Author Affiliation
David Frum is a contributing editor to the National Review and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.Excerpt from Book
1 Into the Mess Missed you at Bible study." Those were, quite literally, the very first words I heard spoken inside the Bush White House. I had just stepped through the side door to the West Wing?not the front door you see on television, the one the marine guard in red-striped pants opens for congressmen and ambassadors, but the staff door, which is one floor down and a little to the side. I had been invited into the West Wing to have breakfast in the mess with Michael Gerson, George W. Bush's chief speechwriter and the principal author of the inaugural address Bush had delivered just five days before. The reproach about missing Bible study was directed to Gerson, not to me. Even so, it made me twitch. It had been a month since Gerson had asked me to consider joining the new administration's speechwriting staff. Today we were to discuss the proposition in earnest over breakfast in the White House mess. The news that this was a White House where attendance at Bible study was, if not compulsory, not quite uncompulsory, either, was disconcerting to a non-Christian like me. My appointment that morning had been scheduled for 8:10. Not 8:00, not 8:15, but 8:10?my first introduction to the White House habit of parceling the day into five-minute increments. I already knew enough about the new administration to know that I had better arrive exactly on time. The mess is a windowless suite of wood-paneled rooms decorated with nautical prints and old brass shipfittings. As Gerson spoke about the job, I found myself fingering the blue-bordered paper menu, trying not to gawk at the room as if I were Gerson's third cousin from Des Moines. I had to keep my attention focused on the business at hand: explaining to him the reasons why I believed I was unsuited to the job he was offering me. I had no connection to the Bush campaign or the Bush family. I had no experience in government and little of political campaigns. I had never written a speech for anyone other than myself. And I had been only a moderately enthusiastic supporter of George W. Bush. True, I had preferred Bush to John McCain in the primaries; the whole point of the McCain campaign had seemed to be to vex and annoy conservative Republicans like me. But like many even within the Republican party, I was not excited by Bush. No, it was worse than that: I strongly doubted that he was the right man for the job. Although people who met Bush individually or in small groups claimed to be highly impressed by him, on television he did not look like a man ready to be president. The late-night comedians and Bush's Democratic opponents had an easy explanation for Bush's awkwardness: stupidity. David Letterman offered these top ten headlines from a George W. Bush presidency: president fails in shoe-tying bid and america held hostage: day 16 of president's head stuck in banister. Jay Leno called Bush-Cheney the "Wizard of Oz ticket": "One needs a heart, the other needs a brain." Saturday Night Live depicted Bush as a party-hearty frat boy interested only in "huntin' and executin'," who responded to tough debate questions with a good-natured "Pass." Slate magazine published a daily digest of Bush's verbal gaffes; former Clinton aide Paul Begala used one of those gaffes for the title of his anti-Bush book: "Is Our Children Learning?" Bush cheerfully replied that his critics "misunderestimated" him, and Bush's supporters explained that their man's stumbles and malapropisms were signs of nervousness, not ignorance. That was not a whole lot more encouraging: For a president, nerves are even more indispensable than brains. It is important that a president be in command of his words. It is essential that he be in command of himself. My fellow conservatives did not worry that the candidate was too dumb; they worried that his campaign was too clever. Bush had borroReview Quote
“George W. Bush was hardly the obvious man for the job. But by a very strange fate, he turned out to be, of all unlikely things, the right man.” --from The Right Man, by David Frum
David Frum helped make international headlines when President George W. Bush's 2002 State of the Union address linked international terrorists to Iran, Iraq, and North Korea in an "axis of evil." But that was only one moment during one of the most crucial times in American history, when a president, an administration, and a country were transformed.PDavid Frum's political commentary has been described by William F. Buckley as "the most refreshing ideological experience in a generation." Now, in The Right Man, Frum becomes a front-row observer and participant. With honest admiration for President Bush, Frum tells the story of a remarkable year in the life of an American president as he witnessed it. Writes Frum: "Bush is no lightweight. He is rather a very unfamiliar sort of heavyweight. But he did not become a heavyweight all at once. The Right Man is the story of how he grew -- how his administration followed -- and what the consequences of this evolution will be for the future of American politics."PNot since Peggy Noonan's portrait of Ronald Reagan has an insider portrayed a sitting president with such precision and insight. The Right Man will command international attention for its thoughtful portrait of George W. Bush in the midst of his greatest challenge.
