DECISION POINTS by GEORGE W. BUSH, Crown, 2010

The Presidency of George W. Bush: A First Historical Assessment Edited by Julian E. Zelizer, Princeton University Press, 2010

INTRO:

President George W. Bush's awaited memoirs Decision Points will be released on this Tuesday, November 9th from Crown, an imprint of Random House. The book is being shielded from the public until its release date however; a few copies have been released to the press. The New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters, and USA Today are among the media who received advanced copies, and are leaking excerpts from the memoirs.

Early reviews have ranged widely from the lukewarm reception in the Washington Post, 'Competent, readable and flat' to the Washington Times glowing comments calling it it as 'strikingly personal', while Time has ranked Decision Points as the #2 political memoir of all time. As the publishing date gets closer, more news sources are releasing reviews of Decision Point, most are positive and some rather enthusiastic; the Christian Science Monitor hails"It's a page- turner."

One of the major evaluating points has been how personal Bush gets in recounting events of his presidency; the NYT claims that Bush was not one for introspection, writing;""Decision Points" lacks the emotional precision and evocative power of his wife Laura's book,"Spoken From the Heart," published earlier this year, though it's a considerably more substantial effort than Mr. Bush's perfunctory 1999 campaign memoir,"A Charge to Keep."" While north of the border the Montreal Gazette headlines"Dubya gets personal in memoirs."

Crown is expecting a huge demand for the memoirs, and has ordered an initial first printing of 1.5 million copies. The book is being released in a plentitude of formats, including a deluxe multimedia e-book, which includes audio, video, letters and speeches. It is an unprecedented e-book publication, and will only be available in Amazon.com's Kindle format. A deluxe hardcover version will be released later on November 30th.

Decision Points is divided into 14 chapters. Each chapter examines a particular defining moment in Bush's life and presidency, including"Day of Fire" about 9/11,"Stem Cells","Katrina" and"Financial Crisis." Bush opens his memoirs with the chapter"Quitting", and the words,"It was a simple question, 'Can you remember the last day you didn't have a drink?'" discussing his decision to stop drinking.

Some of the previews of the memoir appearing in the media range from revelations about Bush's reaction to 9/11, consideration to drop his Vice President, Richard Cheney from the ticket in his 2004 re-election bid, regret over the release of the photo showing him flying over New Orleans in Air Force One after Hurricane Katrina to resoluteness concerning his decisions with Iraq, stem cell research, and the financial crisis. Bush has emphasized the lowest point of his presidency was when rapper Kayne West called Bush a racist, because he deemed the President was being indifferent to black New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and it's aftermath.

This upcoming week Bush will be taking to the road to promote Decision Points, signing books in Miami and Dallas and making high profile appearances on a special interview with Matt Lauer on NBC, Monday at 8pm, and then Oprah on Tuesday. Other stops on the publicity rounds include interviews with Jay Leno, Candy Crowley on CNN on TV and with Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity on the radio. Bush will also appear on Fox News. Bush is also including his family when he is interviewed; wife Laura Bush, and his parents Barbara Bush and former President George H. W. Bush, and brother former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will appear alongside him at various points this week. Early clips and excerpts show Oprah attempting to get Bush to give his opinions on President Barack Obama and Republican Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin however, Bush wants to stay out of the political fray.

Coinciding with the publication of Decision Points, Princeton University Press released last month Princeton University Professor Julian E. Zelizer's edited book The Presidency of George W. Bush: A First Historical Assessment. The scholarly work attempts to begin the historical examination of Bush's presidency and legacy by examining in twelve essays every facet of Bush's two terms in office, and examine the Bush presidency in relations to Obama's Presidency. It looks not to take sides about Bush, but to look at his presidency through the prism of historical perspective.

