The Price of Loyalty

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O'Neill objected not to the tax cuts but to the Bush administration's thinking that this was an economic panacea and its failure to consider the long-term deficit imbalance that massive tax cuts without a similar reduction in spending would cause. O'Neill also recorded 2 relevant pieces of information for the Iraq War: The administration's pre hope to ramp up the pressure on Saddam compared to the Clinton years and 2.

While this book is not about Iraq it is featured on maybe 15 of pages , it does give interesting insights into the overall problems with the Bush administration's intellectual processes. O'Neill constantly noticed that when the administration faced a decision it quickly jumped over the "Why? Empiricists like Powell and O'Neill clearly swam against the tide throughout these processes. Although it was good of O'Neill to come out honestly and give this information to Suskind, it would have been even better for him and Powell to have gone public with the flawed decision-making and rigged intelligence gathering of the administration before the war started.

I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone who isn't studying the Bush administration in some depth. It's just too much detail on tax stuff to be interesting to the average reader. Still, I found this book to be useful and mostly interesting. A first person account that had some interesting insights. For me, this was a slower read since the subject of politics, and especially taxes, can be a bit dull.

A lot has been written about the Bush administration since this book was published, and I imagine there are more in depth looks at the administration. I read this book because it was on the Gilmore Girls reading challenge. Feb 08, Caitlin rated it it was amazing. I still think about this book Incredibly well written and insightful.

Ron Suskind 's book The Price of Loyalty: Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill is one of the first books to have hit the stands about the dysfunction within the 43rd President's administration. It is Paul O'Neill's version of his short stint in the administration that lasted for a little over two years until his abrupt resignation in By now several other books have dealt with this topic in more detail, especially about the decisions behind the Iraq war and the l Ron Suskind 's book The Price of Loyalty: By now several other books have dealt with this topic in more detail, especially about the decisions behind the Iraq war and the lack of robust analysis that should have occurred at the highest levels of government before deciding on key matters must reads are: Bob Woodward 's books starting with State Of Denial: By now it is also widely speculated that we had an administration that was being driven by the Vice President and his inner circle of non-elected officials who implemented their own neo-conservative agenda by keeping the President ignorant of key details and shielded him from the perspectives of other senior officials.

The decision to proceed with the tax-cuts and also the controversial Iraq war are the principal reasons many commentators ascribe for our country going from a budgetary surplus back to a deficit by the end of the Bush administration. The book portrays Paul O'Neill in a flattering light and does not blame him for any of the missteps that occurred during the administration.

It is O'Neill's version of the actual events that led to his ultimate dismissal. Every event is blamed on the core gang led by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld as though O'Neill himself did not commit any flaws that were serious. For example, there is no blame laid at his doorstep for his loose statements that roiled the US Dollar in the foreign exchange markets nor for his careless remarks on a foreign tour in Africa that caused a mini-diplomatic crisis.

Whilst both these events are described in the book, the reason for their adverse outcome is placed in the hands of a vicious media or other senior executives in the administration who were against him. After reading this book, the conclusion I came to was that O'Neill was essentially a self-aggrandizing CEO who naively thought that the role of Treasury Secretary would allow him to solve some of the big problems of the economy like the shortfall in Social Security without having to do any of the hard work required to solve the then current state of affairs. The title of the book, The Price of Loyalty, is misleading as well since it inaccurately implies that O'Neill was an innocent loyalist who had no blame for the events that occurred and was unjustly fired.

Despite O'Neill's differences with other officials which certainly were responsible for his being fired, he would anyways have been fired in any other administration as well. This is because of the several gaffes he made around the administration's position like, his statements on the US Dollar which led to chaos in the financial markets, his off-the-cuff unauthorized comments to foreign dignitaries about our perception of their contributions and his infatuation with clean energy and water which were really not his remit as Treasury Secretary.

Despite the book's attempt to glorify O'Neill, it is obvious from it that he made these mistakes not only because of his lack of experience in public life but also because of his having gotten used to being an imperial CEO who was the final decider on various matters and was far removed from the nitty-gritty of various implementation matters. I gave this book 3 stars despite its glorification of a mediocre Treasury Secretary, because it richly describes events that show O'Neill's lack of judgement and his hubris that he could change the world.

Ron Suskind seems to have done extensive research no doubt with ample assistance by Paul O'Neill and spoken to various folks. I only wish he had been less partial to Paul O'Neill and thus more balanced. That balanced handling of the subject matter would have earned 4 stars from me! All in all, it is worth a quick read if you have not read any other book about the 43rd administration to understand the extent of dysfunction that existed in that administration.

