This guy was on All Things Considered today. If you listen the interview, you’ll see that we’ve been interpreting this incorrectly. They’re working on a speech about why Bush supports this policy when he realizes that the policy isn’t what he thinks it was. The author doesn’t really know why, but speculates that things were changing so fast that Geitner hadn’t had time to explain the latest and greatest to Bush. Bush asks: So why do I support a plan that I don’t understand? Meaning: WTF are we working on this speech claiming I support the details of this plan when I don’t even know what they are? They then make the speech generic in support of the measures being taken rather than addressing the specifics.
Plenty to criticize Bush over, but I’m not seeing it here-- especially after listening to the blurb on NPR. BTW, there may be plenty more in the interview to criticize Bush for, but as it was I only happened to hear the short portion about this topic.
Advisors: “Because you’re clueless, and we are telling you what to do.”
I didn’t hear the interview, but read the entire GQ article linked by the OP’s link. I mostly agree with your interpretation, but I still come to the conclusion that Bush Is A Moran. To me it seemed like his staff had cut him out of economic policy because they knew that he couldn’t keep up. Then when it dawns on him that he is being run around, and the policy he is selling is not what he wanted … he folds and does what they tell him to do. He was not capable or interested in understanding the policy beyond the purely political aspects of passing it.
From GQ, pg4
““We can’t even defend our own proposal?” the president asked. “Why did we propose it, then?”
…
Finally, Ed … explained that we had to make this change to the address because the proposal the president liked might not end up being the one he had to agree to. “Then why the hell did I support it if I didn’t believe it would pass?” he snapped. There was yet another uncomfortable silence.”
The buck stops where again?