Now we’ll never know what Bush really talked about with his pal
Preacher, peddler, and Beltway meddler Doug Wead sent out an e-mail alert a few minutes ago to announce that he has turned over his furtively recorded tapes of his conversations with George W. Bush “to the president’s counsel.”
That means the tapes will in all likelihood be lost to posterity. In other words, down the memory hole.
Wead wrote:
As promised, the tapes have been turned over to the president’s counsel. My agent has been directed to assign all future royalties from the book, The Raising of a President, to the Red Cross. My thanks to those who have let me share my heart and regrets about recent events. Contrary to a statement made to the New York Times, I know very well that personal relationships are more important than history.
I’m pretty sure that I’m not one of the people he’s thanking. In an e-mail to me yesterday, Wead wrote, probably referring to my Bush Beat item last Thursday, “The Bush Tapes: Hitting the Erase Button”:
Ward:
It would be like sweeping an ocean with a broom to try to correct any facts on this story, but I just wanted you to know personally that no, I did not, as you suggest, pose recently for a publicity shot near the White House. The picture was from an article in Insight magazine in 2001, four years ago. The New York Times, Washington Post, and others simply used the photo courtesy the Washington Times and Insight. Nor did I know the laws of taping in the states where I resided. Learned that about a week ago.
And of course, no one mentions that my first taping of the president began in 1988—with his permission. I did indeed see him as a historical figure because I had written that memo on presidential children and saw clearly that it was their instinct to go for it. Nine almost made it.
Please, Doug, go ahead and sweep that ocean and tell me what I’ve written that was wrong. But wait a sec: Bush knew you were taping him? Hmmm.
I didn’t suggest that it was recently shot. Doesn’t matter whether it was or not. You posed for a photo for the Washington Times magazine Insight for a story about you and the books you’ve written. It was a publicity shot. OK, so what’s the big deal?
Let’s get back to this other thing: Bush knew you were taping him? Hmmm.