Columns, pieces and posts
Sixty-two days into his presidency, and 40 days before everyone talks about and writes about his First Hundred Days, some thoughts on George W. Bush and how he’s doing. The great question from those who had not supported him, which is to say from half the country, was: Is he up to the job? The […]
After I left my speechwriting job in Ronald Reagan’s White House 15 years ago, I stayed home, had a baby and wrote. Sometimes I’d run into Washington people I didn’t see anymore and they’d ask, “What are you doing now?” I’d say, with hopeful pride, “I’m writing a book.” They would nod and get the […]
This is the way it’s supposed to be, with division sharp, clear and meaningful. There are two parties, and each believes in different things. The Democrats don’t want to cut federal taxes. They have their reasons. The Republicans want to cut taxes. They have their reasons too. Yesterday in the House they held a vote […]
On some new level and in some new way George W. Bush burrowed into the presidency Tuesday night. Like him or not, he is a man to be taken seriously. He spoke to the House and Senate with apparent ease and confidence, but more important his address was a deft document, and a revealing one, […]
Hugh Rodham, the brother of the first lady, is paid a reported $400,000 to secure from the president of the United States the commutation of the sentence of a wealthy felon who sells cocaine and a pardon for a wealthy felon who sells phony herbal medicines. The president’s closest aide, Bruce Lindsey, discusses pardon and […]
What a terrific speech the president gave Tuesday on the need to cut taxes. He stood at the podium at the Economic Club of New York and seemed to radiate a youthfulness and dynamism that his advisers no doubt hoped would reflect on his economic program. Trim and youthful, relatively new to presidential power and […]
The past week was dominated by three presidents, the new one, the last one, a past one. It was instructive. The new one continues to move forward, becoming accepted by the country as president. The recount seems if not long ago then just another strange mishap, like Al Gore’s makeup in the first debate. George […]
George W. Bush’s first trip to another country as president will be in two weeks, to Mexico. He wants to show respect and support for Mexico’s new president, the intrepid Vicente Fox. As a former Texas governor, Mr. Bush has long had a foreign policy toward Mexico, and the trip will demonstrate Mexico’s continued precedence […]
Well, that was an interesting first week from Mr. Bush. He became president, established himself as the new top dog. It’s always surprising how quickly new presidents seem to look comfortable signing orders and holding meetings with the congressional leadership. An important Democratic senator (Georgia’s Zell Miller, who took the late great Paul Coverdell’s place […]
President Bush’s inaugural address had a specific weight. Some speeches just float away because they’re light and full of air, but this one had weight and stayed and settled. It was a speech that declared the new president’s thinking as he assumes the presidency. This is what he thinks: God is here and asks us […]