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Decision Points
Decision Points is a memoir by former U.S. President George W. Bush. It was released on November 9, 2010, and the release was accompanied by national television appearances and a national tour. The book surpassed sales of two million copies less than two months after its release, breaking the record previously held by former President Bill Clinton's memoir My Life. Decision Points also opened at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Bush's 481-page memoir is broken up into 14 chapters. The first two chapters are about his life before the presidency. The first chapter is about notable events in his earlier life such as his decision to quit drinking in 1986. The second chapter is about his decision to run for Governor of Texas, and then President of the United States. The remaining twelve chapters are about events during his presidency: the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, aid to developing countries, the Iraq troop surge of 2007, domestic issues (including Medicare Part D, Social Security reform, No Child Left Behind, and Immigration reform), the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, embryonic stem cell research, and the 2008 financial crisis. He wrote with the research assistance of former White House Deputy Director of Speechwriting Christopher Michel. Bush gives extensive detail about the specific issues covered in the book, explaining the process behind arriving at a decision and why he made it. Immigration reform was a notable policy failure of Bush's that he laments has not been adequately dealt with in subsequent years.
In the book, Bush described his moral dilemma over stem-cell research. He extensively consulted members of his administration about the pros and cons of the issue, learning about the benefits of stem-cell research while trying to find ways to avoid encouraging abortions. He likened his concern of the wrong application of the policy to the Aldous Huxley novel Brave New World. Bush writes that his decision to only use existing lines has been vindicated by recent successful research undertaken with non-embryonic stem cells.
Bush also talked about the 2000 election in detail and mentioned that he thought he had lost until Karl Rove called to say that Florida was too close to call. The closeness of the election led to the 36-day legal battle over Florida and its 25 electoral votes. Bush was eventually declared the winner when the Supreme Court stopped a court ordered recount in a controversial 5–4 decision on December 8, 2000. Bush notably did not mention losing the popular vote but did make note of the controversy surrounding the election, including the presence of protesters at his 2001 inauguration.
Bush also discusses his decision to send troops to Iraq, initially and again in 2007, arguing that Saddam Hussein's refusal to comply with the United Nations needed to end, as well as arguing that failure to send more troops to Iraq in 2007 could have resulted in a situation similar to the Vietnam War. In Afghanistan, he noted the difficulties of capturing former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. He states that a few months before the end of his term his administration planned a strategy of sending more troops to Afghanistan and increasing drone strikes on Pakistan. He felt it was best to wait until his successor took office for the U.S. military to employ this strategy.
Bush explains how he had to have long conversations with some Republican members of Congress, during the 2008 financial crisis, who were reluctant to support the bailout. Bush expressed to them his anger that the government had to take such a drastic measure but reminded them that he is supporting the bailout because he felt a risk of an economic depression was not worth taking.
Bush expressed his views of the 2008 election. He stated that he was disappointed that 2008 U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain was reluctant to campaign with him and he believed that he could have helped McCain. He referenced Barack Obama several times, but positively and without criticism.
He wrote about his backward-looking last days in office,
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Decision Points
Decision Points is a memoir by former U.S. President George W. Bush. It was released on November 9, 2010, and the release was accompanied by national television appearances and a national tour. The book surpassed sales of two million copies less than two months after its release, breaking the record previously held by former President Bill Clinton's memoir My Life. Decision Points also opened at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Bush's 481-page memoir is broken up into 14 chapters. The first two chapters are about his life before the presidency. The first chapter is about notable events in his earlier life such as his decision to quit drinking in 1986. The second chapter is about his decision to run for Governor of Texas, and then President of the United States. The remaining twelve chapters are about events during his presidency: the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, aid to developing countries, the Iraq troop surge of 2007, domestic issues (including Medicare Part D, Social Security reform, No Child Left Behind, and Immigration reform), the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, embryonic stem cell research, and the 2008 financial crisis. He wrote with the research assistance of former White House Deputy Director of Speechwriting Christopher Michel. Bush gives extensive detail about the specific issues covered in the book, explaining the process behind arriving at a decision and why he made it. Immigration reform was a notable policy failure of Bush's that he laments has not been adequately dealt with in subsequent years.
In the book, Bush described his moral dilemma over stem-cell research. He extensively consulted members of his administration about the pros and cons of the issue, learning about the benefits of stem-cell research while trying to find ways to avoid encouraging abortions. He likened his concern of the wrong application of the policy to the Aldous Huxley novel Brave New World. Bush writes that his decision to only use existing lines has been vindicated by recent successful research undertaken with non-embryonic stem cells.
Bush also talked about the 2000 election in detail and mentioned that he thought he had lost until Karl Rove called to say that Florida was too close to call. The closeness of the election led to the 36-day legal battle over Florida and its 25 electoral votes. Bush was eventually declared the winner when the Supreme Court stopped a court ordered recount in a controversial 5–4 decision on December 8, 2000. Bush notably did not mention losing the popular vote but did make note of the controversy surrounding the election, including the presence of protesters at his 2001 inauguration.
Bush also discusses his decision to send troops to Iraq, initially and again in 2007, arguing that Saddam Hussein's refusal to comply with the United Nations needed to end, as well as arguing that failure to send more troops to Iraq in 2007 could have resulted in a situation similar to the Vietnam War. In Afghanistan, he noted the difficulties of capturing former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. He states that a few months before the end of his term his administration planned a strategy of sending more troops to Afghanistan and increasing drone strikes on Pakistan. He felt it was best to wait until his successor took office for the U.S. military to employ this strategy.
Bush explains how he had to have long conversations with some Republican members of Congress, during the 2008 financial crisis, who were reluctant to support the bailout. Bush expressed to them his anger that the government had to take such a drastic measure but reminded them that he is supporting the bailout because he felt a risk of an economic depression was not worth taking.
Bush expressed his views of the 2008 election. He stated that he was disappointed that 2008 U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain was reluctant to campaign with him and he believed that he could have helped McCain. He referenced Barack Obama several times, but positively and without criticism.
He wrote about his backward-looking last days in office,