Interview with David Frum [Bush was unknown to him, a gamble for the country]

PBS -- The Choice 2004 -- Frontline ^ | October 2004 | Frontline interview with David Frum

[syriacus]

Frontline: In your book you describe events pre-9/11, and you say that there was serious doubt daily as to whether or not George W. Bush was the right man.

Frum: George Bush began his presidency with both personal and party problems. He'd had a very narrow win. He came into office with a very weak mandate. He had a very ambitious program, but he didn't have the political clout to get the program executed, and that became clear very rapidly.

Then there was this question mark over his head. He was not someone who was well-known when he came into office. He'd been a two-term governor of Texas. The country had a feeling maybe about his personality, but he didn't have much of a record. So he was a gamble for the country. He was an unknown quantity to the country; in some ways, you might even think to his staff, and maybe even to himself.[snip]

I had the same questions that everybody else did, about whether he had the personal aptitude for the job.

[syriacus]

David Frum thought Bush was an "unknown" entity, even to him.
[excerpts from an October 2004 interview]

1. Then there was this question mark over his head.
2. He was not someone who was well-known when he came into office. He'd been a two-term governor of Texas.
3. he didn't have much of a record.
4. So he was a gamble for the country.
5. He was an unknown quantity to the country; in some ways, you might even think to his staff, and maybe even to himself.
6. I had the same questions that everybody else did, about whether he had the personal aptitude for the job.

[G.Mason]

Look at that!

You can see both sides of his mouth.

[gramho12]

David Frum is a question mark. He's a toady and an average writer who got lucky.

I guess I knew a lot more than he did about Dubya and GWB's personal charisma, political philosophy and character well before November, 2000.

I guess he is another ignorant pundit who misunderestimated him then and now.

[Mister Baredog]

I guess he is another ignorant pundit who misunderestimated him then and now.

He knows one thing quite well, BASH BUSH, get noticed by the MSM, support him and you may as well live on Mars.

[wideawake]

All one needs to know about Frum is that he's an advocate of abortion and a regular contributor to Huffington Post.

[AUsome Joy]

I think it's very rare that you see in politics someone who's a man for all seasons, the right president for any situation. There are a lot of situations where George Bush would not have been the right president. This was the perfect meeting of the problem and the person, because it required, above all, remembering, and that was something that it became clear he would do. He would remember this always.

I have always believed that Bush was the right person at the right time. I often thought of the words of the Bible that he was chosen for "such a time as this".

He was often very funny about the Bushisms himself. He gave a very funny speech shortly after becoming president, where he produced one of the volumes of Bushisms and read one of them. He quotes himself as saying, "Some people want to argue about how to cut up the pie. I want to talk about how to raise the pie." He closed the book, and he said, "The editors of this book do not understand my politics. All my life, I have been dedicated to the quest for higher pie."

I love that he can laugh at himself.

Thanks for this article. It gives a lot of good insights into President Bush.

[syriacus]

Glad you liked it.

I began to appreciate Bush at the moment he light-heartedly "withdrew" from Gore's menacing approach during the 2000 Debates.

Bush's spontaneous reaction was the right one to win my support. It told me almost everything I needed to know about him. He wasn't easily intimidated. He didn't need to "attack" in order to defend himself, but could disarm (both meanings) nasty people with humor.

[Mister Baredog]

He didn't need to "attack" in order to defend himself, but could disarm (both meanings) nasty people with humor.

Thereby usually affording himself the "last laugh".

Not bad for a draft-dodging alcoholic who can't read. < sarcasm ON >

[syriacus]

Not bad for a draft-dodging alcoholic who can't read. < sarcasm ON >

Bush realizes that he isn't perfect. Which is a huge step in the right direction, for anyone.