January 8, 2003
FRUM BOTH SIDES NOW:
Book Offers Rare Insights Into Bush Presidency: Although he gives the White House mixed reviews, a former speech writer says the chief executive's resolve more than offsets his flaws. (James Gerstenzang, January 7, 2003, LA Times)Frum's year helping turn Bush's thoughts into speeches gave him a unique perspective on the president's work habits and leadership.In the Oval Office, Frum says of his first meeting with the president, "Bush was a sharp exception to the White House code of niceness. He was tart, not sweet."
Frum recalls Bush asking his speech writers how they thought he was performing in office. To their enthusiastic compliments, "he nodded grimly," and complained that when he was governor of Texas, he could ask a store clerk how he was doing and get an honest response.
Now, Frum writes, "he was locked in a bubble, hearing only compliments."
While even critics would pay tribute to his image of likability, Frum says of the president, "in private, Bush was not the easy, genial man he was in public. Close up, one saw a man keeping a tight grip on himself."
The "bubble" seems to me to be a very big mistake. Presidents ought to just accept that their lives are at some risk, drastically reduce their security details, and get out and mix with people in less formal settings.
MORE:
-AUDIO INTERVIEW: Listen to Political commentator David Frum (Fresh Air, January 08, 2003, NPR)
-REVIEW: of The Right Man (Jonathan Karl, Wall Street Journal)