Academic : History : United States : Twenty-first century : George W. Bush's administrations, 2001-2009

The early years of the twenty-first century were a tumultuous time in America. The country faced a hotly contested presidential election, the largest terrorist attack in the nation's history, and the early stages of war. Through it all, President George W. Bush surrounded himself with a handful of close advisers. During this time the man beside the President was Ari Fleischer, his press secretary and one of his most trusted confidants. In this role, Fleisher was present for every decision and became an eyewitness to history. In this riveting account, Fleischer goes behind the scenes as he recalls his experiences in the West Wing. Through the ups and downs of this time, he took the heat, fielded the questions, and brought the President's message into living rooms around the world. In Taking Heat , Fleischer, for the first time, gives his perspective on: The 2000 election, from the recounts to the transition to power September 11, 2001, its aftermath, and the anthrax scare The pressure-filled buildup to the war in Iraq and the President's thoughts as the war began Life in the White House, from learning to adjust to the pace of the West Wing and his early briefings to his relationship with the press The White House press corps, who they are, and how they report the news The factors that led to his decision to leave Washington behind. This is the story of the men and women of the White House press corps and the cornerstones of democracy: freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. Fleischer presents an in-depth, insider's view on the Washington political arena from a perspective few have seen. Fleischer writes of his belief that the press has a bias in Washington. It's not a question of partisanship or press-driven ideology. Instead, it's a focus on conflict, particularly if it's a conflict they can attach to the President. It's the nature of the Wh more...

"The war on terrorism is the first political growth industry of the new Millennium". So begins James Bovard's provocative and unrelenting examination of the Bush administration and its motives for prosecuting a war on Iraq. more...

Short, sharp, and oftentimes shocking, Keith Olbermann’s “Special Comments” have made his nightly MSNBC program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann , must-see viewing–and the fastest-growing news show on cable TV. In these segments, Olbermann calls out the perpetrators of mismanagement, brutality, cronyism, and the appalling lack of accountability at the highest levels of the Bush administration. In so doing, Olbermann goes where most of the mainstream media fear to tread–and his rapidly expanding audience eagerly follows. In Truth and Consequences , Olbermann collects the best of his Special Comments, presented here with additional observations and other new material. Whether taking to task the likes of Vice President Dick Cheney and (the thankfully former) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who compare critics of the Iraq War to Nazi appeasers, or giving his impassioned perspective on why torture is un-American and what it really means to support our troops, or grilling timid lawmakers who fail to rein in presidential overreach and abuses of executive power, Olbermann’s devastatingly blunt (and at times wickedly funny) commentary cuts to the core of the duplicity and cynicism of a government that has lost the ability to distinguish between leading our great nation and ruling it. Naturally, Keith Olbermann’s candor and razor-sharp polemic have earned him many detractors and enemies. His antagonists in the media, such as Bill O’Reilly, have mocked him and accused him of rank intolerance. Yes, Keith Olbermann is intolerant–of hypocrisy, demagoguery, fear-mongering, and especially the equation of dissent with treason. In Truth and Consequences , he fights to reclaim for himself and all Americans the dignity of speaking one’s mind and acting on one’s conscience. Praise for Keith Olbermann “A truth-telling, Bush-bashing accidental liberal her more...

Remember worrying about the Y2K bug in 1999? Or life before Twitter? Ten years ago, September 11 was just another day, Facebook didn't exist, and Barack Obama was a little-known state senator. Some have called the jam-packed first decade of the new millennium the "ten-year century" for all of the history-making, life-changing developments it's contained. Now, James Sutherland explores these influential years for the audience that's grown up in it, putting history in context and explaining how the world is smaller, faster, and more connected than it's ever been--and why it matters. more...

In this searing indictment of current administration policy, Charles Tiefer, a distinguished scholar of national legal affairs and former solicitor of the House of Representatives, argues that President George W. Bush methodically manipulates the law to promote right-wing causes. The beneficiaries of these machinations range from frontline pro-weapon and anti-women's rights groups to major industries that profit from lax environmental standards and military intervention in resource-rich regions. Accessibly written, legally rigorous, and meticulously documented, Veering Right demonstrates how the administration's already-ample arsenal for accomplishing ideological goals was expanded with weapons such as Attorney General John Ashcroft's social crusades and the polarizing 2004 election campaign. Tiefer lays out a compelling case for how the administration consistently erects barriers to media and congressional oversight that might expose covert motivations to public scrutiny. With an eye on the future, the White House is building a durable and potentially dominant machine for pursuing ideological goals by awarding lifetime judgeships and by exchanging favors for campaign funding. This book presents eye-opening evidence that ultra-conservatives could achieve previously unimaginable successes during a second Bush term. As a former Solicitor of the House of Representatives, Tiefer possesses a wealth of insight gleaned from decades of no-holds-barred investigations and judicial struggles. His wide-ranging perspective takes into account cultural changes, constitutional issues, partisan and electoral developments, and political personalities. The most exhaustive analysis to date of the Bush administration’s real agenda, this book provides a rare insider’s view of the strategic, devious, and potentially overpowering ways that presidents make ideological use of the law. Veering Right Documents How * President Bush's secrecy and deception undermined the de more...