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My Job Was Telling Bush Things He Didnt Want To Hear
http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-2486-my-job-was-telling-bush-things-he-didnE28099t-want-to-hear.htmlPresident Bush clearly expressed a desire to have Al-Sadr killed or otherwise removed from power. John thought that was a bad idea. Saddam Hussein had executed Al-Sadr's dad, and his father's martyrdom was a huge part of why Al-Sadr was so popular. If we killed Al-Sadr, one of his kids might take his place and gain even more clout. Plus, y'know, trying to kill people doesn't always work out for us.
When John pointed this out, it did not go over well. President Bush, Yale graduate, mocked him as an "elitist" ivory tower intellectual. Then Bush's posse stepped in -- "I felt like I was talking to a bunch of yahoos," John generously put it -- and they fought to protect the president from sinister things like "nuance."
"When there was disagreement between myself and the president, almost the entire group of advisers who were there, and they were all there -- it was Condoleeza Rice, Steven Hadley ... the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the DNI, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates -- they all kinda circled the wagons around the president, and I became the enemy. They were going to try to repudiate what I was saying. And I thought to myself, 'This is bizarre.' It was sorta like shoot the messenger at this point. And I remember thinking, 'How does this guy function surrounded by people who are filtering news to him in order to show the president how loyal they are?'"
John was clearly frustrated by this. But he also kinda understood it. "There also is this weird dynamic ... where you get in proximity to the president of the United States, and you're there to tell him something, there is a strong, strong impulse to want to give him good news. It's just natural, y'know? You realize it's a tough job, and it's going to benefit you if he walks away with a smile on his face. And you have to fight that at all costs."
When John pointed this out, it did not go over well. President Bush, Yale graduate, mocked him as an "elitist" ivory tower intellectual. Then Bush's posse stepped in -- "I felt like I was talking to a bunch of yahoos," John generously put it -- and they fought to protect the president from sinister things like "nuance."
"When there was disagreement between myself and the president, almost the entire group of advisers who were there, and they were all there -- it was Condoleeza Rice, Steven Hadley ... the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the DNI, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates -- they all kinda circled the wagons around the president, and I became the enemy. They were going to try to repudiate what I was saying. And I thought to myself, 'This is bizarre.' It was sorta like shoot the messenger at this point. And I remember thinking, 'How does this guy function surrounded by people who are filtering news to him in order to show the president how loyal they are?'"
John was clearly frustrated by this. But he also kinda understood it. "There also is this weird dynamic ... where you get in proximity to the president of the United States, and you're there to tell him something, there is a strong, strong impulse to want to give him good news. It's just natural, y'know? You realize it's a tough job, and it's going to benefit you if he walks away with a smile on his face. And you have to fight that at all costs."
I'd recommend reading BEFORE this excerpt to get the entire point. Good article IMHO.
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