The Washington Post’s Peter Baker today depicts George Bush as a sad, besieged, isolated and detatched figure, who seeks the company of like-minded extremists to convince him that he will be vindicated by history. The Post article describes at length a “luncheon” which Bush hosted earlier this year for Andrew Roberts, a neoconservative “historian” and, according to The New Republic, an all-out “imperialist” with shadowy, vaguely white supremacist views.
As WashingtonPost.com’s Dan Froomkin notes today, the incidents conveyed by Bush in the Post article bolster the themes of my new book, A Tragic Legacy. Specifically, that neocon luncheon which Bush hosted for Roberts is one of the most revealing of the Bush presidency, as it reveals both how George Bush thinks and how influential neoconservatives have been able to manipulate his support for their agenda. Following is an excerpt — exclusively for C&L — from A Tragic Legacy, which discusses the Roberts luncheon:
On February 28, 2007, President Bush hosted what he called “a literary luncheon” to honor right-wing “historian” Andrew Roberts. Accounts of that luncheon — which describe the “lessons” the guests taught the President (and they call them “lessons”) — provide an amazing glimpse into the Bush mindset and his relationship with neoconservatives.
The White House invited a tiny cast (total: 15 guests) of standard neoconservatives and other Bush followers to the luncheon, including Norman Podhoretz (father-in-law of White House convict Eliot Abrams), Gertrude Himmelfarb (wife of Irving Kristol and mother of Bill), Mona Charen and Kate O’Beirne of National Review, and Wall St. Journal Editorial Page Editor Paul Gigot. The Weekly Standard’s Irwin Stelzer was also invited, and he thereafter wrote about the luncheon in the most glowing terms.
Stelzer’s account provides truly illuminating insight into what neoconservatives have been filling the President’s head with for years now, and demonstrates how they have managed to keep him firmly on board with their agenda. The most critical priority is to convince the President to continue to ignore the will of the American people and to maintain full-fledged loyalty to the neoconservative agenda, no matter how unpopular it becomes.
To do this, they have convinced the President that he has tapped into a much higher authority than the American people — namely, God-mandated, objective morality — and as long as he adheres to that (which is achieved by continuing his militaristic policies in the Middle East, whereby he is fighting Evil and defending Good), God and history will vindicate him. As Stelzer wrote:
On one subject the president needed no lessons from Roberts or anyone else in the room: how to handle pressure. “I just don’t feel any,” he says with the calm conviction of a man who believes the constituency to which he must ultimately answer is the Divine Presence (emphasis added). Don’t misunderstand: God didn’t tell him to put troops in harm’s way in Iraq; belief in Him only goes so far as to inform the president that there is good and evil. It is then his job to figure out how to promote the former and destroy the latter. And he is confident that his policies are doing just that.
Another luncheon attendee Michael Novak of the American Enterprise Institute, recalled (also in The Weekly Standard) the President saying: “I want to have my conscience clear with Him. Then it doesn’t matter so much what others think.” Novak also revealingly marveled that “The President was not at all intimidated by his fifteen or so guests” even though the guests included Podhoretz, Himmelfarb and “Irwin Stelzer himself” — in Novak’s world, one expects the President to be intimidated to be in the presence of such powerful neoconservative luminaries, not the other way around.
Stelzer recounts what he calls the multiple “lessons” they taught Bush at this luncheon. One of the key lessons is Roberts’ view that the U.S. should be most concerned with its relationships with the other “English-speaking countries in the world,” and not worry nearly as much about all those countries where they speak in foreign tongues (”Lesson Four: Cling to the alliance of the English-speaking peoples”).
