The right man

By Dale Miller

Former White House insider, David Frum spoke at the University of Calgary about his experiences with U.S. President Bush and his new insider expose, The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush, on Mon., Feb. 14.

Frum unexpectedly became Special Assistant to the President for Economic Speech Writing in January 2001.

“I was asked to take this position out of the blue,” said Frum, son of respected journalist Barbara Frum. “What qualifications did I have for the job? Absolutely none.”

In spite of his position’s obvious prestige and responsibility, Frum was quick to downplay his role as Special Assistant.

“There is a saying in Washington that the longer your title is, the less power you have,” joked Frum. “A Special Assistant to the President is to an Assistant, as the Special Olympics is to the Olympics.”

On the eve of war with Iraq, Frum continues to hold the president’s line, and genuinely believes that America is right to attack Iraq.

“This is a war not on Iraq, but a war for Iraq,” said Frum. “The people [of Iraq] will be the primary beneficiary.”

Although he asserts that Bush is the right man for the job, Frum concedes that Bush’s presidency has its downfalls.

“President Bush is not a natural speaker–neither was his father,” said Frum. “September 11 was not the best day of his presidency. His speech that night is referred to in the office as the awful office address.”

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