White House Counselor Dan Bartlett, who recently announced his departure, reflected on his tenure and his boss on CNN the other day. (via Tim Grieve) Bartlettâs perspective was so odd, I initially thought he was kidding.
“[T]he good thing about this president — and I think this is the reason why he was re-elected, is that, when he’s finished here, and at the same time I’m finished here in a couple of weeks, I can look in the mirror and say, I think we did what was best. I think we looked at all the issues. We tried our best to do the right thing for the country.
“And I think the president will have the same mindset when he returns to Texas at the end of his presidency. And at the end of the day, that’s all you can expect.
“You may not always agree with him. But I think he’s demonstrated that he’s doing something — the things that he is doing, however bold or aggressive or wrong-headed that some people think they are, he’s doing what he thinks is best for this country.” (emphasis added)
I can just imagine the 2009 headlines: “George W. Bush: He failed, but it wasn’t on purpose.”