But that “lesson” led Bush to bewilderingly wonder why there was such rising anti-Americanism all over the world, even in English-speaking countries such as England (”‘Is it due simply to my personality?’ he wondered, half-seriously. ‘Is it confined to intellectuals?’ asked a guest”). Anti-Americanism, the neoconservatives instructed Bush, is something he should just ignore. As long as he continues to follow neoconservatism, that is all that matters:
The combined Roberts-Stelzer response: The causes of rampant anti-Americanism do indeed include dislike of Bush. But there are others: the war in Iraq; anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian sentiment, laced with some covert anti-Semitism; and resentment of American power. Roberts urged the president not to concern himself with these anti-American feelings, since in a unipolar world the lone superpower cannot be loved. His advice: “Get your policies right and history will prove a kind muse” (emphasis added).
Nothing matters — not the disapproval of the American people of the President’s actions nor rising anti-Americanism around the world. He should simply ignore all of that and continue to obey the mandates of neoconservatism because that is what is Good and his God will be pleased.
Other lessons that Bush was taught that day: “First: Do not set a deadline for withdrawal. That led to the slaughter of 700,000 to 1 million people in India, with the killing beginning one minute after the midnight deadline.” They also told the President to ignore the fact that other powerful countries and even empires that tried to dominate the world have all collapsed. Those incidents are irrelevant and teach us nothing because — unlike the Glorious Leader today — those people simply lacked the Will to Power. Thus:
Second lesson: Will trumps wealth. The Romans, the tsars, and other rich world powers fell to poorer ones because they lacked the will to fight and survive. Whereas World War II was almost over before Americans saw the first picture of a dead soldier, today the steady drumbeat of media pessimism and television coverage are sapping the West’s will.
They also instructed the President to continue his policies of indefinite imprisonment without charges: “Third lesson: Don’t hesitate to intern our enemies for long, indefinite periods of time. That policy worked in Ireland and during World War II. Release should only follow victory.” “Victory,” of course is decades away – it is a Permanent War — so the “lesson” they are teaching is to imprison people forever with no charges and not to worry about all those whiny complaints from the dreaded human rights complainers that doing so is un-American. American values are no competition for the imperatives of neoconservative glory.
The lessons continued. “Appeasement,” of course, is the Ultimate Evil, the Great French Sin. Hence: “Fifth lesson: We are fighting an enemy that cannot be appeased; were that possible, the French would already have done it–a Roberts quip that elicited a loud chuckle from the president.”
Finally, the neoconservatives left Bush with the overarching instruction — namely, the only thing that he should concern himself with, the only thing that really matters, is Iran. Forget every other issue — the welfare of the American people, every other region around the world — except the one that matters most:
The closing note was a more serious one. Roberts said that history would judge the president on whether he had prevented the nuclearization of the Middle East. If Iran gets the bomb (emphasis added), Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other countries will follow. “That is why I am so pleased to be sitting here rather than in your chair, Mr. President.” There was no response, other than a serious frown and a nod.
The President, concluded Stelzer with great satisfaction, “worries less about his ‘legacy’ than about his standing with the Almighty.” And as a result of this luncheon, the President’s standing with the Almightys in the neoconservative circle was as secure as ever.
The more unpopular the President becomes as a result, the more of a failure these policies are, the more strongly they tell him to ignore all of that, that none of it matters, that his God and history will conclude that he did The Right Thing, provided that he continues steadfastly to pursue their agenda. And the President believes that. The President’s “lessons” in the moral righteousness of his actions, as preached by neoconservatives, continue, and he is as faithful an adherent to those beliefs as ever.
_________________
Reprinted with permission of Crown Publishing and Glenn Greenwald. All rights reserved. A Tragic Legacy can be ordered here or at local bookstores.
2 Trackbacks To “C&L Exclusive: A Tragic Legacy: the influence of neocons on the Bush presidency“
For those of you who doubted the ‘Neocon Zionist Cabal’, doubt no more. For THE president listens only to THE ‘god’, which has been hijacked by THE zionists, who KNOW that ISRAEL UBER ALLES is THE GOOD policy, all else is EVIL, and poor, demented, deluded, stupid, megalomaniacal BUSH hasn’t the ability to comprehend reason and rationality and is therefore leading US all down the merry road to a possible armageddon, in which the zioinist Israelis will gleefully participate, for their ONE truth is that Israel, no matter how corrupt, how fascistic, how debased and debasing, MUST survive, for it is THE HOMELAND of THE CHOSEN, no matter where they live, and if they all work TOGETHER, they must be RIGHT, and what they do must be GOOD, so help US ‘GOD’.
