# Farewell to All That: An Oral History of the Bush White House **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 3, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-to-all-that-an-oral-history-of-the-bush-white-house/479725 "2009-01-03T19:17:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-to-all-that-an-oral-history-of-the-bush-white-house/479725/1 "2009-01-03T19:17:30Z")
Not a debate but more suited for this forum than others. Vanity Fair retrospective of the Bush Presidency in the words of many of the players. Quite fascinating, especially the later sections. [Farewell to All That: An Oral History of the Bush White House](http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/02/bush-oral-history200902) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-to-all-that-an-oral-history-of-the-bush-white-house/479725/2 "2009-01-03T19:21:06Z")
I’m glad there was no Oral History of the Clinton years, that would really suck. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-to-all-that-an-oral-history-of-the-bush-white-house/479725/3 "2009-01-03T19:26:03Z")
The usual stuff at the end of an administration. Every member blames all the failures on other people, and you can read all about it in the book they’re pushing. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-to-all-that-an-oral-history-of-the-bush-white-house/479725/4 "2009-01-03T19:37:59Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I’m glad there was no Oral History of the Clinton years, that would really suck. More like blows. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-to-all-that-an-oral-history-of-the-bush-white-house/479725/5 "2009-01-03T20:20:56Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I’m glad there was no Oral History of the Clinton years, that would really suck. Bravo! Here, have a cigar. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-to-all-that-an-oral-history-of-the-bush-white-house/479725/6 "2009-01-03T20:38:28Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The usual stuff at the end of an administration. Every member blames all the failures on other people, and you can read all about it in the book they’re pushing. True. Even so, I read two things I had not heard before that I think are absurd. > [@](#): > > While vacationing at his ranch, in Crawford, Texas, Bush is given a Presidential Daily Briefing memorandum whose headline warns that the al-Qaeda terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden, is “determined to strike in U.S.” After being briefed on the document by a C.I.A. analyst, Bush responds, “All right, you’ve covered your ass now.” And the other was the Bob Graham quote about supplies and equipment being withdrawn from Afghanistan in January 2002 to prepare for war with Iraq. I didn’t realize that was happening that early, and it’s even more incompetent and stupid than I realized. ---
**Author:** ![spike404](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@spike404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spike404)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-to-all-that-an-oral-history-of-the-bush-white-house/479725/7 "2009-01-03T21:08:48Z")
"…After being briefed on the document by a C.I.A. analyst, Bush responds, “All right, you’ve covered your ass now.” That appears quite perceptive.