Rating: 
Summary: Bush's de Bergerac
Review: For an author with such inside advantage, David Frum recounts his time as a speechwriter in the Bush administration with surprising journalistic detachment. This might be admirable if it weren't so frustrating. While Frum tells his story with straightforward professionalism and provides an adequate study of a president in progress, the whole project seems sanitized. Frum must know more than he lets on, if his prowess as a speechwriter is any indicator of his political savvy. He could have, and should have, risked giving his readers a little more than they might have experienced in any campaign-era article in "The New Republic".As it is, Frum offers the usual portrait of "Dubya" as Henry IV--a man from political royalty, footloose and reckless in his youth, comes to terms with both adulthood and his manifest destiny as author and steward of a new brand of American conservatism. His vision squares the American ideal of individual primacy with the notion of a social responsibility bequeathed by divine fiat. By force of his decency and sheer will he shapes the debate over taxation and the nature of government in our lives for years to come. He opens the floodgates for real educational reform. And, most importantly by far, he leads the country through one of its most traumatic historical moments on 9/11 and into a new era of world historical dominance, where the evangelical religion of peace through strength, democracy and liberal free markets holds sway. It's a great story, but it's nothing we haven't heard before. Even when Frum tries to mix things up by detailing a few internecine squabbles among cabinet members his dispassionate recounting seems third hand and wan. He's very careful not to step on toes or burn bridges. That goes both for his former Big Boss and for all the prominent adminstration players he rubbed shoulders with. In Frum's rendering they all seem, literally, like church board members--political but righteous, honorable and decent throughout. All very much in the image of their grounded, focused, plain-speaking, honest boss. Somehow it stretches credulity, even for those who admire the tacks the administration has taken on most issues. The most scandalous issue Frum tackles (and with thinly veiled personal satisfaction) is the revelation that he himself was the author of the famous "Axis of Evil" phrase in Bush's speech to the joint session of Congress. There must be something else festering under skin in the West Wing. We'll hear about it someday. But certainly not from David Frum.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't care...
Review: Bush is the worst President we have ever had.
Rating: 
Summary: The First Insider Account of the Bush White House
Review: The man who will forever be credited with the brilliant "axis of evil" phrase has written a well-balanced insider account of his short career at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. David Frum, who didn't seek White House glory and whose best work was on the pages of the Weekly Standard, delivers a rare look at the goings-on inside Bush's administration. What readers will enjoy is Frum's admition of awe of history. Too often, Washington regulars forget to chronicle the privelege of serving their fellow citizens in the highest office in the land. Because it was his first and only job in government, David's book is filled with stories of excited calls home to his wife, emails to friends, and other such jubliation. David is also a master of the English language. Like Peggy Noonan, he is a gifted writer, ably capturing the essence of Bush's governing style, behind-the-scenes encounters with officials, and the real-life personalities of larger-than-life figures like Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, and Condoleeza Rice. If Frum's only fault is including a) too many personal stories or b) too much political theory, than he can be forgiven. Liberals will complain that he slants his views toward the Right, but he does his best to maintain balance and yet explain the subtle world of Presidential politics. The Right Man is a book well worth reading, especially if you enjoy politics and especially if you admire President Bush. To hear a former skeptic acknowledge Bush's great qualities and insist that he is a godsend in these tough times is great and should help to win over many Bush-haters. Pick this book up and put at the top of the stack on your nightstand.
Rating: 
Summary: Not too bad
Review: Frum writes pretty well but he is not the most captivating author. He portrays the President just as I imagined him to be (a decent man) but it seems like he could expand a little bit, considering he was privy to quite a bit of inside information. Of course, professional courtesy may have prevented him from writing EVERYTHING he experienced.
Rating:
Summary: Speeches and Presidents
Review: We know that a president is not only himself, but himself and his advisors, and we should also know that history will judge a presidency based upon the facts, and thanks them, history will remember a president's words, not the other way around. The presidency of George W. Bush is being shaped by an external event, Sep. 11, and David Frum acknowledges that if it had not been so, this presidency would pass very much inadverted. However, I'm not so sure that the three virtues of moderation, persistence and boldness that describe Mr. Bush's character, are the most indicated to deal with this event, In fact, they may lead to simplistic decisions. Moreover, dangerous liaisons, as the one Mr Frum points out linking Zionism and protestant evangelicalism may have irreversible consequences. The book deserves a reading. It's an interesting inside account and I can say I understand a bit more of US politics, but is he really the right man?
Rating:
Summary: The Right Man
Review: Excellent work by Frum. I found myself unable to put this book down and came to respect the man in the White House more than I ever thought I would. I strongly recommend this work to those who enjoy current civics and history. Definitely a must read. Leadership is back in the White House.
