Woodward: Bush ‘Doesn’t Like Homework,’ Which Means ‘Reading,’ ‘Getting Briefed’ Or ‘Having A Debate’
Woodward: Bush ‘Doesn’t Like Homework,’ Which Means ‘Reading,’ ‘Getting Briefed’ Or ‘Having A Debate’
On the Chris Matthews Show today, Matthews argued that one of the major differences between President Bush and President-elect Barack Obama is the fact that Obama is intellectually curious. As an example of Bush’s lack of intellectual curiosity, Matthews played a 2004 clip of Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward saying on 60 Minutes that Bush “is not an intellectual” or what “would be called a deep thinker.”
Asked by Matthews to explain why Bush “shows little intellectual curiosity,” Woodward said it was essentially because Bush “doesn’t like homework”:
WOODWARD: I think he’s impatient. I think, my summation: He doesn’t like homework. And homework means reading or getting briefed or having a debate. And part of the presidency, part of governing, particularly in this area, is homework, homework, homework.
Watch it:
Woodward, who has written four books on the Bush White House, has reported multiple instances in which Bush has put his distaste for homework on display. In 2004, Woodward told PBS’s Frontline about how Bush describes himself as “a gut player” who doesn’t “play by the book“:
QUESTION: What does that tell us about this president, how his mind works and how he functions as an executive? …
WOODWARD: Bush looks at problems. And he told me, he said: “I’m a gut player. I play by instincts. I don’t play by the book.” And of course the book is Policy 101 about how you make these kinds of decisions, and all of this [is] coming from the gut.
In his most recent book, Woodward reported that Bush actually bragged about not attending meetings where key decisions about the surge were made, telling Woodward, “I’m not in these meetings, you’ll be happy to hear, because I got other things to do.” Woodward has said that in his eyes, Bush has “often displayed impatience and a lack of interest in open debate.”
Transcript:
MATTHEWS: Bob, he obviously relies a lot on instinct and is proud of that fact. Is that why he shows little intellectual curiosity about other people’s thinking?WOODWARD: I think he’s impatient. I think, my summation: He doesn’t like homework. And homework means reading or getting briefed or having a debate. And part of the presidency, part of governing, particularly in this area, is homework, homework, homework.
MATTHEWS: And Obama?
WOODWARD: Obama is the opposite. He mainlines homework. He does, you know, where is extra credit.
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Bush’s right wing authoritarian cult worshippers admire this degree of anti-intellectualism, which they generally share.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:19 amBush doesn’t like thinking (it’s probably painful).
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:21 amDoc – the elections were stolen, our real problem is not the minority of Americans that voted for him in 2000 and 2004, its the criminal cabal behind the stolen election.
And no, kkkarl rove did not mastermind it either. People that commit these kinds of crimes know better than to stand in front of the cameras and microphones.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:25 amWoodward is not a “hero” – he fully cooperated in “catapulting the propaganda” when this entire charade started.
People forget, it was the REPUBLICANS that threw nixon under the bus. Woodward has no more integrity as a journalist then anyone else.
When it served someone’s purpose, he got involved with the watergate scandal, but that does not mean he was actually motivated by the public’s best-interest.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 amVerbal is spot on. The Right has become a movement that embraces ignorance as somehow more conducive to the “action” they venerate.
Witness what has become my favorite Sarah Palin quote, in response to a question about teh causes of global warming:
“it kinda doesn’t matter at this point in the debate what caused it. The point is it’s real; we need to do something about it.”
That, to me, is more revealing than a dozen failures to name a Supreme Court case she disagreed with, an example of John McCain’s call for more regulation or even what newspapers she reads. It’s emblematic of the current state of the conservative movement.
Maybe they’ve come to realize that the more education one acquires, the more likely he is to accept progressive ideas. And the easier it is for him to see through the facade of conservative “thought”.
Or, as John Kenneth Galbraith so eloquently said it:
“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy: that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.”
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 amThis makes perfect sense. A ship with no one at the wheel will eventually end up on the rocks.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 amThat’s a fair point, AJ, but consider that Woodward’s original hagiography of “Bush at War” only serves to give his later criticisms a little more ideological heft. It makes him a more difficult target for critics who would charge him with bias.
