Fear and Loathing in George W. Bush's Washington

Fear and Loathing in George W. Bush's Washington PDF Author: Elizabeth Drew
Publisher: New York Review of Books
ISBN: 9781590171288
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
Many Democrats in the Senate are fearful of George W. Bush and "his unscrupulous political strategist, Karl Rove," writes Elizabeth Drew. The House, meanwhile, is run by Republican Whip Tom DeLay, "the mean-spirited partisan from Texas" who has polarized the chamber along party lines. How did we get to this point under a president who ran on a promise to unite rather than divide, and how has our government been affected? Elizabeth Drew's answers to these questions begin by exposing the cynicism of the Bush presidential campaign, orchestrated by Rove. She also reveals the deep division between the neocons in the Defense Department and the realists in the State Department. The controversy between the two camps, she finds, has "brought out bitterness and knife-wielding of a sort that Washington has seldom seen." The result, she concludes, is that "the increasing unwillingness to compromise is not only blocking legislation but, it is not overdramatic to say, is subverting fundamental concepts of democracy." Russell Baker in his preface writes: "In Washington an age of moral and philosophical sterility is deeply entrenched, and as Elizabeth Drew's reporting attests, the result is not pretty .... Since [the end of the cold war] government has seemed to be mostly about raising money to get elected, and then reelected repeatedly in order to service those who put up the money. There is no moral urgency in it, no philosophical imperative at work."

Fear and Loathing in George W. Bush's Washington

Fear and Loathing in George W. Bush's Washington PDF Author: Elizabeth Drew
Publisher: New York Review of Books
ISBN: 9781590171288
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Get Book

Book Description
Many Democrats in the Senate are fearful of George W. Bush and "his unscrupulous political strategist, Karl Rove," writes Elizabeth Drew. The House, meanwhile, is run by Republican Whip Tom DeLay, "the mean-spirited partisan from Texas" who has polarized the chamber along party lines. How did we get to this point under a president who ran on a promise to unite rather than divide, and how has our government been affected? Elizabeth Drew's answers to these questions begin by exposing the cynicism of the Bush presidential campaign, orchestrated by Rove. She also reveals the deep division between the neocons in the Defense Department and the realists in the State Department. The controversy between the two camps, she finds, has "brought out bitterness and knife-wielding of a sort that Washington has seldom seen." The result, she concludes, is that "the increasing unwillingness to compromise is not only blocking legislation but, it is not overdramatic to say, is subverting fundamental concepts of democracy." Russell Baker in his preface writes: "In Washington an age of moral and philosophical sterility is deeply entrenched, and as Elizabeth Drew's reporting attests, the result is not pretty .... Since [the end of the cold war] government has seemed to be mostly about raising money to get elected, and then reelected repeatedly in order to service those who put up the money. There is no moral urgency in it, no philosophical imperative at work."

What Happened

What Happened PDF Author: Scott McClellan
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN: 1458766780
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 646

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Book Description
With unprecedented candour, one of George W Bush's closest aides takes readers behind the scenes of the Bush presidency, and what exactly happened to take it off course. Scott McClellan was one of a few Bush loyalists from Texas who became part of his inner circle of trusted advisers, and remained so during one of the most challenging and contentious periods of recent history. Drawn to Bush by his commitment to compassionate conservatism and strong bipartisan leadership, McClellan served the president for more than seven years, and witnessed day-to-day exactly how the presidency veered off course. In this refreshingly clear-eyed book, written with no agenda other than to record his experiences and insights for the benefit of history, McClellan provides unique perspective on what happened and why it happened the way it did, including the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, Washington's bitter partisanship and two hotly-contested presidential campaigns. He gives readers a candid look into what George W Bush is and what he believes and into the personalities, strengths, and liabilities of his top aides. Finally, McClellan looks to the future, exploring the lessons this presidency offers the American people as they prepare to elect a new leader.

Ambling into History

Ambling into History PDF Author: Frank Bruni
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060937823
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
The unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush. As the principal New York Times reporter assigned to cover George W. Bush's presidential campaign from its earliest stages – and then as a White House correspondent – Frank Bruni has spent as much time around Bush over the last two years as any other reporter. In Ambling Into History, Bruni paints the most thorough, balanced, eloquent and lively portrait yet of a man in many ways ill–suited to the office he sought and won, focusing on small moments that often escaped the news media's notice. From the author's initial introduction to Bush through a nutty election night and Bush's first months in office, Bruni captures the president's familiar and less familiar oddities and takes readers on an often funny, usually irreverent, journey into the strange, closed universe – or bubble – of campaign life. The result is an original take on the political process and a detailed study of George W. Bush as most people have never seen him.

