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The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)leads America

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The Book on Bush

"The Book on Bush" is a tough read, in more ways than one. Style-wise, it isn't as entertaining as "What Liberal Media," the book that turned me on to Eric Alterman, but I don't think that this book was written in an effort to draw people to the arguments it contains (which, I believe, "W.L.M?" was); I figure that Alterman and Green wrote it more as a political science report, and with (probably, liberal) policy junkies as an intended audience. The other way in which it is hard to read is that it is depressing.

That said, I think more people should read it. Particularly right-wing policy junkies.

It seems to go through all of the Bush policies that I can remember and details, a, what Bush claimed for each initiative, b, what Bush did to get the initiative enacted, c, what each initiative actually caused to be, and, d, how the Administration actually supported each initiative once enacted.

Like I said, pretty depressing (even for old-school conservatives, probably; the neo-cons never ran so wild when the old-school conservatives were in charge as they do now).

My guess is that a lot of people who reflexively support Bush will gripe about this book. Another guess of mine is that a lot of people who support Bush don't actually follow the policies of his administration that closely, and will assume that this book is written by Bush haters that will make stuff up to defend an ideological position. I understand that; most of the (monolithic?) right's most successful writers do that so often that, to them, it seems fair to assume that the left does the same thing.

As it happens, the (better) books (like this one) that come from the left are actually researched and (credibly) foot-noted. Which is to say, "Bush Lovers, read this at your own peril (and weep)."

The main thing I got from this book is the confidence to ask people who still support Bush as President the question "Why?" Whichever policy stance they claim as a reason to still like the guy, I'll be able to say "but don't you know, he actually told the Congress 'x' and then did 'y?'"

If you need thoughtful ammunition of this sort, buy this book; if you need a 'cheer me up, I'm depressed about where the country is currently going,' sort of book, you might skip this and re-read some Elmore Leonard (which won't help, either, but won't make your blues worse).

Of the spate of Bush-bashing books that have recently come out, this is clearly the best. Eric Alterman, who wrote the incisive What Liberal Media? The Truth about Bias and the News, and Mark Green, who has penned a number of other books on culture, economics, and politics, rise above the others through sheer thoroughness and a convincing literary style that transcends the merely journalistic.

Alterman and Green begin with an introduction entitled, "The Power of Audacity," which I think sums up the Bush strategy only too well. When Bush was faced with the prospect of lukewarm support for his longing to invade Iraq, he simply came up with the Big Lie. Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction that he is planning to use against the United States, and he is in cahoots with Al Qaeda in planning further terrorist attacks. It has been said that if you're going to tell a lie you might as well tell a big one. Bush may even be aware of this quote from the author of Mein Kampf: "The great masses of people...will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one."

The authors go on to show where George W. learned his audacity. From the Harken Energy insider trading that he got away with, to his irresponsible governorship of Texas, to his cozy relationship with Ken Lay at Enron (which he later denied), to his campaign prevarications about never using the US military for nation building or the No Child Left Behind rhetoric that he failed to support with adequate funding, etc., etc., we are treated to a kind of true crime thriller in which the bad guy is a sort of hail fellow well met (on the wagon of course), a good ole boy who steals from the poor and gives to the rich.

Alterman and Green have chapters on Bush's "Deja Vu-doo Economics," highlighting his anti-environmental energy policies while he thumbs his nose at pollution control and the development of renewable energy sources. There is information on what the authors call Bush's "large portfolio of antiscience policies." (p. 147) Indeed, as I write this, scores of senators and congressmen are petitioning the president to allow increased stem cell research in an effort to fight Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other scourges of humankind. But Bush continues to play a kind of reincarnation of the ignorant William Jennings Bryan who thought he had defeated "the infidels of evolution at the Scopes Trail of 1925." Also highlighted is the fact that, although the scientific evidence is overwhelming as glaciers melt around the world, Bush continues to deny that the case for global warming has been made and has called for more studies, effectively ignoring the problem.

The authors however don't think that George W. is quite as dumb and self-deceptive as many others believe. They write "we think him dumb like a fox." Nonetheless they charge that "George W. Bush entered office with less understanding of American history and the world than probably any twentieth-century predecessor." Add that to Bush's appalling lack of scientific knowledge and his dismal ignorance about other peoples and other cultures, and we have one of the most ignorant men ever to occupy the White House. Perhaps the double-edged nature of the real George W. Bush can be summed up with these ironic words from neocon strategist Richard Perle, "The first time I met Bush 43, I knew he was different...One, he didn't know very much. The other was that he had the confidence to ask questions that revealed he didn't know very much." (p. 3)

All these stupidities and prevarications are explored in full, and more, leaving us to wonder how we got into this mess in the first place. Blame the Supreme Court (and by extension, the previous presidents, especially Reagan and Bush 41 who appointed those justices)? Or blame the media for being too cowardly to expose Bush's lies on the campaign trail? Or blame a semi-educated electorate? Personally I blame the nature of the electoral process in which TV and other advertising can swing an election toward the candidate with the most money.

And what about the consequences of having this guy in office? The really terrible thing about George W. Bush is that he has so often taken the position that truth in politics is the way to go, that he would bring honesty and integrity to a White House soiled by the presence of a philanderer; yet the truth is that the one shameful lie that Clinton told caused no one to die, while the lies of George W. Bush have (at last count) caused over 800 American soldiers to die in Iraq, with thousands injured, to say nothing of tens of thousands of Iraqi dead. And for what? To provide Al Qaeda with a $200-billion recruiting poster?

