|
Among
the many surprising developments of the recent
war has been the news that President George
W. Bush reads big books, and in particular,
books about history:
•
EDITORIAL OBSERVER
Channeling
Ghosts of Presidents Past, Rutherford B. Hayes
Included
(NY Times, January 11, 2002) by Steven
R. Weisman
"President Bush passed a milestone of
sorts recently when he disclosed that over
the holidays he had been reading 'Theodore
Rex,' the new best-selling biography of Theodore
Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. Mr. Bush was evidently
given the book by his political adviser, Karl
Rove, who is something of a history buff,
especially of the emergence of the modern
Republican Party at the turn of the last century.
"Mr. Rove has brought several historians
to the White House to meet with presidential
aides and, on occasion, with Mr. Bush. The
idea, Mr. Rove told Richard Berke of The Times,
is to help the president and his staff step
back and learn how others have dealt with
similar situations.
"In reaching out to historians, Mr. Bush
is writing another chapter in the sometimes
awkward annals of presidents and intellectuals.
Since the days of Franklin Roosevelt's 'brain
trust,' presidents seem to have enjoyed being
tutored by professors and experts, although
there have been some famous fiascoes in the
process."
•
In
the White House, a Sense of What History Can
Teach
(NY Times, January 9, 2002), by Richard
L. Berke
"In
an interview, Mr. Rove depicted how this White
House had learned from the triumphs - and
travails - of other presidents. He has summoned
several leading historians to the White House
to meet with staff members, and often the
president, to ruminate over past administrations.
One of them, Forrest McDonald, a historian
at the University of Alabama, went to the
White House last summer to deliver a lecture
on 'the characteristics of great presidents.'
In what might be viewed as a high- level book
club, Mr. Rove has given Mr. Bush several
history books to read, and they often chat
about them."
• The New Republic was more succinct.
Upon learning from the preceding article that
Mr. Bush had been receiving guidance from
controversial historians Edmund Morris, Joseph
Ellis, and Stephen Ambrose, the editors came
up with the heading, "A fiction writer,
a liar, and a plagiarist." ("Notebook"
section, 21 Jan. 2002)
Readers
may be excused for a certain skepticism about
Mr. Bush's abilities, given that not only
a hunger for historical knowledge, but also
the following quotes, are attributed to the
President:
"I
think we agree, the past is over."—On
his meeting with John McCain, Dallas
Morning News, May 10, 2000
"Reading
is the basics for all learning."—Announcing
his "Reading First" initiative
in Reston, Va., March 28, 2000 (Thanks to
Carl LaRocca.)
"I
read the newspaper."—In answer
to a question about his reading habits,
New Hampshire Republican Debate, Dec. 2,
1999
"I
don't remember debates. I don't think we
spent a lot of time debating it. Maybe we
did, but I don't remember."—On
discussions of the Vietnam War when he was
an undergraduate at Yale, Washington
Post, July 27, 1999
—quotations
from "The
Complete Bushisms" (actually a second-generation
work, as it was President George H. W. Bush
who inspired the first such anthology)
Modern Humorist, by contrast, attributes prodigious
authorial ability to the President and
has published his
new book.
|
