# Bush admin contacts Jack Van Impe for advice **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290 "2003-08-15T01:11:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/1 "2003-08-15T01:11:46Z")
Words fail me. They truly fail me. > [@](#): > > Aug. 13 — Is the Bush administration turning to a televangelist doomsayer for political predictions? Apocalyptic preacher Jack Van Impe is claiming that he was contacted by Condoleezza Rice’s office and the White House Office of Public Liaison for an “outline” of his take on world events. > **[MSNBC News - Breaking News and News Today | Latest News](https://www.msnbc.com/)** > > MSNBC breaking news and the latest news for today. Get daily news from local news reporters and world news updates with live audio & video from our team. We are in deep doo doo people. ---
**Author:** ![Read\_Neck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Read\_Neck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Read_Neck)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/2 "2003-08-15T01:15:12Z")
That bitch,I just gave her my take on world events yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/3 "2003-08-15T01:38:38Z")
**Reeder** Words should fail you because the article comes no where near a serious indication that Bush ever solicited this guy’s advice. You are posting a gossip column piece as evidence. This OP is too pitiful to even merit further comment. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/4 "2003-08-15T01:39:02Z")
Well, to be fair, the questions could be about not so much “I believe in this stuff; how should we be guided by it,” as much as “these kinds of people are one of my core constituencies; how will my policies make them feel?”. But yeah, just the fact that it could very well be the former should scare people… ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/5 "2003-08-15T01:47:00Z")
Well, he’s claiming it, but was he? AND, it could be he sent them a continuous stream of his end-of-the-world rants, and they felt it was the polite thing to call him and hear him out, as he does represent one of the core constituencies. Hell, _I_ spoke to people from the Clinton White House on political issues (at the WH, no less), does that make me an advisor to Bubba? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/6 "2003-08-15T01:58:57Z")
If I was a marginal, lunatic fundamentalist preacher, I’d definitely be laying on the B.S. regarding my political influence. The scary thing, however, is the grains of plausibility this does have. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/7 "2003-08-15T02:05:06Z")
> [@](#): > > “I was contacted a few weeks ago by the Office of Public Liaison for the White House and by the National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to make an outline. And I’ve spent hours preparing it.” > -Van Impe > > Condi’s office denied the account [NewsMax](http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2003/8/14/214148) If Condi’s office denied it, it _can’t_ be true :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/8 "2003-08-15T02:17:41Z")
Should I throw in the rumor that Condi warned Willie Brown not to fly the week of Sept 11, 2001? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/9 "2003-08-15T02:39:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Reeder \* > \*\*Should I throw in the rumor that Condi warned Willie Brown not to fly the week of Sept 11, 2001? \*\* [They got a thing goin on ?](http://www.google.com/search?q=willie+brown+Condoleezza&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&edition=us&sa=N&tab=nw) We all know that’d be wrong. Perhaps it’s just to strong to let it cool down now ? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/10 "2003-08-15T04:46:32Z")
At least he put it in the right place this time. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/11 "2003-08-15T07:16:24Z")
hey Squink, Conni is honet and fabulous! Seriously, I’m thinking that Bush folk contacted JVI because they want some insight on the Christian Zionist Right (which I consider myself among, tho not to the JVI degree) & JVI thought that means he was consulted for advice. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/12 "2003-08-15T13:23:56Z")
_shrugs_ Wouldn’t be the first time Jack Van Impe was delusional… ---
**Author:** ![bagkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/13 "2003-08-15T16:35:54Z")
who cares about JVI… but Rexella is another matter… yum, stick insects ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/14 "2003-08-15T16:47:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bagkitty \* > \*\*who cares about JVI… but Rexella is another matter… yum, stick insects \*\* _literally explodes with laughter_ Great…I’ll expect you soon, **bagkitty** , to come scrape me off the walls… ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/15 "2003-08-15T18:02:19Z")
Jack Van Impe is a barrel of laughs. The first time I remember seeing him was during the build-up to the 1990 Persian Gulf conflict, when he was warning everyone that it signified the beginning of Armageddon. The second time I remember seeing him was only a couple of days later – I was watching a cheesy PBS series called _Understanding the Sixties_. The first episode suggested that, in order to appreciate what happened in that decade, it was important to put it in the context of the social climate of the fifties. To offer the viewer some insight, they used a clip of Jack Van Impe – a little slimmer, and his pompadour was black, but otherwise completely the same. He was explaining that the war in Korea signified the beginning of Armageddon – _using the same scriptural references and arguments, nearly verbatim._ Haw, Haw. While my estimation of Bush’s capacity for dangerous lunacy is fairly high, it’s not so high that I’d give even the _tiniest_ bit of credence to the claims of a transparent charlatan who has been running an It’s-plain-to-see-from-international-events-that-the-world-will-end-this-Tuesday-after-next-so-send-twenty-dollars-to-post-office-box-number-333-station-Rube-for-vital-information-about-what-you-can-do-about-it racket for more than fifty years. Hell, next to Van Impe, Bush looks like a paragon of versimilitude. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/16 "2003-08-15T18:58:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Airman Doors, USAF \* > \*\*At least he put it in the right place this time. \*\* Tell me wingnut…the posts I put in GD that you and Mr Mace say don’t belong there…Just how many have been moved or closed by the real mods? How many? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/17 "2003-08-15T19:26:33Z")
Reeder: Can you explain why you decided to put this one in The Pit? I honestly can’t see the difference between this and many of the threads you start in GD. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/18 "2003-08-15T21:21:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Mace \* > \*\*Reeder: > > Can you explain why you decided to put this one in The Pit? > > snip… \*\* Because this is so stupid even you won’t debate it. And when all agree there is no debate. And I’ll ask you again…How many did the mods close or move? ---
**Author:** ![bagkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/19 "2003-08-15T22:27:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jayjay \* > \*\*_literally explodes with laughter_ > > Great…I’ll expect you soon, **bagkitty** , to come scrape me off the walls… \*\* we can make Rexella wear a dealer’s visor, then use her like a big ol’ scraper… the walls will be clean in no time. I gotta admit that I have sick fascination with her… but have to make certain the cat isn’t the room when she is on… or the cat gets all wired and scared… ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290/20 "2003-08-15T23:15:09Z")
True or not, it wouldn’t be the first time the Oval Officer sought ‘spiritual guidance’ from less than, shall we say, honorable characters. That, however, does not make it any less frightening. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-admin-contacts-jack-van-impe-for-advice/195290.md?page=2)