Of course, he could also just be following public opinion, but I think he was actually a step ahead when his reporting started exposing Bush’s weaknesses.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:31 amWow, This Week has a balanced board of talking heads!
I think I just felt the ground move under me…
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:32 amArianna and Bob Kuttner are schooling Brooks, and Will’s reluctant to chime in!
Sweet!
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 amAnd I thought “Presidents do learn”.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 amThis makes perfect sense. A ship with no one at the wheel will eventually end up on the rocks.
—
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:47 amunless it is going round and around in a gyre…
Will’s getting punked by Kuttner, about the current auto manufacturing mess.
This Week is the best I’ve seen since Bush took office.
George Stefanopolis is even acting like a true moderator!
If this portends a more thoughtful Sunday debate, I’m grateful for Obama’s victory, in this regard. Though it’s too early to say what he’ll do in office, this apparent ideological re-alignment of Sunday talk shows, is a good bit of change.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:47 amIn my opinion bush was born with mental quirk’s such as his addictive behavior and lack of any lengthy attention span…He is by all account’s slightly retarted and with the capacety of a drunk 2 year old….He will alway’s attract like minded people…P.B & J.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:50 amRalph – legit points, however, it was dur chimpfuhrer’s social security bamboozle tour shortly after stealing the 2004 election that really did him in.
He proclaimed he had earned “capital” and was going to “spend it”. In reality, the majority of the public did not support him then, but theft in OH (and again in FL) and most likely some other states let them keep the WH.
The Right has become a movement that embraces ignorance as somehow more conducive to the “action” they venerate.
They have to, Ralph, their policies and the neocon agenda go against the best-interest of the vast majority of Americans. There is no way they can run truthful campaigns and win if this country had free, open, and verifiable elections.
Which is why we don’t.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:54 amGeorge Bush only cared about stealing Iraq’s oil as soon as he was selected by the US Supreme Court in 2001. He wanted to better his Daddy who forgot to steal the oil in the 1991 invasion of Iraq. See? This is why George Bush wasn’t curious about anything else. All he and the Dickster cared about was the oil! Nothing else mattered.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:54 amBarfly,
I was also very pleased with BOB Kutner’s performance on ABC today. A refreshing change from the predictable.
I’ve been listening to him and reading his stuff for a long time, thinking to myself…why Isn’t this man ever on the MSM?
Well..I guess the Time is right for the ground to move under our feet.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:56 amKay – we didn’t get the oil and the spigots were essentially shut down.
Yes, this was about oil, but it was not about gaining access to any of it.
Please pardon this snarky title – just using what Greg Palast wrote. There are important points here:
Bush Didn’t Bungle Iraq, You Fools
The Mission Was Indeed Accomplished
There’s more – important read.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:58 amWitch1 – a great deal of truth in what you say, but this is also why chimpy was the ideal figurehead for the criminal cabal behind this administration.
The treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and wholesale looting of the federal treasury have nothing to do with dur chimpfurher’s many character defects.
In fact, they are just a distraction and without them, none of the crimes would have been possible.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:01 pmBush is a classic wet brained, dry drunk. Always on edge – “impatient” – with too many destroyed brain cells, feeling sorry for himself because he can’t drink anymore, yet always thinking about having another drink.
The type of guy you wouldn’t hire to even mow your lawn because he’d f*** it up or leave before it was completed.
How we survived him being president (so far….) is simply amazing.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 pmWhen are Harvard and Yale going to revoke his degrees?
Not like reading? Not like homework? Not like learning? Then how in the hell did he ever pass a single course during his tenture at either institution, renown for their educational prestige?
Apparently an Ivy League education isn’t what it’s advertized to be…
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:05 pmOil was Part of the reason for Bush’s Ill conceived Attack on Iraq.
Another Major factor was Projection of US Military Power …in other words US Military Bases in the heart of the Middle East.
After Acceding to Bin Laden’s terrorist Demands to pull our Military out of Saudi Arabia….Bush needed to go somewhere…and thought Iraq would be an easy Target.
Lots of Concrete followed, but the SOFA may yet derail this Grand Scheme.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:07 pmBadger, I’m going to check the other shows, and see if they have also attempted a guest-speaking re-alignment.