AMEN. UNLESS we IMPEACH, IMPEACH, IMPEACH the denizens of the White House, AND PURGE, PURGE, PURGE THE FOREIGN ZIONIST TRAITORS from our government.
This article sent a shudder through me. This is beyond scary. Bush is the leader of the most powerful country in the world and this is what he does?? Listen to a bunch of radicals? How are these people different from the Taliban?
The sad part is that no one takes this man seriously, hence he can do whatever he wants and by the time America wakes up to what he has done, it is too late.
Glenn,
So what do you think about the breaking news?
Tragically, it will be decades before our nation fully recovers from the damage inflicted on it by the Bush administration’s demented sense of righteousness and its having embraced the lunacy of neoconservative movement.
What we really have to fear at this moment in time is whether or not the administration will yield to the law when Bush’s term ends in January, 2009. During Watergate many of us questioned whether or not Richard Nixon would defy Congress and the Supreme Court and attempt to seize absolute power. In the end, the law prevailed and Nixon resigned, but not until members of his own party held him accountable.
Unfortunately, there are seemingly no Republicans in the U.S. Senate or House with either the courage or the will to challenge this administration and its lawlessness. Where is a Barry Goldwater when you need him?
Scary shit.
Tom, did you read Froomkin’s article by any chance? Specifically about not seeing everything in black and white?
Tragic? They are criminals.
Impeach. Indict. Imprison.
…
“Destroyed the Bush presidency”?
Well, BOO friggin’ HOO. I feel about as bad about what happened to the poor “Bush presidency” because of the neocon crooks Bush sided with as I do about what happens to a con-artist’s mark who goes along with the con because of his own avarice, greed and reckless disregard for everyone else.
It’s the tragedy of what the “Bush presidency” and his precious con artiists did to AMERICA that I care about!
A tragic legacy for the nation! George Bush with his crimes and the criminals surrounding him has made the United States, the Constitution and American justice a big joke! Lady Liberty weeps for the country that she represents.
Welcome aboard, Glenn! Great work….
Who gives a crap about this charlatan’s legacy? He’s a goddamn murderer who’ll never be able to cleanse his hands of the blood of innocents. I’m more concerned about the damage this moron has done to our Constitution and the rule of law. We must insist upon impeachment because this f**ker promised to restore to the White House something that he’s never had - HONOR. He hasn’t a clue.
For America’s sake, impeach this criminal, and then lock him in a rubber room.
How would you like to be an intelligent, sane Secret Service member and have to protect this POS?
(How stupid of me, I guess the SS is smart enough to weed out the intelligent, sane ones. At least from the POS POTUS detail. Otherwise, POS POTUS would be in Arlington by now.)
Scary shit. These people are freakin nuts.
He is correct to worry about his standing with the Almighty.
This proves that Dubya is ignorant of the finer points of the neocon “philosophy”. Per Strauss, God does not exist; God is a “Noble Myth”, used by neocons as a lever to manipulate “useful idiots” like Bush(Strauss’s terms in qoutes). Bush makes an especially handy pawn for the neocons, in that he is a clinically definable sociopath/borderline psychopath, a serial murderer whose “religion” is steeped in sacred killing. That he can use the power of office to legitimize and excuse his mass murder and that he can rationalize his killing as good triumphing over evil (as doing God’s work) and finally, the slavering eagerness with which he orders death means that he is ever available for ready manipulation by his masters who themselves can rationalize limitless killling and murder in their quest for supremacy, in sating their will to power and dominion…regardless the cost to others.
