Shrub : The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush [Paperback]

Molly Ivins (Author), Lou Dubose (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2000 | Series: Vintage

When it comes to reporting on politics, nobody does it smarter or funnier than bestselling author Molly Ivins. In Shrub, Ivins focuses her Texas-size smarts on the biggest politician in her home state: George Walker Bush, or "Shrub," as Ivins has nicknamed Bush the Younger.
        
A candidate of vague speeches and an ambiguous platform, Bush leads the pack of GOP 2000 presidential hopefuls; "Dubya" could very well be our next president. What voters need now is an original, smart, and accessible analysis of Bush--one that leaves the "youthful indiscretions" to the tabloids and gets to the heart of his policies and motivations. Ivins is the perfect woman for the job.
        
With her trademark wit and down-home wisdom, Molly Ivins shares three pieces of advice on judging a politician: "The first is to look at the record. The second is to look at the record. And third, look at the record." In this book, Ivins takes a good, hard look at the record of the man who could be the leader of the free world. Beginning with his post-college military career, Ivins tracks Dubya's winding, sometimes unlikely path from a failed congressional bid to a two-term governorship. Bush has made plenty of friends and supporters along the way, including Texas oil barons, evangelist Billy Graham, and co-investors in the Texas Rangers baseball team. "You would have to work at it to dislike the man," she writes. But for all of Bush's likeability, Ivins points to a disconcerting lack of political passion from this ascending presidential candidate. In her words, "If you think his daddy had trouble with 'the vision thing,' wait till you meet this one."
        
Witty, trenchant, and on target, Ivins gives a singularly perceptive and entertaining analysis of George W. Bush. To head to the voting booth without it would be downright un-American.

From Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush

"        The past is prologue in politics. If a politician is left, right, weak, strong, given to the waffle or the flip-flop, or, as sometimes happens, an able soul who performs well under pressure, all that will be in the record."

 ¸         Bush's welfare record: "Texas pols like to 'git tuff' on crime, welfare, commies, and other bad stuff. Bush proposed to git tuff on welfare recipients by ending the allowance for each additional child--which in Texas is $38 a month."

 ¸         Bush and the Christian right: "Bush has learned to dance with the Christian right. It has been interesting and amusing to watch the process. Interesting because it's sometimes hard to tell who's leading and who's following; amusing because when a scion of Old Yankee money gets together with a televangelist with too much Elvis, the result is swell entertainment."

 ¸         Bush's environmental record: Since Governor Bush's election, Texas air quality has been rated the worst in the nation, leading all fifty states in overall toxic releases, recognized carcinogens in the air, cancer risk, and ten other categories of pollutants.

 ¸         Bush's military career: "Bush was promoted as the Texas Air National Guard's anti-drug poster boy, one of life's little ironies given the difficulty he has had answering cocaine questions all these years later. 'George Walker Bush is one member of the younger generation who doesn't get his kicks from pot or hashish or speed,' reads a Guard press release of 1970. 'Oh, he gets high, all right, but not from narcotics.'"


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Youthful political reporters are always told there are three ways to judge a politician," write Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose in Shrub. "The first is to look at the record. The second is to look at the record. And third, look at the record." The record under scrutiny in this brief, informative book belongs to one George W. Bush--dubbed "Shrub" by Ivins--governor of Texas and 2000 presidential hopeful. These two veteran journalists know how politics are played in Texas and they've done their homework, writing a comprehensive examination of Bush's professional and political life that's a lively read, to boot. And if the title alone doesn't convey their particular slant, perhaps the following caveat from the introduction will: "If, at the end of this short book, you find W. Bush's political résumé a little light, don't blame us. There's really not much there. We have been looking for six years."

Beginning with his admission to the Texas National Guard during the Vietnam War (where he bypassed a waiting list of about 100,000), the authors go on to deconstruct his losing congressional bid, his failed career as an oil executive, and his role as managing partner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, revealing how he was helped every step of the way by wealthy and influential friends of the family. Ever popular, Dubya has always been good at rounding up powerful players to bankroll a variety of ventures, including political campaigns. For this reason, explain the authors, along with his lineage and social status, Bush's primary allegiance is to the business community. While his speeches may deal with the "entertainment issues" of "God, guns, and gays," Bush is a "wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America," they write. They further point out that Texas ranks near the bottom of the nation in terms of a number of social categories, such as poverty, health insurance for children, and pollution, spearing the governor for his less-than-compassionate conservatism.

Shrub is not a complete Bush whacking, though. The authors laud the governor's record on education, in which he has managed to raise standards, push local control of schools, and launch a successful reading campaign. They also cite his wooing of the Hispanic vote and his ability to bridge the gap between the Christian right and the economic conservatives within the Republican party as evidence of true political acumen, though they maintain he lacks a penchant for actual governing: "From the record, it appears that he doesn't know much, doesn't do much and doesn't care much about governing." Bush has admitted that he dislikes reading, particularly about policy issues, and that he hates meetings and briefings, causing the authors to wonder, "The puzzle of Bush is why someone with so little interest in or attention for policy, for making government work, would want the job of president, or even governor."

