Ex-Bush Aide Seeks To "Save Conservatism"

Washington Post: With Book, Former Speechwriter Michael Gerson Is Back To Fight For GOP's Identity

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Peter Baker.

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For Michael Gerson, the pattern became discouragingly familiar. A proposal to help the poor or sick would be presented at a White House meeting, but Vice President Cheney's office or the budget team or some other skeptical officials would shoot it down. Too expensive. Wrong priority.

By the time he left the White House as President Bush's senior adviser last year, Gerson by his own account had grown weary of the battle, becoming an irritable colleague disillusioned by the conventions of a political party and a government that seemed indifferent to the plight of the downtrodden. Now he is back with a new book and a publicity tour intended to fight for the identity of the Republican Party.

"Traditional conservatism has a piece missing -- a piece that is shaped like a conscience," he notes in "Heroic Conservatism." His ambition, he says, is to help "save conservatism from its worst instincts" and build "a conservatism elevated by a radical concern for human rights and dignity."

Gerson, who now writes an op-ed column for The Washington Post, was best known as the speechwriter who helped a famously inarticulate Texan find words to define his presidency at key moments. He was also an apostle of "compassionate conservatism," Bush's effort to shave the harsh edges off the party of Newt Gingrich.

Gerson's book, part memoir and part political treatise, opens a window on the internal debates that marked the first six years of Bush's presidency, from the response to the mass killing in Darfur to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Time and again, Gerson depicts a lonely struggle to advance measures that would benefit AIDS patients, impoverished children or prisoners reentering society. He rues the Bush team's failure to do more to stand up to autocrats in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to further its "freedom agenda." And he laments that the war in Iraq has sabotaged the president's efforts to redefine the Republican Party.

"Right now, there's a significant backlash against these ideas," Gerson said in an interview at his office at the Council on Foreign Relations last week. "If Republicans adopt a mean, anti-government message, they're not going to be able to win."

Gerson said he also wants to push Democrats to recognize genuine security concerns in an age of terrorism and the value of spreading democracy. But as he hits the talk-show circuit, including Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," his main message seems aimed at fellow conservatives.

A devout evangelical Christian, Gerson was a powerful if soft-spoken and sometimes dour presence in the Bush White House, more comfortable with the Bible studies of his alma mater, Wheaton College, than the towel-snapping Texas environment that surrounded Bush in the early days. Gerson talks in rapid-fire bursts, nervously doodling until his pen has literally ripped the page off a pad of paper.

He describes his initial, awkward relationship with Bush as the Texas governor assembled his campaign team in 1999. "He had a penchant for crude humor," Gerson writes, "that made me uncomfortable; not blasphemous language, but the vulgarity of the locker room."

Yet, he says he grew to admire Bush for his convictions and sincerity, and whatever blame Gerson has for the administration's failings is focused elsewhere.

Gerson was widely -- but not universally -- admired within the West Wing. One of his top two speechwriting deputies, Matthew Scully, wrote a scathing piece in the Atlantic magazine this summer accusing Gerson of "foolish vanity," "sheer pettiness" and "credit hounding." Scully complained that Gerson had assumed authorship of speeches he did not write, at least not alone. The other top speechwriter, John McConnell, still works at the White House and has declined to comment, but he has shared similar grievances with colleagues.

In his book, Gerson has nothing but praise for Scully and McConnell in passages that a friend who had read the galleys said were in the text before the Atlantic piece came out. Gerson describes Scully as "an elegant writer with a gentle manner" and refers to the involvement of Scully and McConnell in key speeches at many points in his narrative.

"For seven years these two speechwriters would be my friends and partners, and hardly a cross word ever passed between us," he writes.

Gerson is more critical of Cheney's office, former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and two Texas Republicans who served as House majority leaders, Tom DeLay and Richard K. Armey.

Gerson writes that he urged Bush to fire Rumsfeld after the 2004 election, but that Cheney opposed the move. He recounts meetings in which Cheney's office tried to kill proposals to increase training of death-row defense lawyers, transition assistance for prisoners and aid for Hurricane Katrina victims.

"The storm had also revealed a political and moral chasm in the Republican Party," he writes. "The president and I saw Katrina as an opportunity to open a debate on race and poverty. Anti-government Republicans saw Katrina as an opportunity to cut off medicine to old people. It confirmed the worst image of Republicans as the party of shriveled hearts."

[micma-2009]

Modern conservatism is an utter failure. They need to be saved from themselves.

[godseyesore-2009]

Save conservatism?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahha!

