Bushwhacked

Life in George W. Bush's America

By: Molly Ivins, Lou Dubose

Narrated by: Molly Ivins

From Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose, authors of Shrub, Bushwhacked is a hilarious, no-holds-barred look at George W. Bush and his administration, and an essential book for understanding the full, destructive impact of his presidency.

For years, bestselling political commentator Molly Ivins has been sounding the alarm about George W. Bush. In Shrub, her 2000 skewering of presidential candidate Bush, the inimitable Ivins, with co-author Lou Dubose, offered a devastating exposé of Dubya’s career and abysmal record as governor of Texas. Now, in their second book on our current White House occupant, Ivins and Dubose take the wire brush to the Bush presidency and show how he has applied the same flawed strategies he used in governing Texas to running the largest superpower in the world.

Bushwhacked brings to light the horrendous legacy of the Bush tax cut, his increasingly appalling environmental record, his administration’s involvement in the Enron scandal, and the real Bush foreign policy—botched nation building in Kabul and Baghdad, alienation of former allies—and, unfortunately, much more. Ivins and Dubose go beyond the too frequently soft media coverage of Bush to show us just how damaging his policies have been to ordinary Americans—“the Doug Jones Average,” rather than the Dow Jones Average. Bushwhacked is filled with sharp observation, humor, and compassion for the people often ignored by the federal government and the Washington press corps.

With the war on terrorism posing unprecedented challenges to our civil liberties, and with the Bush economic policy in shambles, it is high time for a close look at the state of our Union. Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose provide just that in Bushwhacked—an incisive, entertaining, and damning indictment of the Bush presidency.

We've been Bushwhacked

Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose on:

Dubya’s involvement in the failure of Harken Energy Corporation:

“There are countless subjects on which George W. Bush might have pleaded ignorance in 1990, but a failing oil business was not one of them.”

Dubya’s accomplishments as governor of Texas:

“As full-time residents of the state that gave you tort reform, H. Ross Perot, and penis-enlargement options on executive health plans, we’re obliged to warn you that if Dubya Bush really had exported ‘the Texas Miracle,’ the country would be in deep shit.”

Dubya’s environmental record:

“Bush has a chemical-dependency problem, but it’s not cocaine. It’s Monsanto, Dow, and Union Carbide. They wrote the checks that put him in the Texas governor’s mansion....Bush had two voluntary emissions-control programs here in Texas. One involved polluting industries. The other was directed at adolescent males, who were encouraged to ‘try abstinence.’ Only 3 of our 8,645 most obnoxiously polluting refineries actually volunteered to cut back on their toxic emissions. Numbers on teenage boys are not yet in.”

Why the Republican Party is the party of unregulated meat and poultry:

“The Republicans win elections in the ‘red states’ in the center of the country, where cattle and chickens are produced and slaughtered. Democrats win their elections in the ‘blue states’ on the coasts. Republicans use the USDA to pay off their contributors in the red states. The result of that crude electoral calculus is laissez-faire food-safety policy whenever a Republican is in the White House. (If you must eat while the Republicans control the White House, both houses of Congress, and the judiciary, you might want to consider becoming a vegetarian about now.)”

©2003 Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose (P)2003 Random House, Inc., Random House Audio, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Ivins is surely one of the nation’s most adroit political commentators.” —People

“A sprightly catalogue of every destructive policy decision the Bushies have made in their first two-and-a-half years. . . . Sure to delight the president’s critics and madden his fans.” —The Washington Post Book World

“Ivins and Dubose are worthy heirs of the honorable tradition of muckraking.” —Paul Krugman, The New York Review of Books

response

sedryn sounds like one of those anal rententive morons who listen to
Rush Limbaugh (the drug addict) and Bill O'Reilly (the liar) all day
then sits down in the evening to to watch "fair and balanced" news on FOX. I found the book to be informative and humorous, and given Molly Ivins' long record in Texas, credible.

Nice Perspective

Excellent read! If you find that today's America, as run by "President" Bush, is not the place for you, then Ms. Ivins' and Mr. DuBose's read gives a full account as to why. In this book, you will learn why anti-americanism has become chic, why we are better off with a weak military in an otherwise peacful world, and why turning over our national security to our friends such as Syria, China, and France in the United Nations is in our best security interest. The authors clearly present why "President" Bush has hurt this nation's chances to become part of the global govenmewnt by dissolving our own soverignity.

Interesting and well-written

Molly Ivins has crafted a well-documented review of the Bush presidency. It is colorful, humorous, and quite political. If you are tired and burnt out by political wrangling and politics in general, this is a book to avoid. It is, however, quite engaging as far as political writing goes. It is not the biting satire of Al Franken nor the political jingoism of Ann Coulter. It is critical of Bush, but on the other hand, it is not mean spirited, unless you believe that being critical is mean. This is not a book for Bush fans, but rather for independents and for those who have already decided they have problems with Bush. Ivins is not overly critical of conservative thought itself, but is quite critical of Bush. After all, not all conservatives support all of Bush's policies or the man himself. As an independent, I found the book interesting reading.

Funny, well researched

This book seems targeted to women. It is not angry, but often funny and well thought out. Ignore the negative reviews as they likely have not even bothered to read the book. The Bush/Enron ties are especially spooky.

A little balance please...

Molly Ivins is an acknowledged expert on Texas politics; therefore, she's in a better position than many to give us the skinny on Mr. Bush, who was governor of Texas for six years. She also went to school with the man, and she's followed his career for many years. Finally, Molly is one of the few political commentators out there who actually had a career as a serious journalist before she became a columnist. She's a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, and she was a long-time reporter for the New York Times before she returned to her native Texas. With a background like that, I suspect she understands something about standard journalistic practices, such as confirming and verifying sources, as well as the difference between facts, opinions, and pure conjecture. Molly certainly has her point of view, but she's most definitely not a political hack; and it's not fair to dismiss her out of hand because you don't like what she says or you disagree with her political views. Check her facts -- if she's wrong about something, call her on it. I think you'll find she has a point more often than not. Certainly, Molly has been critical of those on the right wing of the politcal spectrum, but there is a difference between criticism and "bashing". So far, I've not seen Molly cross that line, except possibly in jest. Open your mind a little, and you may be suprised at what you find.

Molly and George sittin' in a tree (bush actually)

I love Molly Ivins and thoroughly enjoyed hearing her narrate this book. She gets right to the core of the issues quickly, but makes her points through human-interest stories rather than invective. This gives the book a pleasant conversational tone that stands in stark contrast to the serious problems she's discussing. Her analysis of Dubya as a smart guy who knows exactly what he is doing is chilling. Her conclusions about big money politics and the need for campaign finance reform give anyone interested in change a roadmap to follow. Don't just listen to this book. Go out and do something about it.

Same Old Song

Bush did not win the election (Did Al Gore win any of the three Florida vote counts?). Bush turned a (fictitious) surplus into a deficit. Proof that people who are ignorant of economics can spew hatred in a book. GO BACK TO MACROECONOMICS 101.

Horribly disappointing

I'm an avid reader of political books and this has to be the worst one I've ever read. You quickly get the feeling she has a personal vendetta against Bush and no substance to back up any of the claims she makes. Unfortunately, not even an entertaining read. I strongly would discourage this book...seems merely like Democratic propoganda.

mindless dribble

mindless dribble that should be placed in the fiction category. if there where no stars as a rating that would be my choice.

not an expert

The blurb makes the author sound like she's an expert on President Bush. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Molly Ivans has bashed anything and everything to do with conservatives for decades in her local opinion column. So if you want a skewed leftist view, this is the book for you.