The Crack Up

Looks like George is going off the deep end, Gate:


From Capitol Hill Blue

Bush Leagues
Bush's Erratic Behavior Worries White House Aides
By DOUG THOMPSON
Publisher, Capitol Hill Blue
Jun 4, 2004, 06:15



President George W. Bush’s increasingly erratic behavior and wide
mood swings has the halls of the West Wing buzzing lately as aides
privately express growing concern over their leader’s state of mind.

In meetings with top aides and administration officials, the President
goes from quoting the Bible in one breath to obscene tantrums against
the media, Democrats and others that he classifies as “enemies of the state.”

Worried White House aides paint a portrait of a man on the edge,
increasingly wary of those who disagree with him and paranoid of
a public that no longer trusts his policies in Iraq or at home.

“It reminds me of the Nixon days,” says a longtime GOP political
consultant with contacts in the White House. “Everybody is an enemy;
everybody is out to get him. That’s the mood over there.”

In interviews with a number of White House staffers who were willing
to talk off the record, a picture of an administration under siege
has emerged, led by a man who declares his decisions to be “God’
s will” and then tells aides to “fuck over” anyone they consider
to be an opponent of the administration.

“We’re at war, there’s no doubt about it. What I don’t know anymore
is just who the enemy might be,” says one troubled White House aide.
“We seem to spend more time trying to destroy John Kerry than al
Qaeda and our enemies list just keeps growing and growing.”

Aides say the President gets “hung up on minor details,” micromanaging
to the extreme while ignoring the bigger picture. He will spend
hours personally reviewing and approving every attack ad against
his Democratic opponent and then kiss off a meeting on economic issues.

“This is what is killing us on Iraq,” one aide says. “We lost focus.
The President got hung up on the weapons of mass destruction and
an unproven link to al Qaeda. We could have found other justifiable
reasons for the war but the President insisted the focus stay on those two, tenuous items.”

Aides who raise questions quickly find themselves shut out of access
to the President or other top advisors. Among top officials, Bush’
s inner circle is shrinking. Secretary of State Colin Powell has
fallen out of favor because of his growing doubts about the administration’s war against Iraq.

The President's abrupt dismissal of CIA Directory George Tenet Wednesday
night is, aides say, an example of how he works.

"Tenet wanted to quit last year but the President got his back up
and wouldn't hear of it," says an aide. "That would have been the
opportune time to make a change, not in the middle of an election
campaign but when the director challenged the President during the
meeting Wednesday, the President cut him off by saying 'that's it
George. I cannot abide disloyalty. I want your resignation and I want it now."

Tenet was allowed to resign "voluntarily" and Bush informed his
shocked staff of the decision Thursday morning. One aide says the
President actually described the decision as "God's will."

God may also be the reason Attorney General John Ashcroft, the administration’
s lightning rod because of his questionable actions that critics
argue threatens freedoms granted by the Constitution, remains part
of the power elite. West Wing staffers call Bush and Ashcroft “the
Blues Brothers” because “they’re on a mission from God.”

“The Attorney General is tight with the President because of religion,”
says one aide. “They both believe any action is justifiable in the name of God.”

But the President who says he rules at the behest of God can also
tongue-lash those he perceives as disloyal, calling them “fucking
assholes” in front of other staff, berating one cabinet official
in front of others and labeling anyone who disagrees with him “unpatriotic” or “anti-American.”

“The mood here is that we’re under siege, there’s no doubt about
it,” says one troubled aide who admits he is looking for work elsewhere.
“In this administration, you don’t have to wear a turban or speak
Farsi to be an enemy of the United States. All you have to do is disagree with the President.”

The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the record.