[roger_inkart]

Some advice: Write a book exposing your former boses for the stupid, lawless lunatics we all know they are. Apologize for being part of it and doing NOTHING when you had the chance. THEN worry about ''saving conservatism.''

[chuckstats]

I agree with the above two post. This guy is living in evangelical Christiandum. The GOP is bent on delivering us from the good values that this country was built on. Evangelical Christians are determined to take away our freedoms in order to satisfy their desire to convert us. They have two leaders: George W. Bush and *** Cheney.

[eskieville1]

The Republican party needs to forget about Reagan and return the party to the philosopphy of Theodore Roosevelt. They must get the wealthy (Wall Street) to share more of the wealth that has been generated.What would TR say about todays malefactors of great wealth?

[twylacrat]

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it''s still a pig. In it''s current usage, conservatism just means selfish to me. It means if you aren''t wealthy, then your living your life wrong and deserve to be punished.

[Razzl]

I can''t bring myself to beat up on a guy who''s almost made the moral leap out of the GOP. We all start out life as little Republicans, worried only about our own needs, hoarding our property, blaming the unfortunate for their misfortunes, and showing no mercy to anybody. Then one day we wake up and find ourselves in a hospital with strangers taking care of our needs, or we have financial problems and friends sacrifice to help, we suffer a seizure and strangers come to our aid, or we see children in need; and we realize that humanity is our family, not a bunch of hostile strangers, and that we should be as attentive to their needs as others have been to ours. That''s where conservatives become liberals, where Republicans leave aside their insular world and bloom into robust citizens as Democrats. Michael is about to leave the creepy worm stage and become a butterfly...

[jon_mccain]

" His ambition, he says, is to help "save conservatism from its worst instincts" and build "a conservatism elevated by a radical concern for human rights and dignity."

All fine and good except the conservative "ideal" is considered to be Ronald Reagan, enuff said.

[jncc1701]

I can''''t bring myself to beat up on a guy who''''s almost made the moral leap out of the GOP. We all start out life as little Republicans, worried only about our own needs, hoarding our property, blaming the unfortunate for their misfortunes, and showing no mercy to anybody. Then one day we wake up and find ourselves in a hospital with strangers taking care of our needs, or we have financial problems and friends sacrifice to help, we suffer a seizure and strangers come to our aid, or we see children in need; and we realize that humanity is our family, not a bunch of hostile strangers, and that we should be as attentive to their needs as others have been to ours. That''''s where conservatives become liberals, where Republicans leave aside their insular world and bloom into robust citizens as Democrats. Michael is about to leave the creepy worm stage and become a butterfly...

To razzl - very nice.

[realpatriot1]

Screw conservatism, let''s save America from what the conservatives have done to it!

[realpatriot1]

On second thought, if saving conservatism means adopting liberalism then go ahead and save conservatism.

Liberals saved America from conservative excesses in the 1930s and it will take liberals to clean up the mess again.

[walt1944-2009]

The Great Emperor Bush II is extremely pleased that his ex-speech writer has written such a flattering book regarding the Emperor''s charachter. The book charges that many of the bad decisions and mistakes attributed to the Emperor were originally the fault of the VP Darth Vader Cheney.

It has long been suspected that the Vader was the REAL power behind the throne in the Oval Office (the Emperor being too stupid to make any decision on his own) and is responsible for almost every mistake and attempted cover-up since taking office. In essence, Cheney''s role was very close to that of Martin Bormann''s, Hitler''s personal secretary in Nazi Germany, leading the GOP to defend the Emperor as being "duped" by the Vader, as Hitler, supposedly was "conned" by Bormann.

However, it must be remebered that the Emperor stated he wants to run the USSA as a corporation, and in a corporation, despite what they say, the buck stops at the top!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!

[finewoven]

Traditional conservatism has a piece missing -- a piece that is shaped like a conscience," he notes in "Heroic Conservatism."

I don''t know. I personnally like the saying that refers to Daniel Perle about his murder by Islamic radicals in Iraq. "Humble Hero." If the Republican had shaped it''s conscience with this piece of the puzzle, then Conservatism would have more significan (to me), peace would be a priority, environment would matter--but not at the expense of innovation; and the hubris presenting the existing disconnect with evangelical aderence to faith would dissolve. Sometimes I think I am a Republican waiting to happen.