Bush possesses a subnormal intellect, a malignantly twisted personality, is a moral cripple, and, quite contrary to what he professes, a self-despiting man who has a near total lack of self-esteem. He is, in other words, a neocon puppet master’s dream come true. That is why he was installed in the Coup D’estat of 2000.
The only way to end the nightmare of this evil neocon regime is to impeach their figurehead, the proxy through which the neocons have usurped the power of the office. It would not be an impeachment of the pathetic manling George W. Bush, it would be an impeachment of the neocons who constitute a de facto collective presidency. Pelosi does not get it, or worse, maybe she does. In any event, at this late date - when ample grounds exist not only to impeach but criminally convict Bush and Cheney, a refusal to consider impeachment is an act of abetting the evil that is the Bush “Administration”. It is impossible for me at this point not to consider Pelosi to be a deeply embedded intergral part of the malignancy that is eating away at the life and soul of this Nation.
So what is new???? Its the same folk (prescott bush and friends) who gathered in new york to listen to the german government discuss business opportunities in 1941. IBM landed the concentration camp records program out of this meeting.
You americans have invaded at least 30 countries in the last 100 years. It was the same people then and its the same people now.
Dont blame Israel for taking advantage where she can. Why not? Israel is in a fight to the death with a whole bunch of crazies. They gotta do what they gotta do to stay alive. If you go to the wall for them should they say no?
In most democracies we the people can hold these devils in check. Not so in america because your “system” of government is by and for corporations. Your sacred founders designed a flawed system easily bought and paid for. Outside of theconquored Phillipeans has any country adopted your corporatocracy????? In France the people take to the streets when the govt acts up. In america they watch tv and get told “it ok, now for breaking news about Paris Hilton”.
In summary: There are wicked people everywhere. In America a cowardly lazy and dumbed down people operating under a deeply flawed system of government just let it happen while holding their hands to their heart singing God Bless America
You are a silly silly people.
But hey, I bet he’s a great guy to sit down and have a beer with.
I know this seems contrarian but I get no kick at all being mr smartypants and saying Greenwald has it exactly reversed, bless him. This is theater, forgive me for saying.
The neocons are a necessary element of the Bushes’ charade ..in tandem with the other snow job of the American public. By inferring great wealth that will be reaped through aquisition of oil fields in Iraq for those with connections, the PNAC was a hoax every bit as much as the unfought war on terror. He is handing out greed candy.
In todays WashPost, P Baker says that Bush is listening. They are definitely NOT listening. These people are Kamakaze with other people’s bodies. They are winning, on agenda and home free unless the law and government steps up the battle against them. And WE are the law.
I am still torn as to what exactly the neo-cons stand for. Are they out for world supremacy, protection of the fatherland(Israel in this case), or are they a bunch of money grubbing corporatists. In either case, they are dangerous and should be reviled for what they are and have done. This seems to be the one big sticking point with all corporate media in that they do not call these guys out.
Richard Ray Harris @ 20:
Good point. It is every bit as likely as not that Bush glommed onto and kept neocons around as his “advisors” in the same way he traded Generals in and out of the inner circle depending on whether or not they relected the military strategy he preferred at any given moment; choosing Generals who preferred fewer troops on the ground when he wanted fewer troops on the ground, trading them out for Generals who preferred a surge when he wanted a surge and so on.
And, of course, that also allows Bush to do with those neocons what he has consistently done with his Generals; blame them for the failure of the strategy HE chose them to parrot all along.
Of course, does anyone really care anymore which direction his severe sociopathy floats? Does it really make a difference anymore if we know whether the big, bad neocons convinced the poor addle-brained president to commit all those America-hating blunders or if it was Bush himself who shrewdly corralled the neocons to his conference room because their advice would be the perfect place to pass the preverbial buck when it all went tits up?
