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Summary: Bush Leads
Review: As a conservative, I voted for W. and will again this November. I like George Bush quite a bit and appreciate his leadership after 9/11. I think he is "spot on" that this is a *war* on terror, and not some United Nations police action. I live in Boston, where the groundless Bush-hating can be deafining at times. Because W. isn't the communciator that Reagan was, it can be hard to stand up for him some times. Not because I don't believe in him, but you have to find your own words. I think David Frum's book is extremely reassuring to anyone already pre-disposed to like W. Frum was not a huge Bush supporter when he started at the White house (as explained in the book) but became a convert. After reading the book, you feel even more sure that W. has both hands on the wheel.The Book is well thought and entertaining. The anecdote about being a foreign national and almost bunking with "the football" is priceless. I thought the description of what it was like to be a White House staffer on 9/11 was gut wrenching. All in all, the book is good, fast, an educational read.
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Summary: A Kindler Gentler Bush
Review: This book does a good job of dispelling the claims of Bush being a puppet of sinister right wing bigshots. Frum shows Bush calls his own shots, is a decent man and it is not in his character to be a pawn of some crazy agenda hatched in an ivory towered secret soceity. As Frum points out, more people who considered themselves "upper class" in the last election voted for Gore by a wide margin. Frum paints Bush as being laconic and dogmatic but not dim witted. Although he is not the blazing intellectual that someone like Jimmy Carter is, he is not a feeble and indecesive leader like Jimmy and is immensely more coachable and charismatic. Plus, he is bright enough. These traits made Bush "the right man" for the war on terrorism and the recession following 911. What remains to be seen is whether he is the best man or merely "the right man" going forward. Frum does a good job of showing the strengths and weaknesses of George W. Bush. Bush's blinding conviction, optimism and hardball tactics are good for certain times but would be a liability at other times. Frum doesn't adequately address W.'s treacherous increase in domestic spending and the outrageous deficit v. GDP. Bush may have appealed to Keynesian notions two years ago but not now. Bush's economic plan will only successfully play out if the dollar continues to devalue and foreigners continue to buy treasury debt at breakneck speed. This issue could turn into a train wreck and there isn't much referrence in Frum's book. Also, Frum concludes that Bush's hardball and go- it- alone policies are courageous and appropriate. Going forward that may not be the case. Hardball is only advantageous in certain negotiations; ultimately it could have widespread fallout. I wish Frum would have dealt with this facet of Bush. As Frum referrences Bush, history is in the past and the best leaders can envision and enact a better future. Frum rightly concludes that Bush isn't very adaptable. Frum doesn't adequately deal with the real reasons behind the Iraq invasion: to stabilize and gain a foothold in the region and send a deadly threat to potential and existing rogue fiefdoms who defy the interests of the G7. Frum states that Bush has conservative instincts but not necessarily conservative policies. That is perhaps the most salient point made in the book. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who might be potentially hoodwinked into falling for the Democrat's campaign strategy of playing the class warfare card, and claiming that W. is a puppet, morally hypocritical and incapable intellectually for the job.
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Summary: oops ! chapter12 war fabrication for 02 speech reveiled?
Review: If you want an objective insight from a speech writers point of view as to what went on in and around the oval office before the war,then this is a must. I personally expected a very biased fuzzy warm account from David Frum based on his other book which showed total dedication to Pres. Bush's doctrines . David questions throughout the book motives and directions of the President. Here are a few quotes,bear in mind that these are out of context and should be regarded in that light.Pg. 28,29
"But Bush is relentlessly disciplined and very slow to trust."
"Bush knew how to create the loyalty he demanded."
"Bush was leading all right but where was he leading us all to?"
Pg. 34 "Rather than adding to Bush's strength,the tax cut may have reinforced his greatest weakness- his image as a man excessively sympathetic to the rich and to big corporations."
Regarding the other writers on the staff pg.34-35 "Rove was a reader and a questioner a curious man, always eager to learn" Hughes{Karen} rarely read books and distrusted people who did- anything she did not already know she saw no point in knowing."
pg. 36 "Rove thought of the American electorate , he saw an enormous bag of magnets'""The two most important magnets in Rove's strategy were white evangelists andmiddle class hispanics. Hughes's strategy by contrast was aimed at women all over the country."
Chapter 12 pg.224 "Here's an assignment Can you sum up in a sentence or two our best case for going afterIraq?" "His request to me could not have been simpler : I was to povide a justification for war "The 2002 State of the UNion was a vast task that pulled together the labor of dozens of people across the government. " This book has been a revelation to me who has been a main stream or centralist conservative for forty years. I say to all fellow conservatives who have believed in entrepreneurship and small business and doing what makes common sense to take another look at the direction this party has taken over that past ten years. I'm sorry but it is frightening. This book reveals the petty unprofessional people with limited knowledge of their area of responsibility, basing decisions on ideeology, biases and impressions instead of any facts. There is no question in my mind that the 02 speech was written to get the attention of the American people off the problems ofthe present adminsitration and on to a war. I don't believe the intelligence community was even consulted regarding the language in the speech that leveraged the war with Iraq. The off the cuff remarks that Donald Rumsfeld made that propelled us into war and justified the immediate action to war. As a business man I could not figure out how the massive tax cuts 2.1 % for low and middle class and 7.8% for us better off made any sense. The changes in regulations and laws pushed through on Fridays and at night to give extremeleverage to multi-national cooperations at the expense of free enterprise for all businss men. This book reveals the philosophy, weaknesses and direction of the present adinsitration without the intention of being negatively critical but has revealed the truth. Republicans should all read this book and react because if the present adminstration continues in the direction they are headed this country may well find itself in a world economic and political dilemma that it will not be able to extricate itself from.
