Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This book is an inside account of George W. Bush’s White House years as told by those who were there. Shortly after the 43rd presidency ended, Bush’s senior advisers began recording confidential oral histories with the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs. The narrative provided here is a tapestry of those remembrances, woven from 70 interviews comprising 400 hours of recordings, reflecting on success and failure alike. Political adviser Karl Rove describes Bush’s formative years, working in a bipartisan fashion as governor with the Texas legislature. Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III recalls his efforts to secure Florida’s decisive votes for Bush after the divisive 2000 election. Domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings recounts her day with First Lady Laura Bush—in the company of Senator Edward Kennedy on Capitol Hill—just after planes crashed into the World Trade Center. White House counselor Dan Bartlett reports on what was happening aboard Air Force One in the confused aftermath. Ambassador Ryan Crocker details his arrival in a demolished Afghanistan immediately after the American invasion, and how that experience influenced his later work in Iraq. And Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson takes us through the harrowing days of 2008, when the global financial system neared a meltdown. Hard questions were a constant of these interviews: Could 9/11 have been prevented? Why were such draconian steps subsequently taken to protect Americans? And why was Iraq thought a necessary war? These accounts are indispensable for making informed judgments about the 43rd presidency.</jats:p>