In Secretly Taped Conversations, Glimpses of the Future President -NYT

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 - As George W. Bush was first moving onto the national political stage, he often turned for advice to an old friend who secretly taped some of their private conversations, creating a rare record of the future president as a politician and a personality.

In the last several weeks, that friend, Doug Wead, an author and former aide to Mr. Bush's father, disclosed the tapes' existence to a reporter and played about a dozen of them.

Variously earnest, confident or prickly in those conversations, Mr. Bush weighs the political risks and benefits of his religious faith, discusses campaign strategy and comments on rivals. John McCain "will wear thin," he predicted. John Ashcroft, he confided, would be a "very good Supreme Court pick" or a "fabulous" vice president. And in exchanges about his handling of media questions about his past, Mr. Bush appears to have acknowledged trying marijuana.

Mr. Wead said he recorded the conversations because he viewed Mr. Bush as a historic figure, but he said he knew that the president might regard his actions as a betrayal. As the author of a new book about presidential childhoods, Mr. Wead could benefit from any publicity, but he said that was not a motive in disclosing the tapes.

...MORE...
http://nytimes.com/2005/02/20/politics/20talk.html?hp&ex=1108875600&en=2791e4de2fc239a9&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[Ezlivin]

1. If Bush was still smoking pot...

...we wouldn't be in an unneccessary war.

Too bad he just said no.

[Blue to the bone]

3. Yeah, I'd say "make love, not war", but........

.......that mental imagine is too hard to handle.

[ausiedownunderground]

51. This guy knows "nothing"!!!

This is an exercise in "Humanising" Bush. Oh my god - He tried "Pot". This is an exercise in trying to "keep" the "liberal" blogger machine from "tearing" him apart!!! He's not "that conservative"! LOL
Nobody fall for this Rove Propoganda!!!
This guy snorted more "Coke" than you can throw a stick at!!!
His wife "ran her past lover down" in a car accident! Whooooops!
These people are about as far away from "God's Book" teachings as you can get, unless i was taught a different "Ten Commandments" at school.
Bush is worried about people like Dean and Slaughter. Very modern politicians!!! People who don't "Take" your "CRAP" Bushco!!!!! They have a "shitload" to hide!!!! Lets "GET IT"!!!!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. It reads like

a tempest in a teapot.

The guy's trying to sell a book, but this is definitely a non-story.

[iamjoy]

4. I Agree...Who Cares

After stealing an election, ignoring an impending terrorist attack, taking the nation to war under false pretenses and illegally diverting funds (there are many more, but I can't list them all and didn't want to include issues on which we are merely politcal opposites) who gives a crap if he gushed about Ashcroft and laughed at McCain?

[DS1]

27. "It reads sort of like a Spy Novel", Bush on the 9/11 Commission Report

Fucking idiot. :eyes:

[punpirate]

33. Well, the Cliff Notes version he got...

... might have been a lot peppier than the original....

[The Zanti Regent]

5. All this bastard has done is kill my only child.

What angers me more are the Pink Tutu Democrats and the Whore Press who repeatedly let this pisshead off the hook.

[saigon68]

15. There's lots of Pink Tutu Democrats

I AM NOT ONE OF THEM.

This FUCKING WAR has to stoop. Its a shame they didn't stop it before your child was killed.

I'm afraid it will only get worse.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

26. I'm so sorry

My sympathies. I can't imagine any of what you're enduring.

I lived through Watergate, and I can't believe there is absolutely no journalistic curiosity, let alone outrage, about the bullshit that Fuckface and his band of squatter thugs have pulled.

Maybe this "Jeff Gannon" story, coupled with Judith Miller facing the slammer, will get them off their worthless asses and cause someone to grow some balls.

In the meantime, I'm glad you're here.

:hug:

[kiki]

40. Yup...

...not meaning purely to "big up" the UK (where I'm from), but:

The next time any of your "journalists" make any snide comments about Europe or the faggy liberal media we have over here, direct them to the now infamous footage of BBC reporter John Simpson, his blood literally dripping on the camera lens after being caught in the crossfire while reporting the carnage in Iraq.

I'm pretty pissed off, but I can't even imagine what you people must be feeling.

[UKCynic]

100. Caught in the crossfire?

He and his companions, one of whom died, were shot at by incompetent Americans. No Iraqis were firing. There was no crossfire.

[kiki]

102. I was using the phrase

in a general sort of way - but you're right, that's what happened.

It was back around the time of the attack on the hotel, when killing journalists in Iraq was apparently all the rage.

[0007]

29. My condolences!

Bring the troops home immediately

[Kenergy]

53. I'm angry too. We've been sold out. n/t

[AlCzervik]

6. wow....

Early on, though, Mr. Bush appeared most worried that Christian conservatives would object to his determination not to criticize gay people. "I think he wants me to attack homosexuals," Mr. Bush said after meeting James Robison, a prominent evangelical minister in Texas.

But Mr. Bush said he did not intend to change his position. He said he told Mr. Robison: "Look, James, I got to tell you two things right off the bat. One, I'm not going to kick gays, because I'm a sinner. How can I differentiate sin?"

