"Barbara will go crazy!!" . . . the Bush's Maine pool caretaker speaks out

[Bluebear]

James Razsa at a recent Iraq war protest in Kennebunkport, Maine; behind him, the Bush family's vacation home where he cleans the pool.

...Razsa recalls one day when former first lady Barbara Bush was on her way over, and it looked like there wouldn't be time to bring the pool's temperature up to her desired 82 degrees in time. The family's caretaker was in a panic, he says.

"He kept shouting, 'Barbara will go crazy! Barbara will go crazy!'" Razsa recalls. "This is the same woman who after Hurricane Katrina said (of the Houston Astrodome refugees), 'You know, they're underprivileged anyway, so this -- this is working very well for them.'" ...

"Seeing so much power accumulated in the hands of one person was just so weird," he says of his first time inside, about five months ago. "These people were just concepts in my head before this."

As for actual sightings, the Bushes have been elusive. At one point Barbara zipped by on a golf cart; at another, George indicated from afar that the pool looked terrific. (Note to communications staff: Would be funny if he said, "Read my lips" when communicating at a distance.) Otherwise the ex-president and his family have kept out of sight. For Razsa, his job -- the only one he could find -- put him directly in touch with the very sort of power he holds partly responsible for his, and other people's, hard times.

"I look at the biggest middle finger in the world all day," is his more succinct explanation. I ask Razsa if he has a monologue loaded up, in the event that his next encounter was at closer range. To my surprise, the idea doesn't appeal. "What do you say? 'Thanks for School of the Americas, and Iran-Contra, and NAFTA, and shipping all those jobs overseas, and arming Saddam, and funding the Taliban?' What do you say -- 'You're a jerk?' There's nothing that can be put into a sentence that would capture the lives these people have taken, and the way of life that's been taken."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/g/a/2007/09/24/onthejob.DTL

[Richardo]

1. He can start looking for another job...........NOW!

Barbara is not know for her tolerance.

[Bluebear]

2. Yeah, that gig just ended!

[stillcool]

14. summers over....

When I first started talking to Razsa about his job, I hoped for some inside look at the machinations of the super-elite. Turns out a leaf-skimmer doesn't have tremendous access. In fact, the most insider-y stuff came from outside the gates, at a recent war protest aimed at the Bush compound. (For the record, Razsa felt obliged to attend in honor of a friend who was departing for Iraq; in fact he was as scornful of the "hippie protest kids" as he was of the pro-war element that showed up.) Leaving the demonstration, he stopped at a lemonade stand where a young girl and her mother had set up shop. They got to talking, and it turned out they were family of George Herbert Walker III, former ambassador to Hungary and first cousin of the ex-president up the road.

Ever respectful, Razsa kept his politics to himself and enjoyed the lemonade. It was the young girl who turned to him and held forth: "Just because we're related to them, doesn't mean we vote for them or believe in what they do."

"What did she say?" the mother asked.

Shocked, Razsa repeated the girl's declaration.

The mother nodded in approval.
---------------------------------------------
Razsa's time in this strange universe will come to an end when the weather turns -- pool-cleaning is seasonal, hence his willingness to talk openly. He hopes for a fresh start after this.

[Richardo]

17. D'oh - of course

Not everywhere has the same weather as Houston :banghead:

[stillcool]

21. I wonder how many days..

out of the year the Royal's spend in Maine, and the amount of staff they have on hand.

[SacredCow]

3. When he gets fired, he can certainly come clean MY pool!

Oh, wait- I don't have one.... Dang.

Edited for stupid typo

[Bluebear]

7. Well, hurry up and put one in!

:toast:

[SacredCow]

10. And find him an appropriate uniform....

:evilgrin:

Seriously, though.... good on him for speaking out. Sucks that he'll probably be blacklisted for it.

[shaniqua6392]

8. Just dig a quick little hole and fill it with water

and call it a "pool"!!! Wow.

[ronnykmarshall]

12. Me neither ...

But he can dust my condo in a jock strap.

[motocicleta]

29. C'mon Ronny

Dude just got fired from his shitty job - he doesn't need you goin' all lecherous-ass-not-funny-sexually-gross-comment on his unemployed butt, eh?

[ronnykmarshall]

40. Leather thong?

[motocicleta]

43. You're awful

}(

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ronnykmarshall]

42. .....

:spray:

[daninthemoon]

4. Please, someone get this guy a job. How about something in the

MSM. They desperately need someone not afraid to speak out. Bravo!

