George Bush Decision Points Themes
Decision Points
Theme
January 16, 2011
George Bush’s book, Decision Points, is a memoir of his experiences and decisions he made throughout his presidency. Bush chooses to highlight the most challenging and controversial issues in his presidency, and tries to shed some light on the events. Bush lays out two goals he wanted to accomplish in the book; the first being that he wants to “paint a picture of what it was like to serve as president for eight consequential years.” Secondly, he wants to “give readers a perspective on decision making in a complex environment.” He hopes that one day, Decision Points will be used as a historical resource for this time period, but for now, he hopes that it will help to clarify some questions or clear up controversy left in the wake of his presidency. Jeremy Berger of AskMen.com did a fairly well supported review of Decision Points, by George W. Bush, and I agreed with most of his points. “In his words, the years were colored by drinking problems, feeling sick, hurt feelings, being blindsided, kicking butt, feeling sick again, mad political scientist buddies, and Dad or Christ helping him say the course. All the trappings of dude lit and about as much depth. …show more content…
GWB describes his reaction to some of the defining moments of his presidency-- 9/11, Abu Ghraib, finding zero WMDs in Iraq-- as “feeling sick to my stomach.” As per the above disclaimer, GWB is no Tucker Max, and there are thoughtful and genuine passages, like when the president reflects on the victims of 9/11, but the depth and scope of his observations are shockingly juvenile. (Berger, 1.) The quote is basically saying that Bush talked a lot about his experiences as President- high points and low points- and outlined many other things, but didn’t offer very much depth to his analysis. In some cases, such as the issue regarding stem cell research, he goes into great detail on how and why he made the decision he did. He describes his meetings with various religious leaders and other influential advisors, one being the Pope. Bush did a great job in this chapter laying out the pros and cons to the different decisions he could have made, and explaining his reasoning for making the decision he did. In other chapters, including his reasons for not accepting Don Rumsfelds‘s resignation after Abu Ghraib, he simply says, “There was no obvious replacement.” For such a skillful leader, and a principled decision maker, Bush occasionally offers very shallow analysis of his presidency. Bush did not accomplish his goals that he set out in writing Decision Points. His first goal was to highlight some of the most controversial events in his presidency, and shed some light on his decisions. These goals are partially accomplished, but not in the depth that one would hope. Bush does an excellent job covering all of the most crucial parts in his presidency, but he doesn’t provide much insight to the issues. He essentially recaps the events, and provides a brief explanation of his decisions, and why he made them. It was rather disappointing, because it would have been very interesting to learn about his reasoning and the steps to complex decision making as a President. His second goal was to provide readers with a sense of decision making in a complex environment, and provide a historical text for reference to people in the future. He accomplishes neither of these. His decision making- at least the way he describes it- is often highly simplistic and lacks depth, such as the retention of Rumsfeld. Obviously, President Bush possesses very high level thinking skills, but it was truly a shame that he often neglected to elaborate on his thought processes. As far as providing a historical text for future generations, you can count Decision Points out. This book is purely for entertainment purposes, hence Berger’s comparison of President Bush to Tucker Max, who is an author that writes about his hilarious experiences at bars with friends, meeting girls, and getting very drunk.
Decision Points
Rhetorical Analysis
January 16, 2011
Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times did a very accurate review on Decision Points, and summarized Bush’s use of syntax very well. “The prose in “Decision Points” is utilitarian, the language staccato and blunt.
