George Will: Bush lucky that Hillary was the talk of Talk"Reporting of Bush's several uses of the f-word, Karen Hughes, Bush's communications director, who travels with him, says, "I don't remember those words being used." She says Bush agrees with those who say such language is inappropriate. Carlson, who says he remembers the words, quotes a Bush aide who says Bush "used to say `f--' a lot more before this all started."
Again, what is troubling to Republicans who have plighted their troth to this man is not that they think he is a coarse or cruel man. Rather it is that Carlson's profile suggests an atmosphere of adolescence, a lack of gravitas -- a carelessness, even a recklessness, perhaps born of things having gone a bit too easily so far.
Bush has recently referred to Greeks as "Grecians," Kosovars as "Kosovians," East Timorese as "East Timorians," conservatism as "conservativism" and confused Slovenia with Slovakia. Such slips are understandable; none is a flogging offense. However, having committed them, Bush should take care not to exacerbate the suspicion that he has a seriousness deficit. When he was asked by Carlson to name something he isn't good at, he should not have said, "Sitting down and reading a 500-page book on public policy or philosophy or something."
Click Me:
CYA time on Capitol Hill - By DOUG THOMPSON
"Worried Republicans, concerned about emerging questions of President Bush’s sale of stock in Harken Energy Corp. before its financial problems went public and Vice President Cheney’s role in accounting problems at Halliburton Co., are also checking to see how much money they received from executives and PACs from both companies.
“It’s ass-covering time,” admits a Republican consultant. “Everybody’s scrambling to give themselves deniability.”
With WorldCom’s record bankruptcy filing today and revelations over the weekend that Bush knew about Harken’s problems before he dumped his stock, the taint of scandal is spreading over Washington like a dark cloud."