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Title: The Real Bush Diaries
Author: Peter Clothier
Paperback: 536 pages
Publisher: VirtualBookWorm.com.
ISBN: 1589398432
$18.95
Available from your favorite bookseller
About The Real Bush Diaries
A raw and often riotous look into the second coming of Bush. You would shake your fist if you could put this book down long enough. A must-read for all concerned Americans.
The Real Bush Diaries is a wonderfully irreverent romp through the fifth year of the Bush administration. Peter Clothier recounts the events of the year with clarity and precision. His daily musings reveal the truth behind the Bush administration and offer a refreshing look at why America invaded Iraq, gave tax cuts to the rich and runs a record deficit.
“With the wit and wisdom of a modern day Will Rogers, Clothier’s daily musings and poignant jabs on what is arguably the most egregious U.S. president in our nation’s history, gives word to what so many of us think, or should be thinking!” -Bob Burchman, Santa Monica, California
“Clothier’s insightful views of the Bush years have a great balance between political and poetic. One can only hope that Bush is not only reading, but listening.” -Lori Agostino, Los Angeles, California
“Reading The Real Bush Diaries is like having a lively and provocative chat over coffee with a bright and articulate friend. Blog on, Peter!” -Fred Thompson, Laguna Beach, California
About the Author
Peter Clothier is an internationally-known writer who specializes in writing about art and artists. He believes in avoiding the jargon that obscures much current writing about art, and in writing simply, clearly, in language that the lay person can readily understand.He seeks to achieve a harmony of mind, heart, and body in his work, and looks for this quality in the artists he writes about. A reformed academic, now fifteen years in recovery, he has returned in recent years to teaching, in mostly non-traditional ways: in workshops, continuing groups, and individual coaching and mentoring for artists and writers.
Excerpt from June 30, 2005
Blunderbus(h)s
You must have noticed, Bush, in recent days, how the word “blunder” has been appearing more and more frequently in association with your name. It occurred to me to google the two together, and I have to tell you that I came up with 299,000 hits in less than half a second. Which might be funny if you were a slapstick comedian, but no, you happen to be President of the United States; or, as we’re all too often reminded, the most powerful man in the world.
A blunder is not simply an action with which I happen to disagree. My trusty old Oxford English Dictionary defines it as follows: “1) Confusion, clamour. 2) A gross mistake.” The verb, to blunder, is “to move blindly or stupidly; to flounder, stumble… to utter thoughtlessly… to mismanage…” A “blunderbus(h)s,” by the way, is “A short gun with a large bore, firing many slugs, and doing execution at a short range without exact aim. [No longer used in civilized countries].” No kidding! Also, “A blustering, noisy talker.” Ah, well. Those Brits, they really know how to get down with their language, Bush! So, given that definition, a partial list of your own blunders, relating only and specifically to your “war on terror” and your war in Iraq might include:
failing to listen to pre-9/11 intelligence;
deflecting the war on terror from Afghanistan and the Pakistani border to Iraq, allowing Bin Laden and top henchmen to escape into the mountains and now, months later, allowing the Taliban to rebuild their strength and influence; believing (or not) in a direct connection between Iraq and the 9/11 attack, and using it anyway as an excuse to go to war; believing (or not) in your Chalabi and his fellow exiles, with their axes to grind, and acting on their advice and information; believing (or not) in “weapons of mass destruction,” and using them anyway as an excuse to go to war; invading a sovereign state, no matter how “evil,” on the basis of intelligence which you knew to be flawed; invading a country that in no way threatened the USA;
ignoring the good advice of at least one of your generals regarding troop strength; trusting your Rumsfeld;
trusting your Cheney;
trusting your Rice and your Wolfowitz;
invading a sovereign state despite international dismay and condemnation; invading Iraq with insufficient troop strength;
failing to recognize this inadequacy in the first days of the occupation, and thus failing to protect the country’s infrastructure; failing to protect vast arsenals of arms and ammunition from marauders and future insurgents; failing to accept your Rumsfeld’s resignation;
absurdly claiming victory in advance of months of escalating violence and death (“Mission Accomplished,” remember?); failing to capitalize on the strength of a pre-existing Iraqi army in your eagerness to de-Baathify; trusting your Chalabi to set up a government;
failing to understand the diversity of Iraqi culture and Iraqi people and their passions; failing to provide your army with adequate armor to protect them; changing your story every time you’re asked about the reason for your war, making yourself look foolish and inconsistent, and giving support to those who charge that the war is being fought for reasons you have not yet acknowledged (like, perhaps, oil???): insisting on absurdly disproportionate tax cuts for the wealthy during a time of war; insisting on rosy versions of success when all anyone can see is disastrous failure; grinning like an embarrassed jackal when speaking of the dead and injured; underestimating (wildly) the strength and determination of the resistence to your occupation; overestimating the appeal of “democracy” in a country that has never known it, and your ability to transplant it into unprepared soil; inability to admit to, let alone learn from your mistakes…
Well, Blunderbush. Enough for now. And that’s not even beginning to consider blunders on other fronts, at home and abroad. Like Kyoto. Global warming. Social security. Not to mention your felicitous turns of phrase. Ah, well… again! But anyway, enough to give us pause…
Back in 1776, a dark time for freedom, Thomas Paine wrote the history-making essay, Common Sense. In one bold and brash move, Paine revived hope and inspired action by persuading colonial Americans to fight for independence. Without Common Sense, many historians believe, the American Revolution would have failed from lack of public support. (Read an excerpt here)
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A: The bulk of my research was done in the late 90’s when the Net was still new and I unaccustomed to it. So much of my research was done the old fashioned way–books, articles, expert interviews, trips to related locations. Today, I most certainly utilize the Net. Google and Amazon.com are my two best resources. Nevertheless, there will always be a need, for new writers and old, for the old fashioned methods.
