The other day I was sitting on the commode, checking AP Mobile News on my iPhone, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I prefer AP News to other outlets because the stories always seem to maintain a level of objectivity that is lacking in other resources (i.e. this blog) (Editor’s note: that’s bullshit). The story I had stopped on was discussing current President Bush’s reflections on the ceremonial President-elect visit and tour of the White House. For the first time, in an indeterminable amount of time, I was reading about President Bush and things he was saying without clenched fists. I didn’t feel hot under the collar and my eyes weren’t rolling.
I found the article to be quite charming, actually. Reading about the interactions between future President Obama and current President Bush was like enjoying some sort of fairy tale where everyone got along swimmingly and there were no bumps in the road. After years of campaign rhetoric, it was important to remember that while one party might not like another, or one person might have smeared another, we’re all human, and we all will bear the burden of fixing this once great nation. Bush had only warm things to share about Obama and the experience, saying:
“Clearly, this guy is going to bring a great sense of family to the White House,” and “...I know his girls are on his mind and he wants to make sure that first and foremost he is a good dad. And I think that’s going to be an important part of his presidency.”
I can’t remember a time when something so honest and thoughtful was uttered by the current administration. Seriously. This morning I was reading CNN and I came across this article, in which Bush admitted some of his deepest regrets (including the popularly satirized by everyone “Mission Accomplished” banner). Regret?! I don’t remember regret ever being a talking point in the last 8 years and again, I was surprised at my reaction to reading an interview with G-dubs. So the question is: has Bush changed? I’m not inclined to say “Yes,” for obvious reasons, but I’m pleasantly surprised to see some level-headed, honest talk emanating from the White House just before the real change comes.
Tags: Fairy Tale, George W. Bush, Obama
Lifting Fog 
November 12, 2008 at 1:42 pm |
Probably because you can’t really screw up talking about picking bedrooms for the daughters of the next President….or fatherhood.
November 12, 2008 at 3:53 pm |
Bush is literally a world-class screw-up (he has in fact demonstrated this to the whole world) and one of the weakest US Presidents ever, but I don’t doubt for one second that the man is both good and sincere. I’m no father myself (that I know of), but it’s easy to tell that like Obama, Bush cares deeply about his family. That counts for something.
November 12, 2008 at 4:01 pm |
Yes, very nice change even if it turns out to be temporary or illusory. Kinda like when McC took that woman aside in the campaign’s closing weeks to correct her with that “No, ma’am, he’s not an Arab. And he’s a good family man and will make a good President” remark.
I’m not inclined to say W has changed either, for probably the same obvious reasons. Talk is cheap, “watch what we do, not what we say” — all that.
It irks me beyond words to think of him strolling untouched into the sunset as some kind of goofy parody of an elder statesman. Which may be exactly the sort of polarized thinking I need to reconsider.