WHEN future US President George W. Bush was first moving onto the national political stage, he often turned for advice to an old friend who secretly taped some of their private conversations, The New York Times reported today. The newspaper's website said that in the past several weeks, that friend, Doug Wead, an author and former aide to Mr Bush's father, had disclosed the tapes' existence to a reporter and played about a dozen of them. In those conversations, Mr Bush weighed the political risks and benefits of his religious faith, discussed campaign strategy and commented on rivals, the report said.
The president said that his main Republican rival in the 2000 primary campaign, Senator John McCain, "will wear thin", the Times reported. The future president went on to suggest that John Ashcroft would be a "very good Supreme Court pick" or a "fabulous" vice-president, according to the paper. In exchanges about his handling of media questions on his past, Mr Bush appeared to have acknowledged trying marijuana, the Times said.
Mr Wead reportedly said he recorded the conversations because he viewed Mr Bush as a historic figure, but knew that the president might regard his actions as a betrayal. As the author of a new book about presidential childhoods, Mr Wead could benefit from any publicity, but he said that was not a motive in disclosing the tapes. The White House did not dispute the authenticity of the tapes or respond to their contents, the paper said. It quoted White House spokesman Trent Duffy as saying: "The governor was having casual conversations with someone he believed was his friend." Asked about drug use, Mr Duffy said: "That has been asked and answered so many times there is nothing more to add."
| You can read the full NYT article here, hat tip to BigEd. |
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