Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush
Ivins, Molly, and Lou Dubose. 2000. Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush. Largeprint.
Rating:
8
Summary:
Witty, well-written, and disturbing
The authors, Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose, are journalists and authors who, apparently, have followed George W. Bush’s political career in Texas closely. The book covers everything from G.W. Bush’s childhood to his involvement with his father’s political campaign and finally his political career as governor of Texas.
The bulk of the book examines different components of Bush’s politics and the book is actually divided up by these areas after the chronological history leading up to Bush’s election as governor. For instance, it covers Bush’s record on the environment, on Hispanics in Texas, on Big Business (all of which are deplorable), and on education, the only area where Bush may have done something right.
The book was written during the 2000 campaign, so it was written before Bush was elected president.
Review:
The writing in the book is engaging and humorous and is laced with Texan phrases (e.g., ‘madder than a skillet full of rattlesnakes’) that add an air of Cowboyish authenticity.
The book is also remarkably insightful as regards Texas politics in general. For instance, they point out that being governor of Texas is only the fifth most powerful position in Texas (the lieutenant governor and person in charge of agriculture are more powerful). After finding this out, I’m amazed the political pundits haven’t made a bigger deal out of it. Not only is Bush a political novice (in terms of actually serving in political office), but the one position he did hold before becoming president wasn’t even a powerful position. Considering I’m writing this during the 2004 election in which John Edwards is being criticized for his lack of political experience this fact is even more astonishing. Based on the description of Bush’s responsibilities in this book, he’s a novice compared with Edwards, and a toddler compared to John Kerry.
The authors also make clear that G.W. Bush’s interest in politics makes very little sense considering he abhors reading and discussing policy and doesn’t like to spend his time governing. He has said that one of the things he likes least is reading books on policy. As a result, the authors argue that the bulk of G.W. Bush’s policy and political positions come from Karl Rove, who is referred to as ‘Bush’s Brain’ (an epithet that is, I believe, both accurate and well-deserved). How an individual that is completely uninterested in governing can become the President of the U.S. is nothing short of a slap in the face of logic and intelligence. It’s so astonishing one might believe Karl Rove and the Republican Party pulled off a bloodless coup of reason in the U.S., facilitated, of course, by the Republican spin machines known as ‘talk radio’. The more I learn about Bush, the more amazed I am that he is the current president of the U.S. The guy has no record, just spin.
Another quote from the book seemed to summarize Bush’s basic political philosophy, “Bush is a wholly-owned subsidiary of big business.” All of Bush’s policy, with the exception of what he has done to cater to the Christian Right (more on this below), has been beneficial to big business. Bush could care less about the working man; he’s never been one and the longer he remains in power, the more likely he’ll never have to even see one again.
The author does point out two things that Bush did well (thanks again to Karl Rove) in developing his campaign for governor and his presidential campaign in 2000: 1) He catered to the Spanish vote (even though he knows all of two phrases in Spanish; he’s not fluent like he claims). 2) He breached the divide between Country Club Republicans and the Christian Right. Both of these maneuvers have helped him increase his base, regardless of the fact that he cares nothing for them.
Interestingly, the authors of ‘Shrub’ make a prediction at the end of the book, saying that if history is a good instructor, George W. Bush is likely to do exactly what he did for Texas to the U.S. Unfortunately, the authors were right: the poor are poorer, the rich are richer, big business is making away like a bandit, and the environment has gone to pot.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. Unfortunately, those that need to read it the most are probably the least likely to get their hands on it. After reading it, it would be amazing if someone could even consider voting for Bush in 2004.
(Note: I listened to this book on CD).