Later, he read aloud an aide's report from a convention of the Christian Coalition, a conservative political group: "This crowd uses gays as the enemy. It's hard to distinguish between fear of the homosexual political agenda and fear of homosexuality, however."

"This is an issue I have been trying to downplay," Mr. Bush said. "I think it is bad for Republicans to be kicking gays."

[JI7]

7. it does show he thinks homosexuality is a sin

comparing whatever sins he commited with being gay. and for all the talk about how he can't "be kicking gays" he still allows it to happen by using anti gay bigotry for political gain.

[AlCzervik]

9. it shows Dobson is also worse than i thought

and i hope McCain kicks himself in the ass for awhile after reading this.

[AgadorSparticus]

11. if mccain doesn't know what this guy is like prior to hearing these tapes

he needs to kick HIMSELF in the ass. honestly, they went after his "dark skinned" kid and mccain has the gall to go and pucker up to *? naaaaah. mccain deserves every bit of this.

[JI7]

12. McCain probably has no problem attacking political opponent's kids

considering he did the same with Chelsea.

[AlCzervik]

14. i totally forgot about that....the ugly thing right?

What the hell is wrong with him and how can Hillary be traveling with him?

[JI7]

16. he did apologize to them

just like that asshole Rush apologized about him joking about Chelsea.

but i still don't feel bad for anything Bush may have said about him.

[AlCzervik]

17. no i don't either at all and McCain's sorry wouldn't be

enough for me at all.

[Califooyah Operative]

65. McCain Knows what Bush is about,

Bush sabotaged him on larry king with a fake flyer that he blamed on mccain. Mccain knows bush and his clans power and capability and he plays the game sometimes for his own good.

[American Tragedy]

74. What the fuck is the homosexual political agenda?

[pretzel4gore]

8. what dope is the nytimes pushing now?

wouldn't trust their mothers (the mothers of all liars) much less them...are they saying geebush isn't a mass murdering punk? that he won the trifecta? that he likes men? his friends tape their private conversations? What are they selling?!

[KoKo]

28. Bush says about 2000 /...Gore pathological liar...I'll have to get rough..

Mr. Bush could hardly contain his disdain for Mr. Gore, his Democratic opponent, at one point calling him "pathologically a liar."

His confidence in the moral purpose of his campaign to usher in "a responsibility era" never wavered, but he acknowledged that winning might require hard jabs. "I may have to get a little rough for a while," he told Mr. Wead, "but that is what the old man had to do with Dukakis, remember?"

For his part, Mr. Wead said what was most resonant about the conversations with Mr. Bush was his concern that his past behavior might come back to haunt him. Mr. Wead said he used the tapes for his book because Mr. Bush's life so clearly fit his thesis: that presidents often grow up overshadowed by another sibling.

"What I saw in George W. Bush is that he purposefully put himself in the shadows by his irresponsible behavior as a young person," Mr. Wead said. That enabled him to come into his own outside the glare of his parents' expectations, Mr. Wead said.

[KoKo]

30. Damned Review is a Whitewash by a Religious Fanatic trying to cover

the Chimp's butt... It tries to show how religious Bush is while saying he thought Clinton "morally unfit," Gore a pathological liar, and he is just great because he's repented for his sins and reads the Bible every day! :grr:

I guess the reviewer and the writer of the "suck up" book had to shore up Chimp's failing numbers with his religious righties. And it's the New York Times...striking once again...

[Chalco]

10. I heard about this several months ago, this is so yesterday

New York Times. Why is it that we get news before the MSM?

Rhetorical question.

[hezekkia]

13. this dope has the audacity to call Gore "pathologically a liar"?!?

what a frickin' hypocrite.
:grr:

[woo me with science]

18. it's all in the commas.....

He called him, pathologically, a liar.

[NYC]

35. Perfect punctuation!

Thank you. :hi:

[Art_from_Ark]

21. Projection is his specialty

[rooboy]

19. There is an arrest warrant out for Doug Wead in France.

<snip>
At one time, Wead and his ex-wife Gloria, were both Diamond distributors, sponsored by Dexter and Birdie Yager. Wead earned large sums of money by speaking at Amway functions throughout the Yager organization.

Wead and another kingpin, Jean Godzich, eventually branched out and set up an Amway in France. In 1986, the French government began investigating it and decided the company was a dangerous mind-control cult, and a fraudulent business. Amway France terminated the distributorship of Godzich, from whose group most of the complaints had originated.

So what do Wead and Godzich do next? They set up a new MLM in France, called Groupement or GEPM. Its product line consisted of Amway products, its business structure was identical to Amway France, and its cultic activities were just as blatant as they were in the first operation.

After receiving numerous complaints about GEPM, French authorities moved in to shut it down, but this time it issued criminal arrest warrants, 13 for the company’s distributors, and 2 for Godzich and Wead. Godzich took all the cash and fled the country and Wead never returned to France.

This man is the same Doug Wead, who 2 years later, would become a White House Aide to the first President Bush, and spiritual adviser to the second. God help us!!!