[finewoven]

That''''''''s where conservatives become liberals, where Republicans leave aside their insular world and bloom into robust citizens as Democrats. Michael is about to leave the creepy worm stage and become a butterfly...
Posted by jncc1701 at 12:45 PM : Oct 31, 2007

Nice illustration. I don''t entirely see it the same way, except this last stage you point out. Most of the time right about the teenage stage we challenge all institutions to liberalize ourselves from older traditions that are no longer useful. We challenge family, church, education, and state to hopefully derive our full understanding of our existence. Without understanding the existentialism and essentialism involved with this learning means we lose ourselves to patterns of previous histories. And as a consequence, we fall into the pattern of making the same historical mistakes over and over. THEN after this learning environment, becoming Republican actually makes sense, and it is tailored with all the responsibilities of a mature adult.

[usaprophet]

Paul represents a different Republican Party from the one that Iraq, deficits and corruption have soured the country on. In late June, despite a life of antitax agitation and churchgoing, he was excluded from a Republican forum sponsored by Iowa antitax and Christian groups. His school of Republicanism stands for a certain idea of the Constitution the idea that much of the power asserted by modern presidents has been usurped from Congress, and that much of the power asserted by Congress has been usurped from the states. Though Paul acknowledges flaws in both the Constitution (it included slavery) and the Bill of Rights (it doesn%u2019t go far enough), he still thinks a comprehensive array of positions can be drawn from them: against gun control; for the sovereignty of states; and against foreign-policy adventures. Over the years, this vision has won most favor from those convinced the country is going to hell in a handbasket. The attention Paul has captured tells us a lot about the prevalence of such pessimism today, about the instability of partisan allegiances and about the seldom-avowed common ground between the hard right and the hard left. His message draws on the noblest traditions of American decency and patriotism.

[finewoven]

The attention Paul has captured tells us a lot about the prevalence of such pessimism today, about the instability of partisan allegiances and about the seldom-avowed common ground between the hard right and the hard left. His message draws on the noblest traditions of American decency and patriotism.
Posted by USAProphet at 02:07 PM : Oct 31, 2007

But I don''t see it addressing one of the fundamental problems with the Iraq situation, that of hiring inexperienced people for vital jobs and projects of reconstruction just because O''Beirne''s team saw them as loyal Republicans only. This sense of "values" corrupted the effort by not providing people with the necessary expertise, regardless of party affiliation, but for the sake of developing a war ravished nation. Also, this narrowmindedness was promulgated by those inexperienced staffers who blindly went forward with the necessary guidance from knowledgable sources.

[finewoven]

My typo on this comment:

Also, this narrowmindedness was promulgated by those inexperienced staffers who blindly went forward withOUT the necessary guidance from knowledgable sources.

[toldyouso21]

ithout understanding the existentialism and essentialism involved with this learning means we lose ourselves to patterns of previous histories. And as a consequence, we fall into the pattern of making the same historical mistakes over and over. THEN after this learning environment, becoming Republican actually makes sense, and it is tailored with all the responsibilities of a mature adult.

Posted by finewoven at 01:29 PM : Oct 31, 2007

The problem with the Republican learning curve: is that often, it requires a lot of people to die and suffer before they finally "get it". I am not enamored with Democrats often think they try too hard to be too embracive of change for change''s sake--but the stance of many Republicans as judgemental, self righteous and self centered is not something anyone who believes in a soul should aspire to. "shriveled up hearts" was part of an apt description. We could add a few more choice words--but we''ll let the advocation of torture, illegal wars and ignoring the constitution , outing agents, lying to invade, disregarding international laws, sending cluster bombs into countries and telling others not to meddle, wanting oil agreements as part of a free Iraq, stacking the courts, deleting emails, ignoring subpoenas and subverting the law speak for the GOP instead.

[toldyouso21]

The fundamental problem with the Iraq situation, is invading a country that had done nothing to us on false pretenses--then lying to justify staying there and presiding over the mayhem and destruction of those people while proclaiming our actions heroic and lamenting Iraqis not helping us make our invasion a success.

[rowdytexan2]

Mr. Gerson is referring to the man from whom father''s in Midland used to hide their daughters, the man who indulged himsefl in every way his Daddy''s cronies would buy for him. A man who is, in fact, a spoiled brat.

GW never had a vision for Texas. He never had a vision for the United States. He is simply a stooge that sits in the driver''s seat of government to direct government funds into the hands of his Daddy''s cronies.

Mr. Gerson obviously wants to put grandiose adornment on a pig''s ear.

Conservatism is a wonderful thing when it can weed out useless spending and corruptness. But the party representing conservatism at this time, only believes in conservatism of everybody elses money in their pockets.

[signof4]

You go, boy! Somebody needs to pick up the sword!

