POWIP Piece of Work In Progress – Former Abode of Dan Collins

Didja' hear?  W wrote a book.  He really can read and write LOLOLOL.  The book is called Decision Points and, wisely, each chapter revolves around a decision he had to make, mostly while president.  In the introduction he writes, "I have told the story of my time in the White House by focusing on the most important part of the job: making decisions."One of the most important lessons I've learned in my own life over the last few years is that people have reasons for the decisions they make, and we shouldn't be so quick to assume we know what they are.  It was frustrating to watch the media caricature of him take over who he really was during his presidency.  I know I'm not the only one who wished he would stick up for himself more during his terms, but I also found that quality endearing.  Instead of writing one monstrously long post I'm going to take this one decision at a time.

While I still consider myself a supporter and agree with most of his decisions, I am not his cheerleader.  My hope isn't that this book or my opinion of it will avenge him, my hope is that it will explain him.

The first chapter is called Quitting, which mainly refers to his drinking.  The book starts on the last night he drank when he made an ass of himself by asking another dinner guest what sex was like after 50.  He claims to still not know if he's an alcoholic or not, it just seems he realized alcohol was becoming more important to him than the people he loved.  Not surprisingly, this was going on around the time he started taking his faith very seriously.  I hope other readers will notice that at his most sinful he was actively seeking a closer relationship with God.  One of the best kept secrets about Christianity is that God meets you where you are.  He also says, "My problem was not only drinking; it was selfishness." Nail, head.

W's adoration for 41 is clear.  He chronicles his heroism in WWII, how he had Barbara's name painted on the inside of his airplane and how W was born at Yale.

"I attended his commencement in Mother's arms, dozing through much of the ceremony.  It wouldn't be the last time I slept through a Yale lecture... As I got older there would be others I looked up to.  But the truth is that I never had to search for a role model.  I was the son of George Bush."

I found the meandering his upbringing took from stuffy New England to Texas and back striking.  I think that explains a lot about him.  As an adult he chose Texas.  "I've always been grateful they settled where they did.  One of my greatest inheritances is that I was raised in West Texas."  He dispels the notion that he was a spoiled rich kid.  He was definitely privileged, but as an adult he chose to go back to Texas and succeed in the oil business from the bottom up.

He adores Barbara Bush equally, and is clearly proud to have inherited her wit and spunk.  I would be too.  This is where he goes into a very touching, personal story of watching his mother go through a miscarriage.  The left-wing media tried, and to some extent succeeded, in spinning the story into something about Barbara Bush having her miscarried fetus saved in a jar, which she then showed to W to make him pro-life.

That's not what happened.  What happened was she had a miscarriage at home while 41 was away.  W had to drive her to the hospital.  Before the age of ultrasound women were told to bring "it" to the hospital.  I believe this was to make sure nothing had been left behind.  (What a horrible experience.)  She didn't show it to him, he happened to see it as he was assisting her.  He was 14 years old, and he tells the story in the book to make the point that, even at that age, he didn't look at it as a fetus.  It was his brother or sister, which he rightfully grieved for.  This experience also seems to have strengthened the bond with his mother.

The rest of the chapter is about sowing his oats in his twenties, his military service, meeting Laura and the birth of his children.  Of meeting Laura he says, "She was gorgeous.  She had stunning blue eyes and moved so gracefully.  She was intelligent and dignified, with a warm and easy laugh.  If there is love at first sight, this is it."

The next chapter is entitled Running and begins on June 12, 1999.  This should be interesting.

crossposted at killtruck