I had to go to Houston for the day so I read the Houston Chronicle on the way back. Not exactly kid oakland, Georgia10, teacherken, etc but then I got a surprise. I'm reading a republican paper in Texas and here's how a columnist starts out: I'll summarize. Columnist gets invite to Gov. Bush last party at the mansion. She doesn't have a date so takes her Dad who is an ardent Bush supporter. He meets Bush, tells him he's from Seguin, TX and then a couple hours later gets to talk to Bush again:
my dad managed to steal Bush's attention from the clutches of several members of the national press corps. He asked about a recent TV debate in which former Vice President Al Gore crossed the stage, coming uncomfortably close to Bush's side of the stage.
"When he did that, what were you thinking?" my father wanted to know.
Bush paused for a moment and then flashed his signature smirk: "I was thinking," the future president replied, "If I was from Seguin, I would have punched him out."
Sick yet? Wait, there's more and you should read it. We need to understand. Really.
There, just like that, Bush gave my father one of the proudest moments in his life. George W. Bush, after hours of chitchat with hundreds of important people, had remembered that he was from Seguin. It's a tale he would tell over and over to family, friends, other truckers.
So the Dad tells the story over and over. About how Bush relates and in Texas deals are sealed with a handshake. He supported him and never more proudly than after 9/11. He supported him in 2004 over Kerry. But then:
But, over time, he stopped telling that story. The framed photo of my dad and me with the smiling Bushes now gathers dust on a cluttered desk. And new revelations of White House dysfunction and dishonesty, like those aired on 60 Minutes the other night by former CIA director George Tenet, no longer spur a defense from my father.
He has lost faith in the president, for many reasons: He failed to build consensus. He misled Americans on Iraq. His "go-it-alone attitude" has strained relations with our allies. Our name, our handshake, our words are no longer credible.
The man who inspired millions with his plain-spoken appeal to the average American has become a stranger. He has stopped listening to the people.
The president, it seems, has forgotten Seguin after all.
In Houston, in Texas. I know I gave the ending away with the title but diaries fly past here. This is worth a read. We live in rare times. The country is waking up. Even in Texas, they're waking up (kossacks excluded). Heck, it's almost safe to be an American today. Every once in a while we can celebrate. This is one of those times.