Government by Temper Tantrum

Government by Temper Tantrum
By DOUG THOMPSON
Oct 11, 2005, 06:53
Capital Hill Blue

President George W. Bush’s temper tantrums are on the rise with White House insiders reporting increasing tongue-lashing of staffers, obscenity-filled outbursts and a leader driven to the edge by what he sees as party disloyalty and a country that no longer trusts him.

Conservative backlash over his latest Supreme Court nominee may, in fact, have pushed the President over the edge.

“He’s out of control,” one White House aide says privately. “There’s no other way to put it. His anger spills over in meetings. He berates anyone who brings him bad news but there's not a lot of good news we can bring the President right now. He calls other Republicans 'motherfucking traitors' and it is becoming more and more of a challenge to keep that anger from showing in public.”

A Bush White House that has always prided itself with an ability to shield the President’s weaknesses from the public faces a mounting list of embarrassing public incidents.

The most recent came when Bush fled Washington to avoid the largest anti-war rally since Vietnam, some reporters asked him if he was running away.

“No goddamn it,” he snapped back. “I’m going to keep track of Hurricane relief.” Then he flew out of town to a command center in Colorado to watch what was happening in New Orleans, something he could easily monitored from the situation room of The White House. Reporters present said Bush pushed his way past aides to get away from more questions.....