The following includes some of the articles and excerpts released from the press about President Bush's Decision Points and Julian Zelizer's The Presidency of George W. Bush: A First Historical Assessment:

COMMENTS & REVIEWS

• Clinton gives thumbs-up to new Bush memoir: Critics are mixed about George W. Bush's memoir, but the former president has received a rave from a fellow White House alumnus, Bill Clinton.
  "'Decision Points' is well-written, and interesting from start to finish. I think people of all political stripes should read it," Clinton said in a statement released Friday."George W. Bush also gives readers a good sense of what it's like to be president, to take the responsibilities of the office seriously, do what you think is right, and let history be the judge. The book may not change the minds of those who disagree with decisions President Bush made, but it will help you to understand better the forces that molded him, and the convictions that drove him to make those decisions." - AP, 11-12-10
• Decision Points by George Bush: review: George Bush might clean up after his dog, but the mess of his legacy will be harder to deal with, argues Mick Brown, reviewing his memoir, Decision Points. Any political memoir tends to be defined by two salient qualities – self-justification, and self-exculpation. And in the case of George Bush there would appear to be a particularly pressing need for both. Bush left office two years ago with the dubious distinction of being second only to the disgraced Richard Nixon as the most unpopular American president of modern times. On the day after he left office, he writes, he started this book. With reference to his title, Bush explains that he has followed the example of an earlier president, Ulysses Grant, not to write an exhaustive account of his life, but to concentrate instead on his period in the White House, and what he – rightly – describes as the most important part of the president’s job: decision making.... - Telegraph UK, 11-12-10
• A Management Primer from the Decider-in-Chief: In his memoir, George W. Bush breaks his Presidency up into a series of decision-making case studies. Unfortunately, running a country isn't just a series of decisions.... - Business Week, 11-11-10
• Mark McKinnon says Bush memoir depicts a smart, strong, humble leader: Writing for The Daily Beast, Austin political consultant Mark McKinnon says Decision Points, the new memoir from George W. Bush, will give readers"a sense of the George W. Bush who I've known for 15 years--a man who is very different than the distorted public image many have come to accept as accurate." McKinnon says the former president is nothing like his caricature as a bumbling, inarticulate, disengaged dimwit: Contrary to conventional wisdom, President Bush is very smart, quietly reflective, often contrite, and deeply humble. He is also a strong leader who, while relying on the strong counsel of many around him, makes his own decisions.
  The memoir, McKinnon says, has its poignant moments: Imagine tough guy Don Rumsfeld breaking down in tears in the Oval Office, grieving over the drug addiction of his son.
  McKinnon has represented candidates on both sides of the aisle, but he's more often identified with Republicans. He seems to go out of his way to take a swipe at the current occupant of the White House: The book does highlight, however, a fundamental difference between George Bush and Barack Obama. Bush never complains. He never blames others. He takes full responsibility for his campaigns, his administration, his life. He accepts the cards he's dealt. That's the George Bush I know. - Dallas Morning News, 11-10-10
• Book review: 'Decision Points' by George W. Bush: The former president delivers an unexpectedly engrossing rehash of what he considers to be the pivotal moments of his eight years in office. The first great American autobiographies both appeared in the 19th century, were born of conflict and written by public men —"The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass" and"The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant." Since then, what we might call the publishing-industrial complex has turned the reminiscences of our public men and women into a never-ending stream. As former President George W. Bush — barely two years out of office — points out in the acknowledgement of his memoir,"Decision Points," virtually every member of his extended, very political family has published a bestseller, including his parents' dogs. Where does Bush's account of his astonishingly eventful eight years rank in such company? Probably far higher than many of his detractors expected. As Bush writes in"Decision Points," he enjoys surprising those who underestimate him. As the title suggests, the former chief executive elected to abandon the usual chronological approach to these volumes (except for a brief, obligatory foray into childhood and school years) in favor of his recollection of his presidency's key choices and the personal decisions that Bush says prepared him to make them.... - LAT, 11-9-10
