Here's something that I found amusing. Really bring out the "Real
Man" side of W
Reinventing George W. Bush: From Cheerleader to Cowboy
September 15, 2004
Many Americans are comfortable with the managed, false persona they
have of the current President of the United States. They view
George W. Bush as a rough-riding Texan who, when not attending to
the affairs of the most powerful nation in the world, is busy
clearing brush on his West Texas ranch. In truth, George Bush is
far from being a "common" man as he does not understand the trials
of American life. He may not even be considered a true Texan.
President Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut. As his father
made his first million in the oil industry, the Bush family spent
George and Jeb's childhood in between Midland, Texas, Kennebunkport,
Maine and Jupiter Island, Florida. As part of the Bush-Walker clan,
the family had access to luxurious homes and compounds around the
nation.
As a child, George pursued his interest in baseball but was known
for inability to hit a ball. This probably didn't matter much to
the young George Bush as he was probably the richest kid on his
team, owning over a million shares of his father's company at the
time.
Bush's high school of choice was the elite boarding school, Phillips
Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. While in high school, Bush gave
baseball another shot but found his calling in being the head
cheerleader for the all-boy school (he should be thankful that he
did not attend a Texas high school).
After graduating from the same high school that his privileged
father attended, George Bush headed off to Yale University as yet
another legacy admission (Bush now opposes legacy admissions despite
his own reliance on them along with one of his daughters). Bush's
first year at Yale concluded with his grades swirling to the bottom
20% of the student body just as kegs of beer swirled into
emptiness. At the conclusion of his Yale experience, Bush left his
mark on the prestigious school with a "C" average and no academic or
athletic accomplishments.
Upon his graduation from Yale in 1968, George Bush, in order to
avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam, enlisted into the Texas Air
National Guard with the supposed help of the then Texas Speaker of
the House, Ben Barnes. After jumping the waiting list and joining
the Guard, Bush applied for pilot training stating that "flying is a
lifetime goal." Shortly after the announcement of drug testing in
the military, Bush failed to show up for his annual physical
examination and lost his flight status. Bush's stated lifetime goal
of flying crashed and burned.
On month after the loss of his flight status, Bush requested a
transfer to Alabama in order to work on the senate campaign of
Winton Blount After a bit of back and forth, Bush eventually
received orders to report to a unit within the Alabama Air National
Guard where no one could recall his presence on the base.
Subsequently, Winton Blount lost his bid for a senate seat with the
help of the young Bush.
One year after being grounded from flight, George Bush requested a
discharge from the Texas Air National Guard in order to return to
Massachusetts and attend Harvard Business School (Bush should be
able to relate to a "Senator from Massachusetts" as he spent many
years there himself). The request was approved the next day by his
commanding officer and Bush was released from the National Guard,
six months shy of his obligation not including any time allegedly
missed in Alabama.
While at Harvard, Bush frequently walked with pride, wearing an old
flight jacket from the Air National Guard which showcased his former
pilot status. To his credit, Bush survived the rigorous MBA
program. Upon graduation, Bush loaded up his Oldsmobile with
clothes and $20,000 in "trip money" and headed to Midland, Texas to
settle in. After an extended detour to China via Hawaii, Bush
finally made it to West Texas in order to make his mark on the oil
industry just as his father had done.
Over the years in Midland, Bush managed to run several oil companies
into the ground. While on the verge of collapse, his final company,
Spectrum 7, was purchased by Harken Energy leaving Bush with several
hundred thousand dollars and a seat on the board of directors. At
the time, Harken was largely owned by billionaire George Soros and
wealthy Saudis.
In between infrequent board meetings Bush stayed busy by pretending
to play baseball as an owner of the Dallas Rangers. While only
owning 2% of the organization (using money from a shady sell of
Harken stock), Bush took the lead as the front man for the Texas
baseball team. As his father was waging the first war in Iraq, Bush
sat in the Ranger's dugout requesting sunflower seeds from bat
boys.
Bush served on the board of Harken until 1992 and resigned after
producing a SEC investigation that attracted unwanted attention onto
Bush Sr. and his floundering reelection campaign.
After his father's defeat in 1992, George Bush decided to run for
governor of Texas and in 1995 was sworn in after garnering just 53%
of the vote. As governor of Texas, Bush managed to increase the
high school drop out rate from 21% to 43% while changing the
methodology so that the public thought that the number was actually
2%. Bush also managed to grasp the national record for executing
more people than any other governor in history.
In 1999, Bush began his campaign for the presidency and the rest is,
of course, history.
Clearly, the cowboy image that Bush's handlers convey to the public
was created to distract from his life of privilege and under-
achievement. Having been born into wealth and influence just as his
father, George W. Bush rode his father's coattails into the halls of
the White House.
George Bush never had to worry about not making an insurance
payment, car payment or mortgage payment. Our "wartime" president
has never lived the mundane life of waking up each weekday,
commuting to work and putting in a set number of hours only to
return home and do it all over again, day after day after day. Bush
has never experienced the redundant yet challenging life required of
many responsible Americans. Given the extreme amount of time Bush
spends on holiday, he could never fathom only having two weeks of
vacation per year.
America should be aware that despite the façade created by his
public relations team, George W. Bush is yet another privileged
child who has never truly experienced American life, American
struggle, or sadly, even the satisfaction of overcoming extremely
difficult times through hard work and self reliance. While George
W. Bush seems to have done many things in his lifetime, where are
the actual accomplishments that make him a fit and qualified leader
of this great nation?