Rising Hegemon
It would be nice to say that Bush grew in office — like Henry V, the wastrel youth and son of a famous father to whom he was often compared. But judging from this book, it didn’t happen. Although Bush is admirable for stopping, he probably was more fun when he drank.I have to say that I didn't expect that from Michael Kinsley.
More at the link.
6 comments:
Ouch.
Kinsley is going to get grief for that review.
But any grief he gets won't be as bad as the disease he's battling, a disease the might have been helped by the stem cell research that Bush killed.
more of that please.
There's been a lot of hagiography by comparison of the elder Bush, so, it needs to be reiterated frequently--George H.W. was an even bigger liar than his son (in part because he was better at it), just as much a patrician asshole, just as inclined to play dirty pool if it gained him an advantage, and just as dedicated to the Bush family motto: public service for private gain.
That Little Boots could be much, much worse than his father was never in doubt. That his father would come to be seen as some sort of elder statesman by comparison is an unfortunate consequence of the degree to which his son fucked up.
Mike's Neoliberalism has never been something that I could really embrace, but his absolute intolerance of cant and mendacity, and the razor wit he uses to puncture bloated reputations and egos, have always been his best features. I'm glad they're still in play.
Shorter Kinsley:
"G.W. Bush - idiot son of an asshole."
McCain himself summed it up best in a delightful quote to his wife from 2008:
"Fuck you! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!"
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