Bush’s “decider”ship history is one of bailouts, bankruptcy and blackmail. His failing first oil company Arbusto Energy was absorbed by Spectrum 7 Energy, which was saved by being bought by Harken Energy. When Harken began to fail an investment group tied to the scandal ridden Bank of Credit and commerce International,(BCCI), arranged a $25M loan. Bush sold most his Harken stock for a 200% profit one week before it hit the skids and lose 60% of it’s value in six months.
He then went on to blackmail the city of Arlington Tx. by threatening to move the Ranger’s elsewhere. He turned a $600,000 investment into $10 plus Mil. when a local businessman purchased the team to keep it in Arlington.
And then think about his military carreer.
The man doesn’t need the neocons to lead the nation to the brink of collapse. He only needs the legacy he had before his election.
This makes me sick to my stomach.
I hope we survive Herr Dubyas presidency. I fear for innocent people and nations everwhere. As Americans, we must be prepared for the bloodshed of millions of innocent Iranians. This too will be on our hands and if there is a just God, we should all be condemned to the deepest reaches of hell.
That sad and lonely figure should be a sad and lonely figure in jail!
I often get embarrassed, angry, ashamed and downright infuriated by our politicians, but this guy, this smirking F#$%g fool has turned almost every area of Federal government into his private playground.
All to the detriment of the US.
Kangaroo courts, invasions of sovereign nations, wiretapping millions of private citizens, on holiday while a city drowns, politicising a woman who was in a coma for OVER 15 years, sitting stunned waiting for someone, ANYONE to come and tell him what to do while New York is under attack …. The list of immoral, illegal and foolish acts led by this man is long, almost endless.
Their Lies and Hypocrisy has made the world a sadder and far more dangerous place to live in and it will continue to be so for generations to come, all because a few greedy individuals wanted to creat their own empire. ..Actually, let me re-phrase that, because it was allowed to happen. Every single person who cast a vote for the Republicans, their apologists and enablers (read Lieberman) should be damn well ashamed of themselves.
Paul @ 17:
Exactly right. Another Strauss “philosophy” is that the leaders of a country have the right - no, obligation - to lie to the people whenever it suits their purpose. The people, after all, are not as aware of the big picture as the leaders are, so the leaders must do whatever is necessary in order to carry out their higher “mission”. Approval ratings? - meaningless. Will of the people? - meaningless. In Strauss’s world, there are the powerless (the people) and the powerful (the rightful leaders). For those rightful leaders, there is no accountability. Bush wants to ensure his “legacy” because he is all that matters to himself. Whatever happens, he needs to believe that he’s right in the long run. As Karl Rove said, Bush is a policywonk’s dream.
George Bush may also have been influenced by James Dobson. Dobson is an adherent of a doctrine called Entire Sanctification, which holds that certain exalted individuals are sinless in all their actions, because they are chosen people doing God’s work. If you combine such a belief with the Nietzschean philosophy of neoconservatism’s “will to power” it is not difficult to understand why people professing such beliefs would have contempt for democratic principles and be a grave threat to them if in positions of power.
Anybody get the feeling that these guys are behaving like terrorists in white collars? The style is different, but the result is: destroy individual freedoms, break the back of the middle class, strip away any pretense of democracy, install corporate technocracy that gives inordinate power to uber elite.
I think if you “pitched” these results to bin Laden, they would exceed his wildest expectations…
Yep, this further proves that Bush is nuts. He’s a f*cking radical Christian fundamentalist who believes he is receiving guidance from his war god. The guy belongs in prison, if you ask me.
shit-for-brains is one sorry bastard. we were an honored country in the world’s
eyes before shit-for-brains took over and crapped on everyone and everything.
Glen, I call bullshit.
Bush is vile on his own merit … give his life a cursory look.
And as a note … this if anything prevents Libby from testifying before either the congress or a grand jury for the balance of the Bush presidency … assuming it has an end. A pardon would eliminate the use of the Fifth as he will be beyond prosecution.
This has the depth and thoughtfullness of a well crafted conspiracy … anyone but me smell Dick?
