Decision Points - Bush

“Decision Points”, by George W. Bush, 43th President of the United States, presents history with somewhat of a conundrum.  On the one hand it is written by the 43th President of the United States and should be required reading by all.  At least anyone alive during the first decade of 21st century who has ever wondered about the actions the United States took in the wake of the terror attacks on 9/11 and how the most important leader in the free world made the necessary decisions to keep us safe.  On the other hand, the book is not a biography or a complete memoir in the normal sense.  President Bush chooses instead to provide a personal narrative behind several major decisions he made during his two terms in office.  He does this by highlighting the top level issues he considered.  His approach works because his writing style is easy to understand.  His approach does not work because his account lacks sufficient detail to study his actions in depth.  It is impossible to independently determine whether his decisions were correctly formed based on the information he had available.  His narrative therefore becomes a simple apologetic for his decisions.  Along the way he takes full credit, perhaps too much credit, for the good things that happened and responsibility, perhaps not enough responsibility, for the things that didn’t go as well as planned.

Whole books have and will be written to address various aspects of the past ten years and the decisions that were made.  Topics such as the intelligence surrounding the presence of WMD in Iraq, taking down the Taliban in Afghanistan, democracy building, stem cell research, efforts to eradicate Aids and Malaria in Africa, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the financial crisis of our country.  Thirty pages from the President on each of these topics provide a necessary view from the top but in no way provides the complete picture.  Some context is formed but then it’s on to the next topic.

Regardless of your opinion of George W. Bush a portrait of how our former President’s mind works is painted clearly within the pages of this book.  Supporters of his policies will like his reductionist approach to the complexities of his office.  Critics will yell out loud with almost every turn of the page.  Since political awareness peeked in this country during his Presidency all will benefit from understanding what the President was thinking at the same time when we were all scared and confused and wondering what was going on in the mind of the man at the top.   Now we know.  Good or bad, right or wrong, generations will now have access to these thoughts.  I’m glad I read this book.