From: Joe Nick Patoski
To: Greg Curtis, Paul Burka, Evan Smith, Skip Hollandsworth, Pam Colloff, and Patricia Kilday HartPosted Tuesday, March 28, 2000, at 11:30 PM ET
[Received yesterday.]
Pam and everyone,
Sure, I remember that meeting in his office last year. I left blabbing to anyone who'd listen what a decent, down-to-earth, real guy G.W. was. I also remember how hard he'd worked to position himself in Texas as a centrist, so well that the God Squad members of the state board of education absolutely despised him.
South Carolina burst that li'l bubble. It's made me rethink everything. How far will this guy go to get a vote?
He's still a nice guy, I believe, but I'm wary that he keeps the company of Ralph Reed and Marvin "Bring Back the Crusades" Olasky as advisers. These guys scare me, especially Olasky, since we've been able to read his columns over the past few years in the local daily. He may be the guy who coined the term "compassionate conservative," but his writings telegraph the message that he's really a One Way or the Highway true believer, which isn't journalism, where I come from.
Nor does George deserve any kind of pass whatsoever on environmental issues, since his strategy regarding Texas has been largely Do Nothing, Then React, but only when necessary. At least we can brag, We're Number One! when it comes to air pollution. And we ascended to that position on his watch. He's had two legislative sessions to give cities and counties more power to control growth and sprawl; instead, he's overseen a legislature that has passed laws to hamstring Austin and other cities from controlling their destinies, while counties still have virtually no tools to protect their natural resources. It's one thing to suggest we need to decentralize power from the federal to the state level. I resent that trickle-down sentiment doesn't translate to more local-government control in Texas. And don't get me started on the carbon plants on the Mexican side of the border that have been major contributors to making Big Bend National Park one of the most polluted of all the national parks, despite being 250 miles from the nearest city. He may be a weak gov, but he does have a bully pulpit to work from.
Finally, I'm really bugged by this perception he's strong on education. As a parent with two children in public schools, my perspective is that he has ushered in an era where testing has taken precedent over learning in the classroom. Telling other parents "My kid tests better than your kid" is not a point of pride, believe me. I will say, though, the changes wrought in the public education system have made my wife and me more open to home schooling, only it ain't for religious reasons.
Then again, Gore's no great shakes either.
My apologies for being so crabby, but it is Monday.
Joe Nick
From: Joe Nick Patoski
To: Greg Curtis, Paul Burka, Evan Smith, Skip Hollandsworth, Pam Colloff, and Patricia Kilday HartPosted Tuesday, March 28, 2000, at 11:30 PM ET How conservative is George W. Bush? How capable? This week, the staff of
Texas Monthly magazine allows
Slate readers to eavesdrop as they discuss what kind of president Bush would make.The participants in this dialogue include
Texas Monthly Editor Greg Curtis, Executive Editor Paul Burka, Deputy Editor Evan Smith, Senior Editors Skip Hollandsworth and Joe Nick Patoski, Associate Editor Pam Colloff, and Contributing Editor Patricia Kilday Hart.
Reader Response from The Fray:
[Note: Should be read after most recent Dialogue entry of the week.]
I find Ms Hart's (perfectly legitimate) complaint [Wednesday] about the "news columns"--ie, that they're showing an abominable if visceral loathing of Mr Bush--quite charming in its innocence. She seems to have somehow managed to avoid realizing that such an attitude has colored reporting of the Clinton administration for years, of Mr Gore, and indeed of just about any gopher who stuck his head up far enough to be hit with a mallet. The sole recent exception---the esteemed Senator from Arizona---avoided this solely by pandering to the reporters' idiot sense of their own moral and intellectual superiority and even he would have been savaged had he had any chance of victory.
I don't particularly like Mr Bush, but he was elected twice by a real state and he did manage to generate an awful lot of money and support among real people. I'm not awfully fond of Mr Gore, but he is pretty smart and well-educated and any sensible analysis of his fundraising activities needs to balanced against a history in which Republicans outspent Democrats dramatically--it's hard not to see Republican complaints about the Clinton/Gore fundraising as analogous to their complaints about many of the administration's policies: how dare they steal our issues/our techniques?