• Global reaction to Bush's 'Decision Points' memoir: It's a page-turner: George W. Bush's 'Decision Points' memoir is attracting global scrutiny for its views on everything from the Abu Ghraib scandal to Israel's bombing of Syria to rapper Kanye West.... - CS Monitor, 11-8-10
• Dubya gets personal in memoirs: Almost two years after leaving the White House as one of the most polarizing presidents in American history, Bush returns to the public arena Tuesday with the publication of a candid memoir, Decision Points, that recounts everything from his personal struggles with alcohol to an admission of failure in his leadership after Hurricane Katrina.
  Through a steady stream of publicity leaks and pre-publication interview excerpts, Americans already know many of the book's highlights — including Bush's revelation that he considered dropping Dick Cheney from the 2004 Republican ticket and his disgust with rapper Kanye West's post-Katrina accusation that he didn't care about black people. Almost two years after leaving the White House as one of the most polarizing presidents in history, Bush returns to the public arena Tuesday with the publication of a candid memoir, Decision Points, that reveals everything from his personal struggles with alcohol to his disappointment in having failed to capture Osama bin Laden.... - Montreal Gazette
• Personality Intersects With Policy: George W. Bush’s memoir"Decision Points" could well have been titled"The Decider Decides": it's an autobiography focused around"the most consequential decisions" of his presidency and his personal life from his decision to give up drinking in 1986 to his decision to invade Iraq in 2003 to his decisions regarding the financial crisis of 2008. It is a book that is part spin, part mea culpa, part family scrapbook, part self-conscious effort to (re)shape his political legacy.
  A dogged work of reminiscence by an author not naturally given to introspection,"Decision Points" lacks the emotional precision and evocative power of his wife, Laura’s, book,"Spoken From the Heart," published earlier this year, though it’s a considerably more substantial effort than Mr. Bush’s perfunctory 1999 campaign memoir,"A Charge to Keep."... - NYT, 11-4-10
• Top 10 Political Memoirs: While George W. Bush's new memoir Decision Points doesn't hit bookshelves until Nov. 9, it has already managed to make waves. TIME takes a look at other memorable political autobiographies... 2. George W. Bush, Decision Points, 2010: The Decider has written a book called Decision Points. George W. Bush's presidential memoir — which covers key decisions he made from 1986 (when he vowed to stop drinking) to 2008 (when he found himself faced with the start of the financial crisis) — seems to be more honest than anyone expected. Bush still defends the Iraq war, yet describes a"sickening feeling" whenever he thinks about the absence of weapons of mass destruction. He talks about wishing he had handled Hurricane Katrina better. He refers to Dick Cheney as"the Darth Vader of the administration" and says he considered dropping him from the 2004 presidential ticket. And he relates a strange anecdote about Vladimir Putin's assertion that his pet Labrador was"bigger, stronger, faster" than Bush's Scottish terrier, Barney."You're lucky he only showed you his dog," quipped Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper upon hearing the story. Time, 11-6-10
• George W. Bush's 'Decision Points': 'Competent, readable and flat': All is sweet reason in"Decision Points," George W. Bush's account of his eight-year presidency and some of the events -- quitting drinking, serving as governor of Texas -- that preceded it. To be sure there are a few hints of the pugnacity Americans came to know so well -- barbs directed at the press, the professoriate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a few other sitting ducks -- but Bush as he presents himself here is calm, deliberative, reasonable, open-minded, God-fearing, loyal, trustworthy, patriotic.
  This should come as no surprise. The presidential memoir as it has evolved, especially in the wake of recent presidencies, is not a memoir as the term is commonly understood -- an attempt to examine and interpret the writer's life -- but an attempt to write history before the historians get their hands on it. Yes, from time to time mistakes must be acknowledged -- on the nonexistent weapons of mass destruction, for instance,"I had sent American troops into combat based in large part on intelligence that proved false," or on Katrina,"The problem was not that I made the wrong decisions. It was that I took too long to decide" -- but the clear purpose of these non-apologies is to humanize the person making them, and to make us like him better for making them.... - WaPo, 11-6-10
• Leaked Bush memoir 'strikingly personal': An anonymous source on Thursday leaked former President George W. Bush's memoir to the Drudge Report 11 days before its scheduled publication. Excerpts from"Decision Points" have put Mr. Bush back on public radar after a long absence; the 14-chapter book is deemed a"strikingly personal" look at the president's challenges, personal convictions and faith, and it takes few shots at his critics.... - The Washington Times, 10-29-10

THE HEADLINES....

