The Price of Loyalty, by Ron Suskind

After reading Michelle Malkin's Culture of Corruption, I decided I ought to read something from the other side of the fence.  (As if Anne Lamott's anti-conservatism wasn't enough.)  The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill isn't completely anti-Bush, but for a former Bush cabinet member, it's not exactly a glowing appraisal of Bush's leadership. 

Paul O'Neill had worked in Washington before, but had been about to retire from Alcoa after several years as CEO when the Bush team called on him to be Secretary of the Treasury.  O'Neill did not know Bush, but he and Cheney were old friends.  He had also worked with Greenspan and Rumsfeld in earlier administrations. 

Throughout The Price of Loyalty, Suskind sets up O'Neill as the brilliant idea man, who has the answers to the nations problems, while Bush is the clueless idealogue, who doggedly sticks by his policy positions even at the peril of the nation.  For instance, in discussions about tax cuts, O'Neill and Greenspan came up with the idea of creating triggers that would put conditional caps or sunset provisions on the cut proposals.  Bush said, "I won't negotiate with myself. . . . it's a closed issue."  Campaign promises trump changing economic reality.  "The President made it clear that this was not about analysis.  It was about tactics."

This theme repeats itself throughout, whether on domestic economic issues, the environment, foreign policy, or the War on Terror.  According to Suskind's account, O'Neill was driven by a pure desire to solve problems and work for the good of the country.  He was not alone.  Christine Todd Whitman, John DiIulio, and Colin Powell were in the same boat.  DiIulio was the first senior official to leave; he called the political arm of Bush's team, led by Karl Rove, the "Mayberry Machiavellis."  He publicly decried the lack of "meaningful, substantive policy discussions" among senior staff.  O'Neill seems to feel the same way, viewing Bush senior staff as uninformed political hacks with an eye on the polls and a deaf ear for alternative views.

This is an interesting insider's story about the Bush administration.  I couldn't help wondering if O'Neill was blinded by his perception of his own moral and intellectual superiority.  His uncomplimentary descriptions of Bush and Bush's circle surely didn't win him any friends, but as he told Suskind when they discussed doing the book together, "I'm an old guy, and I'm rich.  And there's nothing they can do to hurt me."  He thinks he's taking the high ground, but still comes across as someone with an axe to grind.