not serious

I don't think it is exactly news that de facto President George W. Bush, party-boy turned born-again Christian, may not be the most serious guy ever to become President. But in case you hadn't figured that out, the Washington Post today has two articles about upcoming books on the Bush Administration with a couple of anecdotes that help prove the case.

In an interview with Mark Draper, author of "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George Bush," Bush noted that he had just run into former President Bill Clinton. Bush (with a sneer, I bet) said, "Six years from now, you're not going to see me hanging out in the lobby of the U.N."

Of course not. Heck, even when Bush is President, he doesn't want to do dull boring meetings on hard topics. In an excerpt from the Glenn Kessler book about Condoleezza Rice, "The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy," Kessler writes:

"When Rice was national security adviser, she and Bush developed a near-vaudeville routine for the White House staff as they planned meetings with foreign leaders. The president would petulantly ask why the meeting was needed. Rice would patiently explain its importance. Then Bush would propose saying something undiplomatic, and Rice would say it could pose a problem. Ultimately, Bush, half in jest, would say, "Miss Rice won't let me do that." "

Sure, joking around is OK. But it's a bit disconcerting when the President needs a schoolmarm to convince him to do these dull but important meetings with his foreign counterparts. The presidency isn't all baseball games, torture, constititution-shredding, and invading foreign countries on trumped-up reasons there, George.