1 Is it a sad indictment of me that every time I saw "Sharon" in your article, I mentally pronounced it as "Sha-rone" (as in Ariel) rather that "Sharin'" (as in Tate). And I'm not even Jewish. Oy vey!

2 That's funny, Senator, I did that too. Nice work on Kelly, Dr. Shackleford, but I wonder how necessary it is. This whole story smacks of desparation, and the impact just feels like shooting blanks. Kerry et al ran out of real ammo a long time ago.

3 It is truly pathetic that these guys have sunk to this low. The Bush-hate books are overfilling shelves in bookstores, and Kitty Kelley - the Grand Doyenne of the Smear - gets trotted out for one more. Not that I think it will matter as Bush already took all these hits before. Although the 'friend' card is new. Can it be that the left is stooping to gay-baiting Bush? My, oh, my whatever will Andrew Sullivan say? Remind me again how the barking moonbats are able to say that the left never goes negative?

4 I believe this is not the full story. I was quite skeptical of Kitty Kelley as well when I first heard about this book, and I haven't read any of her other stuff. But then I read a lengthy excerpt of it and while I agree that her threshold for sourcing is not Washington Post/Times quality, it's a lot better than I expected it to be and she's a lot more competent a political observer than I expected her to be. Most of what she said in the excerpt that I read jives with what I know overall about the president. She also doesn't make false accusations, as far as I can tell, but rather cites lots of people and lets the reader decide who's trustworthy and who isn't. She sometimes seems to lead the reader into controversial and unsubstantiated territory, but she doesn't make claims like "Bush smoked crack in a DC alley." Rather she quotes people, generally identifies them, and usually provides at least some sort of backup or evidence for the source's story. When both the source and the backup are a bit flimsy, it's easy to simply say, "This is just a rumor." The fact is, however, and she's right, that many people seem to have a romanticized image of the president, and maybe even the Bush family in general. The truth is Bush led a very mediocre life prior to running for president (or perhaps governor if you like his work down there in Texas). He was a C student, heavy drinker, and womanizer who not only avoided the Vietnam war, seemed to have little interest in it at all -- or politics or anything else substantial, for that matter. This isn't rumor or innuendo. It's verified by virtually anyone who came in contact with a young Bush. While in the National Guard, which he'd joined to escape the Vietnam war, there seems to be, the best that I can tell, a pretty significant gap in his record. Kelley cites rumors, and acknowledges them as rumors, that Bush's gap had something to do with the Guard implementing a random drug testing policy. There's little doubt that Bush was once not only a heavy drinker, but also a harder-core drug user. As Kelley notes, Bush has never denied using (or even selling) cocaine. Kelley wrote that a reporter asked Bush whether he himself could have passed the background drug screening required of White House officials; after checking the screening process, Bush called the reporter back and said that if the question was whether Bush had used drugs within the past seven years, the answer was no. Seven years? That's not a long time ago for a guy who was running against Clinton on a platform of restoring values to the White House. After the Guard, Bush tried his hand in the oil business, but by all accounts he did a terrible job. He lost money but was bailed out by powerful friends of his father (yes, even Michael Moore gets it right that in a few cases the money came from Saudi Arabia). Then one day Bush ran into Billy Graham, who planted a "mustard seed" of hope in Bush's heart, and he shortly developed new confidence in himself, confidence based not on his prior experience but on believing he was being guided at least partly by God. He would buy a stake in the Texas Rangers, and run that organization, where his biggest accomplishment was trading away Sammy Sosa (for those who don't follow baseball, Sosa is one of the greatest power hitters of all time). In a somewhat lucky break, the value of the organization skyrocketed during this time and Bush made back many times what he'd invested. Drawing on his father's formidable connections in Texas, Bush would then make a run for governor, despite having virtually no relevant experience, and having not even demonstrated much of a prior interest in politics up to that point. An earlier girlfriend had said of Bush that his only real interest was sports, and Bush has said, "I don't remember" whether he even discussed the Vietnam war while in college. What he did do was party hard and crack lots of jokes, and his best strength -- one that would come in handy -- was his ability to remember names. But his early boss had said of him, "He wasn't one of those people where you said, 'Boy, whatever he does he's going to be a big success.' " One day former Secretary of State George Shultz had an inspiration: Bush should run for president. Shultz shared his thought with Bush, who had pondered a run but hadn't been sure he could pull it off. Bush's parents weren't sure either, but with Shultz's words of encouragement and the faith-inspired confidence he'd gained from Graham, Bush decided to pursue a run. Kelley correctly notes that Bush at this time was running more on a "brand name" than on his own experience. The Bush network in politics was notoriously wide, wealthy, and loyal, and the first Bush had been a respectable enough guy, never having offended too many people. In short, Bush wouldn't have to establish his credentials -- he was a Bush -- he would only have to establish a little bit of zing, and convince people he wasn't an ethical schmuck like Clinton. So Bush all-but-bypassed the normal process of scrutinizing a candidate to determine whether he's truly best-qualified to be commander-in-chief. Since he was a Bush, after all, he must be qualified. So people went about trying to determine whether they liked him. (This despite the fact that Bush is nothing like his father, who was among other things the youngest commissioned naval officer in history; the younger Bush at the same age was a partier, drinker, cocaine user, war-dodger, mediocre employee, and avid sports fan.) Gore suffered congenitally from a condition of being stiff-as-a-board and emotionally distant, and had to overcome the baggage of Clinton's moral transgressions, but he at least had Clinton's economic sucesses on his side. And more voters did indeed pick Gore than Bush, by a slim margin, but they happened to live in the wrong places. After entering office, Bush's ratings would decline gradually month after month, but on 9/11 America put the early months of the Bush presidency behind them and came together for common cause. Most Republicans have not looked back since. (And this has caused me to lose some faith in the Republican party. It disappoints me when so many people are cheerleaders, and so few seem to be probing into what's really best for the country.) Most of the high-ranking members of the George Bush Sr. administration, however, and even George Sr. himself (privately, according to many), have questioned the wisdom of Bush's Iraq policies. Most Americans believe terrorism and the economy are the two big issues. What we have is Bush's former top counterterrorism official, Richard Clarke, telling us Bush has done a "terrible job" in the war against terrorism. Another top counterterrorism official, Rand Beers, got so mad he left and joined the Kerry campaign. Bush's former Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neill, has told us worryingly that Bush did not even appear to understand what O'Neill was telling him on economic issues, and in cabinet meetings Bush was "like a blind man in a roomful of deaf people," that there was "no discernible connection." So this is where we are, and many Republicans, for reasons that are growing increasingly unclear to me, continue to back this president, rarely explaining precisely why they are backing him other than offering vague quasi-patriotic rhetoric that echoes that of the president himself (or his campaign team). I'd be totally lying if I said all of this doesn't bother me. A lot. In fact, I'm deeply concerned for the future direction of this country. One reason I think some of this comes across as a bit shocking to certain circles is that there's a pretty big cognitive dissonance in a lot of cases between what Bush has actually done, and how some Americans perceive him. You know, 9/11 was terrible, but it doesn't mean we can stop examining our leadership. There is nothing more important in a democracy, and if any of our founding fathers could chime in here, they would agree with me. p.s. About one of those cocaine charges. In her book, Kelley uses Sharon Bush, the former wife of the notoriously non-value-oriented Neil Bush (cocaine, Asian prostitutes, et al), and one other unnamed source (known confidentially to her lawyers, but not to the public) for the suggestion that even after Bush was born-again he used cocaine at Camp David. Kelley told Matt Lauer that Sharon had told her Neil was very unhappy that she had been talking to Kelley and even morbidly suggested if she didn't stop she'd find herself in a dark alley. Kelley has three separate witnesses to various interviews between her and Sharon; and Sharon's own publicity person, who accompanied her on a four-hour lunch with Kelley, would not deny Kelley's account of the meeting, though Sharon has since denied she made the accusations.

