Babe's Eye View article

The book Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush written by long-time GQ correspondent John Draper, makes for a good read not only because the subject deals with the most powerful and virtually the most unpopular man in the United States today. Culling from "scores of sources" and with six extensive interviews with George Bush—the author gives a considerably fair presentation of his subject, and at times makes Bush look sympathetic.

Bush can be quite allergic to media but surprisingly, he gave Draper a lot of access to the White House, letting his guard down and sharing some of the most revealing aspects to his personality through a lot of little details that help the reader form his own perspective on the American president. A few days before the book hit the stores, the Washington Post and the New York Times came out with excerpts and their own review which some feel didn't really do justice to the book.

The author gives interesting details like Bush's extreme love for biking and the trouble Secret Service agents have to go through to satisfy this, looking for trails that Bush would find challenging. Of course, some people would find it really amusing to know that Bush finds the White House creepy, claiming that he saw "ghosts coming out of the wall" of the Lincoln Bedroom.

Interestingly, Draper reveals the infighting within the president's own inner circle, somehow putting a dent on the picture of cohesive unity that the administration painstakingly tries to project. One such instance of dissent happened before the November 2000 elections where Karl Rove tried to dissuade the president from naming Dick Cheney as his running mate, and when Rove objected to the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. Though Rove is one of the most influential advisers within Bush's close circle, he has also been the occasional recipient of the president's mean streak who, during one meeting, ordered Rove to hang up his jacket. "The room fell silent and Rove put the coat on the rack," recounts Draper.

Not surprisingly, a number of people are ridiculing Bush's "retirement" plan—that of going on the lecture circuit and making a lot of money out of it. "I'll give some speeches, to replenish the ol' coffers...I don't know what my dad gets—it's more than 50-75 (thousand dollars per speech).,.Clinton's making a lot of money."

In many instances, Bush speaks with surprising candor, somehow giving the impression that he may be trying to unburden the heavy weight that the Iraq war has placed on his shoulders, admitting that the job of overseeing the troop surge in Iraq is a "tiring period." The book reveals the over-optimistic assessment of the Bush administration regarding the Iraq invasion in 2003, likening it to a stroll along the streets of Paris during the Second World War, with the Iraqis happily welcoming their freedom so much that the American troops would be out "within a month or two." No doubt that fatal miscalculation has caused the raging anger and frustration being felt by Americans at the thought of young American soldiers dying day after day in a country that doesn't seem to welcome the idea of freedom as much as Americans do.

"I do a lot of crying in this job. I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count, as president. I'll shed some tomorrow...I've got God's shoulder to cry on. And I cry a lot," he says. One of the most telling moments is revealed when Bush, complaining about the way media no longer takes him seriously, laments: "I've been here too long."

Bush is obviously suffering from the lowest popularity ratings ever, and this thought is certainly making him very emotional. Both Bush and GMA are in the same boat, so to speak—experiencing low—if not, the lowest—approval ratings in their entire career. Perhaps George Bush and GMA can compare notes and cry on each other's shoulders—if they have not already done so during their private conversation at the APEC meeting in Australia.

I know I'm back in Manila because the first thing that greets me is another scandal, this time about the "Comical Comelec" with tales of sexcapades involving chairman Ben Abalos. There's always some nasty exposé or scandal brewing in Manila, and the Philippines can never be the same without all these gossip. One cannot imagine Manila with some "good" news.

Sometimes, it's good when one is away, looking at things from another perspective. With the never-ending saga of the "Comical Comelec"—from Garci to Bedol to Abalos—there's no question it's time to revamp the poll body. With only three years to go before the 2010 presidential elections—another crucial period in this country—Comelec has to do everything to salvage what little is left of its integrity and make sure that the 2010 polls will be perceived as credible, and the only way to do it is to automate the polls. With the multiparty system still in place, expect a lot of presidentiables to run. This country cannot afford another round of cheating, vote padding and shaving especially during presidential elections. Time is running out on us—the elections must be automated by 2010.

Filipinos have this knack for seeing the humorous and the funny in anything and everything that happens. We can keep laughing about what's happening with the Comelec and we can continue to laugh at ourselves. But at the end of the day, the last laugh will be on us.