Marking to read again tomorrow. This was a fun little article to read. However, assuming this speechwriter is telling the truth and not exaggerating, I don’t think it’s nice for him to reveal what GWB said in private - even if I agree with him.
A Tall-Tale Tell-All [Dana Perino]
I knew Matt only a little bit. Now that an excerpt of his book is out, I’m reminded of what a veteran of three White Houses told me: Beware of the quiet guy in the room.
Seems that every administration goes through this — yes, even the Obamas will have someone take advantage of the career opportunity of a lifetime to try to feather their own nest at someone else’s expense — no matter how far-fetched their story may be.
For example, he writes that President Bush didn’t know who Sarah Palin was. That’s rubbish — Bush had just met Palin the previous month in Alaska, and he mentioned that to me literally two seconds after McCain made his announcement. So much of what Latimer claims the president said don’t ring true to me. I was with the president for whole days at a time, through thick and thin, and I never heard him say things like that about others. And I don’t think he’s ever even said the word “keister.” C’mon.
I’m pretty sure that almost everyone who worked in the White House could not pick Matt out of a lineup, and I doubt that’ll change much after this book. Speechless should have been called “Shameless.”
09/15 05:30 PMShare
The speechwriter should have a talk with Doug Wead. He’s the man who recorded his conversations with W. Wead turned over all the tapes to W and sincerely apologized, but the damage was done. Wead is a historian whose written several books about presidents’ kids. He’s a good guy, but sharing private conversations is a no no.