It's a fun game. I was playing it myself the other day. But when I consider W's exposed lies and secrecy, the seeming serendipity of critical leaks, and the bombshells officially disclosed or uncovered only after many decades, I consider it hopeless and/or unfair to rank them, because we don't know that we have the complete set of pertinent facts for any of them. It would be a shame to give a prize to a guy who was just a more ruthless manipulator.
Indeed. Hell, it's hard where to decide how to come down on Madison/Jefferson. Let alone anyone from the present century. Still--and Flaco will be among those who disagree--I just see so little to suggest that W is capable of manipulation . . . I mean, consciously. He's good enough at it at a kind of animal level, apparently.
I heard someone on NPR claim he'd heard W or tapes of W conversing in private settings (a gubernatorial debate?) in which W says "nuclear" and expresses himself like the Yalee he is. Could have been somebody else back then at the other end of the ear piece, I suppose.
OK, that's well-put, Flaco. My other carefully-chosen word was "animal"--your comment reminds me that it so often seems like W is endowed with something that makes it possible for Rove to succeed with the guy . . .
Leading is manipulative by definition. It's a fundamentally primitive art you could learn in prison if it needed learning at all. Anyway, social groups are so big now that "leaders" is just code. I don't think there's anything it connotes but that their names top an organizational chart. Puppet governors have to be outmanipulated and/or duped by their underlings to be impotent, unless we're talking about a ceremonial position. So as far as I'm concerned W could be dumb as well as canny at manipulating cabinet members and even we the people who employ him. Sure, he gets manipulated by them too, but what does he care? Whatever they get out of him it won't be the presidential suite. But who even wants to try to trick him? Even if he's an easy mark, some striving mandarin will let him know what's happened afterwards, and a chief executive and commander in chief of the United States has a lot of authority for reprisal. W's alleged penchant for loyalty and insular inner circle suggest to me just such a scenario: A hereditary king. A stupid and ruthless one.
It seems like everything we know about him suggests he's an utterly shameless bullshitter and liar. Driving his wife around as an alcoholic probably taught him something in the art. Eluding National Guard duty? His fraternity days and emerging from Yale with a reputation as a prankster? His utterly contrived folksy schtick? You think Barbara Bush taught him to comport himself that way or to perceive himself as an every man? And I don't doubt he's a sincere pentacostal to boot. "Integrity" is not the word this biography brings to mind. Anyway, I voted for him twice, but never again.
Bush was military intel in ww2. It took him 2 years to fire his first shot in the pacific. He only flew about 6 months before he was sent home to be married in Jan 1945. He spent the next 6 month at home pretending to be a pilot while doing his job as a intel officers. His friends knew that they were going to drop the A- bomb in Japan so they brought George home to protect him and to give him a head start in school. In that Sept. 1945 Bush entered Yale as a covert "intel" military officer waiting for his fathers friends at Wall street to create the CIA. The military and the OSS were fighting for control of intel after the war. All of the OSS officers were put into a black box until something was done. Wall st. won! They were able to create there own intel similar to the british who had strong ties to their industries. After Bush graduated from yale he was a case officer who was sent to Dresser(cia) his first CIA posting. After a while he was sent to Texas posing as a oil man by the cia to create an image as a wild cater. He would manage Zapata oil co, a CIA asset in the Bay of Pigs. Out of 4 years Bush only fought 6 months. He was in military intel since he was 18 years old.! He went to college as a military officer. He was in Dallas when JFK was killed. Bush was a covert cia officer when he was a congressman from Texas up to the day he became CIA director under Nixion which shocked everyone. He claims he had no expierence!
11 comments:
It's a fun game. I was playing it myself the other day. But when I consider W's exposed lies and secrecy, the seeming serendipity of critical leaks, and the bombshells officially disclosed or uncovered only after many decades, I consider it hopeless and/or unfair to rank them, because we don't know that we have the complete set of pertinent facts for any of them. It would be a shame to give a prize to a guy who was just a more ruthless manipulator.
Indeed. Hell, it's hard where to decide how to come down on Madison/Jefferson. Let alone anyone from the present century. Still--and Flaco will be among those who disagree--I just see so little to suggest that W is capable of manipulation . . . I mean, consciously. He's good enough at it at a kind of animal level, apparently.
That is the Question For The Age. Is he just pretending to be stupid?
JFK could speak English.
CKR
True. I wonder what he'd think of the present situation in Cuber.
I heard someone on NPR claim he'd heard W or tapes of W conversing in private settings (a gubernatorial debate?) in which W says "nuclear" and expresses himself like the Yalee he is. Could have been somebody else back then at the other end of the ear piece, I suppose.
OK, that's well-put, Flaco. My other carefully-chosen word was "animal"--your comment reminds me that it so often seems like W is endowed with something that makes it possible for Rove to succeed with the guy . . .
Leading is manipulative by definition. It's a fundamentally primitive art you could learn in prison if it needed learning at all. Anyway, social groups are so big now that "leaders" is just code. I don't think there's anything it connotes but that their names top an organizational chart. Puppet governors have to be outmanipulated and/or duped by their underlings to be impotent, unless we're talking about a ceremonial position. So as far as I'm concerned W could be dumb as well as canny at manipulating cabinet members and even we the people who employ him. Sure, he gets manipulated by them too, but what does he care? Whatever they get out of him it won't be the presidential suite. But who even wants to try to trick him? Even if he's an easy mark, some striving mandarin will let him know what's happened afterwards, and a chief executive and commander in chief of the United States has a lot of authority for reprisal. W's alleged penchant for loyalty and insular inner circle suggest to me just such a scenario: A hereditary king. A stupid and ruthless one.
It seems like everything we know about him suggests he's an utterly shameless bullshitter and liar. Driving his wife around as an alcoholic probably taught him something in the art. Eluding National Guard duty? His fraternity days and emerging from Yale with a reputation as a prankster? His utterly contrived folksy schtick? You think Barbara Bush taught him to comport himself that way or to perceive himself as an every man? And I don't doubt he's a sincere pentacostal to boot. "Integrity" is not the word this biography brings to mind. Anyway, I voted for him twice, but never again.
I take it when Martin Peretz re-ups your contract you can write any crazy shit you want, as long as you don't diss Israel or Sineger sewing machines.
Bush was military intel in ww2. It took him 2 years to fire his first shot in the pacific. He only flew about 6 months before he was sent home to be married in Jan 1945. He spent the next 6 month at home pretending to be a pilot while doing his job as a intel officers. His friends knew that they were going to drop the A- bomb in Japan so they brought George home to protect him and to give him a head start in school. In that Sept. 1945 Bush entered Yale as a covert "intel" military officer waiting for his fathers friends at Wall street to create the CIA. The military and the OSS were fighting for control of intel after the war. All of the OSS officers were put into a black box until something was done. Wall st. won! They were able to create there own intel similar to the british who had strong ties to their industries. After Bush graduated from yale he was a case officer who was sent to Dresser(cia) his first CIA posting. After a while he was sent to Texas posing as a oil man by the cia to create an image as a wild cater. He would manage Zapata oil co, a CIA asset in the Bay of Pigs.
Out of 4 years Bush only fought 6 months. He was in military intel since he was 18 years old.! He went to college as a military officer. He was in Dallas when JFK was killed. Bush was a covert cia officer when he was a congressman from Texas up to the day he became CIA director under Nixion which shocked everyone. He claims he had no expierence!
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