It seems Brokaw has a somewhat balanced show planned (I’m on the west coast, and so, see them all last), with the Post’s Robinson, Chuck Todd… but he’s chosen to interview Bill Daley Jr., and Reganite Howard Baker. It smells. Why choose Baker, to interview?
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:07 pmBush’s right wing authoritarian cult worshippers admire this degree of anti-intellectualism, which they generally share.
It is a message that gets pounded home and constantly reinforced in the media. Americans, in general, clearly have an anti-intellectual bias.
The rest of the world sees it, but few here talk about it.
It starts young, boys are taught that they cannot be popular if they are academic, especially if they are people of color.
Girls are taught that they must be sexy and this means they cannot be academic.
These messages are subtly worked into the media and excessive marketing campaigns that are targeted to them.
Many schools are actually reinforcing these messages too, though many educators do not understand the contradiction here.
Unfortunately, these biases are deeply rooted in our culture.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:08 pmAnother Joe Says: Specifically, the system ordered up by the Bush cabal would keep a lid on Iraq’s oil production — limiting Iraq’s oil pumping to the tight quota set by Saudi Arabia and the OPEC cartel.
Statistically, he was bound to accomplish at least one thing according to plan :)
Despite his accomplished mission on this one, it seems that the Saudis are done using him to drive up the cost of oil, since the current state of the ecoomy has caused Americans to consume less, and vote in a guy who promised alternative fuels.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:10 pmApparently an Ivy League education isn’t what it’s advertized to be
Sure it is – daddy got just what he paid for, some bogus credentials that were used to fraudulently launch a sham-business career and then an even bigger debacle in politics, ultimately ending up in the White House.
Remember how the lying liars in the MSM touted chimpy as “Our First MBA President”.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:10 pmand Reganite Howard Baker
Oops, meant James Baker.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:12 pmBarfly,
Wasn’t that JIM Baker…former Treasury Sec. and Sec. of State.
And Legal Engineer of Bush v. Gore in 2000.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:12 pm“I’m not in these meetings, you’ll be happy to hear, because I got other things to do.”
Uh, like what? Clearing brush? Vacationing at the ranch? Unbelievable.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:14 pmYes Another Joe, you are right. Whoever controls the oil controls everything and if the Oil Maggots could control production of Iraq’s oil, it would drive up prices for OPEC, you know, the Saudi buddies of George & Dickface!
Hoarding the oil has been very profitable for the Oil Maggots.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:15 pmObviously, half the American Voters didn’t Do Their Homework, when they voted for Bush TWICE!
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:16 pmEven threatening war or an attack on Iran is very profitable to the Saudis/OPEC. Spit.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:17 pmBush’s ignorance and disdain fir even the mildest form of intellectulaism and study were plainly evident in his 1999 election campaign yet the MSM insisted these were the qualities of the man, praised his rank ignorance and ignorant attitudes as “authentic” and cheered him on.
One of Bush’s greatest cheerleaders was Chris Matthews. It’s disingenuous of Matthews to now act the curious innocent in his questioning comparisons of Bush and Obama.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:18 pmIn his most recent book, Woodward reported that Bush actually bragged about not attending meetings where key decisions about the surge were made, telling Woodward, “I’m not in these meetings, you’ll be happy to hear, because I got other things to do.”
Does anyone know whether Woodward pressed Bush for detail on what “other things” he was doing? I mean, there’s only so much time one can spend clearing brush, even in DC.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:20 pmAnother Joe Says: Remember how the lying liars in the MSM touted chimpy as “Our First MBA President”.
I once dated a guy who went ot Harvard and explained that once they let you in, it’s virtually impossible to fail out (since they base their reputation on their selectivity).
Since Bush was probably accepted on legacy, my guess is that he never even attended class. He doesn’t possess a high school level of understanding on finances or the economy, much less that of someone with an MBA from any university, much less Harvard.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pmI just wonder how long it’s going to take us to feel secure again and breathe a sigh of relief now that this Monster is leaving the White House. There was a huge collective sigh after Obama’s election, but the work to get us out of this mess is daunting.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pmThe amount of damage Bush and his co-horts did in such a short period of time is truly astounding. Bush and the conservative right ruined America, plain and simple. We’re not beyond repair, but it’s going to be a long uphill climb.
