Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

I Love You Son

by BooMan
Wed Aug 30th, 2006 at 08:49:28 PM EST

WILLIAMS: Is there a palpable tension when you get together with the former president, who happens to be your father? A lot of the guys who worked for him are not happy with the direction of things.
BUSH: Oh no. My relationship is adoring son.
WILLIAMS: You talk shop?
BUSH: Sometimes, yeah, of course we do. But it's a really interesting question, it's kind of conspiracy theory at its most rampant. My dad means the world to me, as a loving dad. He gave me the greatest gift a father can give a child, which is unconditional love. And yeah, we go out and can float around there trying to catch some fish, and chat and talk, but he understands what it means to be president. He understands that often times I have information that he doesn't have. And he understands how difficult the world is today. And I explain my strategy to him, I explain exactly what I just explained to you back there how I view the current tensions, and he takes it on board, and leaves me with this thought, “I love you son.”

Many, many fathers have had the misfortune to raise slow-witted sons. We can all picture the inner sadness they feel as they realize their child is never going to be able to make it in the world without assistance.

Sometimes, when they have just endured a particularly revealing example of their son's shallowness of thought, they must suppress a sigh, rest a reassuring hand on the shoulder, and say, "I love you son."

It even happens to Presidents and ex-Presidents. It is a bit strange to hear George W. Bush talk about it though. Evidently, he is unselfconscious about his ineptitude in the eyes of his father.

And what kind of worldview did George put to Poppy?

WILLIAMS: When you take a tour of the world, a lot of Americans e-mail me with their fears that, some days they just wake up and it just feels like the end of the world is near. And you go from North Korea to Iran, to Iraq, to Afghanistan, and you look at how things have changed, how Americans are viewed overseas, if that is important to you. Do you have any moments of doubt that we fought a wrong war? Or that there's something wrong with the perception of America overseas?
BUSH: Well those are two different questions, did we fight the wrong war, and absolutely -- I have no doubt -- the war came to our shores, remember that. We had a foreign policy that basically said, let's hope calm works. And we were attacked.
WILLIAMS: But those weren't Iraqis.
BUSH : They weren’t, no, I agree, they weren't Iraqis, nor did I ever say Iraq ordered that attack, but they're a part of, Iraq is part of the struggle against the terrorists. Now in terms of image, of course I worry about American image. We are great at TV, and yet we are getting crushed on the PR front. I personally do not believe that Saddam Hussein picked up the phone and said, “al-Qaida, attack America.”

Only a father could love someone that said that.

I Love You Son | 15 comments (15 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: I Love You Son (4.00 / 2)

also in blue.

by BooMan on Wed Aug 30th, 2006 at 09:01:48 PM EST

Re: I Love You Son (none / 1)

This is novel, to my eyes at least. May I ask why you posted at MyDD and not at the site-that-cannot-be-named?

by Arminius on Wed Aug 30th, 2006 at 09:19:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I Love You Son (none / 0)

Best piece you ever wrote!

"First, they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win." Mahatma Gandhi

by Street Kid on Wed Aug 30th, 2006 at 10:46:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I Love You Son (none / 1)

thank you. but, I hope not.

by BooMan on Wed Aug 30th, 2006 at 11:33:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I Love You Son (none / 1)

The shocking thing to me is that George H.W. Bush quite clearly puts loyalty to family over loyalty to country. I think that makes him some kind of traitor in these strange days.

by Arminius on Wed Aug 30th, 2006 at 09:17:45 PM EST

Re: How about (none / 1)

What and incredible dolt Brian Williams is for that piece of fluff. Too bad he didn't get Bush to shed a tear, he could become the new Baba Wawa. Williams is a brainless mannequin.

Maybe we can get a Fantasy Tabloid Journalist Softball Team.

Team One could be all Fox News Anchors.

Team Two could consist of Walters, Williams, Blitzer, Larry King, Anderson Cooper etc. etc. etc.