Mr. Bush’s default mode is regular-guy-politico, and his moods vacillate mainly among the defensive and the diligent- frat boy irreverence, religious certainty and almost willful obliviousness.” (Kakutani, 2.) This quote is basically saying that Bush used a very simple sentence structure that is easy to understand, and that his syntax and tone make him appear to be a regular old guy thrown into the position of President. His sentence structure and word choice reflects him as a decision maker in the sense that he is very decisive, and stubborn at times. His limited vocabulary also reflects the depth and scope of his decision making. Bush offers very limited reasoning for his
choices. Bush took a slightly different approach to his presidential memoir. His memoir is extremely personal, and speaks as much about Bush as a person as it does a president. Decision Points offers an opportunity to learn about Bush’s character, and relate to him; identify with him. Once the reader is given the opportunity to learn about President Bush as a person, a new dimension is added to the political side of his story. It is much more interesting to read about a developed character than a faceless, lifeless politician. Bush also employs humor at times during the book to provide a break from the ceaseless action in the oval office. A personal connection with Bush provides much more emotion to exchanges with his father, and wife Laura. Bush’s laments on 9/11 are heartfelt, and his burning anger is truly evident throughout the pages of Decision Points. Emotionally charged scenes such as his meeting with Valerie Chapman, a widow who was married to Air Force Technical Sergeant John Chapman, effectively communicate Bush’s emotions to readers. John had lost his life in a heroic act to save the lives of his teammates before surrendering his own. At the end of their meeting, Valerie gave President Bush John’s memorial pamphlet saying, “If anyone ever tells you this is the wrong thing to do, you look at this.” There was a handwritten note on the pamphlet: “John did his job, now you do yours.” Emotionally charged accounts such as this one truly help to communicate Bush’s sorrow for the lost troops in the Middle East, and instill a burning sense of American pride in readers. Meetings with people like Valerie Chapman provides perspective and insight regarding Bush’s decisions. It helps readers understand the consequences of sending troops to the Middle East. For President Bush, it was more than just putting boots on the ground; filling those boots is a man, and with every man is a family back home, awaiting his return. The value of a soldier’s life is immeasurable in Bush’s eyes, and he counts no man expendable. Although Bush employs a rather primitive and simple syntax in Decision Points, he uses it very effectively to get most of his messages across. Through his language, readers learn about President Bush, and George W. Bush, as a leader, and a person. The personal connection made with George helps to add weight to his decisions as President, and his decisions as President are consistent with his personal beliefs. It is a mutual relationship that Bush masterfully employs to create a very interesting recount of his terms as President of the United States of America. In his last words, Bush humorously sums up his time as president in a walk with his dog Barney: “Barney spotted our neighbor’s lawn, where he promptly took care of his business. There I was, former president of the United States, with a plastic bag on my hand, picking up that which I had been dodging for the past eight years.”
Theme
January 16, 2011
George Bush’s book, Decision Points, is a memoir of his experiences and decisions he made throughout his presidency. Bush chooses to highlight the most challenging and controversial issues in his presidency, and tries to shed some light on the events. Bush lays out two goals he wanted to accomplish in the book; the first being that he wants to “paint a picture of what it was like to serve as president for eight consequential years.” Secondly, he wants to “give readers a perspective on decision making in a complex environment.” He hopes that one day, Decision Points will be used as a historical resource for this time period, but for now, he hopes that it will help to clarify some questions or clear up controversy left in the wake of his presidency. Jeremy Berger of AskMen.com did a fairly well supported review of Decision Points, by George W. Bush, and I agreed with most of his points. “In his words, the years were colored by drinking problems, feeling sick, hurt feelings, being blindsided, kicking butt, feeling sick again, mad political scientist buddies, and Dad or Christ helping him say the course. All the trappings of dude lit and about as much depth. …show more content…
GWB describes his reaction to some of the defining moments of his presidency-- 9/11, Abu Ghraib, finding zero WMDs in Iraq-- as “feeling sick to my stomach.” As per the above disclaimer, GWB is no Tucker Max, and there are thoughtful and genuine passages, like when the president reflects on the victims of 9/11, but the depth and scope of his observations are shockingly juvenile. (Berger, 1.) The quote is basically saying that Bush talked a lot about his experiences as President- high points and low points- and outlined many other things, but didn’t offer very much depth to his analysis. In some cases, such as the issue regarding stem cell research, he goes into great detail on how and why he made the decision he did. He describes his meetings with various religious leaders and other influential advisors, one being the Pope. Bush did a great job in this chapter laying out the pros and cons to the different decisions he could have made, and explaining his reasoning for making the decision he did. In other chapters, including his reasons for not accepting Don Rumsfelds‘s resignation after Abu Ghraib, he simply says, “There was no obvious replacement.” For such a skillful leader, and a principled decision maker, Bush occasionally offers very shallow analysis of his presidency. Bush did not accomplish his goals that he set out in writing Decision Points. His first goal was to highlight some of the most controversial events in his presidency, and shed some light on his decisions. These goals are partially accomplished, but not in the depth that one would hope. Bush does an excellent job covering all of the most crucial parts in his presidency, but he doesn’t provide much insight to the issues. He essentially recaps the events, and provides a brief explanation of his decisions, and why he made them. It was rather disappointing, because it would have been very interesting to learn about his reasoning and the steps to complex decision making as a President. His second goal was to provide readers with a sense of decision making in a complex environment, and provide a historical text for reference to people in the future. He accomplishes neither of these. His decision making- at least the way he describes it- is often highly simplistic and lacks depth, such as the retention of Rumsfeld. Obviously, President Bush possesses very high level thinking skills, but it was truly a shame that he often neglected to elaborate on his thought processes. As far as providing a historical text for future generations, you can count Decision Points out. This book is purely for entertainment purposes, hence Berger’s comparison of President Bush to Tucker Max, who is an author that writes about his hilarious experiences at bars with friends, meeting girls, and getting very drunk.
