I'm confused. What am I supposed to think about this? Seems pretty mundane, overall. Or does that reaction unmask me as the reactionary ubercapitalist that I am?
I concur with unf. I would hope that no one at this point -- left or right -- would deny that a) crony capitalism exists in the USA, b) for much of his life, Bush subsisted on crony capitalism. Life is not fair.
Of course, it made me think of butterflies.
No. I don't care about the crony capitalism or whether anything has been fair. Do you not read Rubenstein as rather impoliticly calling George Bush a massive idiot?
I said I don't think he adds that much value
Told a lot of jokes. Not that many clean ones
I don't think you're adding that much value to the board. You don't know that much about the company
I'm not amazed at what's said: I already think GWB's a massive idiot, but I am amazed that Rubenstein said it, and on tape, no less.
I'll agree with your last point: business interviews rarely yield frankness like this. It's refreshing!
Is it refreshing? Or is Rubenstein puffing himself up? Amazing how people can be so cynical about the one side and then so superficial about the other.
Not that GWB isn't an idiot (at least in the presidential pantheon).
I'm not sure that this is a good example of crony capitalism. Notice that Rubinstein is saying that it was in his interest to have GWB on the board, but he threw him off because he didn't know enough about the company and didn't add enough value. Keep in mind that GHWB is a player at Carlyle, along with James A. Baker. So you'd have to figure that in the grand scheme of pressure being applied, this was a reasonably high degree of pressure.
No system anywhere is immune to power. And it's power that here would have put GWB on the board, and that would have put him in charge of the Rangers. The things good about America are good in comparison to other ways of doing things. Nothing is perfect, and oughtn't to be claimed to be.
George W. Bush was on the following boards:
Board/Trustee/Director: Tom Brown, Inc. (Director, resigned 1994) Caterair International, Inc. (Director, resigned 1994) Harken Energy, Inc. (Director, resigned 1993) Silver Screen Partners (board member) Lucky Chance Mining Co. (board member)
Bush was on the Caterair International, Inc. board, not the Carlyle board. If Carlyle group director David Rubenstein is going to tell a story he should get his facts straight (although, it may have been the reporter who wrote the headline, HOW BUSH GOT BOUNCED FROM CARLYLE BOARD, that got the facts wrong.)
Rubenstein says, "And I said, thanks - didn't think I'd ever see him again. His name is George W. Bush. He became President of the United States. So you know if you said to me, name 25 million people who would maybe be President of the United States, he wouldn't have been in that category."
Bush defeated Democrat Ann Richards to become governor of Texas in 1994, the same year he resigned from the Caterair International, Inc. board, not the Carlyle board. Isn't it currious that Rubenstein didn't know that Bush, a former board member, had become the Governor of Texas.
It's also currious that Rubenstein would have thought of 25 million other people becoming President before coming to a two-term Governor of the State of Texas.
Rubenstein's head must be up his ass.
Could I please get former Governor Ann Richards e-mail address. Thank you!
Susan Wolfe
Clinton, Tn.
I would like to have it as well
Rubenstein's head must be up his ass.
Dan -- my assumption was that it was the board of a company controlled by Carlyle. Is that wrong?
-Magik