• Booming sales for Bush book 'Decision Points': The Decider has written a blockbuster. Random House Inc. says former President George W. Bush's"Decision Points" sold 775,000 copies through its first week of publication. Random House made the announcement Tuesday. In the book, the two-term president discusses the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, his decisions to send troops to Afghanistan and Iraq and the response to Hurricane Katrina. An initial print run of 1.5 million copies has been increased to 1.85 million. E-book sales alone are 100,000. Random House said last week that opening-day sales of"Decision Points" were its highest since former President Bill Clinton's"My Life" debuted in 2004.... - AP, 11-16-10
• Inside the List: HIS TURN: Things might be a little less tense in Crawford this Christmas now that George W. Bush has his own No. 1 best seller."Decision Points," the former president’s new memoir, enters in the top spot, just as his wife’s"Spoken From the Heart" did last spring. But don’t worry, ladies, Laura Bush isn’t totally ceding the stage. Her memoir, which spent 12 weeks on the printed list, is still hanging around at No. 28 on the extended list, six months after publication.
  If history is any guide, George Bush’s book won’t have as much staying power. As Craig Fehrman wrote in an essay in the Book Review in May, memoirs by first ladies often do better than those of their husbands. For Gerald Ford’s 64th birthday, in 1977, Betty Ford gave him a T-shirt that read,"I bet my book outsells yours." (The couple’s joint $1 million book deal spared him the embarassment of a lower advance.) Of course, Bush also has nonspousal rivals to worry about. A mere two weeks after the release of"Decision Points," his account of how he quit drinking — not to mention his indelible comments about the political memories dredged up by his Scottish terrier Barney’s madeleine- like droppings — had been eclipsed by rumors that Bill Clinton will make a cameo appearance in “The Hangover 2." - NYT, 11-28-10
• Bookend to a Presidency George W. Bush Breaks Ground on a Library, Museum and Policy Center in Texas: George W. Bush and 3,000 fans celebrated his return to the spotlight Tuesday during a ground-breaking ceremony at Southern Methodist University, where plans to build his presidential library have divided the campus. Mr. Bush, who left office with low approval ratings and spent two years in relative seclusion, has recently worked to burnish his image, giving interviews to Oprah Winfrey and the Today Show's Matt Lauer to promote his book"Decision Points."
  "Staying out of current affairs and politics does not mean staying out of policy," Mr. Bush said to the crowd gathered under a large white tent."I strongly believe that the principles that guided our service in public office are the right principles to lead our country in the future." Mr. Bush said a public policy institute attached to the library would promote those principles, as well as improve free markets, global health, political freedom and education.
  Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who used a cane to climb to the dais, made a dig at the Obama administration, calling the presidential center"the only shovel-ready project in America," drawing laughs. The president's wife, Laura Bush, an SMU graduate, also attended, as did former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and ex-Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.... - WSJ, 11-16-10
• Bush and Cheney, Together Again at Groundbreaking: With the turn of a shovel and a few turns of phrase, former President George W. Bush culminated an elaborately orchestrated return to the public stage on Tuesday with a presidential library groundbreaking and a reunion with former Vice President Dick Cheney. In a rare public appearance since a long hospital stay earlier this year, former Vice President Dick Cheney appeared much thinner. In their first public appearance together since leaving office, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney heaped praise on each other, putting behind them the tension of their final days in the White House when they fought over the president’s refusal to pardon the vice president’s ex-chief of staff. In his new memoir, Mr. Bush wrote that he worried that the fight had fractured their friendship.
  Addressing a crowd of 2,500 supporters and Bush administration veterans, Mr. Cheney said the response to Mr. Bush’s book showed that the country had begun to re-evaluate him."Two years after you left office, judgments are a little more measured than they were," Mr. Cheney said."When times have been tough or the critics have been loud, you’ve always said you had faith in history's judgment, and history is beginning to come around."