The Right Man is the first inside account of a historic year in the Bush White House, by the presidential speechwriter credited with the phrase axis of evil. David Frum helped make international headlines when President George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address linked international terrorists to Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. But that was only one moment during a crucial time in American history, when a president, an administration, and a country were transformed. Frum worked with President Bush in the Oval Office, traveled with him aboard Air Force One, and studied him closely at meetings and events. He describes how Bush thinks—what this conservative president believes about religion, race, the environment, Jews, Muslims, and America’s future. Frum takes us behind the scenes of one of the most secretive administrations in recent history, with revealing portraits of Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Condoleezza Rice, and many others. Most significant, he tells the story of the transformation of George W. Bush: how a president whose administration began in uncertainty became one of the most decisive, successful, and popular leaders of our time. Before becoming a White House speechwriter, David Frum was a highly regarded author of books and political commentary and an influential voice on the pages of The Wall Street Journal and The Weekly Standard. His commentary has been described by William F. Buckley as “the most refreshing ideological experience in a generation.” Now, in The Right Man, we see Frum as a front-row observer and participant. Not since Peggy Noonan’s account of her time in the Reagan White House has an insider portrayed a sitting president with such precision, verve, honest admiration, and insight. The Right Man will command international attention for its thoughtful account of George W. Bush in the midst of his greatest challenge. It will be an essential reference for anyone seeking to understand who our president really is and how he is likely to lead us in the future. From the Hardcover edition.Title Summary
"The Right Man is the first inside account of a historic year in the Bush White House, by the presidential speechwriter credited with the phrase "axis of evil."" "Frum worked with President Bush in the Oval Office, traveled with him aboard Air Force One, and studied him closely at meetings and events. He describes how Bush thinks - what this conservative president believes about religion, race, the environment, Jews, Muslims, and America's future. Frum takes us behind the scenes of one of the most secretive administrations in recent history, with revealing portraits of Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Condoleezza Rice, and many others. Most significant, he tells the story of the transformation of George W. Bush: how a president whose administration began in uncertainty became one of the most decisive, successful, and popular leaders of our time."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights ReservedMain Description
The Right Manis the first inside account of a historic year in the Bush White House, by the presidential speechwriter credited with the phraseaxis of evil.David Frum helped make international headlines when President George W. Bush7;s 2002 State of the Union address linked international terrorists to Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. But that was only one moment during a crucial time in American history, when a president, an administration, and a country were transformed. Frum worked with President Bush in the Oval Office, traveled with him aboard Air Force One, and studied him closely at meetings and events. He describes how Bush thinks-what this conservative president believes about religion, race, the environment, Jews, Muslims, and America7;s future. Frum takes us behind the scenes of one of the most secretive administrations in recent history, with revealing portraits of Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Condoleezza Rice, and many others. Most significant, he tells the story of the transformation of George W. Bush: how a president whose administration began in uncertainty became one of the most decisive, successful, and popular leaders of our time. Before becoming a White House speechwriter, David Frum was a highly regarded author of books and political commentary and an influential voice on the pages ofThe Wall Street JournalandThe Weekly Standard.His commentary has been described by William F. Buckley as 0;the most refreshing ideological experience in a generation.1; Now, inThe Right Man,we see Frum as a front-row observer and participant. Not since Peggy Noonan7;s account of her time in the Reagan White House has an insider portrayed a sitting president with such precision, verve, honest admiration, and insight. The Right Manwill command international attention for its thoughtful account of George W. Bush in the midst of his greatest challenge. It will be an essential reference for anyone seeking to understand who our president really is and how he is likely to lead us in the future.
David Frum is a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. His writing has appeared on the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Foreign Affairs. Frum writes a twice-weekly column for Canada's National Post and broadcasts regularly on NPR's Morning Edition. He lives in Washington, D. C.