Love him or leave him, Shrub leaves much to consider about the man who would be president. And it can be read in about a day. --Shawn Carkonen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Colorful, popular and very Texan syndicated columnist Ivins (Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?) takes on Republican front-runner "Dubya" Bush in this short, informative, fun and obviously partisan political biography. The book is designed to make liberal readers laugh (and vote) and to make moderates change their minds. Behind the down-home style and tasty jokes, Ivins and DuBose (who edits the Texas Observer) lay out plenty of well-documented dirt on GWB's career--though it isn't nose candy they're after: instead, the authors make a case that the affable governor has climbed ladders, traded favors, bent rules and enriched himself, without doing much for the people he governs. W.'s oil ventures "lost more than $2 million of other people's money," netted him $840,000 and tied him to international banking scandals, say the authors. Former Texas governor Ann Richards, plus settlements from tobacco litigation, they say, brought the state the fiscal well-being for which W. takes credit. The authors claim that he's spent his own term repaying political favors, "protect[ing] major air polluters," ending successful drug treatment programs, hurting the working poor and executing the mentally retarded. For Ivins and DuBose, "Dubya's" real accomplishments--besides his last name--lie in his sense of political timing and positioning: while his views make him "a CEO's wet dream," his manner, his often-touted religious beliefs and his savvy advisers help him appeal to "gay-bashing gun-toters" too. Ivins combines a liberal worldview, a sense of the ridiculous and a just-folks delivery--and enough work like hers might just derail the Bush train. But don't bet on it: "This guy is not just lucky: if they tried to hang him, the rope would break." First serial to Time magazine. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Vintage Books ed edition (October 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375757147
• ISBN-13: 978-0375757143
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (137 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #576,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Bush, George

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

213 of 237 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading for both voters and talking heads, February 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (Hardcover)

One of the things that so often distinguishes Molly Ivins from her D.C. counterparts is that she consistently recognizes that the public OUT there is not necessarily the public DOWN there. In Shrub, her latest opus, Ivins takes a good hard look at the record of Texas governor George W. Bush. Her painstaking assesment of the often Byzantine politics of "The Greatest State" and Bush's ascension to the Governor's office provides readers with a view of the candidate rarely glimpsed in other organs of the media. From land deals to environmental policy and from welfare reform to tort reform, the book examines both the games and the players in Bush's rise to national prominence. The hard facts about Bush's military service and his dealings within the world of Texas oil are reason enough to read the book. They are also proof that the truth is far often more interesting (and amusing) than even the most bizarre fiction. Ivins been nominated at least twice for the Pulitzer Prize. Read Shrub and see why.

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opener, March 5, 2000

By 

Scott Swift (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (Hardcover)

I had never heard of Molly Ivans before reading Shrub. I thank her for this quick, easy to follow, read. I received her book compliments of a pal who questioned my voting for Gov. Bush. I began reading with total skepticism but eventually accepted that I voted in total ignorance (not the first time unfortunately). I urge anyone who is truly seeking to be an informed voter to purchase this book. IT SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR ALL VOTERS. You'll quickly see through the rhetoric you've heard in television ads and shake your head in wonder. Given that this man was handed the baton to be our next leader, I'm terribly offended that we haven't heard more about his coattail accomplishments and seedy record, especially where children and lawsuits are concerned. Now when I hear him or one of his allies say "tort reform" I scream at the TV! Clinton is an embarrassment but even he hasn't been personally bailed out by the taxpayers. Yet. God help this country!

69 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading for all voters, September 4, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (Hardcover)

Political columnist Molly Ivins is well-known as a "liberal gadfly" in Texas, and so it's hardly surprising that her political biography of George W. Bush paints an unrelentingly unflattering picture of Dubya. However, in critiquing the accomplishments (or lack of same) of George the Younger, Ivins writes with grace and wit, and without undue rancor toward her political opponent. She lets the facts speak for themselves. The result is a highly readable, entertaining, and yet clearly disturbing book. How is it possible that someone so eminently unqualified can be so close to becoming the next President of the United States?

The story Ivins tells is one that is a damning indictment of the current U.S. political system. George W. Bush was hand-picked by monied corporate interests some time ago to be groomed as a potential "capitalist tool," a figurehead politician who will do their bidding unquestionably while possessing the personality traits essential to appealing to a broad spectrum of voters. It's the stuff out of which bad Hollywood movies are made, and yet it's real. Consequently, although there is much wry humor in Ivins' narrative regarding how this ne'er-do-well, pampered inheritor of the Bush political legacy, the story she weaves is also frightening.

What I found particularly disturbing was Bush's indifference toward the natural environment. His lack of commitment to protecting the health of Texans from pollution is incredible. Given the high level of support that Americans overall have expressed for strong environmental laws, this issue alone ought to be sufficient to disqualify Dubya from the presidency.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to get beyond the network tv blather and the high-powered campaign ads (from both sides, actually) in order to take a real look at what George W. Bush actually has accomplished in his political life. Even for those who might share his conservative philosophy, his lack of real experience and accomplishments ought to give them pause.

Finally: it's interesting that the principal criticism that offended Bush devotees have mustered toward this book (and sometimes I question whether they actually read it before expressing their hostility) is that after all, everyone KNOWS that Ivins is a liberal whacko, etc., so what she writes has no real credibility. This demonstrates that when the facts are in order and cannot be denied, the only viable avenue of attack is *ad hominem* verbiage directed toward the author. Scary!