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by Mark Silva
Bob Woodward has written about a lot of presidents.
Today, as everyone is still getting their arms around the latest release of the White House tapes of the late President Richard Nixon, unfortunate subject of the first book, Woodward was asked about that notorious "center.''
Every president has one.
What is President Barack Obama's center?
"I'm working on a book about that, and I haven't answered that fully, to be quite honest,'' Woodward, co-author of All the President's Men and many more works, said in a roundtable discussion on MSNBC's Morning Joe today.
George W. Bush's?
"His center was, as he said often, 'I'm a gut player, I am not a textbook player.' So all you had to do in reporting on Bush is find out what his instinct was, and then it got implemented.''
Bill Clinton's center?
"I think he was schizophrenic,'' Woodward said. "The center was, 'Hey, let's do good.' But he didn't see that, in his personal life, if he couldn't control that, he was going to sacrifice the doing good.''
How about another once-mentioned presidential contender, retired Army Gen. Colin Powell?
"An Army man -- 35 years in the army, mastered being Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not master being Secretary of State,'' said Woodward. "Somebody who, in the end, has always been a soldier, and what does a soldier do? They follow orders.''
Comments
George W. Bush:
"His center was, as he said often, 'I'm a gut player, I am not a textbook player.' So all you had to do in reporting on Bush was find out what his instinct was, and then it got implemented.'' - Bob Woodward
Yeah dag gummit! I is gonna be a WAR Preznit and I'm a gonna put on one of them there flight costumes and them I'm a gonna say something that sounds real cool like: "Abracadabra!"....no no, not that. Ok, ok, I got it now, how about: "Mission Accomplished!"? Yep. that's the one, Karl says the chicks will dig that there. Heh heh heh...
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http://yellowcakewalk.net/2006-07-01/bush_codpiece.jpg
Posted by: W. | January 12, 2010 3:08 PM
This may be a stupid thing to ask but what exactly is this "center"? I'm not taking a stab at BO (or the word for that matter) but I have heard that people who walk on water don't have a center. In the past BO has been thought of as a pragmatist.... to..a...fault....I offer.
Posted by: toothfairy | January 12, 2010 4:03 PM
Thank you, Dr. Freud.
Or, no thank you.
You're the guy who dubbed Greenspan "Maestro".
Clinton was a narcissist and a hedonist. Disorganized and undisciplined.
All qualities which are notably lacking in the current President.
Thank God.
Posted by: ornery | January 13, 2010 12:09 AM