Reply #13: Did anyone actually read the first book? Bush at War. [View All]

[Hamlette]

I did. And I've always been amazed when people call it a puff piece.

Granted, Bush came off sounding more sane than I think he is and Woodward didn't really go after him but the rest of the people in his administration came off just as Clarke portrays them.

Clarke and O'Niell say the Bush administration was obsessed with Iraq from day one. Woodward basically said the same thing. He didn't say they were obsessed but he did say they had been planning a war in Iraq "months" before 9-11. Since they had only been in office for less than 8 months before 9-11 it is easy to conclude they were planning the war from day one.

Woodward flew under the radar with his first book in large part (I think) because we didn't yet know there were no WMD in Iraq. We were not then ready to say "these guys were nuts to focus on Iraq."

But all the evidence is there. In his first book.

I think Bush trusted him because. . .Bush didn't read his first book or if he did he didn't "get it". (It was subtle when I read it when it first came out. Re-reading parts of it last night made it clear Woodward was sounding the alarm then.)

From the NYTimes today I'm guessing most of the read damning info came from Powell and that Bush had no idea he sounded so crazy when he said things like: "My father is not the kind of father you go to for advice. I go to a different father." (Wonder how Poppy and Babs are feeling about that is morning.)