I think they both deserve to be treated seriously, courteously, and dispassionately. The chance of this happening in the current media atmosphere is about equal to the chance I will wake up tall, blonde, and skinny. Why does not a professional journalist realize this as well?
--Alan Kornheiser
(To reply, click here.)
(3/31)
I'm not surprised Governor Bush could impress the Texas Monthly writers with his policy expertise in a friendly, sympathetic small-group discussion. Most journalists hardly study policy at all; very little expertise is required to impress them. And, there isn't a politician alive who does not look more impressive talking to a sympathetic small group than he does to a large audience.
I didn't see any recognition in their discussion that a Governor's education policy, however successful, might not be terribly relevant to the conduct of foreign relations and management of the Pentagon. Yet the next President is very likely going to spend much more time in each of these areas that in education, all campaign rhetoric to the contrary notwithstanding.
Finally, I had to laugh at the comment that a dropped "g" at the end of the word "asking" identifies Bush as a Texan. Here in Wisconsin we have a very successful Governor who uses only two "g's", the one in "Governor" and his middle initial. I promise you that no one will ever mistake Tommy Thompson for a Texan.
--Joseph E Britt
(To reply, click here.)
Uh, who the hell is Joe Nick? And what is he so cranky about? Am I missing something?
--Paul
(To reply, click here.)
[Yes you were. Joe Nick Patoski replied here, filling in with the missing entry that made everyone else think he was cranky.]
(3/28)
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Reader Response from The Fray:
[Note: Should be read after most recent Dialogue entry of the week.]
I find Ms Hart's (perfectly legitimate) complaint [Wednesday] about the "news columns"--ie, that they're showing an abominable if visceral loathing of Mr Bush--quite charming in its innocence. She seems to have somehow managed to avoid realizing that such an attitude has colored reporting of the Clinton administration for years, of Mr Gore, and indeed of just about any gopher who stuck his head up far enough to be hit with a mallet. The sole recent exception---the esteemed Senator from Arizona---avoided this solely by pandering to the reporters' idiot sense of their own moral and intellectual superiority and even he would have been savaged had he had any chance of victory.
I don't particularly like Mr Bush, but he was elected twice by a real state and he did manage to generate an awful lot of money and support among real people. I'm not awfully fond of Mr Gore, but he is pretty smart and well-educated and any sensible analysis of his fundraising activities needs to balanced against a history in which Republicans outspent Democrats dramatically--it's hard not to see Republican complaints about the Clinton/Gore fundraising as analogous to their complaints about many of the administration's policies: how dare they steal our issues/our techniques?
I think they both deserve to be treated seriously, courteously, and dispassionately. The chance of this happening in the current media atmosphere is about equal to the chance I will wake up tall, blonde, and skinny. Why does not a professional journalist realize this as well?
--Alan Kornheiser
(To reply, click here.)
(3/31)
I'm not surprised Governor Bush could impress the Texas Monthly writers with his policy expertise in a friendly, sympathetic small-group discussion. Most journalists hardly study policy at all; very little expertise is required to impress them. And, there isn't a politician alive who does not look more impressive talking to a sympathetic small group than he does to a large audience.
I didn't see any recognition in their discussion that a Governor's education policy, however successful, might not be terribly relevant to the conduct of foreign relations and management of the Pentagon. Yet the next President is very likely going to spend much more time in each of these areas that in education, all campaign rhetoric to the contrary notwithstanding.
Finally, I had to laugh at the comment that a dropped "g" at the end of the word "asking" identifies Bush as a Texan. Here in Wisconsin we have a very successful Governor who uses only two "g's", the one in "Governor" and his middle initial. I promise you that no one will ever mistake Tommy Thompson for a Texan.
--Joseph E Britt
(To reply, click here.)
Uh, who the hell is Joe Nick? And what is he so cranky about? Am I missing something?
--Paul
(To reply, click here.)
[Yes you were. Joe Nick Patoski replied here, filling in with the missing entry that made everyone else think he was cranky.]
(3/28)