Jun 21, Kurt rated it liked it Shelves: This book was a little difficult to get into at first. Being a first-hand account of actual events in a political setting, the book is definitely not fast-paced. So much of the real action in this book happens behind the scenes, and even out of the direct view of the book's subject, Paul O'Neill, that the reader is left to infer what actually must have been happening behind those scenes.

However, by the end of the book, no doubt is left as to the character, motives, activities, and ideologies of This book was a little difficult to get into at first. However, by the end of the book, no doubt is left as to the character, motives, activities, and ideologies of the men and women that actually run this country today. A good book, but it requires some patience. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book: On Ideology "I think an ideology comes out of feelings and it tends to be non-thinking.

A philosophy, on the other hand, can have a structured thought base. One would hope that a philosophy, which is always a work in progress, is influenced by facts. So there is a constant interplay between what do I think and why do I think it. It doesn't change what you wish for. I mean, it's okay to wish for something that's outside of your fact realm. But it's not okay to confuse all that. You already know the answer to everything. It's not penetrable by facts. Bush demands a standard of loyalty - loyalty to an individual, no matter what - that O'Neill could never swallow.

Trust me, they haven't thought this through," he said. He was still hoping there would be "a real evidentiary hearing and a genuine debate" before troops were committed.

He knew that wasn't likely. Jan 01, Frederick Bingham rated it really liked it. The story of Paul O'Neill, Bush's first treasury secretary, from ' until he was fired in December ' He describes the inner workings of the Bush administration. He discusses how the intrigues and political backstabbing worked. How Cheney pulled the strings from behind the scenes. How moderate members of the administration, like Colin Powell and Christine Whitman, got screwed over. How Bush was completely clueless when it came to complex issues like global warming and tax policy. How Bush listened to numerous briefs and could not think of any intelligent questions to ask.

One of the most revealing moments is when the Bush transition team is interviewing O'Neill for the job. They have a long meeting in which O'Neill discusses tax policy, the federal budget, interest rates and the like. All Bush can add to this conversation is to yell at his chief of staff to get them some cheeseburgers. Another interesting scene is a discussion of the proposed energy bill.

The cabinet had a meeting to discuss the issue that was completely stage managed by Cheney, who drafted the bill with a bunch of his buddies in secret. Only certain people were allowed to speak, not including Whitman, and especially not anyone with a contrary opinion. The meeting was held to ratify a decision that had already been made by Cheney. There was no debate or dialog, or consideration of any alternative. One of the most discussed revelations of the book is the fact that the administration was talking about invading Iraq from the moment it came into office.

Any discussion was not about why it needed to be done, or whether it was a good idea. They only discussed how best to go about it, having already made up their mind that it was going to happen. Anyone who likes modern history, domestic policy, or US Administration History. Awesome book, just wonderful.

What do you think? Leave a respectful comment.

I picked this up on a whim at the American Library in Paris of all places, and sped right through it. As a someone who describes themselves as "center-left" whatever that means I didn't think I would enjoy reading about the Bush administration, much less some cabinet member. I really enjoy reading about 'beh Awesome book, just wonderful.

I really enjoy reading about 'behind-the-scenes" meetings of our country's leaders. For example, the book goes into detail about Bush and Cheney's wooing of O'Neil to leave Alcoa his company and run the Treasury. The book details O'Neil's tenure and growing frustration which, by the way, seems to parallel many of the administration's higher up's experiences with Bush's policymaking or lack there of and his eventual ouster from the administration.

Okay, reading over what I just wrote this probably sounds like a boring book that no one would want to read I like his writing style, so so. It's a bit too abbreviated - with a lot of hyphens - like this - instead of writing like an adult - and using correct punctuation. But his reporting is par none. Don't listen to me. Goto amazon and check out reviews by people who actually know how to write them.

Oct 22, Mike Jensen rated it it was amazing. This is a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand the administration of George W Bush, his commitment to invading Iraq, and his disastrous financial policies. It reveals his meetings with the secretive Dick Cheney, and how these were about saying what Cheney wanted to hear. He re This is a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand the administration of George W Bush, his commitment to invading Iraq, and his disastrous financial policies.

He reveals that people above his level set fiscal policy, and that he was expected to endorse it publicly while his own advice was ignored. Most chilling, perhaps, is a meeting where he explains why a new policy must be adopted, but the President is simply not able to understand it. Feb 06, David Sakrison rated it it was amazing. If you had any doubts that George W. Bush is the most insulated, most anti-intellectual, and possibly least competent president in recent history, this book will settle the matter.

The book paints a convincing portrait of a A chilling look inside the Bush White House, from the perspective of a cabinet member--Bush's ex-Treasury Secretary. The book paints a convincing portrait of an administration with no real policy except politics. It's been said that Americans get the government they deserve. Bush, a people that disdains history, idolizes the likes of Paris Hilton, can't be bothered to vote, wants their news in 20 second sound bites, and whose high school students cannot locate Canada on a map, now have the ignorant, arrogant, anti-intellectual president we deserve.

