Barack Obama's Videographer Remembers His First Meeting with Bush | New Republic: Our leaders need to keep up an authentic core. This is not something Lee Strasberg can teach you. Our very best actors, to say nothing of politicians, would be unable to sustain that much false emotion. Americans seem to, again and again, send individuals to the White House who are capable of projecting authentic personalities.
This encounter, five years ago this month, has forced me to re-evaluate the way I’ve judged past presidents. I now think I was too harsh with the last administration. Though I disagree with both the general thrust and specifics of almost the entire W. catalog, and I’m unsympathetic to most of the means they used to accomplish their so-called missions, I regret some of the unkind thoughts I had about President Bush’s priorities and use of time. Maybe if I’d seen more candid video of him, I might’ve perceived him differently.