America grew up by electing Obama!
Badger, well, it’s clear why Brokaw brought Baker on. He was there, to reinforce the current anti-unionist corporate message. If I were a sceptical person, I’d draw the inference that GE is getting ready to also ask for a bailout, of it’s financial services unit. Baker floated a shiny, well-polished one – that it’s the unions’ fault the Big Three aren’t competitive. He was also there, to talk about the GM bailout, but stayed into foreign policy — which is a howler, for anyone with memory enough to recall Reagan’s Iran/Contra -style foreign policy.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:27 pmunbelievable, appropriate comment and your snark is duly noted.
I hope that eventually people quit making this about “competence” or chimpy’s character defects.
The folks that are stealing BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of dollars are laughing all the way to the bank.
Eventually, we need to follow the money trail and talk about the real culprits.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:33 pmYeah, Bush has always governed by instinct — his gut, as he says — maybe we wouldn’t be in such dire straits today if his head weren’t always so far up his butt, surveying his gut.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:37 pmbarfly says:
Will’s getting punked by Kuttner, about the current auto manufacturing mess.
That was GOOD wasn’t it? :)
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:39 pmI am stunned we elected this man twice. He is mentally and intellectually unfit to serve as president of this country.
A close friend of the Bush family described W. as “having a profound lack of curiosity.” I’m sure he found it easier to live as a Born Again Christian, following a rigid belief system makes it easier to get away with intellectual laziness.
The extent of damage from Bush and that “evil-doer” has yet to be realized.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:40 pmRobt. Reich ( former Labor Sec.) was on CNN, and he nailed it.
The reason we are in this mess, is because American’s Don’t Have any Money. Median Income has gone Down, since Bush took office. All the growth went to top Income earners.
American families compensated by Borrowing…taking advantage of Rapidly Increasing Home Equity…but when the Housing bubble burst …they reached the End of Their Rope.
Now it is up to the Govt. to be the SPENDER of last Resort.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:41 pmHis gut. Our graves.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:41 pmYeah, Bush has always governed by instinct — his gut, as he says
All that really comes from the gut is the waste – a stream of sh!t
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:45 pmunbe,
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:45 pmthat explains how Bush got an MBA.
He has no grasp of economic issues, no willingness to learn, and economics is a very dry, heavy-on-reading/studying subject – the only way he could have passed was for because the university was loathe to admit an abject failure of a student.
I agree with Witch1. He has always exhibited attention deficit disorder and dyslexia and it is the media’s fault for treating this as taboo and glorifying him as “authenic”.
Another Joe is right—all the evidence shows that he lost twice.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:49 pmThis is why we need to stop electing special-needs politicians. Palin reminds me so much of Bush in this regard. Hopefully thanks to Bush, we’ve seen the last one of these below-average intelligence people actually make it into office.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:49 pmAnother Joe Says: Eventually, we need to follow the money trail and talk about the real culprits.
Agreed. The problem is that nothing is going to happen to them. Sure a few counties have gotten brave and gone after these folks as best they can, but really, I expect Chimp to pardon them all before taking a final dump on the White House lawn January 19th.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 pmThis is why we need to stop electing special-needs politicians.
These are the folks that the repugs/neocons need to stand in front of the camera and provide distractions from the looting, treason, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
We will see an endless stream of these types until we agree to talk about the folks BEHIND the curtain and not the morons in front of the cameras.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:01 pmMarie Says: only way he could have passed was for because the university was loathe to admit an abject failure of a student.
Definitely seems so.
The guy I dated said that he was generally disappointed with the quality of his education at Harvard (in architecture), because he felt that he could have gotten an equal or even better education from a public university for a fraction of the price (he paid his own way). As a result, he beieved the Ivy League name was a bit more about promoting the presitge of socio-economic status (since most people who go there are wealthy) rather than about their intellectual status. Seems he had a point.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:01 pmIt is not that Bush ‘Doesn’t Like Homework,’ Which Means ‘Reading,’ ‘Getting Briefed’ Or ‘Having A Debate’… Bush is not capable of thinking. He is the most ignorant WAR CRIMINAL in History!