Apr 26, Mark rated it really liked it Shelves: Sep 20, Brian rated it liked it. It was interesting to re-visit the first George W. There are a lot of great insights in this book, and I think Paul O'Neill's reputation as a straight shooter and the fact that Ron Suskind worked a long time for the Wall Street Journal give the book a lot of credibility.

I think it's interesting both from a historical perspective to gain insights on the GW Bush first term's thinking but also for those interested in public administration and management due to O'Neill's also an i It was interesting to re-visit the first George W. I think it's interesting both from a historical perspective to gain insights on the GW Bush first term's thinking but also for those interested in public administration and management due to O'Neill's also an innovative thinker in management approaches thoughts on the process behind many of the first term decisions and the contrast with other presidential administrations.

Jun 07, Angela Chang rated it it was amazing. This was a very readable book! I learned a lot about how politics works from an insider, and it made me reconsider what I thought happened during Paul O'Neill's tenure at the treasury. I hadn't really read much about how political leaders made decisions before. I was saddened by the lack of direction shown by the leader of the US, and I hope we do not make the same mistakes again. I resonated with the ideal of trying to do the right thing, and making decisions based on facts.

The book showed ver This was a very readable book! The book showed very clearly how partisan ideology gets in the way of logic, and can have terrible effects on a nation. Feb 11, Susie rated it really liked it. I actually still think this is one of the best criticisms of the Bush White House that is out there. It doesn't go off on a screed, but it is completely devastating. Through the microcosm of their treatment of Paul O'Neill, you get a really thorough understanding of what the hell went wrong.

And Suskind does a great jo I actually still think this is one of the best criticisms of the Bush White House that is out there. And Suskind does a great job of describing O'Neill's "education.

Journalist, Author, Father

Paul O'Neill was G. Bush's Treasury Secretary for the first two years of his administration. He had a reputation for speaking truth to power during his two years in office, until he was fired at the end of Having worked in both the Nixon and Ford administrations, he provides intelligent commentary on what the Bush administration was lacking - mostly a process to consider and vet policy options.

This is a must-read for any policy wonk regardless of political affiliation , or anyone inte Paul O'Neill was G. This is a must-read for any policy wonk regardless of political affiliation , or anyone interested in how organizations that are larger than human scale should operate.

My friend Lis recommended this book. I think I picked it up once and had trouble getting into it, but after the first 40 pages or so, it is definitely worth reading. If there is any book that I would read before the November presidential election, it would be this one. What is truly frightening is Secretary O'Neil's description of the inter-workings of the Bush presidency and their financial dealings during the Secretary's time in office.

This would be a good place to start. This was one of the first reports from life inside the Bush White House. A lot of what was shocking then has become well known since. However, it's still an eye opener to read about how a long-time Republican O'Neill with a lot of government experience was astonished by the Bush administration. In his first interview with Bush he expected a lot of questions. A welcome confirmation of my gut feelings about the current administration — I'm not going crazy!

This is an informative read for anyone who noticed the major discrepencies between "news" as presented by the White House propoganda organs CNN, FOX News and information from alternative sources since the summer of Also very instructive as to how those large corporate contributions to W's campaign coffers reap practical results.

Oct 24, Boris rated it really liked it. How Bush screwed up the treasury department and turned a Clinton budget surplus into a huge deficit. How they gutted the treasury for no good reason. How everything was about politics and rewarding the base. How competent people Paul Oneill were thrown out of the Bush administration.

How decisions were made without any regard for facts or reality. Why it really matters who we elect as president. Jan 22, Lucas rated it really liked it. Bush had the unfortunate penchant for choosing the most distinguished advisers, but then taking no time to follow the logic or policies they suggested.

O'Neill is one of the most highly qualified treasury secretaries we have ever had, and, if his wisdom had been allowed to guide the economy, we might not be in the same situation that we are currently facing. May 29, Michael rated it really liked it Shelves: This was one of the first expose-style books from an ex-member of Bush's cabinet.

What is the story it's trying to tell? The story is of a revelation, a rolling revelation of one man, Paul O'Neill, but it's really a journey that Paul O'Neill takes the readers on into the center of this White House, into the epicenter of this administration, the Oval Office, you meet the president, you meet Dick Cheney, you meet really everyone. It's really not about Paul O'Neill.

That's the amazing thing, as you hear the furor everywhere. It's about the administration. O'Neill is essentially your guide, and the fact is in many cases, his comments are ones of surprise or befuddlement, but not really hard conclusions or judgments. They're of a person learning as they walk, head on in first person and saying, goodness, isn't that different than it's supposed to be.