</snip>

http://thomasmc.com/1213ep.htm

[pacifictiger]

20. so does this mean there

is no honor among thieves? God, I hope so - may they soon turn on each other and betray their own kind.

[NJCher]

57. Amway!! Freaking Amway!

Now that is how a real country behaves! Vive la France! Kick these flim-flam bastards out.

Why is it that bush is associated with the creepiest and scummiest of businesses: oil thugs, military and then this sleazy lineup of pyramid schemes? R-W Christian wacko operations that are really nothing more than scams that use emotional appeals to get donations.

bush is like a magnet for every sleazy operation out there. Absolutely everything he thinks, says and does is so repulsive to me that I shudder everytime I hear about it.


Cher

[mod mom]

76. don't forget male prostitution. nt

[Cell Whitman]

22. Wead loves the Moon organization...they made it happen for the right

http://www.mediachannel.org/originals/moontranscript.shtml

Narrator: Moon has also consistently promoted a conservative political agenda in the United States. His efforts have not gone unnoticed at the White House. Douglas Wead was a Special Assistant to President Bush responsible for liaison with conservative groups.

Wead: "I'd say right now there are probably two groups among conservative organizations that really have an infrastructure, that have grassroots clout — Concerned Women of America would and the American Freedom Coalition would."

Narrator: During the 1988 election, the AFC printed and distributed 30 million pieces of political literature, including these glossy voter scorecards.

Wead: "I think the scorecards and some of the independent literature published had an enormous effect. In fact, we had huge notebooks filled with published materials from a wide variety of organizations. The best was probably the AFC's. It was by far the slickest and the finest produced material. And when that doesn't cost you anything, and it is not charged against the campaign and is widely distributed to mailing lists across the country, that has a very important impact."

Narrator: The AFC's activities have prompted renewed questions about Sun Myung Moon's involvement in American politics. The AFC calls itself a grassroots organization committed to supporting conservative causes. AFC leaders deny that their group is an "appendage" of Moon's movement, and they are sensitive about the issue. When we asked Robert Grant to discuss AFC ties to Moon, he refused. In a letter to FRONTLINE, Grant stated "I see no point in speaking with you either on camera or off camera."

And when Frontline reporter Eric Nadler visited AFC headquarters, no one would talk. .....

Narrator: Is the American Freedom Coalition a foreign agent? In 1989, Robert Grant wrote in the Washington Post that more than $5 million — one third of the AFC's money — came from "business interests of the Unification Church." Church officials say that their money comes from overseas — primarily from Japan. ....

Narrator: But Moon's influence over the AFC is underscored by this 1988 letter FRONTLINE obtained from a source who once worked within the Moon Organization. AFC President Robert Grant, writing to Reverend Moon, thanks him for investing heavily and "helping to bring the AFC into being." Grant concludes by telling Moon, "Without your leadership, vision and the support of your devoted followers, the AFC would not exist."
_____




learn more of how our nation was sold down the theocratic river..
http://cellwhitman.blogspot.com/

[Cell Whitman]

23. Goldwater supported a dem over Wead for congress in AZ.

http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special25/articles/0531goldwater2.html

Conservative pioneer became an outcast

* In 1981, Goldwater assailed the founder of the Moral Majority, the Rev. Jerry Falwell. Responding to Falwell's statement that all good Christians should be concerned about the Supreme Court nomination of Arizonan Sandra Day O'Connor, he said, ''I think every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass.''

* In 1989, Goldwater said the Republican Party had been taken over by a ''bunch of kooks,'' a reference to forces supporting TV evangelist Pat Robertson and Mecham.

* In 1992, he endorsed Democrat Karan English for Congress over Republican Doug Wead.

* In June 1993, Goldwater declared that the military should lift its ban on gays in the military. He also railed against discrimination against gays and lesbians in the workplace.

[American Tragedy]

75. It obviously worked too, since Karen English won.

[RoyGBiv]

24. Something smells ...

"Mr. Wead said he recorded the conversations because he viewed Mr. Bush as a historic figure . . . ."

Oh really. When were these tapes made?

[Rose Siding]

49. Looks like blackmail right out in the open. There are other tapes.

This could be a shot across the bow. No one would dare release any private bush communications without a powerful motive. -Their reputation for petty vindictiveness is too legend. Who would risk it?

It makes more sense that this is a warning- a threat about releasing the other tapes. I wonder what the price will be? And I wonder how desperate junior is right now about remembering just what he said to this guy.

[Cell Whitman]

25. Wead helped Moon con religious leaders.

http://www.rickross.com/reference/unif/unif107.html
Evangelicals unaware inaugural event was sponsored by Unification leader

Washington -- Evangelical leaders, including many Southern Baptists, were unaware that the Jan. 19 Inaugural Prayer Luncheon for Unity and Renewal was sponsored and by Sun Myung Moon, founder of The Washington Times and the Unification Church.....

