People who know Bush well say the strain of war is palpable. He rarely jokes with staffers these days and occasionally startles them with sarcastic putdowns.... He's got that steely-eyed look, but he is burdened," says a friend who has spent time with the president since the war began. "You can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. I worry about him."... News coverage of the war often irritates him. He's infuriated by reporters and retired generals who publicly question the tactics of the war plan.... Bush's schedule still includes meetings on matters unrelated to the war, many of them on the economy, but the meetings are shorter now....
Bush believes he was called by God to lead the nation at this time, says Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a close friend who talks with Bush every day. His history degree from Yale makes him mindful of the importance of the moment. He knows he's making "history-changing decisions," Evans says. [Bush's Yale transcript discloses a "c" average and his extra-curricular activities totaled social chairman of his frat and membership in a secret social society. --Politex]
Bush doesn't keep a diary or other personal record of the events that will form his legacy. Aides take notes, but there's no stenographer in most meetings, nor are they videotaped or recorded.... He is convinced that the Iraqi leader is literally insane and would gladly give terrorists weapons to use to launch another attack on the United States.... In the first days of the conflict, the president's aides said he was leaving the details of war planning to his generals. Then, fearing that he might seem too uninvolved, they began describing him as interested in all the specifics.
Rumsfeld was Richard Nixon's ambassador to NATO and a White House chief of staff and Defense secretary for Gerald Ford. He won't compare Bush with those presidents, but he likes the way his current boss operates. "He thinks things through, but when he makes a decision, he makes it, and he doesn't go back and worry about it," Rumsfeld says. Bush is not an expert on military tactics, but he's getting an education from Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was an Air Force combat pilot in Vietnam.... People who know Bush well say the burdens of war take a toll on him. His wry humor, which generally punctuates his relationships with his aides, largely evaporates in times of great stress. He can be impatient and imperious.
On March 17, before he delivered a 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam [Click on "The Man Is An Idiot"], Bush summoned congressional leaders to the White House. They expected a detailed briefing, but the president told them he was notifying them only because he was legally required to do so and then left the room. They were taken aback, and some were annoyed. They were just as surprised by his buoyant mood two days later at another White House meeting. --Judy Keen, 04.02.03
Bush believes he was called by God to lead the nation at this time, says Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a close friend who talks with Bush every day. His history degree from Yale makes him mindful of the importance of the moment. He knows he's making "history-changing decisions," Evans says. [Bush's Yale transcript discloses a "c" average and his extra-curricular activities totaled social chairman of his frat and membership in a secret social society. --Politex]
Bush doesn't keep a diary or other personal record of the events that will form his legacy. Aides take notes, but there's no stenographer in most meetings, nor are they videotaped or recorded.... He is convinced that the Iraqi leader is literally insane and would gladly give terrorists weapons to use to launch another attack on the United States.... In the first days of the conflict, the president's aides said he was leaving the details of war planning to his generals. Then, fearing that he might seem too uninvolved, they began describing him as interested in all the specifics.
Rumsfeld was Richard Nixon's ambassador to NATO and a White House chief of staff and Defense secretary for Gerald Ford. He won't compare Bush with those presidents, but he likes the way his current boss operates. "He thinks things through, but when he makes a decision, he makes it, and he doesn't go back and worry about it," Rumsfeld says. Bush is not an expert on military tactics, but he's getting an education from Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was an Air Force combat pilot in Vietnam.... People who know Bush well say the burdens of war take a toll on him. His wry humor, which generally punctuates his relationships with his aides, largely evaporates in times of great stress. He can be impatient and imperious.
On March 17, before he delivered a 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam [Click on "The Man Is An Idiot"], Bush summoned congressional leaders to the White House. They expected a detailed briefing, but the president told them he was notifying them only because he was legally required to do so and then left the room. They were taken aback, and some were annoyed. They were just as surprised by his buoyant mood two days later at another White House meeting. --Judy Keen, 04.02.03
