Former speechwriter: "George W. Bush didn't understand economic problems as president"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

George W. Bush didn't understand economic problems as president - ex-speechwriter in new book

Gatecrasher

Wednesday, September 16th 2009, 4:00 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/09/16/2009-09-16...



It seemed like every time President George W. Bush stepped before the cameras during last fall's stock market meltdown, the Dow tumbled.

It's a good thing the public couldn't see what was going on behind the scenes at the White House, according to an insider's account.

Bush is pictured as a desperate, bumbling lame duck with little grasp of the economic turmoil around him in the tell-all book by ex-speechwriter Matt Latimer in "Speech-Less: Tales of a White House Survivor."

Hours before Bush was to give a speech last September outlining the administration's $700 billion plan to buy up troubled mortgages, for instance, Latimer writes that Bush clearly didn't understand his own plan.

"We're buying low and selling high," Latimer quotes Bush as saying over and over in an excerpt posted yesterday on GQ's men.style.com Web site.

"The problem was that his proposal didn't work like that," Latimer noted.

[Dennis Donovan]

1. in other news... fire=hot...

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. You've gotta ask "Who's going to read that book and experience an epiphany?"

"But...but...he seemed so confident and in control!"

[baldguy]

6. Looking confident & in control is easy

Even when it's obvious that you're not.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

8. Looks like that came from the same photo set as THIS One:

"Putin Explains 'Driving' To Bush"

PUTIN: "No, no, no, Mr. President...You turn it THIS way if you want to go LEFT."

BUSH: "An' what happens if 'n I step on THIS..."

PUTIN: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

[baldguy]

3. News to them - Republicans don't do the "science" thing.

[Brother Buzz]

4. The piehole effect, we understood it from the get-go

[Phx_Dem]

5. I'm shocked! He went to Yale you know.

And, obviously, ditched every class.

[amandabeech]

21. Don't blame it all on the Yalies.

Shrub went to Harvard Business School, too.

[Phx_Dem]

22. Blame Yale? I'm not blaming Yale, I was using SARCASM

to poke fun at those who used to say "Bush is not dumb, he went to Yale!" You can substitute Harvard if you want. The point is the same. Bush is an idiot regardless what school he attended.

[amandabeech]

28. I understood your sarcasm.

And tried to make a little sarcastic jokelette on top of it.

[SharonAnn]

29. So, his Harvard MBA didn't help him understand economic financial "things".

Wow, that's bad for the Harvard MBA reputation.

[SharonAnn]

30. History major at Yale, MBA at Harvard, and still clueless!

[Arugula Latte]

7. No shit, Matt "Captain Obvious" Latimer.

[Mist]

9. Do tell. And the sky is still blue. nt

[Cha]

10. That's a big shock. What did bush

understand? How to schoomze the fundies?

[MichiganVote]

11. A business major no less..so much for ivy leagues

[santamargarita]

12. Ten bucks says that dumb asshole can't spell economic

[Mrs. Overall]

13. What a dipshit.

Elected twice...unf'ingbelievable.

[Downtown Hound]

14. Guess what? He didn't understand anything else either. n/t

[Uncle Joe]

15. On the other hand did Latimer want to have a beer with a President Bush?

I bet Latimer didn't take that in to consideration!

[Jennicut]

16. Bush was the dumb one in his family...the one who was not supposed to be President.

Who is more dumb though...Bush are the idiots that voted for him, TWICE!

[opihimoimoi]

17. Confirmation his MBA Degree is BOGUS....dumber than dumb level.

[Dr Fate]

18. The time to "expose" this was when Bush was in office. Thanks for nothing.

n/t

[Amerigo Vespucci]

19. My guess is that you'll be seeing many more "thanks for nothing" books in the days ahead.

Let's not forget that Condi got a publisher's advance for hers.



EXCERPT: "Mushroom cloud? What WAS I thinking? Looking back, I realize how foolish that sounds. Oh well..."

[opihimoimoi]

20. Chauncy Gardners EVIL TWIN...W Bush faked his way thru life....he noes NOTHING

[Phx_Dem]

23. That's the biggest DUH statement ever uttered. n/t

[KansDem]

24. Let's see: Oil CEO and Texas Governor, but doesn't understand economics...

I don't understand economic problems, either. Guess I could have been an "oil CEO and Texas Governor" but my last name isn't spelled "B U S H"

[SharonAnn]

31. Oil CEO? Well, CEO of failed companies when others were succeeding.

[bertman]

25. It wasn't Dubya's job to understand economics. It was the job of all those "economics guys"

hanging around the White House.

Bush did his job and did it well. He managed to initiate the transfer of over TEN TRILLION DOLLARS into the pockets of the wealthiest people on the planet, and at the expense of the American taxpayers.

That was what his handlers wanted and they got what they wanted.

Anyone who thinks he was an economic failure doesn't understand what the goals were in the first place.

[PA Democrat]

26. Paul O'Neill said pretty much the same thing in his book

The Price of Loyalty.

He said Bush never asked a single question when he briefed him, that he was "incurious". O'Neill was convinced that Bush never bothered to read any of the briefings prepared for him. O'Neill said that Bush stifled expression of any viewpoints or facts that interfered with his agenda, whether it was to cut taxes or go to war with Iraq.

Ignorance can be dangerous, willful ignorance even more so.

[DrToast]

27. In fairness to Bush, he didn't understand how a pretzel worked

Is it really fair to expect him to understand how a $14 trillion dollar economy works!?