About the Book
Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, et al are not stupid people. But based on their policy, the question is: How can so many intelligent people be so dumb? It is easy to dismiss Bush as stupid, when in fact he is, rather, a clever man, and a brilliant demagogue - easily the best of the past hundred years. Bush is anti-intellectual, utterly and smugly incurious, and very likely dyslexic - but no, he is not an idiot, as some would have it. In fact, he is politically very clever.The syndicated political columnist and PBS commentator brings his years of opinionated, yet rational, political analysis to the table as he examines several arenas of the failed Bush regime: environmental policy, fiscal policy, health care, social security, education, industry, science and technology, taxation, foreign relations and more.By comparing their rhetoric to their dismal political record, Oliphant provides a useful historical analysis of the Bush Administration - and explains how a system so seemingly competent and mechanised could fail so miserably, and with such frequency.
In the wake of the mid-term restructuring and promise for future change, "Utter Incompetents" provides a unique and sound investigation of what went wrong in this political operation - and what this means for a Bush legacy, and the next administration.
About the Author :
Thomas Oliphant has been a correspondent for "The Boston Globe" since 1968 and its Washington columnist since 1989. He is a native of Brooklyn, a product of La Jolla High School in California, and a 1967 graduate of Harvard. He was one of three editors on special assignment who managed the "Globe"'s coverage of Boston's traumatic school desegregation, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1975. He has also won the writing award given by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He has appeared on ABC's "Nightline, ""The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," "Face the Nation, The Today Show, Good Morning ""America"," "and CBS News' "This Morning." He has been named one of the country's top ten political writers and one of Washington's fifty most influential journalists by "The Washingtonian "magazine. Mr. Oliphant lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, CBS correspondent Susan Spencer.
Review :
"Tom Oliphant is one of the true chroniclers of America. He uses his wit and wisdom to offer critical, insightful, and loving observations of our politics, culture, and society. He is the Will Rogers of our time."---Madeleine Albright
"Done right, political discourse is a feast. And Tom Oliphant brings more to the table than anyone I know. First, the meat. He knows this stuff. Then, there's the delicious insight, which tenderizes the meat and makes you want to devour it till you're sucking the marrow from the bone. Then there's his voracious appetite, which makes you feel less guilty for sucking the marrow because he's doing it, too. Now, imagine I had extended the metaphor to include all parts of a feast---the hearty bread, the creamy potatoes, etc.---all served with Tom's hilarious wit and innate decency. Bon appetit!" ---Al Franken, author of "The Truth (with jokes)"
"Tom Oliphant is a reporter's reporter and a writer's writer---compelling and thorough, eloquent and fair. Throw in a rare wit and wryness, and you have a journalistic original who offers both powerful insight and sweeping narrative. We're lucky that in this book, he's chosen to focus on the Bush administration---even if Bush isn't. Cheney won't like this story, the real story. Readers will love it."---Robert M. Shrum, author of "No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner"
“Tom Oliphant is one of the true chroniclers of America. He uses his wit and wisdom to offer critical, insightful, and loving observations of our politics, culture, and society. He is the Will Rogers of our time.”---Madeleine Albright
“Done right, political discourse is a feast. And Tom Oliphant brings more to the table than anyone I know. First, the meat. He knows this stuff. Then, there’s the delicious insight, which tenderizes the meat and makes you want to devour it till you’re sucking the marrow from the bone. Then there’s his voracious appetite, which makes you feel less guilty for sucking the marrow because he’s doing it, too. Now, imagine I had extended the metaphor to include all parts of a feast---the hearty bread, the creamy potatoes, etc.---all served with Tom’s hilarious wit and innate decency. Bon appétit!” ---Al Franken, author of "The Truth (with jokes)"
“Tom Oliphant is a reporter’s reporter
"Tom Oliphant is one of the true chroniclers of America. He uses his wit and wisdom to offer critical, insightful, and loving observations of our politics, culture, and society. He is the Will Rogers of our time."---Madeleine Albright"Done right, political discourse is a feast. And Tom Oliphant brings more to the table than anyone I know. First, the meat. He knows this stuff. Then, there's the delicious insight, which tenderizes the meat and makes you want to devour it till you're sucking the marrow from the bone. Then there's his voracious appetite, which makes you feel less guilty for sucking the marrow because he's doing it, too. Now, imagine I had extended the metaphor to include all parts of a feast---the hearty bread, the creamy potatoes, etc.---all served with Tom's hilarious wit and innate decency. Bon appetit!" ---Al Franken, author of "The Truth (with jokes)"
"Tom Oliphant is a reporter's reporter and a writer's writer---compelling and thorough, eloquent and fair. Throw in a rare wit and wryness, and you have a journalistic original who offers both powerful insight and sweeping narrative. We're lucky that in this book, he's chosen to focus on the Bush administration---even if Bush isn't. Cheney won't like this story, the real story. Readers will love it."---Robert M. Shrum, author of "No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner"