  Mr. Bush responded by hailing his No. 2 and recalling the decision to ask him to be the running mate in 2000."As I stand here," Mr. Bush said,"there is no doubt in my mind he was the right pick then, he was a great vice president of the United States and I’m proud to call him friend."... - NYT, 11-16-10
• George W. Bush's return to spotlight won't last: 'After selling this book, I'm heading back underground,' the former president says while promoting his new memoir. Work starts this week on his Dallas think tank and presidential library... - LAT, 11-14-10
• Dubya Entertains Crowds At Miami Book Fair: Former President George W. Bush revealed a lighter side of himself Sunday afternoon before a crowd of hundreds at the Miami Book Fair International at Miami Dade College. He spoke about his book,"Decision Points."
  It's not a memoir, but Bush's way of recounting his decision to run for office and the tough decisions he had to make during his 8 years in the White House.
  "I wanted people to understand what it was like to be President during a consequential time," Bush said."I made a lot of controversial decisions and I wanted to give the reader the chance to understand the process by which I made decisions."
  He talked about a lot of the pressure points of his tenure, including weapons of mass destruction, Sept 11th and his decision to invade Iraq."It's a painful experience to... I'm certainly not equating the pain that people feel when their child is sent into combat and gets hurt or loses their life," Bush said."It's a difficult decision for the President and no President should ever commit our troops without serious thought about the consequences."... - CBS News, 11-14-10
• Has Bush's low profile helped his legacy?: George W. Bush is back. This time he's selling a book but once again he's getting very mixed reviews. The former president, who has kept largely out of the public eye in the two years since he left office, emerged this week with"Decision Points," a 497-page opportunity to revisit the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other crucial episodes of his personal life and political career.
  "Some of the decisions I made were very controversial," Bush told NBC's Matt Lauer,"and I knew that putting them in the book would create controversy."...
  In that time, he swung from the highest presidential popularity rating Gallup pollsters ever recorded (90 percent) to the lowest (20 percent). In some ways, Bush's two years out of the public eye may have helped his legacy.... - CNN, 11-12-10
• Paging Jeb Bush -- for 2012: In fact, some folks in the GOP are so convinced that there is a Bush renaissance in the offing that they're hoping to turn that wave into another White House victory for the Bush family. That's right. If the era of Bush fatigue is really over, then here comes baby brother. Jeb Bush, the popular former two-term governor of Florida, is being mentioned as a viable Republican candidate for the presidency in 2012, although he has denied having an interest in running.
  (Both Bush brothers will be guests on a special edition of State of the Union with Candy Crowley, Sunday at 8 and 11 p.m. ET.)
  While Jeb has his share of detractors, he also seems to have the same knack for bringing people together that his big brother had for driving them apart. And, with the Tea Party ready to go to war with the GOP establishment in the political equivalent of a cage match for control of the Republican Party, that skill set could come in handy.... - CNN, 11-12-10
• Bush talks about addiction at Milwaukee appearance: Former president George W. Bush says he plans to go back to shying away from the limelight once he's done promoting his book. He spoke Wednesday night to 2,500 people to raise money for Teen Challenge Wisconsin, a faith-based drug and alcohol restoration program. The 64-year-old also talked about his struggles with alcoholism, which are detailed in his new memoir,"Decision Points." He said quitting drinking at age 40 was one of the toughest decision ever. He said anyone can struggle with addiction,"Even those of us who ended up with the fanciest title of all." He also spoke of going"from 100 miles per hour to zero" after leaving the White House and walking through his then-new Dallas neighborhood with his dog Barney and a plastic bag.... - Chicago Tribune, 11-11-10
