Bush savaged by former Treasury chief
The accusation that George W. Bush is an uninvolved, intolerant, and intellectually shallow President is hardly news, but when it comes from a fellow Republican and member of his Cabinet? That deserves some attention.
President George W. Bush's performance at cabinet meetings resembled that of "a blind man in a room full of deaf people", according to Paul O'Neill (pictured), who was fired as Treasury secretary in 2002.
The remarkable personal attack is made by Mr O'Neill in a forthcoming book....
Mr O'Neill, the former chief executive of the aluminium company Alcoa, says there was little constructive dialogue between officials and the president.
Speaking about his first meeting with Mr Bush, which lasted about an hour, Mr O'Neill says: "I went in with a long list of things to talk about and, I thought, to engage [him] on.
"I was surprised it turned out me talking and the president just listening . . . It was mostly a monologue."
One should remember to take into account that, given the way O'Neill was shown the door by the Bushies, he probably has a sizable axe to grind. Of course, nothing does more to sell a book that a controversy, and accusing a sitting President of being a wooden Indian would certainly accomplish that.
What I find most disturbing, though it is hardly news, is the intolerance for differing viewpoints. Perhaps O'Neill's biggest crime was in not being a slavish, unquestioning True Believer. O'Neill thought he was actually supposed to DO something, have independent opinions, and even offer intelligent policy analysis to the President. How was he to know was that this President wanted little more than a figurehead to keep the Treasury chair warm?
Mr O'Neill was forced to resign as Treasury secretary in December 2002 after he declined to give full-hearted support for a new round of tax cuts, in a clear-out that also saw the dismissal of Larry Lindsey, the president's chief economic adviser.
Unlike Mr Lindsey, who took his dismissal with public good grace, Mr O'Neill immediately stormed out of the Treasury to return to his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
During his tenure as Treasury secretary, Mr O'Neill became well-known for speaking out frequently and frankly on a range of subjects including the dollar, the limited value of International Monetary Fund crisis lending and the problems with development aid.
His comments frequently had an impact on financial markets, with one remark about the low likelihood of an IMF rescue package for Brazil causing a rapid fall in the Brazilian currency.
This is a President who by all accounts knows what he knows and isn't exactly amenable to anything that could even remotely be interpreted as dissension. Obedience to the Administration's ideology is more highly prized that intelligent analysis or creative policy alternatives. If you are a member of the Bush Cabinet, the motto you're expected to live by seems to be "Shut the Hell up and do what you're told. Don't speak unless you're spoken to. We don't pay you to think."
Don't we deserve better from our Leader? Shouldn't intellectual agility and an openness to different viewpoints be a prerequisite for the most powerful office in the world? Hell, even Bill Clinton had a Republican or two in his Cabinet.
Paul O'Neill is not exactly the poster boy for self-effacing, other-directed politicians. From what I've read, the man has an ego roughly the size of the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. Of course, if the Bushies vetting procedure was thorough (and these folks don't miss much), this would hardly have come as a shock. Even so, he deserved the opportunity to serve to the best of his ability. This Administration clearly seems to have had other priorities on their agenda.