The portrait of the White House is one in which, and it's not just O'Neill, this is not one man's testimony — there are many folks, many voices of people who cooperated with the book, encouraged by O'Neill's, you know, first-in-line example — it's one in which policy, as it had traditionally been done in many other White Houses, was at least in large measure, absent.

Not that this White House is divorced from the desire to create good policy and make right decisions, but what's clear is that the way in which policy was done in the first Bush presidency, or the Clinton administration, or certainly the ones that O'Neill was a key member of, was not occurring here. In the vacuum, without the policy apparatus, there was a spread of the political arm and the political mandate. I think that was a key issue that certainly O'Neill struggled with, but others as well.

And when you say politics comes in to that vacuum, what form does that take? What exactly do you mean? Is everything put through a political filter? Well, you know, O'Neill calls it vote-getting. And you know, he is extremely judicious in sticking to the facts in his comments. I think what it means is that, in many areas in — well, in virtually every issue, you feel the force of this sort of "let's win first and the rest is for later or maybe for never" kind of philosophy.

And it frustrates many right-minded people in this administration who said, "I thought we were here in large measure to ask hard questions. Do we have facts here? Is there a discussion of why we should do this, rather than the discussions of how? And it's really a battle of sorts between many people as to how the content and character of this presidency will be defined. Well, Paul O'Neill is clearly at the core of this story-telling, telling us his view of events as he lived through them.

But who else talked to you? I mean you didn't just … he's not a sole source, is he? I mean, I have a mandate to protect a lot of sources here. Many people in Treasury are quoted, and former officials of the Treasury Department, and some current officials at the time of the writing of the book are quoted as well. There are in the book, there's an extraordinary kind of reportorial gift. This is nothing special that I did. But contained in the files are transcripts of meetings.

They are not illegal tapes of proceedings. But what they are is a level of let's just say stenographic level of note-taking by, you know, a particular person or persons in the room that allows the reader to essentially feel as though they're sitting in the room. And I think that's an enormous gift to our national discussion. I mean, these are facts. This book is based on facts. And what that does, in a partisan debate often defined by illusion, is it causes sort of an explosive effect. Eventually though, things settle, and these facts become shared facts indisputable, that help guide more productive discussion.

That's certainly what I'm hoping and it's what O'Neill hoped at the start of this project. This is what will happen: We can do better in this political system. Well, you've got a series of meetings with really dense dialogue of, as you say, a stenographic nature. What's the portrait of George W. Bush that emerges from these meetings? Well, you know, I don't think the book ever makes a swift or decisive judgments about who the president is and, you know, what specifically are his deficits or strengths.

What you see, though, is a president who clearly does not show his mind the way other presidents did. I think that is indisputable. Meaning that generally presidents, to their senior most advisors, certainly folks at O'Neill's level as secretary of the Treasury, at some point take over debate, they command a room and even with strong-willed and maybe fractious advisors, they say, "Here's what I think and why I think it. Here's how I get to my conclusions.

And that's what other presidents that O'Neill served have done, and something that this president almost never does, certainly never does in this book and never does by the estimations of many people that I interviewed.

The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill

Paul O'Neill himself comes off as somebody who could be politically accident-prone, is that fair to say? And in the book, I mean look, Paul trips and bumps his head and asks questions that, you know, are befuddled and he says, "Now, why is this the way it is? But I think it's important that people understand that O'Neill is essentially searching for the essence of this president and this presidency all through the book, and he does find some things.

He finds out that, in large measure, he's dealing with at least in some realms a kind of absolutism. He talks to Dick Cheney at the end, after O'Neill says, "We really need an economic policy, we don't really have one. We won the midterm elections. Our due is another big tax cut.

This stuns O'Neill because all of the facts, as O'Neill has read them and many others, show that deficits have guided fiscal policy for 20 years. Those are the kind of dialogues that define this man's journey and really the journey of many in the building. Office of Management and Budget, where he oversaw the U. He is now a Republican candidate for governor in Indiana. Welcome to the program, Mr. Does it sound like the place where you worked? No, that's not the president I know, it's not the White House I worked in. And I believe history will ignore this book and should. When you say not the place you worked, have you had a chance to read the book and see some of the descriptions of how business is conducted in this narrative?

Most of the book, and I've seen most of the accounts. I think I have a fair take of what Mr. Suskind has written and claims to have discovered. And it couldn't be further from the reality I know. I find it slanted and misleading — and I'm very sad that a man I admire in many ways, Secretary O'Neill, chose to participate in such a piece.

Well, the Suskind book describes in his view, how this White House is removed from sort of traditional policy-making schemes for the American leadership, that it's so politically wired, that it's all about winning, to use a phrase from the book, and not always about the best public policy.

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