"I was shocked to see that Sun Myung Moon was on the program and in essence, the host," Chapman said. "I was even more surprised on the way out of the banquet hall to be given a propaganda book on the Unification Church." Merritt, who delivered a tribute to evangelist Billy Graham, said he was stunned to learn that the event was sponsored by Moon's church.

"We knew that it was going to be an interdenominational event, but we had no idea that the luncheon was hosted by the Moonies," said Merritt, pastor of an Atlanta-area church. "My invitation to the event came through Doug Wead." Wead, a former White House senior staffer for George Bush, was one of the organizers of the luncheon. In his invitation to Merritt, no reference was made of Moon's participation or sponsorship. Wead could not be reached for comment.

"I didn't even see the program until I got there," Merritt said. "I had no idea this was the nature of the meeting. I believe this incident will teach us to be a little more judicious."

Pressler, a Baptist layman who played a key role in launching the conservative resurgence within the SBC, said he, too, was surprised. "This was completely unanticipated," Pressler said. "I was not pleasantly surprised by the focus of the luncheon."

The luncheon featured such well-known evangelicals as Jerry Falwell, the Urban Alternative's Tony Evans, and Trinity Broadcasting Network's Paul Crouch. Former National Evangelical Associational President Don Argue also supported the event.
___________

The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) IS the Unification Church after a name change.





The nation was sold down the river...
http://cellwhitman.blogspot.com/

[daleo]

31. I doubt he will reveal anything damaging.

He has been tight with the Bushs for a long time, evangelical, motivational speaker - probably a religious con-artist. There could easily be some blackmail behind it all though (he was secretly taping conversations). Maybe for personal gain, maybe to keep Bush dancing to the evangelicals tune. He may be holding something interesting back from the tapes, just in case.

Maybe there is something else out there, ready to be revealed, and the BFEE is softening the public up before it hits to inoculate Bush. The stuff about marijuana use makes me wonder.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[LinuxInsurgent]

32. and he INHALED

yeah boy...Bush...you coke head bastard...you did pot too....

This is a revelation for the Freepesr...hehehe...so much for their pure "man of God" president.

hahaha.

[LinuxInsurgent]

34. look at this quote

"Mr. Bush took stock of conservative Christian views of foreign policy as well. Reading more of the report from the Christian Coalition meeting, Mr. Bush said to Mr. Wead: "Sovereignty. The issue is huge. The mere mention of Kofi Annan in the U.N. caused the crowd to go into a veritable fit. The coalition wants America strong and wants the American flag flying overseas, not the pale blue of the U.N."

Is this not the most revealing indication of the patently fascistic-imperialistic designs of regular, rank-and-file Republicans. "American flag flying overseas"...that's right...just like the Union Jack...never let the sun set on it, right?

Republicans make me sick.

[Califooyah Operative]

36. This is some juicey stuff.....

Mr. Bush weighs the political risks and benefits of his religious faith, discusses campaign strategy and comments on rivals. John McCain "will wear thin," he predicted. John Ashcroft, he confided, would be a "very good Supreme Court pick" or a "fabulous" vice president. And in exchanges about his handling of questions from the news media about his past, Mr. Bush appears to have acknowledged trying marijuana
..................
Preparing to meet Christian leaders in September 1998, Mr. Bush told Mr. Wead, "As you said, there are some code words. There are some proper ways to say things, and some improper ways." He added, "I am going to say that I've accepted Christ into my life. And that's a true statement
...................
But Mr. Bush also repeatedly worried that prominent evangelical Christians would not like his refusal "to kick gays." At the same time, he was wary of unnerving secular voters by meeting publicly with evangelical leaders. When he thought his aides had agreed to such a meeting, Mr. Bush complained to Karl Rove, his political strategist, "What the hell is this about
..................
He refused to answer reporters' questions about his past behavior, he said, even though it might cost him the election. Defending his approach, Mr. Bush said: "I wouldn't answer the marijuana questions. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I tried
..................

[Rose Siding]

37. "... I don't want some little kid doing what I tried"

Far better they should learn to consistenly lie their asses off.

[Lisa]

48. so he thinks he's so cool that kids will want to imitate him?

News flash, Dubya -- if you ask most children and teens who their role models are, politicians rarely are in the top 10. No wonder the under-21 participation rate in voting has sagged.

Bush's own daughters told him, "Dad -- you aren't as cool as you think." Not that he listened.

[kskiska]

97. BUSH LIED – FOR THE CHILDREN

is how the headline should read.

[mistertrickster]

39. BUSH ADMITS HE SMOKED POT is what this article should be

headlined. How do you nominate for "greatest" page? Straight arrow Christian conservatives should know that the man they worship in idolatry is a former pot head.

[Califooyah Operative]

41. You should nominate it, needs 1 more vote.

click on the main post for this thread and at the bottom of it is a link that says nominate for greatest

[mistertrickster]

43. Thanks, done. Check this quote---

"when Mr. Wead said that Mr. Bush had in the past publicly denied using cocaine, Mr. Bush replied, 'I haven't denied anything.'"

"He refused to answer reporters' questions about his past behavior, he said, even though it might cost him the election. Defending his approach, Mr. Bush said: 'I wouldn't answer the marijuana questions. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I tried.'"

