From Vanity Fair, inside Bush's bunker: For any second-term president—as the pressure grows to cement his legacy, and with many of his best aides gone—the physical bunker of an electronically sealed, sniper-patrolled White House, which restricts his access to old friends and new ideas, can lead to psychological isolation, and talking to administration insiders, the author learns why George W. Bush's disconnect is even more extreme. An interview with Gabriel Kolko: "Many in the US Military think Bush and Cheney are out of control". David Gergen reviews Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy by Charlie Savage; The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration by Jack Goldsmith; Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches by John Dean; and Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush by Robert Draper (and more). How badly has Bush damaged the presidency? Eric Rauchway investigates. "Bush lies” doesn’t cut it anymore: It’s time to confront the darker reality that we are lying to ourselves.
