Inside the White House?
Aug 25th, 2005 at 9:54 am by Susie
This is from Capitol Hill Blue, whose reputation is more than a little shaky. But it’s fun to read, nonetheless - and it does have the ring of truth, doesn’t it?
While President George W. Bush travels around the country in a last-ditch effort to sell his Iraq war, White House aides scramble frantically behind the scenes to hide the dark mood of an increasingly angry leader who unleashes obscenity-filled outbursts at anyone who dares disagree with him.
“I’m not meeting with that goddamned bitch,� Bush screamed at aides who suggested he meet with Cindy Sheehan, the war-protesting mother whose son died in Iraq. “She can go to hell as far as I’m concerned!�
Bush, administration aides confide, frequently explodes into tirades over those who protest the war, calling them “motherfucking traitors.� He reportedly was so upset over Veterans of Foreign Wars members who wore “bullshit protectors� over their ears during his speech to their annual convention that he told aides to “tell those VFW assholes that I’ll never speak to them again is they can’t keep their members under control.�
White House insiders say Bush is growing increasingly bitter over mounting opposition to his war in Iraq. Polls show a vast majority of Americans now believe the war was a mistake and most doubt the President’s honesty.
“Who gives a flying fuck what the polls say,� he screamed at a recent strategy meeting. “I’m the President and I’ll do whatever I goddamned please. They don’t know shit.�
I’m betting this wasn’t a Karl Rove leak.
sounds like the chimp is in the sauce…can WWIII be far behind?
Just on the off-chance that any of this is true, we need to keep the pressure up. When is/are the next round of Cindy Sheehan vigils, etc.? (A topic for the Atrios convention?)
You are correct about Capitol Hill Blue. I received an email two weeks ago from Dr. Justin Frank (whose book is constantly cited by Capitol Hill Blue). Dr. Frank asked that the links from CHB not be forwarded.(the email was from a friend who had asked “can this be true?” and cc: Dr. Frank’s email.) And, said he has asked them (CHB) not to forward or use his book and name.
oh well! Believe me- I am predisposed to belive this about the Chimperor as well, but just wanted to mention this.
:o)
CHB has been saying the same thing for a couple of years at least. If it’s true, it hasn’t made a blip anywhere else.
Remembering how many similar stories were out there about Hilary and Bill, I wonder about the veracity.
Funny, but sounds bogus to me, and I love to think bad thoughts about President Chauncey Gardiner.
What’s not to believe??? This man is truly a sick puppy. Inadequate in his fathers eyes, no credibility within his own military status, (a true chicken hawk in every sence of the word) and with a mother like Babs. Well, Freud would have a field day with this one!
I think it’s the same sort of stuff Hunter S. Thompson used to write in “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail,” but I sure do enjoy it nonetheless.
How's that working for you?
Whether or not there is any real truth to the assertion that President Bush is a little testy these days, well, unless one of his aides cracks under the steady flow of obscenities, we'll never know. Still, it's entirely plausible and hilariou…
Has anyone ever vouched for the accuracy of anything that CHB says? I’ve never seen anything it published passed around without the sort of “first let me put on my lab gloves and then hand me some three foot tongs” disclaimer that SG gives it.
This article shows why. First, why is this sort of diagnosis by videotape any different from the quackery that Frist was guilty of? If it was wrong for Frist to do it, then why do we pay any attention when Dr. Frank (who appears to be distancing himself from CHB) does it?
Second, since when is having a short fuse prima facie evidence of anything? This process of labeling character defects as syndromes or disorders is pernicious stuff; take a look at the websites of those security consultants who list the ten warning signs of employee violence (employees who complain about their working conditions are terrorists-in-waiting according to some of these hacks) and you’ll see where this sort of pop psychology leads.
Third, assume for a moment that taking anti-depressants makes one unfit for office, which CHB seems to believe. If that were the standard, then what would we say about Lincoln, who went through episodes of very deep depression (if his own and his closest aides’ words are to be believed)? This sort of cheap shot is not only unsound, but the sort of superstition about medical and psychological issues that we should be trying to get beyond.
We all engage in pop psychology. I agree with the general thrust of the CHB article that Bush is insecure, shallow and a bully. But dressing this up as a medical/psychological diagnosis (and adding some very likely invented details about his reaction to the VFW convention) is just bullshit, just like those phony I.Q. tests. This sort of baloney may appeal to our sense that we are smarter than he is, but that sort of dismissive attitude has tripped up too many of his opponents, starting with Ann Richards.
About a week ago, I spoke with an old journalist friend, and Bush’s personality came up. He cited someone close to a member of the White House staff (the kitchen/housekeeping staff, not the political staff), who said that Bush’s regular-guy image was pure BS, and that he was aloof and uninterested in ordinary people, while Clinton would often come down to the kitchen when he was hungry and chew the fat with the help.
The only time these folks ever hear from Dubya is when he complains angrily about the food or service, which is often.
But hey, ever since he mocked Karla Tucker for pleading for her life, we knew that he was a contemptoble little shit, didn’t we?