The Price of Loyalty : George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill [BARGAIN PRICE] (Paperback)

~ (Author) "PAUL O'NEILL LOOKED UP from his legal pad and out the window of USAir Flight 991 from Pittsburgh as it made a panoramic descent into..." (more)
Key Phrases: withheld revenues, budgetary framework, energy task force, White House, United States, Social Security (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The George W. Bush White House, as described by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, is a world out of kilter. Policy decisions are determined not by careful weighing of an issue's complexities; rather, they're dictated by a cabal of ideologues and political advisors operating outside the view of top cabinet officials. The President is not a fully engaged administrator but an enigma who is, at best, guarded and poker-faced but at worst, uncurious, unintelligent, and a puppet of larger forces. O'Neill provided extensive documentation to journalist and author Suskind, including schedules with 7,630 entries and a set of 19,000 documents that featured memoranda to the President, thank-you notes, meeting minutes, and voluminous reports. The result, The Price of Loyalty, is a gripping look inside the meeting rooms, the in-boxes, and the minds of a famously guarded administration. Much of the book, as one might expect from the story of a Treasury Secretary, revolves around economics, but even those not normally enthused by tax code intricacies will be fascinated by the rapid-fire intellects of O'Neill and Fed chairman Alan Greenspan as they gather for regular power breakfasts. A good deal of the book is about the things that O'Neill never figures out. He knows there's something creepy going on with the administration's power structure, but he's never inside enough to know quite what it is. But while those sections are intriguing, other passages are simply revelatory: O'Neill asserts that Saddam Hussein was targeted for removal not in the 9/11 aftermath but soon after Bush took office. Paul O'Neill makes for an interesting protagonist. A vaunted economist from the days of Nixon and Ford, he returns to a Washington that's immeasurably more cutthroat. And while he appears almost naïvely academic initially, he emerges as someone determined to speak his mind even when it becomes apparent that such an approach spells his political doom. --John Moe --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Ward Just

The New York Observer

A first-rate piece of work....The best we're likely to have for some time....An intelligent and nuanced narrative.

The New York Times

An invaluable contribution both to the historical record and to the fierce public debate over the nature of the Bush administration's true views and motivations on issues of war and peace.

Business Week

Suskind is a smart writer....He deftly picks through some 19,000 documents and hours of interviews to open an often eye-popping window into the Bush White House.

The New York Review of Books

A detailed, deeply disturbing look at how the Bush administration makes policy.

Paul Krugman

The New York Times

An invaluable, scathing insider's picture of the Bush administration.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• ISBN-10: 0743255461
• ASIN: B0008EH6KA
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (327 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #823,482 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

237 of 253 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lord, can conservatives read at all? Or only spin?, January 14, 2004

By	Richard Wright (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill (Hardcover)

What stuns me with all the one-star reviews is the fact that they so clearly haven't read the book. This book isn't about Paul O'Neill: it is about the blind dedication of people inside the Bush White House to policies that are determined by politics and not by data and information. O'Neill emerges as someone who carefully sifts information, takes a naturally conservative approach to issues, and does not like to recommend any policy that is based on speculation or insufficient evidence.

The book shows that a number of White House insiders or heads of government institutions (notably Alan Greenspan at the Fed) are not very comfortable with the ideologues currently running the White House. Lost in a lot of the attention that O'Neill is getting is the fact that other White House folk have also spoken off record. Reading the book--and I generally find it is easier to talk about something you have actually read instead of something you merely make up in your head--it is pretty certain that Alan Greenspan was also interviewed for the book and is one of those who spoke off the record. I would also bet that Christine Todd Whitman, former head of the EPA (another one who wanted policy to be based on verified data), was another. It is absolutely definite that either Colin Powell or several members of the State Department (unquestionably with his blessing) cooperated in the making of the book. Possibly other nonideologues like Condileeza Rice or one of her aides talked with Suskind.

