Synopses & Reviews
"To paraphrase Lyndon Johnson, Sidney Blumenthal has been on the inside shooting out and now he's on the outside shooting in. He's hitting his target--the Bush administration--better than anyone else. He sets his sights on the entire Bush agenda--the blundering war in Iraq, a reckless economic policy, a corrupt Congress, and the little-noticed but highly destructive war on honest and objective national security career professionals in the CIA, the State Department, and the military. The result is a devastating account of a radical presidency."
--James Carville"History's judgment of America's 43rd president is likely to be harsh. He presented himself in 2000 as a political centrist who would insist on the highest standards of honesty and accountability and would show his country's 'humble but strong' face to the world. He has governed in a very different and destructive way. The full story of how the Bush who was elected became the Bush who governed will take years to tell. But the real-time draft of history provided by Sidney Blumenthal in these dispatches will be an invaluable resource. He is a partisan, and proud of it. But he is also accurate, convincing, urbane, and far ahead of others in detecting trends and connections."--James Fallows, national correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly and author of Blind Into Baghdad
"Sidney Blumenthal's sustained evisceration of the Bush II presidency is simply thrilling. At once fiery and cool, powered by the author's extraordinary feel for American politics, American history, American popular culture, and the esoteric mysteries of American conservatism, How Bush Rules yields so much fierce pleasure that it does the seemingly impossible: it makes from the materials of these lost years a thing of value."--Hendrik Hertzberg, author of Politics: Observations and Arguments
"Sidney Blumenthal is sharper and better informed than most political scientists. He is not only erudite but also witty, accessible, and very quick (but not at all glib), and he writes like a dream."--Alan Ryan, author of Liberal Anxieties and Liberal Education
"This is compelling, tough-minded journalism. It makes an important contribution to public debate."--Ira Katznelson, Columbia University
Review
"As an advisor to President Clinton, the man has an insider's perspective on how the White House works--or in Bush's case, fails--a claim few authors can make."--Billy Kekevian, Philadelphia City Paper
Review
To paraphrase Lyndon Johnson, Sidney Blumenthal has been on the inside shooting out and now he's on the outside shooting in. He's hitting his target--the Bush administration--better than anyone else. He sets his sights on the entire Bush agenda--the blundering war in Iraq, a reckless economic policy, a corrupt Congress, and the little-noticed but highly destructive war on honest and objective national security career professionals in the CIA, the State Department, and the military. The result is a devastating account of a radical presidency.
Review
"For Democrats who need to get their fires rekindled, Sidney Blumenthal's "How Bush Rules," a breathtaking collection of columns he wrote for Salon and The Guardian over the past two and a half years, will do the job". Dotty Lynch, CBS News.com Political Points
Review
"The book, a collection of Blumenthal's Salon and Guardian essays, is built around two simple ideas; that Bush's presidency has been a radical one and a failed one." Eric Boehlert, The Huffington Post, and author of Lapdogs:How the Press Rolled Over for Bush
Review
"The character of Bush takes a pounding." Bob Hoover, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Review
"Blumenthal certainly writes with vigor and erudition". Yonatan, Lupu, The San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"But note well the subtitle of the Blumenthal book: Chronicles of a Radical Regime." David M. Shribman, The Globe & Mail
Review
This is compelling, tough-minded journalism. It makes an important contribution to public debate.
