Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
The Schweizers started reporting on the Bush family well before George W decided to run for president, so many family members co-operated with them – because the Schweizers were sympathetic and from a conservative background and the family weren’t as worried in those days about how everything would look and sound. The Schweizers simply had a lot of access and they are very solid reporters and good storytellers. They give a sympathetic version of the story and they have detail and anecdotes that nobody else has.
Tell me about the Schweizer book.
The Schweizers started reporting on the Bush family well before George W decided to run for president, so many family members co-operated with them – because the Schweizers were sympathetic and from a conservative background and the family weren’t as worried in those days about how everything would look and sound. The Schweizers simply had a lot of access and they are very solid reporters and good storytellers. They give a sympathetic version of the story and they have detail and anecdotes that nobody else has.
What kind of thing?
The best one is about 1994 election night when George W was running for governor of Texas and Jeb was running for governor of Florida. The parents were very invested in Jeb winning and very sceptical about the idea of George W as governor. There is a great depiction of the scene at the election night party and George W is on the phone to George H and he’s saying: “Why do you have to be sad for Jeb? Why can’t you be happy for me?”
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Jacob Weisberg is a political journalist, editor-in-chief of Slate Group, a division of The Washington Post Company, and a columnist for the Financial Times. The creator and author of the Bushisms series, Weisberg published The Bush Tragedy in 2008.