*************

Thank god this conservative is more concerned about his own self-promotion than he is in protecting his "friend."

This is what you get when it all comes down to the almighty dollar, hahaha . . . I love it. Stupid capitalists, making a profit on the rope to hang each other with.

[seventythree]

52. coming out of a restaurant after the movies

at about 10:30, turned on the news -- just caught the end of something about Bush, Texas and pot smoking, so you are getting your wish -- that's what is playing. I actually came here to see if I could find out what that was about and I did.

[mod mom]

78. it sounds like bush was collabrating w wead. look at some of the

statements, like "I am going to say that I've accepted Christ into my life. and that's a true statement" or " I wouldn't answer the marijuana questions. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I tried".

we all know what a good christian bu$h is, as well how much he cares for littles kids. bu$h worships the almighty $, not much more.

[kskiska]

38. Who cares what you think?

When Mr. Wead predicted an uproar if Mr. Ashcroft were appointed to the court because of his conservative religious views, Mr. Bush replied, "Well, tough."

[madfloridian]

42. The hypocrisy in that article, the manipulation of Christians reminds me.

Of the quotes from Dean's book about when they were governor's together.

"I hadn't started out a Bush-basher. In fact, I'd been predisposed to like
George Bush. I knew him personally and had dealt with him professionally
when we were both governors. He'd always been charming and hospitable to me
and my family, both in the Governor's Mansion in Texas and at the White
House. He'd always been more than upright in the business dealings between
our states, keeping his word when he had no legal obligation to do so. What
I knew of his record in Texas bespoke a moderate man who was willing to put
pragmatism before ideology, to raise taxes when necessary to equalize state
education spending, and to take some heat from the right wing of his party
for doing so. ("I hate those people," he'd once snarled at me when I ribbed
him at a White House governors' gathering about some trouble he was having
in Texas with the Christian Coalition.)

"He painted the broad strokes of his policies and then left the details to
Congress or the political hacks in his administration. Letting the chips
fall where they might for millions of children. And sick people. And elderly
Americans.

That lack of caring, that shrugging off of the details of ordinary
Americans' lives, was every bit as enraging to me as purposeful, hateful
extremism. It seemed to me, in some ways, even worse. It was callous and
opportunistic. And it showed a willingness to put real people — real,
ordinary Americans — in jeopardy......"END SNIP
— Howard Dean
From his book, 'You Have the Power'


George Bush has used and manipulated many true Christians who trusted him. Many of the religious community were equally manipulative toward him.......but his statement to Howard Dean shows his true hypocrisy..

[MADem]

44. In Secretly Taped Conversations, Glimpses of the Future President

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/politics/20talk.html?ei=5065&en=3d3a7b4f99465096&ex=1109480400&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print&position=

As George W. Bush was first moving onto the national political stage, he often turned for advice to an old friend who secretly taped some of their private conversations, creating a rare record of the future president as a politician and a personality.

In the last several weeks, that friend, Doug Wead, an author and former aide to Mr. Bush's father, disclosed the tapes' existence to a reporter and played about a dozen of them.

Variously earnest, confident or prickly in those conversations, Mr. Bush weighs the political risks and benefits of his religious faith, discusses campaign strategy and comments on rivals. John McCain "will wear thin," he predicted. John Ashcroft, he confided, would be a "very good Supreme Court pick" or a "fabulous" vice president. And in exchanges about his handling of questions from the news media about his past, Mr. Bush appears to have acknowledged trying marijuana.

Mr. Wead said he recorded the conversations because he viewed Mr. Bush as a historic figure, but he said he knew that the president might regard his actions as a betrayal. As the author of a new book about presidential childhoods, Mr. Wead could benefit from any publicity, but he said that was not a motive in disclosing the tapes.

The White House did not dispute the authenticity of the tapes or respond to their contents.

[Just Me]

45. I am, of course, skeptical (esp when the WH has no dispute), but,...

,..interested.

However, I never believe a "whole truth" is being offered whenever this WH does not block/blur/cover/lie because I judge based on ACTIONS, rather than mere words.

[hootinholler]

46. Do any contain a 17 min gap?

The similarities keep piling up.

-Hoot

[stillcool]

47. Another Rove operator to the rescue....

[digno dave]

50. Early glimpse into Bush's keen sense of forsight: Forbes is the one he's

most worried about and McCain is the one he is least worried about.

[shanti]

54. well....

he can (and will) do and say whatever he wants....he's in and doesn't give a flying rat's ass what the public thinks now.

i have a feeling that we'll be seeing more of the "real chimp" in the future.

[truthisfreedom]

55. here's the key: "...played about a dozen of them."

play them all. let someone listen to every one of them. otherwise, this guy is just a rovian plant.

[AuntiBush]

56. Let's see...

Mr. Wead writes about the Hemp-in-Office smoking Weed.

Ok. I think I got it. Hard to keep all of the crap from this ADM straight! Thank you...;)

:kick:

[imenja]

58. In Secretly Taped Conversations, Glimpses of the Future President, NYT

Bush admits to drug use.