• George W. Bush In Chicago: Praises Mayor Daley's Leadership: Former President George W. Bush made a stop in Chicago Thursday to promote his new book,"Decision Points" and get some face time with Mayor Daley. During an appearance at the Union League Club, Bush praised Daley's leadership, discussed his alcohol problem and Chicago's role in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Bush said he wasn't pandering when he called Chicago the"best-run city in America" due to Daley's leadership, and said Daley responded"brilliantly" when Chicago's Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) was threatened by terrorists.
  The Chicago Sun-Times reports:"People forget that the Sears Tower was a target -- a genuine target, and the mayor responded, and his people responded, brilliantly to the threats," Bush said....
  "This was one of the really interesting examples of federal, state and local cooperation. By necessity, we had to share assets and resources in a much better way."... - Huff Post, 11-11-10 -- Chicago Sun-Times, 11-11-10
• Bush memoir 'Decision Points' sells 220,000 copies on first day: Former President George W. Bush's memoir"Decision Points" sold at least 220,000 copies through its first day of release, with more than 20 per cent generated by e-book purchases.
  Random House Inc. announced Wednesday that opening-day sales, which include preorders and represent 95 per cent of accounts reporting, was the publisher's highest for nonfiction since former President Clinton's"My Life" debuted with 400,000 in 2004. Bush's book came out Tuesday with an announced first printing of 1.5 million copies, the same as Clinton's did.
  Random House said that e-sales were 50,000 so far, a number unthinkable when"My Life" was published.... - CP, 11-10-10
• Bush to speak in Chicago Thursday: Former president George W. Bush will speak at the Union League Club in downtown Chicago as part of his"Decision Points" book tour Thursday. The event will takes place at 8:45 a.m.... - ABC Local, 11-10-10
• George Bush 'Decision Points' – how many books will he sell?: Publishers of President Bush's 'Decision Points' have printed up 1.5 million copies. President Bill Clinton's 'My Life' sold 606,000 in its first week, and has totaled 2.2 million since.... - CS Monitor, 11-10-10
• 'Not telling the truth': Former German Chancellor calls George Bush a liar over memoir's claim of Iraq war U-turn: Claims: George W. Bush writes in his new book Decision Points that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder reneged on a deal to join the Iraq war... - Daily Mail UK, 11-11-10
• Bush Memoir Gives Short Shrift to His Pardon Record: Former President George W. Bush tucked a paragraph into his newly published memoir"Decision Points" about how he decided to handle a late flurry of pardon-seekers who used special access to the White House to press their cases:
  One of the biggest surprises of my presidency was the flood of pardon requests at the end. I could not believe the number of people who pulled me aside to suggest that a friend or former colleague deserved a pardon. At first I was frustrated. Then I was disgusted. I came to see the massive injustice in the system. If you had connections to the president, you could insert your case into the last-minute frenzy. Otherwise, you had to wait for the Justice Department to conduct a review and make a recommendation. In my final weeks in office, I resolved that I would not pardon anyone who went outside the formal channels.
  As history, this portrayal of Mr. Bush’s handling of pardons is incomplete. It omits mention of a slate of 20 felony offenders granted clemency by Mr. Bush on Dec. 23, 2008 – less than a month before he left office.... - NYT, 11-11-10
• Bush's Waterboarding Admission Prompts Calls For Criminal Probe: The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday joined a growing chorus in the human rights community calling for a special prosecutor to investigate whether former president George W. Bush violated federal statutes prohibiting torture. In his new memoir and ensuing book tour, Bush has repeatedly admitted that he directly authorized the waterboarding of three terror suspects.
  The ACLU is urging Attorney General Eric Holder to ask Assistant U.S. Attorney John Durham to investigate Bush. For nearly three years now, Durham has been acting as a special prosecutor investigating a variety of torture- related matters involving government officials considerably lower on the food chain. Just this Tuesday, it was widely reported that Durham had cleared the CIA's former top clandestine officer and others in the destruction of agency videotapes showing waterboarding of terror suspects -- but that he would continue pursuing other aspects of his investigation.
