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and very informative. I agree with everything else said here. And yes, it does answer many questions. The only two things the admin was interested in from day one were tax cuts and war with Iraq. Within a few days (maybe weeks) of taking office, memos were crossing O'Neill's desk on who they were going to give the contracts to to divide up the Iraqi oil fields!
I was surprised, not sure why, how involved Greenspan is. I guess I always pictured him as in an ivory tower someplace making decisions apart from the White House. But he's there at all the meetings. Early on Greenspan said if the tax cuts don't have triggers (to the deficit) then they are irresponsible. But he wouldn't say it "out loud." He is just a whore and a shill for the GOP. He wouldn't budge with Clinton.
O'Neill wouldn't go out quietly either. They asked him to say he was quitting to spend more time with his family and O'Neill refused. They asked him to put off his announcement. He refused. Bush wanted to meet with him the day after Cheney fired him. O'Neill refused saying it would be a waste of time.
The book talks about the meeting which has been described in the press where Bush was saying "haven't we already given the rich tax cuts?" It was the ONLY meeting where Bush was engaged at all which means the impression left by those who don't read it is that somehow Bush cared. Hogwash. They had already decided to fire O'Neill by that time, the meeting was just a show for him (I think.) Or to set him up to disagree with Bush to give them an excuse to fire him.
The thing I remember hating about O'Neill (before I read the book) was him saying publically that the economy was not as bad off as everyone else was saying. I thought it was propaganda to appease us. According to the book, O'Neill was fighting the second round of tax cuts since at that point in time the admin was saying they needed tax cuts to stimulate the economy. O'Neill argued that the second round shouldn't happen because the economy didn't need that kind of stimulous but if it did it should be to the lower income brackets because they would go out and spend the money which would provide some stimulous to business. (Another chilling part was when O'Neill was arguing with Cheney about the second tax cut. He and Cheney had known each other since they were boys. O'Neill said tax cuts would be disasterous and asked why they were doing it. Cheney said: We won the midterms. It's our due. <shudder> That's when O'Neill realized that Cheney was hopeless.)
He also talks at lenght about how they could never know what Bush wanted. There was no guidance (on issues besides tax cuts and Iraq.) You had to guess what Bush wanted. The problem is that Bush is disengaged, completely disinterested in government or governing or policy or the country or us. He really doesn't care what we think (or want or need.) Because of that the cabal has taken over, Cheney, Rove, Wolfowitz. He thinks Powell cared and tried to talk about policy.
As to Iraq he said no one ever said why. It was just how. There was never any discussion.
I know that "the other side" feels the same way about Clinton. That he was just about power. (They also said Clinton governed by polls, Bush could give a crap about the polls.) No wonder Americans don't vote. We all see the other side as pure evil.
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