Rating:
Summary: Me and George Are Great
Review: Self-promoting conservative journalist David Frum was skeptical of a George Bush presidency previous to signing on as a speechwriter in 2001 but, due to President Bush's response to Osama bin Laden's terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he is now an uncritical acolyte of Mr. Bush. The pre-September 11 Bush is narrow, quick to anger, intellectually uncurious and not particularly conservative in policy, explains Frum. But now David Frum, a self-proclaimed pope for what passes for the young conservative movement (in a recent National Review he has attempted to read out of the conservative movement men who have fought for conservative values before Mr. Frum began shaving), he has now given Mr. Bush HIS stamp of approval as a leader and a vital conservative. However, it can only be in dreary days like now in which Bush is considered a great leader and important conservative. Ronald Reagan he is not. Nor Winston Churchill. In a book filled with little tidbits, there is one which is especially striking in how it portrays George Bush's self-centered mind. President Bush, who failed at the oil business in the 1980s, upbraids Frum for suggesting that cheap oil was good for Americans. After all, as Frum knows, cheap oil helped fuel the Reagan and Clinton booms. Only a tiny minority of Americans did not benefit from cheap oil in the 1980s, George W. Bush being one. Though Frum suggests that Bush was displeased with the concept of cheap oil due to the rise of the SUV, Bush's contempt for environmentalism and environmentalists hints that this is a dishonest explanation. More likely, George W. Bush does not have fond memories of the cheap oil in the 80s because he did so poorly as an oil executive at the time. Bush achieved economic success only after an admirer of his father, Texas Rangers president Eddie Chiles, connived to give Dubya a stake in the Rangers baseball team. This small stake granted to Bush rose in value exponentially after the Rangers successfully shook down the city of Arlington (home of the Rangers) and forced Arlington to build the Rangers a state-of-the-art baseball park. At the end of his ride with President Bush, Frum helps coin the not especially noteworthy phrase Axis-of-Evil for the president's State-of-the-Union address. With the help of his wife, Danielle Crittenden (and what type of conservative marries a woman who retains her maiden name after marriage, anyway?), Frum, the clever publicist, broadcasts his contribution to Bush's big speech in a manner as disgusting as Peggy Noonan's self-promotion after writing Ronald Reagan's short speech after the Challanger disaster in 1986. For his toils, Frum has been rewarded with his own column in National Review with hints that he will soon become editor once the current editor's scalp is readied by William F. Buckley.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: This is an outstanding book about an outstanding President! It is a must read if you want to understand what makes President Bush tick and why he reacts to situations the way he does. It is easy to see that he is a principled man who measures his actions. He is the right man for the right time in the right place and this book proves it.
Rating:
Summary: A great behind the scenes account!
Review: I am about finished with this excellent book! I have enjoyed it for many reasons. Being a member of the military and having some idea of media relations, speech writing and our government , I find it fascinating to read about the "behind the scenes" details of the workings of the White House. A truthful book about such things during other presidencies would be just as interesting I believe. I hope that many who are both for and against George Bush will read this book with an open mind! Great job David Frum!
Rating:
Summary: An insight into what motivates George Bush
Review: This may well be the best book written about President George Bush until long after he leaves office -- provided his future biographers can match Frum's insight, intellect, innocence and industry. With devastating candor, reinforced by hero worship, Frum details the intensity of the control freaks who run the Bush administration. He unveils a staff more dedicated to total loyalty to a leader than is ever seen on The Sopranos, showing an image of sterile tidiness that is shocked by Clinton staffers who anything as crude as pizza at midnight. As an outsider, despite his wet puppy craving for affection, Frum offers a variety of devastating -- or magnificently uplifting -- insights into the character and goals of Bush. This is a book that will thrill every conservative and dismay anyone who thinks for himself. Frum, like Bush, is not satisfied with being right unless he can prove others wrong. Thus, the 'you are with us or with the terrorists' fanaticism; control freaks never tolerate an independent thought. It is hardly surprising that so few outside the US share this fanaticism; maybe it's because "them furriners" know that anyone who is as war with others is not at peace with themself. Let's face it: Bush has the world's toughest job. Anything he does affects the world. Nothing that 98 percent of the world's leaders do has more than a ripple impact on events; for example, a unilateral decision by Canada to launch a war on terror would heard merely as a superb example of Canadian humour instead of courageous resolve. Frum is a superb writer, analyst and story teller, skilled at using what he says is a Bush technique. He says Bush wins loyalty by sharing little personal secrets with those in a personal conversation, "thrusting a gift upon us, the most precious gift a person can offer: a little piece of himself. By revealing himself to us, he bound us to him." This book is filled with such personal insights in an effort to generate loyalty for Bush. You won't find many "insider" books that are better than Frum. So why does Bush so infuriate people? Well, if he's right, he invalidates generations of wishful dreams and empty thoughts that have guided American policy toward the Arabs for at least the past 50 years. If he's wrong, his bumbling bombast will give us generations of unrest, terror and war. Our future rests on the roll of Bush's iron dice. Whether you like or fear Bush, there's plenty here to reinforce your views in a bright, candid and easy-to-read 284 pages. Conservatives will finish it and contentedly sigh, "Thank God." With a tremor in their voice, liberals will beg, "Please, God . . ." Quite simply, Frum says, Bush intends to remake the Arab world. He sees Iraq, an ally of the Nazis in 1940, as merely the first and wobbliest domino. Bush is tired of oil patch tyrants. By the time US troops come home, he expects every Arab will know the meaning of "a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people." No, that isn't a Lincoln quote. It's from Theodore Parker on May 29, 1850, at the NE Anti-Slavery Convention in Boston. Like Parker, Bush intends to set in motion a great chain of events such as those which ended slavery by 1865 in the US. Frum hopes a similar vision will topple tyranny in today's Arab world. So, what is Bush like? Frum concludes, "He is impatient and quick to anger; sometimes glib, even dogmatic; often uncurious and as a result ill informed; more convention in his thinking than a leader probably should be. But outweighing the faults are his virtues: decency, honesty, rectitude, courage, and tenacity." Anyone, on either side of Bush's crusade to reorder, reform and remap the Arab world will find this book to be an Aladdin's treasure of fascinating information, opinions and dreams. The timing for it is perfect.
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