num_pages: 320
description: What will be the legacy of President George Walker Bush? In this fascinating, timely book, Glenn Greenwald examines the Bush presidency and its long-term effect on the nation. What began on shaky, uncertain ground and was bolstered and propelled by tragedy, has ultimately faltered and failed on the back of the dichotomous worldview—good versus evil—that once served it so well. In A Tragic Legacy, Greenwald charts the rise and steep fall of the current administration, dissecting the rhetoric and revealing the faulty ideals upon which George W. Bush built his policies.On September 12, 2001, President Bush addressed the nation and presented a very clear view of what was to come—a view that can be said to define his entire presidency: “This will be a monumental struggle of good versus evil.” Based on his own Christian faith and backed by biblical allusions, Bush’s worldview was basic and binary—and everyone was forced to choose a side. Riding high on public support, Bush sailed through the early “War on Terror,” easily defining our enemies and clearly setting an agenda for defeating them.But once the war became murkier—its target unclear, its combatants no longer seen in black-and-white—support for Bush and his policies dropped precipitously. Glenn Greenwald brilliantly reveals the reasons behind the collapse of Bush’s power and approval, and argues that his greatest weakness is the same rhetoric that once propelled him so far forward. Facing issues that could not be turned into simple good versus evil choices—the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, his plans for Social Security “reform,” and, most ironic, the failed Dubai ports deal—Bush faltered and fell. Now, Greenwald argues, Bush is trapped by his own choices, unable to break out of the mold that once served him so well, and indifferent to the consequences.A Tragic Legacy is the first true character study of one of the most controversial men ever to hold the office of president. Enlightening, powerful, and eye-opening, this is an in-depth look at the man whose incapability and cowboy logic have left America at risk.From the Hardcover edition.
language: English
title: A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency
titlecomplete: A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency
characters: John McCain, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Saddam Hussein, Arnaud de Borchgrave, Paul Wolfowitz, Kathleen Carroll, Haleh Anvari, Andrew Card, John Kerry, Maher Arar, Max Cleland, Fred Barnes, Thomas Friedman, Gary Bauer, Neville Chamberlain, Mahmoud Abbas, Bob Woodward, James Carafano, Tom DeLay, Donna Brazile, Donald Rumsfeld, Ronald Brownstein, James Dobson, Tony Blankley, Ronald Reagan, Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, Stanley Baldwin, Osama Bin Laden, Pat Buchanan, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard A. Clarke, Lynne Cheney, Mitch Daniels, Dick Durbin, Brian Doherty, Bill Dedman, Irving Kristol, George W. Casey, Jr, Joe Lieberman, Richard Nixon, David Addington, John DiIulio, David Frum, Henry Crumpton, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Nancy Pelosi, Lou Cannon, Mother Teresa, Al Gore, José Padilla, Rod Dreher, Charles A. Duelfer, Condoleezza Rice, Friedrich Nietzsche, Augustine of Hippo, Richard Darman, Laura Bush, Peter Beinart, Evan Bayh, Veronique de Rugy, Jacques Chirac, Joe Biden, Bruce Bartlett, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Abramowitz, William G. Boykin, John Daniszewski, John Dean, Léon Blum, Mona Charen, Robert Dallek, Stephen Colbert, Sidney Blumenthal, John Abizaid, Wolf Blitzer, John Ashcroft, Peter Devlin, Harry S. Truman, George W. Bush, William Kristol, Howard Dean, John Podhoretz, Andrew Sullivan, Wesley Clark, David Albright, Douglas Brinkley, Fareed Zakaria, Gary Kamiya, Elliott Abrams, Peggy Noonan, Barack Obama, Shadia Drury, Bashar al-Assad, Hugo Chávez, Elisabeth Bumiller, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, James Baker
genres: Biography, Politics, International, Science, Nonfiction, Presidents, Autobiography, The World, Unfinished, History
ratings_count: 400
places: Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Arbil, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C., Islamic Center of Washington, Guantánamo Bay, Drake University, Guantanamo Bay detention camp, New Mexico, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, White House, Washington, D.C., Montgomery, Alabama, Paris, New Hampshire, Cincinnati, Ohio, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Dallas, Texas, Ohio
publisher: Crown