[usaprophet]

I don''t know about you, but I''m sick of no-win pseudo-wars, like The War on Drugs and The War on Terrorism. I''m sick of undeclared wars like The War in Iraq and unnecessary and protracted police actions like the one in Korea. I''m sick of income taxes, which are unconstitutional because they are are a direct tax and are not equally apportioned as the Constitution requires. I''m sick of back door national ID cards like The Real ID Act. I''m sick of warrantless domestic spying by the Department of Homeland Insecurity and the loss of my civil liberties as a result of Draconian, fear-based Laws with oxymoronic names like The Patrot Act. I''m sick of secret offshore prisons like the one in Guantanamo, where our government tortures prisoners, who have no right to redress of grievance, or to writ of habeus corpus. I''m also sick of the Federal Reserve (a secret group of private banks) manipulation of our worthless, fiat currency. Do yourself a favor. Support the 2008 candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul for President of The United States. I believe he''s our only hope to restore peace, prosperity and freedom in this country. Presidential candidates with the personal integrity and the consistent track record of adherance to our Constitution that Ron Paul has demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky. The stakes are too high, and the cause of freedom is too important to let anything stand in the way of our participation in this 21st Century political revolution. Go Ron Paul!

[usaprophet]

You get the sense that the country is desperate for someone to show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW WAY. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50 years. Tens of thousands of them. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of Iraq, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas Republican Presidential candidate, Dr. Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. Ron Paul has been married to the same woman for more than 50 years, which means he doesn''t come to the race with the sort of baggage some of the other candidates for the White House do. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. He was once a pious Lutheran, but now attends a Baptist church. He never travels alone with women, and once even dressed-down an aide for using the expression "red-light district" in front of a female colleague. I support the 2008 candidacy of Congressman, Ron Paul for President of The United States. Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and track record of adherance to The Constitution Ron Paul always demonstrates only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky. Go Ron!

[usaprophet]

I just want to say to the hundreds of millions of people in this country who don''t vote. This is the guy you''ve been waiting for. REAL change in this country IS possible. Voter disenfranchisement in America DOES infect the heart of our democracy, but Dr. Ron Paul has the cure. Get off your couch, put your remote control down, and become active in your nation''s political process. The pathetically few people that do vote in this country, a.k.a., "the ruling class", who currently get to decide under what kind of conditions (and Laws) you and your family will live, are certainly involved.

The thing I like about Ron Paul is, out of ALL of the candidates on either the right or the left, he''s the one who''s the most in-line with The Constitution, and the intents and the dream that our Founding Fathers had for a FREE AMERICA, with minimul federal government intervention in our daily lives. After ten terms of service as a U.S. Congressman, Ron Paul has demonstarted a consistent track record of adherance to The Constitution which is unmatched by anyone else in government. Remember, folks our country was founded as a Republic, not the Oligarchy that it has become. The time for political revolution is now. The time for Ron Paul is now!

[finewoven]

Posted by USAProphet at 04:14 PM : Oct 31, 2007

If you have to post the same message three consecutive times, the desperation comes across in your message. Do you really think this helps.

[finewoven]

toldyouso21, all your points are substantial and hard for me personally to ferret out. To me, these all revolve around the basic aspect of not having core human values, and using family and evangelical values as a prop to attain support from people who don''t know any better.

USAProphet, I read all three--and while they weren''t the same there is still some eating at me when I hear what Paul has to say. It doesn''t feel authentic.

[honeymoonie]

Gerson is "A devout evangelical Christian"?Give me a break!PLEASE!No evangelical Christian is a member of the anti-Christian,world-government-promoting CFR!
Gerson,like Bush,is a fake!A pseudo-Chrsitian!

[kansas1946]

"Traditional conservatism has a piece missing -- a piece that is shaped like a conscience,"
***********************
Glad to see at least one Republican that has a soul. Maybe there is hope for the party yet. Once you get Satan''s evil minions out of the WhiteHouse in 2009.

[ioweign]

Lipstick on a Pig !