Decision Points
Rhetorical Analysis
January 16, 2011
Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times did a very accurate review on Decision Points, and summarized Bush’s use of syntax very well. “The prose in “Decision Points” is utilitarian, the language staccato and blunt.
Mr. Bush’s default mode is regular-guy-politico, and his moods vacillate mainly among the defensive and the diligent- frat boy irreverence, religious certainty and almost willful obliviousness.” (Kakutani, 2.) This quote is basically saying that Bush used a very simple sentence structure that is easy to understand, and that his syntax and tone make him appear to be a regular old guy thrown into the position of President. His sentence structure and word choice reflects him as a decision maker in the sense that he is very decisive, and stubborn at times. His limited vocabulary also reflects the depth and scope of his decision making. Bush offers very limited reasoning for his
choices. Bush took a slightly different approach to his presidential memoir. His memoir is extremely personal, and speaks as much about Bush as a person as it does a president. Decision Points offers an opportunity to learn about Bush’s character, and relate to him; identify with him. Once the reader is given the opportunity to learn about President Bush as a person, a new dimension is added to the political side of his story. It is much more interesting to read about a developed character than a faceless, lifeless politician. Bush also employs humor at times during the book to provide a break from the ceaseless action in the oval office. A personal connection with Bush provides much more emotion to exchanges with his father, and wife Laura. Bush’s laments on 9/11 are heartfelt, and his burning anger is truly evident throughout the pages of Decision Points. Emotionally charged scenes such as his meeting with Valerie Chapman, a widow who was married to Air Force Technical Sergeant John Chapman, effectively communicate Bush’s emotions to readers. John had lost his life in a heroic act to save the lives of his teammates before surrendering his own. At the end of their meeting, Valerie gave President Bush John’s memorial pamphlet saying, “If anyone ever tells you this is the wrong thing to do, you look at this.” There was a handwritten note on the pamphlet: “John did his job, now you do yours.” Emotionally charged accounts such as this one truly help to communicate Bush’s sorrow for the lost troops in the Middle East, and instill a burning sense of American pride in readers. Meetings with people like Valerie Chapman provides perspective and insight regarding Bush’s decisions. It helps readers understand the consequences of sending troops to the Middle East. For President Bush, it was more than just putting boots on the ground; filling those boots is a man, and with every man is a family back home, awaiting his return. The value of a soldier’s life is immeasurable in Bush’s eyes, and he counts no man expendable. Although Bush employs a rather primitive and simple syntax in Decision Points, he uses it very effectively to get most of his messages across. Through his language, readers learn about President Bush, and George W. Bush, as a leader, and a person. The personal connection made with George helps to add weight to his decisions as President, and his decisions as President are consistent with his personal beliefs. It is a mutual relationship that Bush masterfully employs to create a very interesting recount of his terms as President of the United States of America. In his last words, Bush humorously sums up his time as president in a walk with his dog Barney: “Barney spotted our neighbor’s lawn, where he promptly took care of his business. There I was, former president of the United States, with a plastic bag on my hand, picking up that which I had been dodging for the past eight years.”