Do not misunderestimate him

There's going to be a lot said about these secret Gee Dubya tapes, but one thing is certain - the man is no fool. In fact, I think some of the excerpts actually make him seem to be quite a sympathetic character - a guy who's screwed up and wants others to learn from his mistakes. The tapes also paint a picture of a shrewd politician, certain of what he wants and in complete control of crafting his public image and his political strategy...contrary to very popular belief.


Now. The question of how "real" these tapes are still lingers. It almost seems too good to be true for Dubya. Sure, he admits to drug use on the tapes - but we all kind of knew that anyway. For the first time, we get what seems to be an honest and earnest answer to the controversial issue.

"I don't want any kid doing what I tried to do 30 years ago," Bush said in recordings made when he was governor of Texas and aired Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America." "And I mean that. It doesn't matter if it's LSD, cocaine, pot, any of those things, because if I answer one, then there will be another one. And I just am not going to answer those questions. And it may cost me the election."

Sounds like a responsible, reasonably thought-out, and carefully calculated decision on Dubya's part. The tapes also reveal an interesting tidbit where he refuses to overtly discriminate against gays because of Evangelical pressure, saying that he won't discriminate against anyone. Spoken like a true "uniter."

The tapes were recorded by Doug Wead, a former aide to President George Herbert Walker Bush and, as he stated on CNN this morning, he still remains friends with the President. The tapes humanize the President, while simultaneously revealing a political savvy that we seldom see in public.

My feeling is that these tapes will ultimately firmly cement Dubya's political legacy as a man who made mistakes but tried to correct them. A man who refused to give in to political pressure from the far right and managed to navigate through the rocky terrain of political life. A man of strong conviction and a captain of his own destiny.

In short, more propaganda from the Ministry of Truth.