Over on the GQ web site is an essay by former Pres. George W. Bush speech writer Matt Latimer about the final months of the Bush administration: Me Talk Presidential One Day.
Bear Stearns. Lehman Brothers. None of the senior officials at the White House had expected to end the second Bush term this way, with what Warren Buffett called an "economic Pearl Harbor." In fact, Ed Gillespie was mapping out an ambitious schedule of "legacy speeches" for the fall and winter to trumpet all of the administration's achievements. We could strike "remarks on the robust economy" off the list. Pundits on TV started asking why the president wasn’t saying more and what he was going to do. The answers were: We had nothing to say and no one had any idea.