George Bush never watched the news and Donald Rumsfeld wanted to edit his own Wikipedia page, says former speechwriter



The White House under George Bush was more like 'The Office' than 'West Wing', according to a top speechwriter for the former president.



Some of the things said by Mr Bush and his cohorts would make even David Brent blush.



In his candid book about the final days of the Bush presidency, speechwriter Matt Latimer reveals what his old boss really thought about Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin.

Back in the spotlight: George Bush with his wife Laura listening to singer Jordin Sparks (right) along with former NFL football greats and schoolchildren at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, yesterday. The Superbowl will be played there in February

Mr Bush laughs with Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware (94) before the former president made the coin toss at the Cowboys' NFL football game against the New York Giants in Texas on Sunday night

And he claims Mr Bush had little grasp on America's financial meltdown even as he prepared to go on television last autumn to explain how his administration was launching a multi-billion pound bail out.



'We're buying low and selling high,' Mr Bush kept repeating until aides explained that was not how the plan worked.



'Why did I sign on to this proposal if I don't understand what it does?' the president reportedly snapped.

Mr Latimer, who worked at the White House for the final 22 months of the Bush presidency, offers an eye-opening insight into the private thoughts of the then most powerful man on the planet

The book, 'Speech Less: Tales of a White House Survivor', explains perhaps why Bush wasn't swayed by public opinion or the bashing he took in the media.

George Bush phoning Barack Obama to congratulate him after he won the election - a new book alleges he once said 'this guy has no clue, I promise you'

'Wiki-wakka': Bush and Donald Rumsfeld in the Oval Office - Rumsfeld apparently had to be talked out of editing his Wikipedia entry which he called Wiki-wakka

'I haven't watched the nightly news one night since I've been president,' he said.



He was also dismissive of candidates in the last presidential election as well as at least one of his predecessors in the Oval Office.



On ex-President Jimmy Carter, Mr Bush said: 'If I'm ever eighty-two- years-old and acting like that have someone put me away.'

He thought Hillary Clinton would run away with the Democrat nomination, telling staff: 'Wait till her fat keister is sitting at this desk.'

It is claimed Bush said Barack Obama 'isn't remotely qualified to handle' this 'dangerous world'

The author said Mr Bush didn't think much of Barack Obama. “This is a dangerous world and this cat isn't remotely qualified to handle it.

This guy has no clue, I promise you.



'You think I wasn't qualified? I was qualified,' he added.



He was similarly unimpressed with Vice President Joe Biden, saying: 'If bull**** was currency, Joe Biden would be a billionaire.'

The writer said Mr Bush was uneasy about Republican choice John McCain and critical of Sarah Palin as his number two.



'What is she, the governor of Guam?' he joked. But he went on more seriously: 'This woman is being put into a position she is not even remotely prepared for. She hasn't spent one day on the national level.

'Neither has her family.'

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld apparently had to be talked out of editing his own entry on Wikipedia, the Internet encyclopedia he referred to as 'Wika-wakka.' He also used to watch YouTube clips that made fun of his press conferences, says Mr Latimer.

The president's wife, Laura Bush, 'was secretly a Democrat for all intents and purposes, though it really wasn't that much of a secret,' claims the book.



And her husband lost patience with his own Republican colleagues at times.



When told that a senator from his own party had been caught up in a gay sex scandal, Mr Bush reportedly said: 'What is up with all these Republicans?'

And, although his 2004 election win was fuelled by support from evangelical Christians conservative voters adamantly opposed to gay marriage, Mr Bush is said to have baulked when one of his writers wanted to insert a phrase condemning same-sex weddings into a speech he was giving last spring.



'I'm not going to tell some gay kid in the audience that he can't get married,' he said.