yallknowdatg
06-07-2004, 03:52 AM
Bush's Erratic Behavior Worries White House
Aides
By DOUG THOMPSON
Publisher, Capitol Hill Blue
Jun
4, 2004, 06:15
President George W. Bush’s increasingly erratic behavior and wide
mood swings has the halls of the West Wing buzzing lately as aides privately express growing
concern over their leader’s state of mind.
In meetings with top aides and administration
officials, the President goes from quoting the Bible in one breath to obscene tantrums against
the media, Democrats and others that he classifies as “enemies of the state.”
Worried
White House aides paint a portrait of a man on the edge, increasingly wary of those who
disagree with him and paranoid of a public that no longer trusts his policies in Iraq or at home.
“It reminds me of the Nixon days,” says a longtime GOP political consultant with
contacts in the White House. “Everybody is an enemy; everybody is out to get him. That’s the
mood over there.”
In interviews with a number of White House staffers who were
willing to talk off the record, a picture of an administration under siege has emerged, led by a
man who declares his decisions to be “God’s will” and then tells aides to “**** over” anyone
they consider to be an opponent of the administration.
“We’re at war, there’s no doubt
about it. What I don’t know anymore is just who the enemy might be,” says one troubled White
House aide. “We seem to spend more time trying to destroy John Kerry than al Qaeda and our
enemies list just keeps growing and growing.”
Aides say the President gets “hung up
on minor details,” micromanaging to the extreme while ignoring the bigger picture. He will spend
hours personally reviewing and approving every attack ad against his Democratic opponent
and then kiss off a meeting on economic issues.
“This is what is killing us on Iraq,” one
aide says. “We lost focus. The President got hung up on the weapons of mass destruction and
an unproven link to al Qaeda. We could have found other justifiable reasons for the war but
the President insisted the focus stay on those two, tenuous items.”
Aides who raise
questions quickly find themselves shut out of access to the President or other top advisors.
Among top officials, Bush’s inner circle is shrinking. Secretary of State Colin Powell has fallen
out of favor because of his growing doubts about the administration’s war against Iraq.
The President's abrupt dismissal of CIA Directory George Tenet Wednesday night is,
aides say, an example of how he works.
"Tenet wanted to quit last year but the
President got his back up and wouldn't hear of it," says an aide. "That would have been the
opportune time to make a change, not in the middle of an election campaign but when the
director challenged the President during the meeting Wednesday, the President cut him off by
saying 'that's it George. I cannot abide disloyalty. I want your resignation and I want it now."
Tenet was allowed to resign "voluntarily" and Bush informed his shocked staff of the
decision Thursday morning. One aide says the President actually described the decision as
"God's will."
God may also be the reason Attorney General John Ashcroft, the
administration’s lightning rod because of his questionable actions that critics argue threatens
freedoms granted by the Constitution, remains part of the power elite. West Wing staffers call
Bush and Ashcroft “the Blues Brothers” because “they’re on a mission from God.”
“The
Attorney General is tight with the President because of religion,” says one aide. “They both
believe any action is justifiable in the name of God.”
But the President who says he
rules at the behest of God can also tongue-lash those he perceives as disloyal, calling them
“******* assholes” in front of other staff, berating one cabinet official in front of others and
labeling anyone who disagrees with him “unpatriotic” or “anti-American.”
“The mood
here is that we’re under siege, there’s no doubt about it,” says one troubled aide who admits
he is looking for work elsewhere. “In this administration, you don’t have to wear a turban or
speak Farsi to be an enemy of the United States. All you have to do is disagree with the
President.”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the record.
Aides
By DOUG THOMPSON
Publisher, Capitol Hill Blue
Jun
4, 2004, 06:15
President George W. Bush’s increasingly erratic behavior and wide
mood swings has the halls of the West Wing buzzing lately as aides privately express growing
concern over their leader’s state of mind.
In meetings with top aides and administration
officials, the President goes from quoting the Bible in one breath to obscene tantrums against
the media, Democrats and others that he classifies as “enemies of the state.”
Worried
White House aides paint a portrait of a man on the edge, increasingly wary of those who
disagree with him and paranoid of a public that no longer trusts his policies in Iraq or at home.
“It reminds me of the Nixon days,” says a longtime GOP political consultant with
contacts in the White House. “Everybody is an enemy; everybody is out to get him. That’s the
mood over there.”
In interviews with a number of White House staffers who were
willing to talk off the record, a picture of an administration under siege has emerged, led by a
man who declares his decisions to be “God’s will” and then tells aides to “**** over” anyone
they consider to be an opponent of the administration.
“We’re at war, there’s no doubt
about it. What I don’t know anymore is just who the enemy might be,” says one troubled White
House aide. “We seem to spend more time trying to destroy John Kerry than al Qaeda and our
enemies list just keeps growing and growing.”
Aides say the President gets “hung up
on minor details,” micromanaging to the extreme while ignoring the bigger picture. He will spend
hours personally reviewing and approving every attack ad against his Democratic opponent
and then kiss off a meeting on economic issues.
“This is what is killing us on Iraq,” one
aide says. “We lost focus. The President got hung up on the weapons of mass destruction and
an unproven link to al Qaeda. We could have found other justifiable reasons for the war but
the President insisted the focus stay on those two, tenuous items.”
Aides who raise
questions quickly find themselves shut out of access to the President or other top advisors.
Among top officials, Bush’s inner circle is shrinking. Secretary of State Colin Powell has fallen
out of favor because of his growing doubts about the administration’s war against Iraq.
The President's abrupt dismissal of CIA Directory George Tenet Wednesday night is,
aides say, an example of how he works.
"Tenet wanted to quit last year but the
President got his back up and wouldn't hear of it," says an aide. "That would have been the
opportune time to make a change, not in the middle of an election campaign but when the
director challenged the President during the meeting Wednesday, the President cut him off by
saying 'that's it George. I cannot abide disloyalty. I want your resignation and I want it now."
Tenet was allowed to resign "voluntarily" and Bush informed his shocked staff of the
decision Thursday morning. One aide says the President actually described the decision as
"God's will."
God may also be the reason Attorney General John Ashcroft, the
administration’s lightning rod because of his questionable actions that critics argue threatens
freedoms granted by the Constitution, remains part of the power elite. West Wing staffers call
Bush and Ashcroft “the Blues Brothers” because “they’re on a mission from God.”
“The
Attorney General is tight with the President because of religion,” says one aide. “They both
believe any action is justifiable in the name of God.”
But the President who says he
rules at the behest of God can also tongue-lash those he perceives as disloyal, calling them
“******* assholes” in front of other staff, berating one cabinet official in front of others and
labeling anyone who disagrees with him “unpatriotic” or “anti-American.”
“The mood
here is that we’re under siege, there’s no doubt about it,” says one troubled aide who admits
he is looking for work elsewhere. “In this administration, you don’t have to wear a turban or
speak Farsi to be an enemy of the United States. All you have to do is disagree with the
President.”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the record.