Ten Minutes from Normal

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Summary: Great Book ..
Review: Really a excellent book on behind the scenes look. Mean the lady has been with GW for 10 years, since he started as Gov in Texas. She Knows him better than anyone which makes the book all the more interesting. Plus the effects the stress of Washington has had on her own life.. Being she was once a DEM, and finially saw the light years ago.. Unlike the two comments below, that think Klinton and Hillarwitch can still save the country.. If only the mean rightwing would just let them steal alittle more.. hee.. Enjoy the book.. Great Read!!

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Summary: Waiting to read it...
Review: Unlike previous "reviews" listed here, I'm going to wait to give my opinion until I read it! It just amazes me that someone can put a review on here on the same day that the book comes out, especially when it says here that it takes 5-7 days to post reviews...now that is a quick read!

That is until you look at what else some of these people have reviewed. (look at elwin's previous rave about a very liberal slanting book).

This goes to show how much of a waste these reviews truly are!

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Summary: Haven't read it, yet
Review: Unlike the other reviews I've seen on this book so far, I will admit I haven't read it yet. I would appreciate a review from someone who actually read the book and not just some review-flaming liberal who feels conservatism of any kind should be squashed before anyone even has a chance to hear it. If you are just some hate-filled liberal, please don't bother posting your hate here. If you actually read the book and have an objective opinion, by all means.

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Summary: If only the rest of Washington could live up to her example.
Review: Karen Hughes is a great example of what I used to think people in politics were like. If John Kerry could find someone like her to add to his staff, I might be able to keep from voting republican for only the second time ever. She could be a wonderful influence on him. She never let her position in Washington cloud her judgement concerning what was best for her family. Whether you agree with her politcal point of view or not, she has a lot to say worth hearing.

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Summary: Thanks for your thoughts
Review: Just reading the two reviews by liberal writers made me buy the book. My advice to these nasty people: keep it up! You will help Karen Hughes sell lots of books.

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Summary: Ahahahahahah!
Review: Liberals... so transparent, so desperate! LOL!

Writing reviews for a book that's not even available until tomorrow!

You're clearly ticked off because Clarke's book has been so thoroughly debunked and discredited that it won't hit the best-seller list.

And Condi's about to eat his lunch for him. Clean his clock. Fix his maladjusted wagon.

Oh, I love it! It must be painful to be a Bush-hater these days - defeated on every front, losing at every draw, failing in every feint.

Heck, even that pathetic anti-war effort you tried to pull together turned out to be more about supporting Palestine than protesting the war. LOL!

Go, Karen! Hope you sell a billion copies! I'll buy one!

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Summary: Profiteering on insider information
Review: I am troubled that someone would sell a book, trading on their service as a government insider with access to our nation's most valuable intelligence.

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Summary: If you think Bush is the greatest since Jesus, buy it!
Review: This book defines hagiography. Karen Hughes can find no fault with George W. Bush. In her world, he's always right, never makes mistakes, never even has doubts. If you want to keep your mind inside a cozy cocoon and bask in the warm light of the halo Karen Hughes projects over Bush's head, then this is the book for you. Karen Hughes has been a speech writer and communications director for Bush during both his governorship and his presidency and she clearly loves her boss. But her business is spin, not communicating a fair or balanced picture.

If, on the other hand, you want the facts about how the war on terror has been conducted during the last four administrations, you are better off reading Richard Clarke's "Against All Enemies." Clarke worked in anti-terrorism for Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II. Clarke was National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructur Protection, and Counterterrorism under Clinton and Bush. He directed the Whitehouse's tactical response on 9/11. His book, and his sworn testimony before the 9/11 commission paint a rather different picture of Bush than Karen Hughes. Clarke (who incidentally is a registered Republican and the only Whitehouse official to actually take responsibility for and apologize for his failures leading up to 9/11) finds fault with all four presidents regarding their response to terrorism, but he finds the most fault with George W. Bush. From the preface: "George W. Bush, who failed to act prior to September 11 of the threat from an al Qaeda despite repeated warnings and then harvested a political windfall for taking obvious yet insufficient steps after the attacks; and who launched an unnecessary and costly war in Iraq that strengthened the fundamentalist, radical Islamic terrorist movement worldwide."

