Go, Bush!

NOT long ago, I was asked to give my judgment on the early days of the George W. Bush administration and throw in some advice to the new president. Perhaps the editor in question recalled my contribution to a 1989 Wall Street Journal symposium in which we were asked what was the best thing that had happened in the first 100 days of the elder Bush. I boldly answered, “Lent.”

On this occasion, however, I shrank from glory. My open—nay, flamboyant—criticism of George W. the Candidate disqualified me, I felt, from the advice-giving racket for a while. And besides, even the most attentive administration would hardly be likely to listen to suggestions from someone who had consistently treated its leader as a good mayor of Austin in a lean year.

About the Author

John O’Sullivan

John O’Sullivan is a senior fellow at National Review Institute and a contributing editor of National Review.

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NOT long ago, I was asked to give my judgment on the early days of the George W. Bush administration and throw in some advice to the new president. Perhaps the editor in question recalled my contribution to a 1989 Wall Street Journal symposium in which we were asked what was the best thing that had happened in the first 100 days of the elder Bush. I boldly answered, “Lent.”

On this occasion, however, I shrank from glory. My open—nay, flamboyant—criticism of George W. the Candidate disqualified me, I felt, from the advice-giving racket for a while. And besides, even the most attentive administration would hardly be likely to listen to suggestions from someone who had consistently treated its leader as a good mayor of Austin in a lean year.