We could come up with a entire League at this point.

by wilfred on Wed Aug 30th, 2006 at 09:39:02 PM EST

Re: How about (none / 1)

I thought that at first too, wilfred. But in softballing it, didn't he give Bush just enough rope to hang himself? My god, he sounded completely brainless.

by Second Nature (denn1214 at gmail) on Wed Aug 30th, 2006 at 10:19:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: How about (none / 1)

Well SN, that happens with Bush no matter what you do!

Letting Bush spout that crap with no follow-up just makes it look the the journalist got a credible answer to every average joe out there.

by wilfred on Wed Aug 30th, 2006 at 10:26:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I Love You Son (none / 0)

in orange.

by BooMan on Thu Aug 31st, 2006 at 12:28:45 AM EST

But no "I love you, Dad" (none / 0)

Or, "I love you, Poppy," if that's what the stupid git calls his sire.

Chimpy's response gave me the distinct impression that he was anxious to tell the world that his father loves him, contrary to many accounts of their relationship. Williams quite pointedly brought up Poppy's relationship with Bill Clinton, as if to needle the Chimpster with it. Chimpy appeared to bite (or be stung) as he had to make sure to mention that his father loves him in spite of the failings Williams pointed out.

I found the interview interesting because of Williams' more-or-less Oedipal line of questioning. He seemed to be trying to force shrub to acknowledge his differences with and possible antagonism towards his father. That's an approach one rarely sees the MSM take with the Chimp. Obsequious as Williams was with shrub, it was clear that some of his questions were annoying his guest.

by Xeno on Thu Aug 31st, 2006 at 06:08:40 AM EST

Re: I Love You Son (none / 0)

I'm sure Marcus Aurelius loved Commodus as well. It didn't do anything to help the citizens of the Roman Empire endure the latter's reign of terror, though.

Many historians believe that the decline of Rome began under Commodus. For this reason, Aurelius' death is often held to have been the end of the Pax Romana.

Or perhaps the comparison to Septimius Severus and Caracalla is more apt - Papa Bush was no Marcus Aurelius, and the latter set of father and son would put us a bit farther along the downhill part of the arc of empire. And Mama Bush certainly has a streak of the strong-willed Julia Domna in her as well!

And life could get very interesting (in the sense of the Chinese curse "may you line in interesting times") if the analogy holds true into the next generation of the dynasty!

Ecological collapse is already happening. Your resentment of the word doesn't change the fact that it is occurring.

by Knoxville Progressive (green_planet_2000 (at) yahoo (dot) com) on Thu Aug 31st, 2006 at 09:46:53 AM EST

Re: I Love You Son (none / 0)

Did anyone catch the part of the interview when Williams asked Dimwit about the book he was reading and what some of the storyline was and Dimwit totally avoided answering the question? I think they give him cliff notes(is that what they are called) on the books he lists that he read and he hadn't gotten around to reading even those yet so he was unable to answer Williams' question.

Frodo failed...Bush has got the ring.

by alohaleezy on Thu Aug 31st, 2006 at 10:49:53 AM EST

Re: I Love You Son (none / 0)

I noticed that too. I guess just reading the title is enough of an effort in BushWorld?

"Little people are very stuff-intensive."

by CabinGirl on Thu Aug 31st, 2006 at 11:07:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I Love You Son (none / 0)

Is it 2009 yet?

Frodo failed...Bush has got the ring.

by alohaleezy on Thu Aug 31st, 2006 at 05:55:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I Love You Son (none / 0)

Thanks to the excellent Mother Jones Iraq War Timeline:

In a letter to his father on October 7, 2001, to thank him for all he had done and to tell him that he had ordered the bombing of Afghanistan. In its conclusion: "I feel no sense of the so-called heavy burden of the office."

Tough to understand that as a father and a former president.

by Matt in VA on Fri Sep 1st, 2006 at 02:23:48 PM EST

I Love You Son | 15 comments (15 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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