More excerpts courtesy of Raw Story (Update: Full GQ article here). Bombshell:
“I’m trying to remember if I’ve met [Sarah Palin] before. I’m sure I must have.” [Bush's] eyes twinkled, then he asked, “What is she, the governor of Guam?”
Everyone in the room seemed to look at him in horror, their mouths agape. When Ed told him that conservatives were greeting the choice enthusiastically, he replied, “Look, I’m a team player, I’m on board.” He thought about it for a minute. “She’s interesting,” he said again. “You know, just wait a few days until the bloom is off the rose.” Then he made a very smart assessment.
“This woman is being put into a position she is not even remotely prepared for,” he said. “She hasn’t spent one day on the national level. Neither has her family. Let’s wait and see how she looks five days out.” It was a rare dose of reality in a White House that liked to believe every decision was great, every Republican was a genius, and McCain was the hope of the world because, well, because he chose to be a member of our party.
When the history of the Bush administration is written, Bush may emerge as the sanest of them all. Remember his alleged first reaction to the WMD data: "This all we got?" Or his alleged response to torture: "Do these harsh interrogations actually work?" It doesn't spare him responsibility, but at least he was smart enough to realize the Palin train-wreck in advance.