Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Accidental Candidate

How did George Bush attain such an enviable state of self-respect, without hardly trying?

What is his worldview? Who and what shaped it? Is he merely a Name, a facsimile of his father, whose speechwriters first coined the sly slogan "compassionate conservatism"? Is he the breath of fresh air who will restore honor and dignity to the Oval Office? Is he a contemporary version of Shakespeare's Prince Hal who has finally shaken off his dissolute ways to assume the burden of his birthright as a member of one of America's political dynasties? Or is he something much more personal: the instrument of revenge, sent forth by the grudge-holding Barbara to punish Bill Clinton for driving Big George into irrelevance and soiling the White House with his low-class ways?
Originally published in 2000, this insightful Vanity Fair profile is still worth reading. Maybe even more so.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I remember this article well Michael, and how consistently and miserably the man has failed at almost every venture he's been involved in--in the current case, some of which will take a few generations to fix or otherwise undo.