In Secretly Taped Conversations, Glimpses of the Future President
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

Published: February 20, 2005 New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/politics/20talk.html?hp&ex=1108962000&en=de99ea0739b1d129&ei=5094&partner=homepage

"WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 - As George W. Bush was first moving onto the national political stage, he often turned for advice to an old friend who secretly taped some of their private conversations, creating a rare record of the future president as a politician and a personality.

In the last several weeks, that friend, Doug Wead, an author and former aide to Mr. Bush's father, disclosed the tapes' existence to a reporter and played about a dozen of them.


Variously earnest, confident or prickly in those conversations, Mr. Bush weighs the political risks and benefits of his religious faith, discusses campaign strategy and comments on rivals. John McCain "will wear thin," he predicted. John Ashcroft, he confided, would be a "very good Supreme Court pick" or a "fabulous" vice president. And in exchanges about his handling of questions from the news media about his past, Mr. Bush appears to have acknowledged trying marijuana. . . .

He mocked Vice President Al Gore for acknowledging marijuana use. "Baby boomers have got to grow up and say, yeah, I may have done drugs, but instead of admitting it, say to kids, don't do them," he said. "

[Eric J in MN]

59. Bush expresses pride in being less honest than Al Gore,

at the same time that his campaign was pushing Al Gore's supposed dishonesty (exaggerations) and the press was going along with that angle.

[imenja]

60. and Bush's conversion to extreme Christianity for the campaign

Same story, page 3 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/politics/20talk.html?pagewanted=3&ei=5094&en=de99ea0739b1d129&hp&ex=1108962000&partner=homepage


"In September 1998, Mr. Bush told Mr. Wead that he was getting ready for his first meeting with James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, an evangelical self-help group. Dr. Dobson, probably the most influential evangelical conservative, wanted to examine the candidate's Christian credentials.

"He said he would like to meet me, you know, he had heard some nice things, you know, well, 'I don't know if he is a true believer' kind of attitude," Mr. Bush said.

Mr. Bush said he intended to reassure Dr. Dobson of his opposition to abortion. Mr. Bush said he was concerned about rumors that Dr. Dobson had been telling others that the "Bushes weren't going to be involved in abortion," meaning that the Bush family preferred to avoid the issue rather than fight over it.

"I just don't believe I said that. Why would I have said that?" Mr. Bush told Mr. Wead with annoyance.

By the end of the primary, Mr. Bush alluded to Dr. Dobson's strong views on abortion again, apparently ruling out potential vice presidents including Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania and Gen. Colin L. Powell, who favored abortion rights. Picking any of them could turn conservative Christians away from the ticket, Mr. Bush said. "

[shraby]

61. I think they're hoping this takes the spotlight

off Gannon.

[SmokingJacket]

81. I think you're right.

A big FAKE scandal (I bet he knew he was being taped -- this guy was his friend) to occupy the TV news shows while they're trying to avoid the real scandal.

:grr:

[Melodybe]

62. I would like to thank the NYT for yet another fluffy POS

This is the liberal media!?!

[otohara]

111. What A PIG

he is...fucking hypocrite liar...

[Selteri]

63. It just builds and builds

Mr. Bush took stock of conservative Christian views of foreign policy as well. Reading more of the report from the Christian Coalition meeting, Mr. Bush said to Mr. Wead: "Sovereignty. The issue is huge. The mere mention of Kofi Annan in the U.N. caused the crowd to go into a veritable fit. The coalition wants America strong and wants the American flag flying overseas, not the pale blue of the U.N."

Funny that, guess he was planning all along to go forward without the UN.

Snip

Many of the taped conversations revolve around Mr. Bush's handling of questions about his past behavior. In August 1998, he worried that the scandals of the Clinton administration had sharpened journalists' determination to investigate the private lives of candidates. He even expressed a hint of sympathy for his Democratic predecessor.

"I don't like it either," Mr. Bush said of the Clinton investigations. "But on the other hand, I think he has disgraced the nation."

Wow, Pot calling the Kettle Black - Guess 9/11 really paid off there
Snip

But Mr. Bush was sharply critical of Mr. Forbes, another son of privilege with a famous last name. Evangelicals were not going to like him, Mr. Bush said. "He's too preppy," Mr. Bush said, calling Mr. Forbes "mean spirited."



edited one comment

[T Bone]

64. Secret Tapes Show Bush Has Thinly Veiled Disgust for Evangelicals

That could be a headline from this too. But will it?

[ausiedownunderground]

66. Ladies & Gents - Great work on the "Bush Gang" Lets get Rove!!

People, fantastic job on Bush, Wead, etc. But if the "Real" Democrats want to win power and save the rest of us in the world, we need to get "The Pilsbury Doughboy"!!! Without takin this "Person" down we will have "Smear" campaigns on any "Candidate" we put up!! This guy is very good at what he's employed for!!! No Rove, the "Bush Gang" will struggle!!! He's linked to Gannon!!!!!!!! whether you like it or not. I know alot of of you are uncomfortable about this but we have have to go forward and take this "Scumbag" down!!! And i don't even live in America!