All of us on the outside and writing these comments have the clear view. I read this thinking basically all of them are a bunch of simpletons. You can’t call them even intelligent. Their reasoning gives me a Soobie Doo moment Whuh??? Bush was just the man they needed in the White House to carry out their crap.
Now how to stop this insanity. Truly. Are we getting to the point that Congress will have no choice but to impeach? I am not so sure this country can take until January of 09 until this administration is finally out of the White House.
What I hate about that title is it makes it sound like Bush was a victim; there nothing tragic about it except for the US people. Bush is stupid, but he isn’t that stupid. He knew what he was sacrificing to get what he got and he was okay with it. Bush is a sociopath so he doesn’t care about the people or things that get crushed in his quest.
History will be rewritten to make King George II look like a Saint.
He knows who runs the
“SHOW!”
His family has always done the dirty work
For the Aristocrats.
That’s his birth right.
Low level CROOK!
He was the chosen, head snook.
Because he was too stupid to do anything else.
A Rude Crude Robot.
“King George’s likeness will be on the dollar.
Or should I say,
“What’s left of it!’
They condition and manipulate.
While Gulliver ‘The people’ sleeps.
Dreaming of a gentler time.
When they had a good job, health care, home and Country.
Dreaming The American Dream.
While the Neo-con Fascists
Terrorized,
Bomb, Poisoned and Imprisoned.
They write history!
30 years into the future.
Endless
Propaganda.
The Cor-”pirates’ win again.
They rape and pillage the world.
Start Wars!
Shoot people in the face!
Own 99%+ of everything!
Yet, want more?
They play for keeps.
Scooter goes free.
GREED is the disease that is ruining this country.
Pure and simple.
Mitigated
“GREED”
It rules us with an Iron fist.
Smashing our society into oblivion.
It’s,
“All for me!”
Non!
“For you.”
All that is left is the crying.
The Country is led to ruin.
Under a false King.
Of Cor-”pirate” Profit.
Stolen elections.
Judicial selections.
There is two sets of values in this country.
One for them and one you.
Will?
We
The people
Wake up?
And
Take back heritage?
Their Birth right?
A free home and country.
Free from treasonous tyrants and hypocrites?
Free from interference from Billionaire politician’s?
Stink Tank
“BU__! SH__!”?
The
Little man fights the Wars.
The
Little Man loses them, all.
Wars
Fuel
Fascism.
Garry Walsh says: “So what is new???? . . . You americans have invaded at least 30 countries in the last 100 years. . . . Dont blame Israel for taking advantage where she can. Why not? Israel is in a fight to the death with a whole bunch of crazies. They gotta do what they gotta do to stay alive. If you go to the wall for them should they say no?” /
Sadly he is right. We have the biggest armed forces in the world and we are now going to increase them even more. What good are they unless we use them. We complain about China’s military budget when our yearly increase in our military budget exceeds its total budget.
He is wrong when he thinks we blame Israel. Israel should get what it can get. But we do complain about Americans who put Israel before American lives and money. By the way, we hear all the talk about Israel being our great ally but what has it ever done for us except take four to five billion dollars from us every year.
Garry Walsh goes on: ” In most democracies we the people can hold these devils in check. Not so in america . . . In France the people take to the streets when the govt acts up. In america they watch tv and get told “it ok, now for breaking news about Paris Hilton”. . . . You are a silly silly people”/
This is a telling comment. We have 18 months and 18 days left of a man who is at peace with all his bad decisions (remember he could not remember any he felt were wrong) and answers only to the Almighty. We have no way to get him out of office since there is a lack of will among our elected representatives. Yes we are a silly people, Paris Hilton goes to jail, Scooter Libby escapes, and our generals and admirals are getting ready to kill more people because we can.
The funny thing about white supremacy is an Ethiopian prince was the first non-Judaic convert to Christianity, unless you count the legendary Roman Longinius. Vikings were the last in the 12th century.
But of course decendents of the Saxon hordes and Vikings are morally superior to all others.