Matt Latimer reviews W's new book:
Many of the memoir's villains, complainers, and assorted troublemakers are conservative Republicans. For example, Bush chooses to depict Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnellinstead of any in a long line of congressional Democratsas the person urging Bush to withdraw forces from Iraq, making the distinguished McConnell a member of the "cut-and-run" crowd. It is apparently McConnell who Bush defies with his courageous and counterintuitive decision to order a surge of forces into Iraq. Along with McConnell, Bush cites the usual boogeymenDonald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, former Attorney General John Ashcroftfor any misjudgments in his administration...
Rather than extensively explain and defend his ideology, Bush seems to do the opposite.
Bush's greatest legislative achievements are things he worked on with Democratseducation reform with Ted Kennedy (about whom Bush is effusive with praise), a Medicare prescription-drug entitlement, large increases in aid to combat HIV and malaria in Africa. So intent is he to prove he is not a right-wing ideologue that he actually muses about reforming the entire political system to eliminate those on the political "extremes." He says his "preference" in 2008 was McCain, but if he has any problems with Obama whatsoever, they are not mentioned.