Bob [tag]Woodward[/tag]’s “[tag]State of Denial[/tag]” notes that Gov. George W. [tag]Bush[/tag] was ready to run for president in 1998, but had a small problem: he didn’t know anything about foreign policy. Indeed, by his own admission, he’d lived five decades without having given it much thought.
Bush’s worried father, who does know a bit about international affairs, brought in Prince [tag]Bandar[/tag], the long-time Saudi ambassador to the United States, to help tutor the governor and would-be [tag]president[/tag] on what he needed to know.
One exchange from a tutoring session stands out today.
George W. pulled Bandar aside.
“Bandar, I guess you’re the best asshole who knows about the world. Explain to me one thing.”
“Governor, what is it?”
“Why should I care about [tag]North Korea[/tag]?”
Bandar said he didn’t really know. It was one of the few countries that he did not work on for King Fahd.
“I get these briefings on all parts of the world,” Bush said, “and everybody is talking to me about North Korea.”
“I’ll tell you what, Governor,” Bandar said. “One reason should make you care about North Korea.”
“All right, smart alek,” Bush said, “tell me.”
“The 38,000 American troops right on the border.” …”If nothing else counts, this counts. One shot across the border and you lose half these people immediately. You lose 15,000 Americans in a chemical or biological or even regular attack. The United State of America is at war instantly.”
“Hmmm,” Bush said. “I wish those assholes would put things just point-blank to me. I get half a book telling me about the history of North Korea.”
Apparently, policy experts were giving Bush briefing books filled with facts, history, and context — the kinds of things with which the leader of the free world might want to be familiar.
But didn’t care for this approach. He preferred to get a tutor from his Dad — Bush, with his unique charm, referred to the tutor as “asshole” — who would help him breeze past the details.
Digby, noting this anecdote in a post a few days ago, said:
I’m really beginning to resent all those people who say Bush really is smart, he’s just incurious. No. He’s clearly an idiot and an arrogant, immature idiot at that. He’s been manipulated by a bunch of wily, evil men with competing agendas creating lawlessness, chaos and incoherence in our government.
Over the last six years when we watched Bush shift uncomfortably and babble incomprehensibly in response to complicated questions, when we saw him lash out at anyone who dared to question his judgment or his authority, when we observed him humiliating those around him, we weren’t hallucinating and it wasn’t an act. This intellectually deficient, petulant man-child was exactly what he appeared to be — and his inept, arrogant administration is a perfect reflection of him.
What you see is what you get…. Honestly, when all the smoke has cleared (if it ever does) I think the overriding lesson we can take from all this is that when someone looks and acts incredibly stupid or incredibly crazy they probably shouldn’t be elected president and vice president of the United States. Perhaps this is the insight that could heal the red-blue divide once and for all.
We’ve all made jokes for years about the president’s limited intellectual prowess, but some days, it’s a little more difficult to accept than others.