Fear and Loathing

Fear and Loathing PDF Author: Hunter S. Thompson
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 9780446698221
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 496

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Book Description
The "gonzo" political journalist presents his frankly subjective observations on the personalities and political machinations of the 1972 presidential campaign, in a new edition of the classic account of the dark side of American politics. Reprint.

Soldiers of Reason

Soldiers of Reason PDF Author: Alex Abella
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 015603512X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
An “entertaining and fast-paced” account of the organization that defines the military-industrial complex—and continues to shape our world today (The New York Times Book Review). The RAND Corporation was born in the wake of World War II as a think tank to generate research and analysis for the United States military. It was a magnet for the best and the brightest—and also the most dangerous. RAND quickly became the creator of America’s anti-Soviet nuclear strategy, attracting such Cold War luminaries as Albert Wohlstetter, Bernard Brodie, and Herman Kahn, who arguably saved us from nuclear annihilation—and unquestionably created the military-industrial complex Eisenhower warned against. In the Kennedy era, RAND analysts and their theories of rational warfare steered our conduct in Vietnam. Those same theories drove our invasion of Iraq forty-five years later, championed by RAND affiliated actors such as Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and Zalmay Khalilzad. But RAND’s greatest contribution might be its least known: rational choice theory, a model explaining all human behavior through self-interest. Through it RAND sparked the Reagan-led transformation of our social and economic system, but also unleashed a resurgence of precisely the forces whose existence it denied: religion, patriotism, tribalism. With Soldiers of Reason, Alex Abella shares a “well-researched” history of America’s last half century that casts a new light on our problematic present (San Francisco Chronicle).

Bush's Fringe Government

Bush's Fringe Government PDF Author: Garry Wills
Publisher: New York Review of Books
ISBN: 9781590172100
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description


Citizen McCain

Citizen McCain PDF Author: Elizabeth Drew
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476737509
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
The most original, the most sought-after politician in America today, Senator John McCain is at the front of a large movement -- people who are dissatisfied with the way politics is conducted in this country. They are eager for change, and McCain's independence and his vigorous leadership have inspired them. Granted unique access to the Senator and his closest aides, prizewinning journalist Elizabeth Drew offers a close-up, fascinating account of Senator McCain as he goes about the legislative business of achieving campaign finance reform, his signature issue, building coalitions, and working across party lines. As she shows him in action, McCain is revealed as a shrewd and long-sighted strategist, someone who works with his colleagues far more successfully than his image might suggest. We see this original mind at work and get new insights into his complex personality. Drew also shows how McCain has broadened his agenda, putting him at a pivotal place in American political life. In this riveting narrative, replete with McCain's unusual candor, and his unorthodox ways, we see how this war hero turned political leader is showing the public -- and cynical Washington insiders -- that there are other ways to go about working for the public good.

Richard M. Nixon

Richard M. Nixon PDF Author: Elizabeth Drew
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 142998127X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
The complex man at the center of America's most self-destructive presidency In this provocative and revelatory assessment of the only president ever forced out of office, the legendary Washington journalist Elizabeth Drew explains how Richard M. Nixon's troubled inner life offers the key to understanding his presidency. She shows how Nixon was surprisingly indecisive on domestic issues and often wasn't interested in them. Turning to international affairs, she reveals the inner workings of Nixon's complex relationship with Henry Kissinger, and their mutual rivalry and distrust. The Watergate scandal that ended his presidency was at once an overreach of executive power and the inevitable result of his paranoia and passion for vengeance. Even Nixon's post-presidential rehabilitation was motivated by a consuming desire for respectability, and he succeeded through his remarkable resilience. Through this book we finally understand this complicated man. While giving him credit for his achievements, Drew questions whether such a man—beleaguered, suspicious, and motivated by resentment and paranoia—was fit to hold America's highest office, and raises large doubts that he was.

Welcome to Doomsday

Welcome to Doomsday PDF Author: Bill D. Moyers
Publisher: New York Review of Books
ISBN: 9781590172094
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
This text is an investigation into the coupling of ideology and theology, in particular the intrusion of religion into political life, in America today. It is a passionate call to save the planet from the forces not only of greed and exploitation but from those who associate its destruction with a spiritual apocalypse.

The Failure of Democratic Nation Building: Ideology Meets Evolution

The Failure of Democratic Nation Building: Ideology Meets Evolution PDF Author: A. Somit
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1403978425
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
Throughout history authoritarian governments have outnumbered democratic ones to an overwhelming degree. Even today, true democracies are an exception. In this book, Somit and Peterson argue that the main reason for this pattern is that humans are social primates with an innate tendency for hierarchical and authoritarian social and political structures. Democracy requires very special 'enabling conditions' before it can be supported by a state, conditions that require decades to evolve. As a result, attempts to export democracy through nation-building to states without these enabling conditions are doomed to failure. The authors argue that money and energy devoted to nation-building around the globe by the U.S. would be better spent on problems facing the country domestically.