George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography - Get a Free Blog

policy, he hasn't made it at all clear how he envisions using American military power to
advance economic and political interests."
These were the press organs that had mounted the hype for Bush a few weeks before.
Now the real polls, the ones that are generally not published, showed Bush collapsing,
and even media that would normally have been rabidly pro-Bush were obliged to distance
themselves from him in order to defend their own "credibility," meaning their future
ability to ply the citizens with lies and disorientation. Part of Reagan's support reflected a
desire by voters to stick it to the media.
Bush was now running scared, sufficiently so as to entertain the prospect of a debate
among candidates. One was held in Manchester, where Bush tried to bait Reagan about
an ethnic joke the latter had told. "I was stiffed," explained Reagan, and went into his
avuncular act while Bush squirmed.
John Sears of the Reagan campaign signalled to the Nashua Telegraph, a paper published
in southern New Hampshire, that Reagan would accept a one-on-one debate with Bush.
James Baker was gulled: he welcomed the idea because the debate format would
establish Bush as the main alternative to Reagan. "We thought it was the best thing since
sliced bread," said Baker. Bob Dole complained to the Federal Elections Commission
about being excluded, and the Reagan camp suggested that the debate be payed for out of
campaign funds, half by Reagan and half by Bush. Bush refused to pay, but Reagan
pronounced himself willing to defray the entire cost. Thus it came to pass that a bilateral
Bush-Reagan debate was scheduled for February 23 at a gymanasium in Nashua.
For many, this evening would provide the epiphany of George Bush, a moment when his
personal essence was made manifest.
Bush propaganda has always tried to portray the Nashua Teleghraph debate as some kind
of ambush planned by Reagan's diabolical campaign manager, John Sears. Established
facts include that the Nashua Telegraph owner, blueblood J. Herman Pouliot, and
Telegraph editor John Breen, were both close personal friends of former Governor Hugh
Gregg, who was Bush's campaign director in the state. Bush had met with Breen before
the debate. Perhaps it was Bush who was trying to set some kind of a trap for Reagan.
On the night of February 23, the gymanasium was packed with more than 2400 people.
Bush's crony Rep. Barber Conable (or "Barbarian Cannibal," later Bush's man at the
World Bank) was there with a group of Congressmen for Bush. Then the excluded GOP
candidates, John Anderson, Howard Baker, Bob Dole, and Phil Crane all arrived and
asked to meet with Reagan and Bush to discuss opening the debate up to them as well.
(Connally, also a candidate, was in South Carolina.) Reagan agreed to meet with them
and went backstage into a small office with the other caandidates. He expressed a general
willingness to let them join in. But Bush refused to talk to the other candidates, and sat on
the stage waiting impatiently for the debate to begin. John Sears told Peter Teeley that
Sears wanted to talk to Bush about the debate format. "It doesn't work that way," hissed