  "The ACLU acknowledges the significance of this request, but it bears emphasis that the former President's acknowledgment that he authorized torture is absolutely without parallel in American history," the group wrote in its letter to Holder."The admission cannot be ignored. In our system, no one is above the law or beyond its reach, not even a former president. That founding principle of our democracy would mean little if it were ignored with respect to those in whom the public most invests its trust. It would also be profoundly unfair for Mr. Durham to focus his inquiry on low-level officials charged with implementing official policy but to ignore the role of those who authorized or ordered the use of torture."... - Huffington Post, 11-11-10
• Room for forgiveness on Bush book tour: Former President George W. Bush's media blitz to sell his new book seems carefully designed to minimize surprises, although he got one Wednesday in a surprise rapprochement with Kanye West. The rapper says now that he"didn't have the grounds" to call Bush a racist after Hurricane Katrina. The former president was shown tape of West's comments in a live"Today" show interview and said he appreciated West's regret.
  Bush has primarily favored the leaders of their respective fields in an effort to spread his salesmanship as wide as possible: NBC News, Fox News Channel, Rush Limbaugh, Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno. ABC, CBS and CNN were deemphasized or left behind entirely.
  In an earlier media era, Matt Lauer's one-hour taped interview with Bush would have been jealously guarded until airtime, said Jim Bell, executive producer of the"Today" show. Instead, it was sliced and diced and spread around various outlets: clips aired on"Today" last Thursday and Friday and on"Nightly News." A business-oriented response was sent to CNBC, and political comments to MSNBC and further quotes out to local NBC affiliates. MSNBC is airing an expanded, two-hour version of the interview this weekend.
  Monday's prime-time special wasn't a big seller, finishing fourth in its time slot with more than 7 million viewers, the Nielsen Co. said. That's generally a tough night for NBC, and the interview did slightly better than"Chuck" usually does in the time slot.... - AP, 11-10-10
• Former President Bush Uses New Book, Media Tour to Defend His Legacy: Tuesday marks the official release of former President George W. Bush's memoir,"Decision Points," in which he reflects on the most significant decisions he made as president, as well as in his personal life. Mr. Bush's media blitz to promote the book began Monday night in a taped interview with Matt Lauer of NBC News that saw the former president accept blame for some controversial decisions while giving a forceful defense of others.... - PBS Newshour, 11-9-10
• Decision Points, the George W. Bush memoir, released: George W. Bush is on a book tour to promote his memoir"Decision Points."... - WaPo, 11-9-10
• In memoir, Bush defends waterboarding, admits mistakes: After staying largely mum on the political scene since leaving office almost two years ago, former President George W. Bush will reveal his thoughts on the most historic -- and controversial -- parts of his presidency with the release of his memoir Tuesday. In the 481-page book, Bush shares his thoughts on the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina and what he calls the"worst moment" of his presidency.... - CNN, 11-9-10
• Bush book praised in Dallas, criticized overseas: Autograph-seekers descended on a Dallas shopping center Tuesday as former President George W. Bush officially kicked off the release of his new memoir, receiving praise for his candor at a hometown bookstore even as his renewed defense of waterboarding as an interrogation tactic was greeted with derision overseas. First in line at the Borders store about a mile from Bush's Dallas home were Terry and Tammy Jones of suburban Justin, who camped out overnight. They said when they told Bush of their wait, he said he'd sign their books"with admiration," shaking 53-year-old Terry Jones' hand and kissing his wife's."Eighteen hours for two seconds and a kiss on the hand," Tammy Jones, 52, said with a smile. Terry Jones said he admired Bush because"when he makes a decision, he sticks with it."
  But such steadfastness also prompted criticism Tuesday in Europe, where reports about Bush's memoir"Decision Points" focused on waterboarding.... - AP, 11-9-10
• George W. Bush Begins Publicity Tour: President George W. Bush is starting to do the rounds promoting his new book"Decision Points." He spoke with NBC's Matt Lauer on the Today Show. In the book and in the interview he defended the decision to invade Iraq, even though the casus belli, weapons of mass destruction, was a mirage.
  "Was there ever any consideration of apologizing to the American people?" Lauer asked.
  