The main difference between an historian and a spinner is that the historian will provide context and a complete picture, while the spinner will cherry-pick the facts and images that support her case while ignoring everything inconvenient. So, dear reader, do you want all the pertinent facts, in context, from Bush's top antiterror advisor, or do you want warm fuzzy images from a skillful spinner? You decide...

Rating:
Summary: Watch what she does ...
Review: As you might expect from a former communications director, Karen Hughes' book "Ten minutes from Normal" is all spin. She writes with total conviction, but her observations are often at odds with the observations of other administration officials who have written books. For example, Hughes says that George Bush "asked questions that went right to the heart of the matter" and had a "laserlike ability to distill an issue to it's core." In contrast, Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neill (as told to Ron Suskind) said he was clueless and disinterested.

Hughes' choices of what to include and what to omit from the book are sometimes curious. There are only a couple of lines that obliquely hint about how her conservative mother influenced her future political leanings. She describes a pineapple dish she served at a dinner party 15 years earlier and names scores of people she's met in her career but most of us have never heard of (who cares who was in her exercise and Bible-study groups). At the same time, she mentions nothing about what most readers would consider important issues that might have been discussed by top administration officials before September 11, 2001, such as terrorism and Al-Qaeda. You'd think Condi would have mentioned it many times during her briefings at the mandatory morning Senior Staff meetings. She also doesn't say much about the 2000 election considering how unique it was in the history of the country. She mentions the process of recounting the votes (which she calls "re-creating") but says nothing about the thousands of black voters who were unfairly purged from the rolls by Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris.

There are no new revelations in the book that might be of interest to a follower of politics. Hughes says she has no knowledge of who was responsible for the smear campaign against John McCain in the South Carolina primary, or who exposed Valerie Plame, the CIA undercover agent. She does confirm that Condoleeza Rice talked to Bush after the first plane struck the twin towers but doesn't mention if the discussion involved Osama bin Laden or "My Pet Goat." She does concede that Bush needs two days to prepare for a major speech whereas Clinton would make changes right up to the minute he gave the speech.

Hughes admits she can't sing but doesn't seem to realize she also has no sense of humor. This is clear from several instances in which Hughes says people didn't "get her jokes," such as "message ADD." When she characterizes Bush's selection in the 2000 election as "a resounding 49 percent victory," you're not sure she meant it as a joke or whether she's somehow serious. Even her son Robert has this figured out in his diary inserts (the only honest and genuine parts of the book). One unintentionally amusing piece of the book is the juxtaposition of the eight and ninth pictures that show Hughes wearing the same blouse and pant suit in photos taken a year apart. Fashion aside, it's surprising how someone who is so detail oriented and careful in the selection of words didn't notice the similarities in the two pictures.

Hughes grouses because Democrats characterized Bush as inarticulate and inexperienced during the 2000 election. Then she describes how hard her staff worked to characterize Al Gore as a flip-flopper who would do anything to win the election. Later, she says the Bush administration staffs were "remarkably collegial" (obviously Rumsfeld and Powell didn't get the word). She's angry because the terrorists aren't "constrained by the facts" and because they "hate everyone who doesn't think like them." Karen, please ... look in a mirror.

This book reaffirms the old adage, "don't pay any attention to what politicians say, watch what they do." You'll get more satisfaction from reading "My Pet Goat" than "Ten Minutes from Normal."

Rating:
Summary: Karen Loves Herself
Review: I read a review that said whether or not you are a Bush person would decide if you like this book or not. Well, I am a huge supporter of the president and I have to say, this book falls short. I found it hard to swallow how highly this woman thinks of herself. I do think she was a good communications advisor to the president and I guess that is why I was expecting more. For the money, you are much better off with David Frum's The Right Man. If you can pick this up at the library, it might be worth your time, but if you are spending money, I recommend looking in another direction.