[MADem]

5. That'll be "cleaned"--past tense.

The SS won't let that guy anywhere on the compound henceforth, I'd imagine. Of course, pool season is about done this year up that way, unless we're talking indoor pools...!

[Cha]

6. Probably not for much longer..

cleaning the pool that is.

Great for James Rasza that he's speaking on the assholes who spawned bush on the world.

82 degrees? Oh boy..if she weren't such an elistist, arrogant, piece of white trash..I would in no way want to deprive her of her 82 degree.

[shain from kane]

9. How much did they pay him, hourly rate? Just wanted to see how cheap they really are. n/t

[earthboundmisfit]

13. Article says $9 an hour

"pennies thrown at my feet," relative to the wealth all around him, he says.

[shain from kane]

22. Thanks for the answer. Should have checked it myself. n/t

[earthboundmisfit]

24. 9 bucks on hour is no where NEAR enough in light of the fact that

one very bad day, there's a chance that the poor bastard may have to actually glimpse Barb in a swimsuit...

[SammyWinstonJack]

25. ...

:spray:

[Bluebear]

27. :)

[Bluebear]

36. para la manana

[never_get_over_it]

39. He is paid by the pool cleaning company

not the clients - so actually it is the pool cleaning company who is cheap - not that I really want to defend these freaks....but I'm sure they don't pay him directly - now of course the freaks could tip and that would sure be interesting to see if they do or did - but since he hardly ever saw them I doubt it....

[Demit]

11. How interesting to read this. The writer should go seek out other ex-bush family workers.

Might make a nice series. Although I could've done without the image of Barb flopping around in her swimming pool. Ick.

[daninthemoon]

15. Or someone having to clean up afterward. Double ick.

[backscatter712]

18. I remember hearing a story that might have come from an ex-White-House-chef

IIRC, he said that Dubya would only eat four dishes: a cheeseburger, a BLT, a peanut-butter & banana sandwich, and a grilled-cheese sandwich. That's it.

And no matter which one the chef served, Bush would send it back, demanding one of the other three. So the cook routinely made all four, just so he could have the one Bush wanted ready on demand.

[Demit]

19. I hope he spat on the other three, you know, just for good luck.

[daninthemoon]

16. I hope this isn't a black bag to gitmo offense. " He talked bad

about mama"

[NJCher]

20. Re Razsa

Despite being scornful of protesters, this guy is very well informed. In fact I, a professional bush hater and DU veteran approaching 12,000 posts, could hardly have phrased this better: "...'Thanks for School of the Americas, and Iran-Contra, and NAFTA, and shipping all those jobs overseas, and arming Saddam, and funding the Taliban?' What do you say -- 'You're a jerk?' There's nothing that can be put into a sentence that would capture the lives these people have taken, and the way of life that's been taken."

Not only that, the guy has a conscience. Look at this statement, from the article, where he talks about his dream of going into the Navy SEALS: When he got older, that dream unraveled. "I tried to talk myself into it being okay, but I couldn't get past the possibility of the government misusing our service."

I'm impressed.



Cher

[Arugula Latte]

23. Holy crap...A bit of advice, James: Stay out of small planes...

:scared:

[Felinity]

26. Well he won't be flying on any big ones, either

Welcome to the no fly list.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

28. Babs the Vanatee

"He kept shouting, 'Barbara will go crazy! Barbara will go crazy!'"

Will?

[aaronbees]

33. Indeed .... will?

Vanatee!!!

:rofl:

[momster]

30. What Happens When She Does?

When her pool water is 80 degrees, does she scream? Foam? Fall down and kick her heels? Does she bring a thermometer? What if it's 84? Do they dump ice in...oh, wait, as soon as she gets in the temp drops 'cause that's one cold, cold lady.

[leftchick]

31. holy moley!

I have a new hero!

Thank you again BB!

:)

[Kurovski]

32. K&R.

I love the stuff you dig up and drag home to us, Bluebear. That's great. :D

Oh how I hope she or her son "goes crazy" on tape one day.

[Warren DeMontague]

34. Maybe he left 'em a Baby Ruth bar as a farewell gift.

[LunaSea]

35. "biggest middle finger in the world"

Sorry,
Thats not a finger.

[WinkyDink]

37. Succunct and apt. I like this guy.

[PA Democrat]

38. Caretaker: "And so many of the people in the Bush family here, you know, were cold-hearted anyway,

so this--this (chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."