THE REAL BUSH

In his September 12, 2005, White House Briefing column, "Now They Tell Us," Dan Froomkin unloads on President Bush with such obvious glee that he comes off like a junior high mean girl.

Amid a slew of stories this weekend about the embattled presidency and the blundering government response to the drowning of New Orleans, some journalists who are long-time observers of the White House are suddenly sharing scathing observations about President Bush that may be new to many of their readers.

Is Bush the commanding, decisive, jovial president you've been hearing about for years in so much of the mainstream press?

Maybe not so much.

Judging from the blistering analyses in Time, Newsweek, and elsewhere these past few days, it turns out that Bush is in fact fidgety, cold and snappish in private. He yells at those who dare give him bad news and is therefore not surprisingly surrounded by an echo chamber of terrified sycophants. He is slow to comprehend concepts that don't emerge from his gut. He is uncomprehending of the speeches that he is given to read. And oh yes, one of his most significant legacies -- the immense post-Sept. 11 reorganization of the federal government which created the Homeland Security Department -- has failed a big test.

What a weird, gossipy column!

His bizarre choice of words, (the "drowning" of New Orleans, for example), adds to the sensationalism of his piece. It is the stuff of a schoolyard bully with a better than average vocabulary.

I didn't read the complete "blistering analyses" in the weekly news magazines; but if they tell stories of Bush being surrounded by "terrified syncophants," the accounts must be highly entertaining, very humorous. Judging from the excerpts that Froomkin provides from the weeklies, they would fit perfectly in a Michael Moore sequel to Fahrenheit 9/11.

No wonder he laps it up.

As Froomkin tells it, Bush is an unintelligent version of John Bolton.

I expected to read an account that an anonymous senior aide admitted to witnessing Bush kick Barney when he thought no one was looking.

It's no surprise that hatred for Bush runs deep among the self-proclaimed enlightened liberal elite. Rather than be disgusted by the way they characterize Bush, I'm embarrassed for them. Their sniping is so petty. They look very small in the process, not to mention a bit deranged.

Since Froomkin can't control himself and rein in the animosity, I think he should put it to good use. He should consider being a speech writer for Howard Dean. Better yet, he could write fiction--the sort Michael Moore relies on for his "documentaries."