Review
"Equally impressive is how Blumenthals columns stand the test of time. Even the oldest pieces arent dated: Developments that other journalists, in their will to innocence towards the regime in power, were either ignoring or downplaying at the time, Blumenthal was reporting as outrages. Colin Powell knew much of what he was spewing to the United Nations back in January of 2003 was crap." Rick Perlstein, In These Times
Review
"Sidney Blumenthal . . . understands the workings of the White House. His recently published book, How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime, collects his columns from November 2003 to April 2006, and they provide week-by-week freeze-frames of an array of significant events over the past three years. (They are, in fact, wonderfully insightful probes by a seasoned journalist with insider experience who knows exactly where to look.)"--John Dean, findlaw.com
Review
"Sid Blumenthal [is] the rare analyst of contemporary affairs who brings to his commentary a deep knowledge of American history and political culture. . . . He was one of the people warning us all along about this administration's radicalism. But not enough of us listened or understood."--David Greenberg, TPMCafe
Review
"How Bush Rules is exemplary, convincingly arguing that George W. Bush is 'the most willfully radical president of the United States,' by documenting in real-time the episodes that have made up his presidency. . . . Blumenthal's columns stand the test of time. Even the oldest pieces aren't dated. . . . Blumenthal is . . . original and illuminating. . . . How Bush Rules is a book comprised of timely interventions that is destined to stand the test of time."--Rick Perlstein, In These Times
Review
"While lucid and elegant . . . Sidney Blumenthal is . . . savage in his verdict on George W. Bush in this collection of columns and essays from the Guardian and Salon."--Richard Briand, International Affairs
Review
"A fascinating study of the presidency, of presidential decision making, and of the Bush (II) presidency, journalist Sidney Blumenthal's interesting volume theorizes that George Bush is not really a true conservative. . . . The beauty of this book is that it will stimulate countless hours of discussions, debates, and heated arguments. . . . Highly recommended."--Choice
Review
Sidney Blumenthal . . . understands the workings of the White House. His recently published book, How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime, collects his columns from November 2003 to April 2006, and they provide week-by-week freeze-frames of an array of significant events over the past three years. (They are, in fact, wonderfully insightful probes by a seasoned journalist with insider experience who knows exactly where to look.) John Dean
Review
Sid Blumenthal [is] the rare analyst of contemporary affairs who brings to his commentary a deep knowledge of American history and political culture. . . . He was one of the people warning us all along about this administration's radicalism. But not enough of us listened or understood. findlaw.com
Review
How Bush Rules is exemplary, convincingly arguing that George W. Bush is 'the most willfully radical president of the United States,' by documenting in real-time the episodes that have made up his presidency. . . . Blumenthal's columns stand the test of time. Even the oldest pieces aren't dated. . . . Blumenthal is . . . original and illuminating. . . . How Bush Rules is a book comprised of timely interventions that is destined to stand the test of time. David Greenberg - TPMCafe
Review
As an advisor to President Clinton, the man has an insider's perspective on how the White House works--or in Bush's case, fails--a claim few authors can make. Rick Perlstein - In These Times
Review
While lucid and elegant . . . Sidney Blumenthal is . . . savage in his verdict on George W. Bush in this collection of columns and essays from the Guardian and Salon. Billy Kekevian - Philadelphia City Paper
Review
A fascinating study of the presidency, of presidential decision making, and of the Bush (II) presidency, journalist Sidney Blumenthal's interesting volume theorizes that George Bush is not really a true conservative. . . . The beauty of this book is that it will stimulate countless hours of discussions, debates, and heated arguments. . . . Highly recommended. Richard Briand - International Affairs
Synopsis
In a series of columns and essays that renowned journalist and former presidential adviser Sidney Blumenthal wrote in the three years following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a unifying theme began to emerge: that Bush, billed by himself and by many others as a conservative, is in fact a radical--more radical than any president in American history. In
How Bush Rules, Blumenthal provides a trenchant and vivid account of the progression of Bush's radical style--from his reliance on one-party rule and his unwillingness to allow internal debate to his elevation of the power of the vice president.
Taking readers through pivotal events such as the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the rise of the foreign-policy neoconservatives, Abu Ghraib, the war on science, the Jack Abramoff scandal, and the catastrophic mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, the book tracks a consistent policy that calls for the president to have complete authority over independent federal agencies and to remain unbound by congressional oversight or even the law.
In an incisive and powerful introduction, Blumenthal argues that these radical actions are not haphazard, but deliberately intended to fundamentally change the presidency and the government. He shows not only the historical precedents for radical governing, but also how Bush has taken his methods to unique extremes. With its penetrating account of a critical new era in American leadership, How Bush Rules is a devastating appraisal of the Bush presidency.
