I’m several years late, but I’m finally reading John Avlon’s Independent Nation.
I skipped to the last chapter and read it first, and was terribly confused in the process, as Mr. Avlon paints a picture of a consensus-seeking, cross-aisle-working, bridge-building George W., when he was Governor of Texas.
Subsequently, I had a chance to chat in person with another TMV contributor, a Texas resident, who remembers GW as Governor, and offered the following take, apparently shared by many Texans: GW was a great governor and a decent, down-to-earth guy who probably fell victim in the White House to that pesky Peter Principle, about rising to one’s own level of incompetence. (By the way, unless I missed it, Dr. Peter forgot to mention what happens when you rise to your own level of incompetence and then surround yourself with people who give really bad advice.)
Next Question: When the President finally unveils what Andrew Sullivan labels “the next installment of his ‘Five Year Plan for Iraq’� … which version of the President will show up? The bridge builder depicted by Avlon … or the obstinate “Decider� from earlier this year?
A former advisor to Father Bush leans toward the latter, while a recent Newsweek article suggests there might be at least some glimpses of the former …
“In the days following the (ISG) report’s release, Bush the Decider transformed himself into Bush the Listener. Usually prickly with war critics—on the rare occasions he spoke to them at all—the president now invited them in from the cold and kept quiet.â€?
I guess we’ll find out when we find out. In the meantime, Ron Beasley links today to a worthwhile reminder about who the ultimate “Decider� should be.