Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush — Robert Draper (2007)

I’ll note at the top of this post that I picked this up at a used bookstore because I absolutely loved Draper’s book that followed this, ‘Do Not Ask What Good We Do’, which chronicled a handful of Republicans following the party’s midterm victories in 2010. (The book was retitled as ‘When the Tea Party Came to Town’ in its paperback format, which I think is a reductionist title for an impressive and underrated book.) I’m not able to rave about this book as much, which is unfortunate.

‘Dead Certain’ is an instance where the criss-crossing narrative does not seem to come together as it did in ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’. The story begins in New Hampshire, as Texas Governor George W. Bush launches his candidacy for the Republican nomination. We then jump back to Texas to learn about Bush as a child all the way up to his presidential run, then we continue back in the 2000 primary. This is the only instance in the book when the timeline is reorganized (Draper continues through the primary campaign all the way through the 2006 midterm elections), and it almost reads as if the chapters accidentally were printed in the wrong order.

Draper’s choice of events do seem a bit odd, at least from the perspective of the reader in 2016. For instance, the book goes in-depth on the details of the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries in 2000 (approx. 45 pages total), yet the critical Florida recount and Bush v.Gore Supreme Court hearing is ignored in comparison (approx. half a page).

As Draper notes, the book was written and published during a presidential administration, which required a large amount of cooperation with White House staffers. I don’t believe that the author portrays the events in the book inaccurately, but I do believe that there are instances in which he can only draw from staff perspectives. It would be interesting to compare the events laid out in this book with later works, as stories may change over time (and as presidential administrations change).