[OETKB]

67. I smell a rat!

Given the author and its less than revealing information and a veiled attempt to portray this dangerous man(*) as "one of us," this is one of those stories that has probably emenated from the bowels of the Heritage Foundation with the heavy guidance of Karl Rove. It smacks of his style to put the opposition in disarray and warm up the sympathy of their troops. We already know who we are dealing with and therefore it increases the "Bush bashing" and on their side they love a "repentant sinner." It is neither. IMHO this is a strategy to keep and consolidate neocon power. Just ask yourself what relevant problem is it addressing and doesn't it have the stamp and unpleasant smell of what happened in the Dan Rather affair?

This tactic is a first shot over the bow of what is to come to preserve this president's false reputation. I think we will be better off sticking to the issues and problems we have to solve. They are masters at manipulating the truth and creating perceptions. We have to go to our strengths.

This also comes hot off the heels of a conservative convention where Mr. Rove outlined a call for "idealism" and "spreading liberty." He is going to do this now by creating Bush as a sympathetic figure who has arisen from the downfallen to present a vision with a religious fervor that none has seen since the likes of Edmund Burke (who he also mentioned at that conference), the "father" of conservatism. It looks more to me more like the creation of a neanderthal society. A short overview of Burke and his writings will illustrate this. <http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4892>

[Massachusetts]

68. BINGO!

[DrZeeLit]

69. My first thought EXACTLY = KARL ROVE, master baiter! n/t

[complain jane]

71. I agree it's just another Rove-esque maneuver.

[llmart]

72. Agreed 100%

Some of you on this thread are not getting it. This jerk was on ABC News this morning already. ABC whores for Bush every chance they get. This is propaganda at its finest trying to set Bush up as a "regular guy" for the sheeple that worship him. Don't buy into how this is "exposing" Bush and his marijuana use. I've hear some of his supporters say things like "well, it doesn't matter what he did in his youth" though these are the same stupid people who ragged on Clinton for it.

[AngryWhiteLiberal]

80. Yep. This has Rove written all over it...

Notice that the tapes will be handed over to the Bush Library to do with them what they want. That doesn't sound like the actions of someone who is independent from the BFEE.

JB

[Catt03]

70. Another narcissistic Repug publishing a book

"As the author of a new book about presidential childhoods.."

Seems the key is what info he presents about other presidents. Can't wait to hear what he says about Clinton, Gore, Carter.

Per above disclosure on Wead...he's an opportunist and a hack. Expose him.

[musette_sf]

77. Does he mention that thing about

blowing frogs up with firecrackers?

[Sugarbleus]

73. Just heard the tapes on morning radio show...

West Coast Here...

I heard Bush say It was him against the world. ???????????? Well, he got that right; the world IS against ya georgie.

Edit to add:

One other thing that really ticks me off: While I don't give a damn about youthful drug experimentation..........I DO give a damn about the way this pig in office treats OTHER drug users that did the same things he did! Sorta the Limbaugh model...what's good for them is not good for anyone else. Neocons/fascists are special so get "special treatment". The rest of us can rot. :grr:

[mountainvue]

79. Rovian? n/t

[Moderator]

82. Kick

[leftchick]

83. New Tapes Say Bush May Have Smoked Marijuana

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=578&e=4&u=/nm/20050220/pl_nm/bush_marijuana_dc

"I wouldn't answer the marijuana question. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I tried," Bush purportedly says on the tape.


He added: "But you got to understand, I want to be president. I want to lead. I want to set -- Do you want your little kid say, 'Hey, Daddy, President Bush tried marijuana, I think I will?"'


In the tape, Bush mocks former Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites) -- who fought him for the presidency in 2000 -- for admitting he smoked marijuana.


White House officials did not dispute the tapes' veracity and indicated the president was disappointed by their release.


...,.. I want to hear about the coke parties.

[physioex]

84. This has been out already....

Some here at DU suspect it was put out to divert from Gannon gate.....

[candy331]

112. Diversionary tactic from Gannon story and a feel good I found Jesus

soothing balm for the bush cult.

[old blue]

85. *Finally* one redeeming virtue n/t

[physioex]

86. Don't bet your bank account....

This might be carefully manipulated by that snake Rove, so that Shrub won't have to push for a Constitutional ban. Plus it diverts attention from other important issues (Iraq, Gannon, Syria, Iran, N. Korea).

[thebigidea]

89. cancelled out by refusing to actually admit it - better to be a hypocrite

[daleo]

87. I think this is inoculation against further disclosures.

They will drop the news slowly, bit by bit. The guy doing the taping is a Bush buddy, so this is bound to be all a controlled disclosure. Why do it, if not to set the stage for some news they can't control?

Maybe Gannon has some goodies he can use against the BFEE if they throw him to the wolves. Anyway, nothing seems accidental with this bunch. With control of a compliant media, almost any scandal can be suppressed or softened.

[physioex]

91. Exactly.....

Walrus (Rove) himself has been scripting this....