In other words, not only has George W. Bush mislead the American people, he has caused grievous harm in the process. The massive treasury giveaway to his corporate buddies is something we and our children will pay for again and again over the next couple of decades. The loss of international prestige we suffer because of his misuse of American power and his disregard for the welfare of others is something we will all have to live with for years to come.

It is too bad that the startling information in this book will reach only a very small percentage of the electorate. One hopes, however, that enough of it will trickle down so that the most mendacious president in our history--perhaps even topping Richard Milhouse Nixon in premeditated lies--will be shown the door come November, 2004.

Another good read in a similar vein is The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception (2003) by David Corn.

Alterman and Green have put all the reasons to vote President Bush out of office in one place. A lot of it you probably know, but even though I thought I kept up on politics, the authors continually surprised me with outrages that had flown below the radar of both the mainstream and alternative media.

Honestly, it can be a little overwhelming and depressing to read in such great detail what the Bush administration has done to this country. Alterman and Green don't write as well as Molly Ivins (who does?) and they aren't funny like Al Franken. Nevertheless, the research that has gone into this is exhaustive. It really is THE book on Bush. Every voter ought to read it.

If you are only going to read one book about George W. Bush's didoes in the Oval Office, this concise, superbly documented volume is the one for you. If you've already kept up to date on this administration, from sources across the political spectrum from far-left to far-right, "The Book on Bush" is still well worth your attention.

Dr. Alterman and Mr. Green are two of the most astute, informed, and readable observers of contemporary politics. All of their books rank high with me. But as this year winds down to the November elections, this book is a must for anyone--of any political persuasion--who votes with a concerned eye to the future of this nation.

And for the knee-jerk one-star semi-literate "reviewers" who most likely haven't read the book, well, just because the truth hurts doesn't mean it's not true.

Takes a little effort to read. Leaves you in a depressed mood. Well documented. Depicts the action after the words. Should be required reading for those who think it makes no difference who you vote for because they think the outcome is always the same.

Mark Green is a leading authority on the subject of big money's influence on politics. He collaborates in this timely work with Eric Alterman, an authority on how that influence operates in lockstep with the media, to promote a favorable right wing agenda.

This is a book that is intensively researched and, far from what could be termed a nifty hit piece, it is intstead a reflective work in which Bush policies are critically examined from the standpoint of their disastrous impact on America. The authors begin with a look at the swaggering manner of George W. Bush and his compatriots, and how this blustery air of bravado has been used as a pretext of selling a "no nonsense" view on government and a "we're in command" presence that is all puff and no substantive reality.

Some of the crucial issues covered are:

1) Environmental and energy policies along with the Texas oil connection of Bush-Cheney and their administration are carefully explored;

2) An economic policy which,ironically, is a seemingly mirrored reflection of the Reagan concepts which George W. Bush Senior once called "voodoo economics," the idea that we can grow our way into prosperity with no residual debt impact through massive tax cuts geared toward the wealthy;

3) The way that Bush skirts around the subject of ethics in the business community by resorting to amnesia in the case of Kenneth Lay and shifty avoidance in other areas;

4) The Patriot Act and all of its tragic ramifications for democracy is another vital area covered; how Bush and Ashcroft used 9-11 to invade American basic freedoms under the guise of necessary protective action;

5) How Bush has energetically pushed privatization in the health care field while making it appear that he fully supports the system, revealing the close connection between pharmaceutical companies and the administration.

Two seasoned professionals have amassed massive research and exercised their critical talents to present a meticulous but broadly-based attack on Bush and his politics. It comes at a critical point during a watershed election that will ultimately decide the future of America.

What I love about The Book on Bush is that it gathers the whole story in one place. I think I have read all the recent books on Bush, but if I had to recommend one to a Republican friend who is suddenly feeling very queasy, this would be it.

While paper airplanes fly overhead re: the case Bush, in the considerable literature exposing the administration, this collation of data takes the issues to a more detailed level and puts substance behind the charges with a detailed reckoning citing particulars from the budget to the war on Iraq. Good backup for the books of Franken, Corn, et al. at the crucial point where the election cycle is starting to take off.

Of all the books out there taking much needed critical slams at the Bush Administration, THE BOOK ON BUSH by Eric Alterman and Mark J. Green is probably the only one any curious reader really needs to buy. Although there is really no new information on view, the book fully yet concisely documents all of the scandals and outrages that have so thoroughly appalled this nation. While quite a few of those other titles are certainly informative in their own right, virtually everything of importance regarding the Bush/Cheney/Rove nightmare is covered here.

Alterman's previous tome was the superb WHAT LIBERAL MEDIA?, which beautifully and definitively debunked the ludicrous myth of the existence of a liberal-biased media (a myth created and perpetuated by Right Wing ideologues). In that book, Alterman refused to indulge in the inane name-calling invective that so often mars many similar works, and that same tact is utilized here. The authors present their carefully researched facts in a rational and articulate manner. They back up their anti-Dubya stance with such an avalanche of evidence as to make it impossible for any reasonable person to even attempt to argue with them. THE BOOK ON BUSH is a superbly documented and highly readable source of information that will become increasingly important as a reference work the closer it gets to Election Day.

Well researched. Powerful indictment of a runaway administration. Recommended. Pay attention to the Doctor Moore review. Notice how each attack he makes on the book and its writers redound to a fair assessment of his own blindness. He is one of many examples of how the dangerous memes of right wing thought transmit their infections; even one paragraph of this kind of propaganda would take many pages to clear up and realign with reality. That's why attention must be paid, because his viral thinking is epidemic.