No Value for Their Money

By: Bridget Gibson & James G. Wilson

"All families have their problems", is becoming a familiar refrain. Privacy for these families should be afforded so that they can "work out" their problems, we are told. The media spends too much time focusing on these problems when they are reporting on certain people's children, we hear. Although such courtesies were never afforded to the previous first family and their relatives, America's conservatives seem to have recently had a change of heart.

Public opinion of Bill Clinton and his extended family was shaped largely by tales of their private lives. The conservative media hammered away mercilessly at them with every rumor, innuendo and outright lie imaginable. Now we are supposed to turn the other cheek and let George W. Bush and his family rule in peace? We don't think so.

If these questions were appropriate regarding the Clinton family, there is no reason to believe that they are now "inappropriate" regarding the Bush family. To ignore reality will make one delusional and ill-informed. It is important that the behaviors of our nation's leaders be examined closely so that we can be certain that our country is being led by one that is capable of leading.

Much about this family has been draped in secrecy and we wish to draw back the curtains and let the light of day shine in. Let's turn a few stones and see what's revealed to us:

On January 29, the eve of the State of the Union address by George W. Bush, a girl was arrested for fraud. In this particular instance, she impersonated a physician to prescribe herself narcotics. This "girl" was twenty-four year old Noelle Bush, one of three children of Governor Jeb Bush of Florida. We thought that it might have been an isolated incident, but it would appear that the Florida Bushes have a number of issues with law enforcement.

It would seem that Noelle was also arrested in Flagstaff, Arizona for shoplifting in 1995. Her brother, George P. Bush, was busted for burglary and criminal mischief in 1994, and her other brother, Jeb Jr., was cited for sexual misconduct on October 2, 2000, in a shopping center parking lot. Knowing that the apples don't fall far from the tree, we must look to the parents of these wayward children.

Their mother, Columba Gallo Bush, was fined for smuggling clothing and jewelry into the United States after a $19,000 Parisian shopping spree. A cursory search on Jeb Bush showed that marital fidelity was not his strong suit. Seems that he really really liked a lady named Cynthia Henderson. They were the talk of the town after several of Florida's major newspapers broke the story.

A lack of "family values" is not, however, limited to the Bush clan in Florida. Last year, there were twin troubles in Texas. Jenna Bush had her day in court on May 16 for underage possession of alcohol. Experimentation with alcohol netted her eight hours of community service and 6 hours of anti-drinking lectures. Being lightly tapped on the shoulder did not appear to deter Jenna. On May 29 (a mere eight days later), Jenna and her twin sister, Barbara, were arrested for attempting to purchase alcohol and possession of fraudulent identification.

Looking up the tree a little higher, one finds George W. Bush. Knowing that he has admitted to frittering his "youth" away and becoming "responsible" at the age of 40, we looked to see what that entailed. In 1968, G.W. Bush was arrested for what he calls a "college prank". It turned out to be a vandalism charge. Not a respecter of other people's property, our George.

While the draft was scooping up the sons of less fortunate Americans, George managed to become a part of the Texas Air National Guard, learning how to fly a plane that had been discontinued in combat, and generously agreeing to spend a few weekends, plus two weeks of every year in service to the war effort.

On August 1, 1972, George was suspended from flying for failure to comply with a physical examination. He apparently refused to take the exam. Why would a healthy young man in his 20's refuse to take a physical examination? Also, he did not attend any drills or perform any service for nearly a year, from May 1972 until May 1973. Did George forget about the obligation to serve and just not show up as required to complete his tour of duty?

Perhaps some other civic duty called to his conscience. In 1972, George uncharacteristically had a sudden desire to perform community service at Project P.U.L.L., an inner-city youth center. There have been some rumors that this desire was linked to a court order stemming from a cocaine arrest and that the record was "fixed" by his father in Houston, Texas.

In 1976, at the tender age of 30, Maine police arrested George for driving under the influence of alcohol. George plead guilty to this charge, paid a $150 fine and had his driving privileges revoked in the State of Maine. In 1986, being the dutiful son of former President, George H.W. Bush, he defended him in a drunken rage in a restaurant in Dallas, Texas.

After studying George's behaviors, it was almost refreshing to find that the only baggage his wife, Laura, brings to the table consists of a poor driving record. It was unfortunate that when her abilities were outstripped by reality, the "friend" that she inadvertently killed was her fiancé. Could it be that the smile that appears on her face at all times has been firmly placed there to disguise the horror that must live daily in her soul?

Even further up the tree of Bush "family values" is George H.W. Bush. He, like his son Jeb, had a real problem with fidelity. While Vice-President, he apparently had an affair with a staffer named Jennifer Fitzgerald. They met back in the days when Bush was the Ambassador to China and the relationship continued into his presidency. It is said that when Barbara Bush found out about it, she went back to D.C. in a state of depression. The press eventually found out about it, and CNN's Mary Tillotson asked Bush if he was having an adulterous affair. Bush was humiliated and refused to answer. The term "believable deniability" may have begun with George H.W. Bush. He later sent someone out to tell the press, "The answer to the 'A' question is a big NO". That person was none other than George W. Bush. Was this the father teaching the son that it's okay to lie to the public when you hold office?

Let's come back to George W. for minute here. His record at the age of 40 shows him to be an unemployed alcoholic, an aging ne'er-do-well with a predilection for avoiding the truth. We know that everyone lies on occasion- it's human nature. Many lies are harmless, as in "Oh, yes, that dress (or suit) looks quite becoming." However, George W. may have stretched that loose acceptance to a breaking point this past December.

In a "Town Hall Meeting", he was asked to recount his experiences on the morning of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11^th. Here's just some of what he said, "I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the first tower - the TV was obviously on". Now, we all know that none of the networks had footage of the first plane hitting the tower until much later in the day. So, how could he have seen "an airplane hit the tower" before it was aired? This is the kind of fabrication that would cost most presidents their credibility.

The truth of that moment, was that he was reading in a classroom of students in the state of Florida and was notified (we were shown the moment on television) by Andrew Card, Chief of Staff, whispering in his ear. The four words that were spoken by Card were "America is under attack". At that time, George W. continued to read to the children for an additional thirty minutes. Obviously, he didn't think it was such a big deal. He later boarded Air Force One and flew about the country while we were told that Air Force One was a target. This, too, proved to be a lie fabricated to justify his unwillingness to deal with the magnitude of the disaster that had stricken all Americans on September 11, 2001.

Given all that we've come to know about the Bush family dynasty's clashes with the law and the truth, they should have been discredited as politicians and legitimate business people long ago. How is it that these people of questionable character (to put it mildly) have risen to some of the highest offices in the land? They do not have a leg on which to stand when it comes to preaching their self-righteous rhetoric. The next time you hear a Bush pontificate on the virtues of morality, integrity and family values, just remember that they don't even know what these words mean.