President George W. Bush was flabbergasted by the revelation that Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig had plead guilty to soliciting an undercover cop at a Minneapolis airport, a former Bush speechwriter alleges in a new book.
"What is up with all these Republicans?" he purportedly remarked.
Matt Latimer, an ex-Bush aide who grew disillusioned with the former president, also posits that onetime Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld considered editing his own page on Wikipedia, but "had to be talked out of" it.
"He was a Drudge Report reader and used to watch YouTube clips that made fun of his press conference performances," Grimm summarizes.
The claims -- published in Latimer's book Speech-less: Tales of a White House Survivor -- are among many that are sure to raise eyebrows in Washington. Among others, highlighted by Huffington Post's Ryan Grimm (who picked up a copy of the book before it went on sale in D.C.).
• Several years after Colin Powell left as Secretary of State, he was to appear with administration officials at an event. "In the next draft can you change 'Secretary Powell' to 'General Powell'? He prefers to go by 'General' instead of 'Secretary'," read a note from his people to Latimer, who thought it looked like the general was trying to distance himself from the White House. "I'm happy to report that the president didn't accommodate him. 'Secretary Powell' stayed in," Latimer writes.
• While Karl Rove was appearing on Fox News and writing op-eds as an independent political analyst, he was privately smearing Democrats. "Karl spread rumors through the White House that one of Obama's potential vice presidential running mates -- and a United States senator -- had beaten his first wife. 'Karl says it's true,' the president assured a small group of staffers. Then knowing Karl, he quickly added, 'Karl hopes it's true," reports Latimer.
• For a commencement address at Furman University in spring 2008, Ed Gillespie wanted to insert a few lines condemning gay marriage. Bush called the speech too "condemnatory" and said, "I'm not going to tell some gay kid in the audience that he can't get married." (Of course, Bush ran his 2004 campaign telling that kid just that.)
• Bush, it turns out, is like millions of Americans: "I haven't watched the nightly news one night since I've been president," he said.
• Laura Bush, says Latimer, "was secretly a Democrat for all intents and purposes, though it really wasn't much of a secret."
• Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins is fond of sending angry, middle-of-the-night e-mails to staffers because she's frustrated that her colleague and rival Olympia Snowe gets more and better press. As a result, reports Latimer, she rips through press secretaries like 30-packs at a beer-pong tournament. (A Collins press secretary didn't respond to a request for comment.)
• Interviewing for the job, Latimer was told by Chief of Staff Josh Bolten that Bush's White House was "the most ethical administration in history." He added: "Looks like even Scooter Libby might get off."
• Bush on Jimmy Carter: "If I'm ever eighty-two years old and acting like that have someone put me away."