> BTW, you speak of Bush as if he were an independent originator of policy
> aims. Is that the Beltway common wisdom? I thought when people said Bush
> it was accepted they meant the policy-making junta for which he was
> figurehead. My impression was that he personally has never been the origin
> of policy, not even when he was governor.
I envision a two-layered "Bush" consisting of (1) the "inner Bush," which comprises GHW Bush, GW Bush, and Karl Rove; and (2) the "outer Bush," which is the standard two-faction Powell/Rumsfeld dichotomy.
In this Bush model, the "inner Bush" consortium is the "decisionmaker" choosing between the advice of the two "outer Bush" camps. Dick Cheney may be located somewhere between "inner Bush" and "outer Bush."
Seth