| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| Secret Tapes Not Meant to Harm, Writer Says |
| 2005-02-21 |
| A former adviser to George W. Bush said yesterday that he secretly taped Bush over a two-year period when the latter was running for president for "historic" purposes, and that he had planned eventually to give the recordings to Bush for his archives. Doug Wead, 58, an author and onetime religious adviser to Bush, said in a telephone interview that after excerpts from the tapes appeared yesterday in the New York Times, he was approached by a Bush intermediary suggesting that he turn over the recordings sooner rather than later. But Wead -- who used the conversations for his new book, "The Raising of a President" -- said that no one from the White House has expressed anger at him for revealing portions of the tape. Asked whether Bush would view the actions as an act of treachery from a trusted friend, Wead said, "It depends on what else is on the tapes. . . . Ninety percent of the tapes have not been heard. He can see that my motive was not to try to hurt him. "If I released all the tapes, it would be an act of betrayal," Wead said. "Most of them have never seen the light of day and never will." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 should be interesting for the MSM re: Linda Tripps's taping OK or not |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-02-21 10:48:38 PM |
| #8 Nah... this falls into the "no publicity is bad publicity" zone. The most Bush should do is issue a "saddened by the actions" statement, and leave it at that -- the implication being that this guy wasn't really close enough to merit anger at a betrayal. Suing or bringing in a State AG gives this person too much importance. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-02-21 10:36:15 PM |
| #7 There should be some state attorney general where one or more of these tapes was made who is willing and able to prosecute. Or at least plea bargain. |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-02-21 5:55:11 PM |
| #6 The excerpts obtained by the Times and ABC show the aspiring president privately as he likes to portray himself publicly: very religious, very conservative -- and tolerant maybe because he is??? NYT assholes |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-02-21 1:35:34 PM |
| #5 The content of the tapes = No story. W is the same man behind closed doors as he is on TV. The problem: Assholes like Wead who deliberately release tapes to reporters, THEN try to backpedal and claim that he never meant them to get out. The second problem: Wead has yet to apologize to his supposed "friend". The third problem: Wead just "happened" to release 7 year old "secret" tapes of W., and Wead just "happens" to have a new book coming out... The conclusion: Wead is a fucking asshole trying to sell more books, and he owes George W. Bush a GIGANTIC apology. |
| Posted by: Chris W. 2005-02-21 1:10:34 PM |
| #4 The guy is a) pushing his new book and b) pissed that he got dissed when he pushed an anti-gay agenda too far w/ GWB. Petty. |
| Posted by: too true 2005-02-21 12:51:23 PM |
| #3 Might be nice for historians, but the fact that it was recorded without Dubya's knowledge makes me suspicious - and did he ask Dubya's permission before releasing them? Something like this could be a gold mine for scholars, but more likely will become a target for the leftists who want to dig stuff up and bash GWB. Best left in the vault for another fifty years or so, I'd say. |
| Posted by: The Doctor 2005-02-21 12:28:06 PM |
| #2 someone he thought was a friend |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-02-21 12:21:56 PM |
| #1 The problem is that they were recorded without W's knowledge, AND released. What he says on them is essentially the "W" we know today. He seems a decent honorable fellow who smoked a little pot in his 20's, and got over the immaturity. And the issue is? |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-02-21 12:19:46 PM |