[usaprophet]

Ron Paul represents a different Republican Party from the one that Iraq, deficits and corruption have soured the country on. It''s ironic that other GOP candidates are scared to death of his message, BECAUSE his is more conservative than theirs. Being anti-war IS conservative. Another key difference between his message and the others is that he is a strong defender in The Constitution, which protects our civil liberties. The other Republican cadidates, who are mostly NWO Oligarchs, want to control your liberties. They''ve tried hard to exlude him from the spotlight, along with the right-wing press. In late June, despite a life of antitax agitation and pious churchgoing, he was excluded from a Republican forum sponsored by Iowa antitax and Christian groups. Ron Paul does not represent your Father''s style of Republicanism. He represents your Founding Father''s hopes for America. He stands for a certain idea of the Constitution; the idea that much of the power asserted by modern presidents has been usurped from Congress, and that much of the power asserted by Congress has been usurped from the states. Though Dr. Paul acknowledges flaws in both the Constitution (it included slavery) and the Bill of Rights (it doesn%u2019t go far enough), he still thinks a comprehensive array of positions can be drawn therefrom: against gun control; for the sovereignty of states; and against foreign-policy adventures. His message draws on the noblest traditions of American decency and patriotism.

[honeymoonie]

Bravo to the prophet! Gerson will vote for Hillary the Witch before he votes for Ron Paul!

[usaprophet]

Some people say, "a Republican? I''d never vote for a Republican." Let me remind you folks that Abraham Lincoln, who freed the slaves, and who won the war to preserve our Union, WAS himself a Republican. Would you have voted for Stephen Douglas, who was ardently pro slavery, against Lincoln simply because he was a Democrat? Of course you wouldn''t. It''s the person your voting for, and the ideas he or she represents, NOT the party. Paul represents a different Republican Party from the one that Iraq, deficits and corruption have soured the country on. The Republican party has "lost its way," he said recently during a GOP debate. Like the limited federal government principles espoused by Dwight D. Eisenhower, his school of Republicanism stands for a certain idea of the Constitution that much of the power asserted by modern Presidents has been usurped from Congress, and that much of the power asserted by Congress has been usurped from the States. Though Paul acknowledges flaws in both the Constitution (it included slavery) and the Bill of Rights (it doesn''t go far enough), he still thinks a comprehensive array of positions can be drawn therefrom: against gun control; for the sovereignty of States; and against foreign-policy adventures like the ones currently being played-out in the Mid-East. After ten terms of service as a U.S. Congressman, Ron Paul has demonstarted a consistent track record of adherance to The Constitution which is unmatched by anyone in either party. Go Ron Paul!

[rowdytexan2]

Oh enough already of the Ron Paul stuff...

His own party will not let him near the White House! They''re his worse e.n.e.m.a.!...I mean ENEMY!

[cfin5]

Well then if "conservatives" want to save themselves from the Presidents "UNCONSTITUTIONAL" smooching on the UN, LOST treaty, NAU, SSP, while waving the flag for our troops, they had better come out and be "THOROUGHLY" public about it. Time''s awastin'' away by the second. Here''s a little "hint" to unconfuse any excuse for procrastinating,........"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves".----William Pitt.............Ron Paul, the constitution abiding candidate for ''08! GO USA!!!

[prinzowhales]

All the rats are deserting the ship...they, and people like them, followed this Chimp for seven years...now they weasel away to get a ride on the next ship...The USS Dumbarse is being decommissioned soon, you''ll soon find them serving on the USS Offalhead and calling fascism, conservatism for the a few stolen coin.

[antoniof123]

compassionate conservatism = reactionary fascist religious right wing nut.

They are not conservatives. A true conservative like a true liberal is a middle of the road.

These nut cases have called true Americans traitors for the last time. They have given America the one thing we need a reason to unify.

[oldprophet]

You get the sense that our country is desperate for someone to show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW WAY. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50 years. Tens of thousands of them. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Republican Presidential candidate, Dr. Ron Paul. He''s a ten term U.S. Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to economics. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he gave physicals to as an Air Force Flight Surgeon during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I%u2019ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the proven track record of adherance to the Constitution, Congressman Paul has demonstrated in office only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky. Go Ron Paul!

[pepperp1]

"Traditional conservatism has a piece missing -- a piece that is shaped like a conscience," he notes in "Heroic Conservatism." His ambition, he says, is to help "save conservatism from its worst instincts" and build "a conservatism elevated by a radical concern for human rights and dignity."



The guy is so far off the mark, subsitute the word conscience for the old word moral. Vauge and undefined can run 100 buses through the deifniton.

Try repsect for the Law and the order that comes to the People in society with it and ethics, ETHICS are what the GOP is missing.


And Cheney could not have done a dammmn thing if Bush did allow him too and if Bush would have chosen to show up in Washington and do the hard work of governing Cheney would not have caused the harm he did. GOPer we Americans dislike and believe Cheney to be an untalented reckless man who drank alcohol and shot his friend in the face but we hold Bush responsible for the choice of Cheney and for Cheney%u2019s action and that of his felonious Chief of Staff Libby.