Synopsis
In a series of columns and essays that renowned journalist and former presidential adviser Sidney Blumenthal wrote in the three years following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a unifying theme began to emerge: that Bush, billed by himself and by many others as a conservative, is in fact a radical--more radical than any president in American history. In How Bush Rules, Blumenthal provides a trenchant and vivid account of the progression of Bush's radical style--from his reliance on one-party rule and his unwillingness to allow internal debate to his elevation of the power of the vice president.
Taking readers through pivotal events such as the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the rise of the foreign-policy neoconservatives, Abu Ghraib, the war on science, the Jack Abramoff scandal, and the catastrophic mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, the book tracks a consistent policy that calls for the president to have complete authority over independent federal agencies and to remain unbound by congressional oversight or even the law.
In an incisive and powerful introduction, Blumenthal argues that these radical actions are not haphazard, but deliberately intended to fundamentally change the presidency and the government. He shows not only the historical precedents for radical governing, but also how Bush has taken his methods to unique extremes. With its penetrating account of a critical new era in American leadership, How Bush Rules is a devastating appraisal of the Bush presidency.
Synopsis
"To paraphrase Lyndon Johnson, Sidney Blumenthal has been on the inside shooting out and now he's on the outside shooting in. He's hitting his target--the Bush administration--better than anyone else. He sets his sights on the entire Bush agenda--the blundering war in Iraq, a reckless economic policy, a corrupt Congress, and the little-noticed but highly destructive war on honest and objective national security career professionals in the CIA, the State Department, and the military. The result is a devastating account of a radical presidency."--James Carville
"History's judgment of America's 43rd president is likely to be harsh. He presented himself in 2000 as a political centrist who would insist on the highest standards of honesty and accountability and would show his country's 'humble but strong' face to the world. He has governed in a very different and destructive way. The full story of how the Bush who was elected became the Bush who governed will take years to tell. But the real-time draft of history provided by Sidney Blumenthal in these dispatches will be an invaluable resource. He is a partisan, and proud of it. But he is also accurate, convincing, urbane, and far ahead of others in detecting trends and connections."--James Fallows, national correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly and author of Blind Into Baghdad
"Sidney Blumenthal's sustained evisceration of the Bush II presidency is simply thrilling. At once fiery and cool, powered by the author's extraordinary feel for American politics, American history, American popular culture, and the esoteric mysteries of American conservatism, How Bush Rules yields so much fierce pleasure that it does the seemingly impossible: it makes from the materials of these lost years a thing of value."--Hendrik Hertzberg, author of Politics: Observations and Arguments
"Sidney Blumenthal is sharper and better informed than most political scientists. He is not only erudite but also witty, accessible, and very quick (but not at all glib), and he writes like a dream."--Alan Ryan, author of Liberal Anxieties and Liberal Education
"This is compelling, tough-minded journalism. It makes an important contribution to public debate."--Ira Katznelson, Columbia University
Synopsis
In a series of columns and essays that renowned journalist and former presidential adviser Sidney Blumenthal wrote in the three years following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a unifying theme began to emerge: that Bush, billed by himself and by many others as a conservative, is in fact a radical--more radical than any president in American history. In
How Bush Rules, Blumenthal provides a trenchant and vivid account of the progression of Bush's radical style--from his reliance on one-party rule and his unwillingness to allow internal debate to his elevation of the power of the vice president.
Taking readers through pivotal events such as the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the rise of the foreign-policy neoconservatives, Abu Ghraib, the war on science, the Jack Abramoff scandal, and the catastrophic mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, the book tracks a consistent policy that calls for the president to have complete authority over independent federal agencies and to remain unbound by congressional oversight or even the law.
