Posted on 02/21/2005 1:55:22 PM PST by timewarner
Monday, Feb. 21, 2005 1:33 p.m. EST Wead: Unreleased Tapes a 'Betrayal'
Audiotapes released Sunday of President Bush speaking in a private, off-the-record conversation may not be as damaging as critics had hoped, with Bush winning raves in some cases for sounding the same in unguarded moments as he does in public.
But presidential historian and former first family friend Doug Wead, who secretly recorded Bush, is hinting that the full nine hours of audio he has could be a different matter.
Asked whether the president would view his release of the audio as an act of treachery from a trusted friend, Wead told the Washington Post on Monday, "It depends on what else is on the tapes." Then Wead implied that the unreleased material could be embarrassing, explaining, "Ninety percent of the tapes have not been heard. He can see that my motive was not to try to hurt him."
How could Bush see that, unless Wead was holding back damaging clips?
"If I released all the tapes, it would be an act of betrayal," the author told the Post, further indicating he has some explosive material.
But in the next breath Wead promised: "Most of them have never seen the light of day and never will."
That's not, however, what he told the New York Times for its front page story on Sunday, explaining that he wanted to release them when he died in order to leave the nation a unique record of Mr. Bush.
Other aspects of Wead's story are also raising concerns. He told the Times, for instance, that his motive in releasing some of his tapes had nothing to do with the fact that he has a new book to publicize.
However, the Post reports that Wead's publisher was deeply involved in making the tapes public.
"He said that he had never intended the tapes to become public, but that his publisher, Simon & Schuster, asked to hear them for libel reasons," reports the Post.
The Post continued, "He said after he played them for his editors, he was contacted by the Times and agreed to play portions for a reporter."
Why was the Times alerted? And why did Wead agree to help the paper if he never intended to make the tapes public?
At this point, there's only one logical answer: Mr. Wead's earlier plan to hide his tapes forever changed radically once his publisher began to see dollar signs.
Aren't these tapes illegal?
This guy went to Simon & Schuster, for pity's sake--they are owned and run by libs--should have gone to Regnery.
Libs will try to turn this into a three ring circus. So Bush admitted trying marijuana--evidently. Wasn't a big deal when Clinton did it; wasn't a big deal when
Gore did it; now it's going to be a big deal?
vaudine
The rest of the states, and the Feds, require the consent of only one party. I know of cases where cops in north Florida have gone to south Georgia to make (and record) phone calls to nail dealers. They were willing to let the Georgia cops and prosecutors have the case to nail their guy. So it wouldn't matter where the non-consenting party was. It matters where the call is being taped.
Well, now even Joe Scarborough is saying that perhaps Bush is in cahoots with this Wead character and is "in on" the releasing of these tapes---
He has on Pat Buchanan that said that had these tapes been released in 2000, it would have cost him the presidency!!
I think that was *sigh* wishful thinking on Pats part-haha
Every show on MSNBC is going ape-doodoo over these tapes--they don't care that perhaps Lebanon will be working towards their freedom or that Bush is trying to "mend those darn fences" that the libs are so worried about--
I wonder which senator will be the first to bring these tapes up in the Senate tomorrow and which congresscritter!!!
Have a good night--sorry if I was a little rough today---believe me when I tell you that my "initiation" on Free Republic was a little rough also, so I should have known better. I truly apologize!!!
One of the hundreds of "nothing stories" that liberals and their media whores have used to get President Bush and failed very miserably.
Joe's the light weight version of O'Reilly, who also plays both sides under the guise of being "Independent.".
I'm not sure what Stern has been saying lately, I don't listen to him, but imo they have the same style. They also have sympathy for conspiracy theories. Stern thinking the Bush administration is out to get him because he is so influential as to be able to swing an election (he isn't). Savage wrapped up in spinning a nut theory that the President of the United States has the time, or low character, to record days or maybe even months? worth of conversation to trick the nation. He also has an ego that convinces him that without his approval the President cannot be elected. It's absurd.
It can't possibly be so simple that a good man was betrayed by a "friend" for cash. I mean that's never ever happened, right?
I say let them continue over the tapes. All it does is make Bush look good, Libs look bad, and Wead look like a Traitor.
You are right--even the most avid Bush bashers like Eleanor Clift had to admit that the tapes make Bush look good, rather than bad---
The silly thing is, that the libs are so diabolical themselves that they can't believe that Bush is the same in private as he is in public, so it has to be a "plot"!!! haha
Wead was on C-SPAN over the weekend. He actually had some very interesting things to say about the influence on their sons of the parents of the presidents. This is the subject of his book.
I know. Was just a nit I decided to pick. I'm just wondering if he;s angling forf something like, say, ambassador to the Caymans?
It's a guess, not knowledge. But the guy hinted that there was somewhat damaging stuff, though he says he won't release it. I don't know if there is or not. But I would guess that a lot of people -- if they know there are more tapes -- will be suspicious that there is such stuff. We shall see.
Let the bidding begin.
Based on your web page you are a troll.
Look at his freep page. No doubt he is a troll.
It's my view that no intimate secrets were revealed at any time to Wead, and the proof of that for me is Bush's careful phrase choices when discussing possible past indiscretions with drug use. He was almost as careful with Wead as he would have been with a reporter. He never crossed the line to complete, easygoing candor.
I don't think the president has anything to fear from these tapes. Wead was not an intimate buddy but merely a professional associate.
Agreed. When I read saw the first report on this on MSNBC, I initially thought, uh oh, this isn't going to be pretty.
But reading the article, I didn't see anything about Bush that I didn't pretty much already know.
I just can't see that there is anyway to spin what's on these tapes as being bad for Bush. . .
So he basically admits to marijuana use? So what? He never denied it. Who could be that surprised by this at this point? He said he'd turned his life around. The media harping on this isn't going to help the Democrats.
The rest of the stuff just seems to be Bush talking politics. I think people can pretty much accept that Presidents have to have some understanding of policits to get elected.
This is the sort of stuff you almost hope the media would bash Bush with because it causes them to lose even further credibility.
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