  "I mean, apologizing would basically say the decision was a wrong decision," Bush replied."And I don't believe it was the wrong decision. I thought the best way to handle this was to find out why. And what went wrong. And to remedy it."
  In his book, Bush writes,"There were things we got wrong in Iraq, but that cause is eternally right."
  Bush also spoke with the Times of London. Both in the book and the interview he strongly defended the use of waterboarding.(yes, they have a pay wall)
  In an interview with The Times, the former US President offered a vigorous defence of the coercive interrogation technique:"Three people were waterboarded and I believe that decision saved lives." He denied that waterboarding, which simulates drowning, amounted to torture.
  Asked if he authorised the use of waterboarding to get information from the captured al-Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, he was unequivocal:"Damn right!" In his new book he writes:"Their interrogations helped break up plots to attack American diplomatic facilities abroad, Heathrow airport and Canary Wharf in London, and multiple targets in the United States." - NPR, 11-9-10
• Was George W. Bush Willing to Endorse Barack Obama?: He called himself The Decider, but as former president George W. Bush emerges from his self-imposed exile to promote his new book, he's become The Denier. Specifically, he's been busy denying rumors about his contempt for John McCain. On Friday, the Daily News quoted a"Republican official familiar with Bush's thinking" who claimed that Bush thought McCain"destroyed any chance of winning by picking Palin" and was"less of a man" for doing so. He wouldn't be the first one to think that, but on Rush Limbaugh's radio show yesterday, Bush insisted,"I never said that, never would have said that."
  Yesterday, an even more intriguing story appeared on a blog of the Financial Times. Alex Barker writes of his"favourite Bush anecdote," which"some of the witnesses still dine out on":
  The venue was the Oval Office. A group of British dignitaries, including Gordon Brown, were paying a visit. It was at the height of the 2008 presidential election campaign, not long after Bush publicly endorsed John McCain as his successor.
  Naturally the election came up in conversation. Trying to be even-handed and polite, the Brits said something diplomatic about McCain’s campaign, expecting Bush to express some warm words of support for the Republican candidate.
  Not a chance."I probably won’t even vote for the guy," Bush told the group, according to two people present."I had to endorse him. But I’d have endorsed Obama if they’d asked me." Now, Bush not voting for McCain and giving him a forced endorsement, sure, we can buy that. The two never had a great relationship following their bitter primary battle in 2000, and in Decision Points, Bush laments that McCain kept his distance in the 2008 campaign. He also writes that McCain was unimpressive in their meeting during the financial crisis.
  But endorsing Obama?... A Bush spokesman says,"This is ridiculous and untrue. President Bush proudly supported John McCain in the election and voted for him." - NY Mag, 11-10-10
• 2,500 show up for Bush book signing in Dallas: An estimated 2,500 people showed up at a North Dallas Borders bookstore to get an autographed copy of George W. Bush's first memoir, the bookseller reports. But the former president could put his John Hancock on only 1,300 copies of Decision Points and on 500 bookplates for the legion of unlucky buyers. In a news release, Borders noted that Bush signed 500 copies more than expected (800) and that hundreds of others in line would receive a signed bookplate later. First in line were Terry and Tammy Jones of Justin, Texas, who camped out overnight after arriving at the store yesterday about 2 p.m. They bought four books Bush autographed, met him briefly, and beamed, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes."I waited 18 hours for two seconds and a kis
  

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