. makes a point that "personal diplomacy" was very important to him. When there was a problem with a foreign leader, he would often "clear the room" of handlers and assistants, and talk one on one to settle problems.

The 9/11 chapter is quite riveting, as you might imagine. He goes through the entire day in great detail, hour by hour. Bush has often stated that 9/11 shaped his entire presidency. He describes those first famous moments when he was reading to children in a Florida school and Andy Card whispered the news. (You know, the moment that Michael Moore obsessed over in his Farenheit 9/11 "documentary"). Bush describes how he didn't want to just get up and walk out in a panic, how he was using those moments to collect his thoughts and emotions. And it is visceral, because while he was the president, he was also an American and a citizen of this country that had just been attacked in such a cowardly fashion. "My blood was boiling. We were going to find out who did this and kick their ass."



I was especially interested on the 'Katrina' chapter. My opinion was, and remains after reading it, that mistakes were make at all levels, local, state and federal. But I did not realize how much blame needed to be laid at the feet of then Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco. W. describes how frustrated he was in those first few days when he literally begged indecisive Governor Blanco to request that the federal government take over. Constitutionally, the feds can't take over a state emergency unless the governor of that state requests it. The only way around that is if the president declares the state or locality "in rebellion." Bush talks about how he considered doing that, but he rightfully points out the possible consequences of a white male president declaring a largely African-American population "in rebellion" in a Southern state with a female governor. W. does admit that he made some crucial mistakes during the crisis, but a lot of the blame falls on Blanco and Mayor Ray 'School Bus' Nagin. (W. seems particularly sensitive about Kanye West's infamous "Bush hates black people" comment on the telethon, as he spends over a page venting about it and defending his record on race relations).

I could go on with other examples, but suffice it to say that this book is an excellent read and Bush does an admirable job explaining his thought process on almost every major issue that confronted him. From stem cells to the financial meltdown, from Iraq to Afghanistan to taxes, he covers the bases. His chapter on the AIDS initiative that he pushed through to help Africa (and a funny summit with Bono) was especially interesting, and one that all Bush-haters should read. It is not talked about very much, but Bush pushed hard for the most sweeping AIDS assistance in world history. Thousands, if not millions, in Africa were directly saved by Bush's efforts. That should be commended.



I recall when I was writing my Presidential Rankings posts, some readers asked why I did not include W. I commented, and Bush says the same thing in the book, that he cannot be judged for at least several decades. That is true of any president, but especially this one. His decisions in Iraq and Afghanistan are far reaching, and they will change the Middle East in future decades, for better or for worse. We cannot know for some time. I do know that this book will be an important historical document for future generations to study, as Bush lays out exactly what he was thinking and why he did what he did. I like his closing thoughts too, expecially where he is talking about retirement and walking his dog as his dog does his business on a neighbor's lawn: "There I was, the former President of the United States, with a plastic bag on my hand, picking up that which I had been dodging for the past eight years."

**** out of *****