In 1972, according to J. H. Hatfield in his book 'Fortunate Son,' the 26-year-old George Bush was arrested for possession of cocaine in Houston; as Hatfield pointed out, a friendly judge erased the arrest and conviction from the public record.
True or false ? Take your pick.
At best, it's an example of how a boozing prodigal son can turn his life around. He's not the only one. To cite a minor example, after he underwent a religious awakening similar to Bush, Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye went from an alcohol-clouded life on Skid Row in Los Angeles to Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council and then president of the Navajo Nation.
Naturally, Bush gets somewhat upset when anyone cites the cocaine charge. This book cites an interview with Seth Mnookin of the magazine Brill's Content in which Bush said Hatfield was condemned ". . . . for writing the story." He didn't criticize Hatfield for getting the story wrong, for making it up, for not checking facts or for obvious malice -- he criticized him ". . . . for writing the story."
If nothing else, it shows Bush's sloppiness in his use of language. It is the major complaint against Bush, that he has an undisciplined sloppy approach to everything he does. After the attack on the World Trade Center, he announced a "crusade" against the Arabs -- using the one word, crusade, that is certain to stiffen Arab resistance. When he went to the Far East, he promised to look the Asian leaders directly in the eye -- using the precise image that is a challenge to a confrontation.
So, why was Bush elected ? After eight years of poll-driven Clinton decisions, the public didn't want a cerebral activist president. Bush was the only alternative, and in the fall of 2000 his sloppiness seemed charming and harmless. Yet, in times of crisis and tough decisions, this sloppiness causes trouble.
As this book points out, on page after page, Bush is clearly a real-life Forrest Gump elevated far beyond the realm of fuzzy warm feelings. In the movie, Gump was always a slightly befuddled observer at great events; in real life, consistently as this book points out, Bush is a tongue-tied fumbler at the heart of great events. It's not nearly as heart-warming as a typical American movie with its syrupy happy ending.
Bush's other fault, as the book makes clear, is his fundamentalist religious faith that reflects a cold righteousness that chills anyone who fails to accept his tenets. We are now in a war against terrorism, a war in which we need Christians, Jews and Muslims to join an ecumenical campaign against fundamentalist radicals who exploit religion for their own ends.
In 1775, Samuel Johnson noted "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." Today, based on the actions of religious extremists -- from people who blow up abortion clinics to those who fly aircraft into buildings -- Johnson would surely say "Religion is the last refuge of scoundrels."
Yet, the book isn't really an attack on Bush. The underlying question is whether our modern media, with its emphasis on amusing but meaningless trivia, makes it impossible for a serious candidate to succeed in politics.
This isn't a book about the last election, it's really about the next election. The Bush record, set out in verbatim detail, raises serious questions about a political system that allows a doofus such as Bush to be elected. Yet, it's only half the issue. Miller needs to write a similar book about Al Gore, who wasn't a beacon of terminological exactitude and visionary enlightenment.
In Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chretien draws criticism similar to Bush. In Great Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing similar scrutiny. Does the triviality of modern news reporting create a crisis of competent leadership -- or are other fundamental faults undermining the democratic idea? This book is an essential introduction to that debate.
Now, let the opinions rage. Out of it comes a stronger society.
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