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Summary: An Insider's Oblique Look at Bush
Review: David Frum's book on George Bush should be considered an insider's account and it is advertised as such on the front cover. Frum served in the Bush White House as a speech writer for over a year, including the few critical months after 9-11. But part of the appeal of this book is the author's emotional distance from Bush and his willingness to criticize the president over certain issues. Contrary to one reviewer's comment, there is no hero-worshipping in this book. Frum finds Bush has many faults: he is uncurious and therefore ill-informed, dogmatic and impatient. His presidency was headed nowhere prior to 9-11. There were several passages in this book I could imagine Bush would have been none too pleased to read, if he had the curiosity and time to read the book at all. But Frum is not a former insider trying to get back at the Bush for some wrong he perceives the president did to him. Most readers will think better of Bush after reading this book. While Frum does not consider Bush a great president, the author believes Bush's moral character fits well with waging the war on terror. He is not a great man, but he is the right man.
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Summary: Left wing bongo drummers - get out
Review: Quote from NY Times (an avowed leftist newspaper) on 12/19/03 "Al Qaeda has repeatedly urged Americans to oppose the policies of President Bush." All you lunatic left-wing scum may as well join Al Qaeda. Now that the economy is in good shape and Hussein has been caught, I'm curious to know what else you can fault Bush on? That you're personally fat/ugly/poor/stupid/inbred? If you're not with America, you're against America. There is no middle ground. We just deposed a brutal lunatic who killed over 1 million of his own people and we're the bad guys???? It boggles the mind.
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Summary: Refreshing!
Review: As Americans living four months now in the Middle East, we have seen our share of criticism of the George W. Bush presidency in the local media, not too unlike the headlines broadcast at our last posting, in Europe. Thus, The Right Man was a refreshing account of the behind the scenes world of a man whose misfortune it is to be the de facto leader of the free world. Most helpful was Frum's account of Bush's motivation for the "I love Islam" campaign, as the author puts it, following 9/11 (chapter 9: Religion of Peace), and his short history of American foreign policy with Iran and Iraq (chapter 12: Axis of Evil). As I close this review, I hear the melodic call to prayer from the local mosque, and am reminded of what an enchanting surprise the gracious, kind, and humble Muslims whom we've met in our new home have been. In summary, the book makes a persuasive case to count on the determination of one Right Man to silence the few who would disgrace a proud tradition of peace and reconciliation.
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Summary: Where's the juicy stuff?
Review: If you're looking for an insider account, wait for the next book. Surely there must be someone in this administration who has more and better anecdotes. This book is pretty thin stuff. I give Frum a star, however, for pointing out a few negatives that most people aren't aware of: Bush is thin-skinned and has a hard time controlling his temper. He's used to getting his way, and he doesn't like to be contradicted. He really doesn't have much interest in what he's doing. He's most alive and happy when he's on the campaign trail, but the day-by-day dealings of the presidency irritate him.
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Summary: Disappointing
Review: David Frum promises an insider's look at the White House, but he doesn't seem to have had the access (or perhaps the time) to deliver. His stories are often about his own star-struck reactions to Bush and the inner power circle. Of course, he was only speechwriter for a year, and the personality he seems to be most familiar with is Karen Hughes. That would make sense, since Hughes vetted all of Bush's speeches during that period. She would have been an almost impregnable wall between Frum and Bush. Although he doesn't have many real stories to tell, Frum pads the book with personal, and partisan, observations. He decides that 9/11 elevated Bush's presidency by giving Bush a higher purpose, but he doesn't provide anecdotes to support his thesis that Bush is courageous, honest, or decent. The reader either accepts this view from the start (and most buyers of this book will probably already agree with it), or kicks himself for having paid good money for an insider's account that isn't.
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Summary: Awesome!!!
Review: I am thirteen years old and very interested in politics. I picked up this book in a book store and wanted to learn all that I could about our president. I was very pleased with the way the book is layed out, it was easy to read and interesting. Frum gives an easy to read, understandable view of the events that took place during his time working as a speach writer for the President. I know WAY more about George Bush's policies, beliefs, what the Tax cut was really about, and a good idea of the political world that I did not have before I read the book.
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Summary: vivid portrait of Bush; a delight to read
Review: No surprise to find this book such easy, delightful reading given Frum's background as a speechwriter. Hardly a fawning sycophant or raving ideologue, Frum gives a balanced picture of the president, acknowledging his weaknesses (including the succession of failures in business, academics, politics, and alcohol that dominated his early life). Like two other leaders who had racked up several stunning disappointments as younger men
but then became unexpectedly great wartime leaders, Bush (as with Lincoln and Churchill), has grown enormously in stature post 9/11 -- driven by his rock-hard moral clarity, unwavering commitment to protecting America from its enemies, and great personal strength and self-discipline. Readers will see in Frum a wonderful observer, story teller, and brilliant thinker, and -- while we are lucky to have this invaluable account of how Bush governs -- we are the poorer for Frum having left the government so soon.
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