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:28 pmHe’s lazy, and tries to rationalize it by this “I go by my gut” bullshit. I known hundreds of guys just like him.
How this lazy, ego maniacal, shallow, thuggish, dolt got to be elected President, for two terms no less, will be one of those great mysteries for future historians to ponder.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:32 pmDel Capslock
Bush was never elected. They stole two elections!
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:33 pmHere’s a question.
At the end of all American presidencies, there is a period (like the one we’re in now) in which pundits usually engage in political pre-post-mortems of the last administration.
Given the unprecedented scope of recent business failures, the considerable amount of airtime being given to covering the bailout and steps that must be taken to correct the situation, will the media forego or curtail this tradition, and in so doing, blur the record of the last president?
It is important from a historical perspective that these judgements be rendered, to give a clear picture of the transition to future historians, and to the later partisan political players who use these by-then-historical quotes to construct politically-persuasive memes, arguments, and rebuttals.
Is the media dropping the ball, again?
I’ve seen very little in this regard, other than a generally-dismissive tone of Bush, and his disastrous policies.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:37 pmDel Capslock Says:
How this lazy, ego maniacal, shallow, thuggish, dolt got to be elected President, for two terms no less, will be one of those great mysteries for future historians to ponder.
Wow. Them wavelengths must be particularly strong today, given the relevance of my last post to this one.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 pmGiven the unprecedented scope of recent business failures, the considerable amount of airtime being given to covering the bailout and steps that must be taken to correct the situation, will the media forego or curtail this tradition, and in so doing, blur the record of the last president?
Of course, this is the same media that fraudulently hoisted an AWOL alcoholic/cocaine addict into the White House as a “war president” via 2 stolen elections.
You think they are going to say anything sensible now?
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:30 pmJoe. I agree about the long strain of anti intellectualism in America and especially in American politics. The right has used this well. I think you can trace and complete overhaul of conservative thought after the 1964 election. Barry Goldwater was a popular conservative the problem for the right is he was honest. He actually told the American people exactly what he thought and wanted to do. The American people listened politely and told him no way. The right realized then they would NEVER sell their real agenda to Americans. So it became about demonizing the left and LYING, lying early and lying a lot. Anti intellectualism was a way to tell them dont look at the facts dont look at what they want to do and what we want to do. Look at how manly we are we are like you guys we are regular folks and those guys are unmanly elitists. They refined this by making EVERYTHING an opinion. No such thing as an objective fact. I told a rightwinger once that we had overthrown Mossedegh in Iran and he told me that was my OPINION. As if there was no such thing as historical fact. This is an ugly road. We HAVE to get over it if we want to be governed by grownups.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:42 pmNOOO, Really? Uncurious George doesn’t like to read, be briefed, or do his homework? Who’d a thunk it?
IDIOT
And that 20 some percent who still think the GOP are heading the country in the right direction are idiots just like he is.
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:00 pmThe top three Republicans (by their own choice) are W Bush, J McCain, and S Palin.
Here we have clear demonstration of GOP appreciation for intellect.
Why do they prefer the uncurious?
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:22 pmBush was nothing.
He was a front man for the industries and wealthy individuals who put him in office. So was Reagan.
He sold the war because the miserable bastards from his father’s administration told him to. They wanted to settle a score. They also stood to make a lot of money. So Bush sold it. It has lasted longer than they thought it would, but boy did they clean up!
Bush is clueless.
Let’s hope that Obama uses his God-given brains when he is in office.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:38 pmLet’s hope that he has some heart.
“And of course the book is Policy 101 about how you make these kinds of decisions, and all of this [is] coming from the gut.” (Woodward)
Of course, in Bush’s case, “coming from the gut” can go either way, in that “coming from the gut” can move upward to Bush’s brain and then out through his mouth…or “coming from the gut” can come out the other end…which pretty much sums up the Bush administration and all of Bush’s decisions…which have caused only crap for our country, crap for our Constitution and crap for the future of our nation’s children.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:11 pmDoesn’t Bob Woodward know that his description of George W. Bush is strikingly simular to the description of an idiot?
The curious psychiatrist.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 pm