To Win Over George W. Bush, Act Dumber Than George W. Bush
Bruce Bartlett, an adviser to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, takes a look at former George W. Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer's tell-all about his time in the White House. Here's an interesting bit:
One of the things that Latimer talks a lot about is the importance of the president's mood, which appears to have gyrated wildly. Apparently, the best way to get on his good side was to pretend to be stupid so that Bush would seem like a genius by figuring out some simple point for himself. Latimer says that national security adviser Stephen Hadley was very good at doing this:"Hadley was a master at handling the president. Though he was a very bright man, he liked to depict himself as the dumbest person in the room. He'd say things like, 'Oh, Mr. President. I'm sure I'm completely wrong about this, but…' or 'I have to apologize, Mr. President, and feel free to calibrate me, but…' This was the perfect way to talk to George W. Bush."
I don't think I'm smart enough to act that dumb.
Missing Tag: ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM
"gyrated"?????
yeah, um gyrated?? his moods oscillated?
he took after Tom DeLay
That sounds quite plausible to me–and I don't think it's just because I want to believe it. (Then again, the author was a speechwriter, so I guess he got paid to make up stuff?)
I'd like to "calibrate" this guy.
Isn't kissing up to your superiors by pretending to be dumber than them like, the oldest rule of kissing up to your superiors?
"Brutus was a master at handling the emperor. Though he was a very bright man, he liked to depict himself as the dumbest person in the room. He'd say things like, 'Oh, Mr. Emperor. I'm sure I'm completely wrong about this, but…' or 'I have to apologize, Mr. Emperor, and feel free to calibrate me, but…' This was the perfect way to talk to Caesar."
True. But I would like to think that at some point you'd realize that you are advising the President of the United States and not the manager of a fucking Olive Garden.
What is the US really but one giant Olive Garden?
You are correct!
Oh, Mr. Balk. I'm sure I'm completely wrong about this, but Bush was an idiot and we don't need this Latimer guy to verify it.