Decision Points
Bush鈥檚 memoir details the decisions that shaped his life and presidency 鈥� but fails to open a window into his thinking.
鈥淕eorge, get over it. Make up your mind, and move on.鈥�
Such curt replies are Barbara Bush鈥檚 specialty. But she wasn鈥檛 referring to a choice between paper and plastic. She was girding her son to decide whether he should run to be 鈥渢he decider.鈥�
He got over it. He made up his mind to run for president. And now that he鈥檚 moved on, he has put forward an unapologetic, forceful account of the toughest decisions he faced.
As history, Decision Points is a sweeping tour of the figures and forces that drove a pivotal decade. As a memoir, it is an uneven and mostly boring read, alternating moments of gratuitous candor with long sections of guarded prose. As a defense of a controversial presidency that a group of scholars has ranked as the fifth worst in history, it is a rousing closing argument that is sometimes persuasive but always tendentious.
鈥淒ecision Points鈥� is by nature a contradictory enterprise.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 possibly figure out the history of the Bush presidency 鈥� until I鈥檓 dead,鈥� President Bush once told the journalist Robert Draper. 鈥淚 really do not feel comfortable in the role of analyzing myself.鈥� Yet the man who often expressed confidence that history would vindicate him centuries hence nonetheless felt compelled (by historians, fittingly) to start writing his memoir the day after he left office.
Just 24 hours to reflect on the lessons of his two terms? His mom would surely approve.
In 14 chapters, Bush tells the stories of key decisions that shaped his life, his presidency, and the fates of millions of lives around the world, from quitting drinking and invading Afghanistan and Iraq to tackling the 2008 financial crisis.
鈥淒ecision Points鈥� is an apt title. Bush makes clear he craves rapid results and resolve, not process and painstaking deliberation. So even in rare cases where Bush acknowledges really wrestling with the right course of action, such as his drawn-out decision on whether to fund stem-cell lines, readers get only snapshots of Bush鈥檚 binary calculations, not a window into his thinking.
What unites virtually every decision Bush made was his belief 鈥� either maddening or principled, depending on your point of view 鈥� that the risks of inaction always exceeded the risks of action. Such a bias meshed perfectly with his determination to avoid playing 鈥渟mall ball鈥� as president. The result is that Bush, and the full resources of the United States government, frequently went 鈥渁ll in鈥� in the face of crisis.
Take the 2008 financial storm. Individual bank bailouts aren鈥檛 working? Create an $800 billion program (鈥�Troubled Asset Relief Program鈥�) to buy securities. Not sufficient? Capitalize the banks directly. Now auto companies are hurting? Fine, use TARP money to help them.
He never identifies, let alone questions, his universal application of this 鈥済o big or go home鈥� approach. A former pro baseball team owner should know that squads have won World Series titles playing small ball. But like a batter who swung for the fence at every pitch, Bush fondly relives the few homers he hit, vaguely recalls the many times he struck out, and dares not mention the bystanders he injured with foul balls.
On the few occasions when he does express regret, Bush feels bad that he didn鈥檛 swing harder. Reflecting on his handling of hurricane Katrina, for instance, Bush concludes he should have gone all in earlier by sending in federal troops. No matter the problem, Bush sees a surge as the solution.
His most important decision, Bush writes, was to put the country on a war footing after 9/11.
鈥淪eptember 11 redefined sacrifice. It redefined duty. And it redefined my job. The story of that week was the key to understanding my presidency,鈥� Bush writes.
鈥淩edefined鈥� is exactly right. From changing the mission of the FBI and creating the Department of Homeland Security to crafting a startling new foreign policy doctrine and launching two wars, it鈥檚 hard to understate the magnitude of the changes Bush wrought after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
All the controversial policies that would follow 9/11 鈥� USA Patriot Act, wiretapping, detention centers, waterboarding, invading Iraq 鈥� have at their core the fire of a man who sees war policy in fiercely personal terms. Today, we tend to see the war on terror in terms of Bush鈥檚 abstractions: 鈥渨ith us, or with the terrorists,鈥� 鈥渁xis of evil,鈥� 鈥渕ake no distinction,鈥� 鈥渆nding tyranny in our world.鈥� Yet it鈥檚 clear that he saw, and continues to see, the conflict in terms of specific American lives that he either felt a duty to protect or honor.
There are few significant revelations in 鈥淒ecision Points,鈥� but readers may learn:
鈥he sighting of a wild turkey at Bush鈥檚 Texas ranch may have repaired a deteriorating relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, who saw it as a good omen.
鈥s early as Sept. 15, 2001, some high-ranking officials were urging Bush to confront Iraq. And Bush ordered a review of battle plans against Iraq just two months after 9/11.
鈥hough he approved waterboarding, Bush rejected two other interrogation techniques that he felt went 鈥渢oo far.鈥�
鈥�Dick Cheney is not the 鈥渉ugging type.鈥�
On some issues, Bush may prompt readers to reconsider their opinions:
鈥id to Africa. Controversies like the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal overwhelmed news of Bush鈥檚 bold and largely effective initiatives to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases in Africa, while transforming the way the West thought about foreign aid.
鈥ipartisanship. At a time when many Americans questioned his legitimacy as president, Bush collaborated with many Democrats on a range of legislation, from education reform to national security. And aside for harsh words he reserves for Sen. Harry Reid (D) of Nevada, Bush is usually gracious toward his rivals.
鈥ax cuts. Critics saw it as welfare for the rich. But he rightly points out that the relative tax burden on the richest Americans actually increased as a result of his change.
In other cases, Bush鈥檚 rationales suffer from serious lapses in awareness:
鈥e says he was right to tackle Social Security鈥檚 looming fiscal crisis. But didn鈥檛 he create a new entitlement 鈥� the Medicare prescription drug benefit 鈥� whose multitrillion-dollar liability now nearly equals Social Security鈥檚 debt burden?
鈥e argues strongly that the 鈥淏ush Lied, People Died鈥� charge is illogical. He demonstrates heartfelt commitment to US soldiers, personally writing some 5,000 letters to families of the fallen. And he expresses his 鈥渟ickening feeling鈥� over not finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But could he not even briefly acknowledge the more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians who have died in the war so far?
鈥e flatly declares that spreading democracy in the Middle East will mean greater security for Americans. But wouldn鈥檛 more freedom today mean more hard-line Islamic groups that hate America would be in power?
鈥e admits to some organizational problems in his White House. But didn鈥檛 his management style 鈥� typified by questions at meetings such as 鈥淚 just want to make sure that all of us did agree on this plan, right?鈥� 鈥� foster groupthink and suppress dissent?
Constantly aware that he was being watched by our enemies as well as American soldiers, Bush never dared show anything but firm resolve. Such steadfastness paid crucial dividends, but it also carried a steep price when course correction was needed. A more penetrating memoir might have dared to examine this tension in-depth. Bush鈥檚 doesn鈥檛.
On one matter, Bush is undeniably right: Memories dull as time glides on, and both professional historians and the American public will probably judge Bush鈥檚 presidency not on the 14 decision points he covers in this memoir but on one thing: his muscular response to 9/11. That may well be to his advantage.
Americans today don鈥檛 lose sleep over the fact that Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. He saved the union and freed the slaves! FDR may have interned Japanese Americans and tried to pack the Supreme Court, but he heroically battled the Great Depression and won World War II!
Bush seems confident that a similar judgment awaits him. 鈥淎merica went seven and a half years without another successful terrorist attack on our soil. If I had to summarize my most meaningful accomplishment as president in one sentence, that would be it.鈥�
Josh Burek is the Monitor鈥檚 opinion editor.
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