In an incisive and powerful introduction, Blumenthal argues that these radical actions are not haphazard, but deliberately intended to fundamentally change the presidency and the government. He shows not only the historical precedents for radical governing, but also how Bush has taken his methods to unique extremes. With its penetrating account of a critical new era in American leadership, How Bush Rules is a devastating appraisal of the Bush presidency.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: The Radical President 1
PART ONE: HUBRIS
Mission Accomplished": From the Victory in Iraq to the Defeat of John Kerry
The Intelligence Wars 27
Bush and Blair: Lessons in Leadership 31
How George Transformed Tony's World 34
The Good Soldier 36
An Unlikely Dissident 39
The Hunt for WMD 41
The Madrid Express: 9/11 Meets 9/11 44
The Counterterrorism Czar Comes In from the Cold 46
The White House Has the Last Laugh 48
The Road Map to Nowhere 50
The President Goes Blank 52
The Silence of Colin Powell 54
Pulp Fictions 57
The Secrets of Abu Ghraib 60
The American Military Coup of 2012 63
The Holy Warrior 66
Riding the Trojan Horse 68
The Specter of Vietnam 71
The Reagan Legacy 74
Reagan's Funeral and Clinton's Portrait 76
Cheney's Mask Slips 79
The Senate's Da Vinci Code 82
Code Orange 85
The Oath of True Believers 87
The Rule of Chaos 89
Shock and Awe: The Republican National Convention, Day One 92
Fear and Narcissism: The Republican National Convention, Day Two 95
None Dare Call It Treason: The Republican National Convention, Day Three: 98
"A Certain Swagger": The Republican National Convention,Day Four 100
Staring at Defeat 103
Falls the Shadow 106
"The Right God" 108
"The Lowest Grade of Ignorance" 110
Colin Powell's Final Days 112
Dedication Day 115
PART TWO: NEMESIS I
Catastrophic Success": From the Death of Terry Schiavo to the Vigil of Cindy Sheehan
Mission Misconceived 119
All Hail Caligula's Horse! 122
Medals of Failure 124
Purging Poppy 127
Metrics 129
Regime Change 132
"A Broken Force" 134
The March of Folly 137
Spending Political Capital 140
A Hireling, a Fraud, and a Prostitute 143
The Plot against the New Deal 145
Orwell's Clock 150
The Brilliant Career of Jack Abramoff 153
A Confederacy of Shamans 159
The Passion of the Culture War 162
Politics under Red Robes 166
The Keys of the Kingdom 169
"Serial Abuser" 175
The Good Soldier's Revenge 181
The Incredible Shrinking President 184
Damage 189
Guantanamo 192
The Truth about Torture 199
Deep Throat's Lessons 204
A Broken Body 207
Blinded by the Light at the End of the Tunnel 211
"The Last Throes" 214
The Supreme Chance of a Lifetime 220
Rove's War 223
Tunnel Vision 231
"The Meaning of Words" 234
Above the Rule of Law 238
The Informer 241
Unhappy Holiday 249
Question Time 251
PART THREE: NEMESIS II
Heck of a Job": From the Landfall of Hurricane Katrina to the Revolt of the Generals
Hurricane Katrina 259
"What Didn't Go Right?" 262
"Heck of a Job" 268
From Gulf to Shining Gulf 270
Karen Hughes Takes a Tour 275
Twenty-First-Century Republicanism 278
Judy d'Arc 286
The Conservative Revolt 289
The Indictment of Scooter Libby 292
Cheney's rTial/ 295
Stab in the Back 298
The Long March of Dick Cheney 300
Bob Woodward's Cover-up 307
Condi's Tortuous Trail 310
"The Law is King" 316
Annus Horribilis 322
Bush's War on Professionals 325
Meek,Mild, and Menacing 331
The Republican System 334
The Proconsul's Apologia 343
Bush's Brezhnev Period 345
The Client 349
The Rules of the Game 351
Cheney's Coup 355
A Lincoln Portrait 358
Once More unto the Breach 362
Sex Police Chief Arrested 364
Blood and Sand 367
The Love Song of Francis Fukuyama 372
Apocalypse Now 375
Card Shuffle 378
I, DeLay 382
Tethered Goats 385
The President of Truth 388
The Decider 395
Epilogue: The Passion of George W. Bush 399
Index 405