The mistake that many are making is assuming that O'Neill is merely doing this out of revenge. It is almost impossible to support that theory after reading the book.

I think the is one of the most important books that has been published in the past two years on any subject. The Bush White House has largely been an impenetrable bastion. Now we have a vivid picture of the inner workings of the White House as presented by multiple insiders, most speaking off the record because they are still working for Bush. But O'Neill and the massive amount of documentation he provided for Suskind has performed a huge public service. I don't think anyone should consider voting for George W. Bush in 2004 unless they have read this book first.

115 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent insider view on the White House, January 13, 2004

By	Gaetan Lion - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill (Hardcover)

Ron Suskind, thanks to Paul O'Neil, has written an excellent book giving us much insight on the inner workings of the White House. Suskind is a former Wall Street Journal writer. And, it shows. The substance of the book is dense with information and documentation. But, the prose is lively and easy to read.

According to the former Secretary of the Treasury, Bush and Cheney dominate the White House. Bush leads based on stubbornly held personal opinions, and Cheney executes the plans reflecting the President's opinions. Occasionally, Cheney feeds opinion to Bush when the latter has none to begin with. But, everyone else is just there to make a case for supporting these same opinions. Thus, most of the Presidential decisions are not well founded in objective intelligence.

Within this managerial climate, there is no room for intellectual debates, exchange of information, or even consensus building. It is pretty much Bush and Cheney's ways or the highway. Paul O'Neil, an intelligent, assertive, and independent thinker, did not fit within these parameters, and Cheney quickly showed him the next highway exit.

When Paul O'Neil was recruited as Secretary of the Treasury, he seemed to fit very well with the Administration. He fit perfectly the mold of the old guard intelligentia who had reached the top level in business, with also much government experience. He is definitely a conservative, pro business fellow. He seemed just another of the old boys. But, things did not turn out that way.

Paul O'Neil, an independent thinker, ended up clashing at every turn with the Administration. He is a conservative. But, that does not mean he is a unilateralist in foreign policy. Thus, he felt highly uncomfortable with the lack of strong international support for our invading Iraq.

On the domestic front, O'Neil felt very uncomfortable with the progressive dismantling of our strong fiscal position we had inherited from the Clinton White House. For him being conservative also means fiscally conservative. It does not mean unraveling the Federal government. O'Neil felt strongly that beyond the first tax cut that was necessary, the following rounds of tax cutes were dangerous as they created a rising structural budget deficit.

Finally, with his strong background in business and economics, he felt that the steel tariffs were totally unjustified and would trigger a rise in trade conflicts and unfruitful WTO trade negotiations.

If you objectively review O'Neil's positions, he is typically right. And, the Bush-Cheney team is not. Our level of unilateralism can easily be considered excessive. The rounds of tax cuts were much too deep and did create a rising structural deficit. Also, the steel tariffs did poison the WTO round at Cancun and the overall worldwide trading climate. Recently, under pressure of penalties from the WTO, Bush had to eliminate these same steel trade tariffs. The later did not achieve anything besides political embarrassment in the international arena.

Interestingly enough, the Bush-Cheney team has chosen not to address any of the issues raised by O'Neil. But, instead they are conducting an investigation on potential government information leaks. This is probably another effort to shut O'Neil's mouth once and for all. But, the jack is out of the box. Take advantage of it. This is a must read during this Presidential election year.

This book also nicely complements other related recent books such as Paul Krugman's 'The Great Unraveling' and David Cay Johnston 'Perfectly Legal.' Reading these three books will make you a much better informed voter regardless of your party's stripes.

74 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A blind man among deaf people? How true!, January 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill (Hardcover)

Considering how the economy has fallen down into the toilet and how this President fails to listen to anybody, I agree that he is like a blind man among deaf people.

Price of Loyalty by Paul O'Niel is very revealing and a must read for anyone who truely loves this country. Remember, O'Niel was an insider who personally witnessed many things that this adminstration would love to keep quiet.