5 i just recieved from an undisclosed source that kitty kelley is the lesbian lover of john kerry's wife

6 To Kitty Kelley, perhaps we owe some gratitude for helping shed light on one of the great mysteries of our time--just who, or what, is George W. Bush? Hapless cutup, or self-righteous crusader? Apparently both, which may explain the consternation he generally leaves in his wake. But at the same time, undeniably, he has a human personableness with which many Americans identify. They drink, too. They get angry and swear. They have something to prove, in living black and white. They find Jesus, then fall off the wagon. But they just don't happen to do it in front of an international press, or with a finger poised on a superpower's military might. The first President Bush had a signature term to describe his approach--"prudent". That's what the second President Bush failed to inherit, whether expressed in the fraternity or Middle-east. And without it, statesmanship withers. But don't it play good at the bar?

7 To Kitty Kelley Thank you for reading my email. I was born and raised a Christian in Iraq. I had reached the rank of Colonel in the Iraqi army, working closely with Saddam Hussein and his family. My family and I were forced to flee in 1991. Saddam Hussein had ordered another purge and my name was on the list. Recently I contacted a writer by the name of Marty Farnsworth. He and I collaborated in the writing of the screenplay, The Iraqi. It is now in the hands of Professor Richard Walter, head of the film department at UCLA. It will be produced in Hollywood soon. I am looking for someone to write my life story (biography) for me or to refer me to someone interested in Iraqi life and culture, how they are thinking, and how to win this war. It is kind of you to consider helping me to start this step with you. Please contact me if you would like more information. Sincerely, Romeo Eshalom romeoeshalom@hotmail.com Phone: (623) 776-7407 Fax : (623) 776-7407 9190 N 80th Ln Peoria, AZ, 85345

8 Your apologies and generalities cannot excuse this criminal nation of the foul deeds that are recognized by the civilized world, which includes The World Court and the United Nations. Media apologists must carry the guilt and convictions yet to come. Kitty Kelley provides excellent insights.

9 One owes Kitty Kelley NOTHING; she makes her sordid living at other peoples'expense. I have to wonder why it's dangerous for a person who may or may not swear to have his finger on "the button." Furthermore, I'd like an example of an instance when Bush "[fell] off the wagon" after "meet[ing] Jesus." Explain to Romeo in AZ why we should have let the UN keep us out of Iraq. Twelve years is long enough to wait.

10 Is Kitty Kelly Jewish?

11 The allegation by Kelley that George Bush senior is a PEDOPHILE can be backed up by a documentary film called "CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE". The Discovery Channel was going to aire it but was suddenly invaded by CIA agents that demanded the film be halted 3 hours before it was to aire.

12 Well, if she uses "unreliable sources" as the author says, why did nobody win against her in court (justice) for defamation ? Because she went to court, for many of her previous books, but she has always win ...

13 I NEED TO REACH WITH KITTY KELLEY. DO YOU HAVE HER EMAIL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME

14 I would love to reach Kitty Kelley as I have a question or two re her book on Frank Sinatra as it has shocked me to the core that he was such a terrible human being. Could I have an email address please? Thankyou Peter