[bluestateguy]

88. So we have a draft dodging, pot smoking president?

Some things never change.

[rasputin1952]

95. LOL....I was going to post the same thing...

:7

[whistle]

90. Bush was hard core, he smoked cocaine....

...http://talkleft.com/new_archives/007802.html

http://cocaine.org/george-bush/

[jeff30997]

93. "Yes but I never inhaled."

[Dr Fate]

92. He lied to us for our own good.

Gore told the truth, and was ridiculed.

Isn't that always the case?

[whistle]

94. It shows just how sick American society is

[Dr Fate]

96. Bush lied to ADULT VOTERS- uses kids as a shield.

This does not cut it- ADULT VOTERS want to know about the candidates- and Bush lied about his past.

You cant use "I did not want to hurt the kids" as an excuse for lying to ADULT VOTERS about your past.

[OKthatsIT]

98. Ive never met a COKE & ALCOHOL dependent who didnt smoke pot

COKE+ALCOHOL+POT....always always go together. But, did Laura score for him? Now that would be interesting gossip.

[confludemocrat]

99. The disdain for Gore was sincere...

the characterization of his marijuana use as "trying" was a lie. This is the baffling and devious, heinous and expert mixture of sincerity (usually angry to us against them rhetoric) with bullshit to bald-faced lying that makes him able to fool enough people to slide by yet again.

[Zerex71]

101. But, but, but, but

He inhaled! He inhaled! He inhaled!

(Simulated hyperventilating by the anti-Clinton mob)

I love it when hypocrisy is exposed.

[Imagevision]

103. Secret Bush Recordings made public yesterday - "Wild Behavior"

February 19th, 2005 10:05 pm
In Secretly Taped Conversations, Glimpses of the Future President

By David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 - As George W. Bush was first moving onto the national political stage, he often turned for advice to an old friend who secretly taped some of their private conversations, creating a rare record of the future president as a politician and a personality.

Mr. Bush, who has acknowledged a drinking problem years ago, told Mr. Wead on the tapes that he could withstand scrutiny of his past. He said it involved nothing more than "just, you know, wild behavior."

He worried, though, that allegations of cocaine use would surface in the campaign, and he blamed his opponents for stirring rumors. "If nobody shows up, there's no story," he told Mr. Wead, "and if somebody shows up, it is going to be made up." But when Mr. Wead said that Mr. Bush had in the past publicly denied using cocaine, Mr. Bush replied, "I haven't denied anything"
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1490

[NVMojo]

104. this is nutts stuff!!!

[raysr]

105. The asshole

could strangle a woman in front of all his supporters and they'd vote for him anyway. These revelations won't mean a thing. After all he's "born again" so anything before isn't even him.

[grumpy old fart]

106. yep...well said...eom

[Helga Scow Stern]

107. It seems it's all propaganda to try to control Gannongate damage.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x330846#330985

[BiggJawn]

109. Who? Guckert? Gannon? what's that?

Never mind that, "secret" tapes just surfaced where the Boy King MIGHT have copped to blowin' a little Boo back in the day...

They could catch him pulling "69" with the Secetary of state and he'd STILL get a pass....
The fix is in. I doubt he would be impeached even if he strangled John McCain in front of both Houses AND the UN.

[DemoTex]

110. A rotten red herring. My nostrils burn!

But it don't stink in the Bu$h house. Eh?

[RedSpartan]

108. On CNN...

Tapes show him "admitting" to smoking weed.

Which was a mortal sin for Clinton, but for W... well, what's in the past is not important.

[OETKB]

113. So I ask......

Where is our "noise machine." Who is out there that can respond to this drivel by illustrating who the real leaders are? This should be another wake-up call that we demonstrates we need to activate and support think tanks that will pour 10 stories for every one of theirs. Everyone here has just about seen the light on this one and with some many excellent articles cited, yet they somehow these news stories do not make their way to the general public. We need clear examples in the form of news stories and columns to place a side by side comparison of say Mr. * versus Howard Dean or any number of other thoughtful leaders whose backgrounds enable them to improve our lives, not vice versa. Attacking Mr. Bush directly only adds to the polarization.

[Middle Finger Bush]

114. I agree its a non-story... BUT

it might signify the media finally turning on Bush

[mustang]

115. Such hypocrisy

You know, if someone taped Bill Clinton saying these things, he would have gotten accused of being "manipulative" "calculating" and this would have been prove that he was shallow and whatever he did since he was 5 years old was done because he wanted to be President. The press would have hammered him for months about it. They would have tried to impeach him for the drug use alone.

Why do I have the feeling this will be a one day story and Bush will, again, be allowed to be the low life, mediocre person he is without the press touching any topic that came up. Man, the interviews/tapes just reeks of hypocrisy.

He's willing to lie his way to get the job, but it's okay, because he's a down home country boy. He lies on the tapes, his drug use is only "a wild time" so it's okay, he makes policy decisions based on his base and ooh . . . this is too much. When will this nightmare end????

[raysr]

116. Think about the timing of

this "revelation" i.e. Guckert.