Latimer wrote speeches for Bush, Rumsfeld, Gates, and Mitch McConnell. And his book looks pretty good! There is an excerpt in the next GQ, and an excerpt of that excerpt at Raw Story. There is a bit about how Bush didn't like McCain and was also incredulous at his shitty campaign. And there is this thing, about Palin:
"I'm trying to remember if I've met her before. I'm sure I must have." His eyes twinkled, then he asked, "What is she, the governor of Guam?"
Everyone in the room seemed to look at him in horror, their mouths agape. When Ed told him that conservatives were greeting the choice enthusiastically, he replied, "Look, I'm a team player, I'm on board." He thought about it for a minute. "She's interesting," he said again. "You know, just wait a few days until the bloom is off the rose." Then he made a very smart assessment.
"This woman is being put into a position she is not even remotely prepared for," he said. "She hasn't spent one day on the national level. Neither has her family. Let's wait and see how she looks five days out." It was a rare dose of reality in a White House that liked to believe every decision was great, every Republican was a genius, and McCain was the hope of the world because, well, because he chose to be a member of our party.
Usually these books try a little too hard to make Bush seem deceptively smart and wise, which is stupid, because after eight years it's pretty clear that he is who we thought he was, but we'll believe this story, because moron game recognize moron game.
So make sure to put Matt Latimer's Speech-Less up on the shelf next to your favorite volumes from David Frum, Michael Gerson, and Matt Scully!
No comments:
Post a Comment