January 31, 2015

The cruelty that is Jeb Bush.

I'm just trying to absorb the horrible details set out in The Boston Globe's game-changing expose "Jeb Bush shaped by troubled Phillips Academy years/Possible presidential candidate had tumultuous four years at Andover school."
Classmates said he...  sometimes bullied smaller students.... [Peter] Tibbetts, who was eventually forced to leave Andover in the spring of 1970 after school officials accused him of using drugs, said his one regret about his relationship with Bush is that he agreed to participate with him in the bullying of a student in the dormitory. Their target was a short classmate whom they taunted, and then sewed his pajama bottoms so that they were impossible to put on. The act was particularly embarrassing, said Tibbetts, who said he felt remorse for joining in with “kids being cruel.”...
So... there was a prank where you (presumably) sew the bottom of the leg openings together, so that when the unsuspecting target leaps into his pajama bottoms, he gets his legs almost all the way through and is surprised when his feet hit the dead end instead of popping out where he's expecting his leg momentum to end, sturdily planted on the floor. He probably topples over ridiculously, and anyone who's around to see it laughs. It's like the old short-sheeting prank.



Oh! The cruelty! What kind of person would do such a thing! Imagine the remorse Peter Tibbetts had carried with him all these years for what they did to the classmate of shortness, who, let's not forget, was also "taunted."

No taunts are quoted, so I have no way to assess the cruelty of any particular taunts that were aimed at the schoolmate whose only known characteristic is shortness. (Hey, shrimp!?) I have no way to know if this short person took his own shots or if every kid in that rich-boy academy went back and forth doing whatever it is that underlies the Globe's term taunt.

And, by the way, does Peter Tibbetts have a political affiliation? Is he supporting any candidates who are not Jeb? Or am I just supposed to accept his characterization of Bush as cruel because he claims to feel remorse?
Other students remember Bush as intimidating, if not exactly a bully. 
So... the Globe's effort to smoke out lots of reports of bullying got exactly one thing, the dumb pajama bottoms prank!
David Cuthell, who thinks well of Bush today, remembers that Bush approached him one day in the school cafeteria, angry and ready to do some damage. “He sort of lifted me up in the air and I think was going to squash a grapefruit in my face,” said Cuthell, who said he was around 115 pounds at the time. Then a friend who was even stronger than Bush came to the rescue, lifting Bush away from Cuthell.
Cuthell likes Bush, so Cuthell's quote matters, but compare the quote to the paraphrasing surrounds it. It's the Globe that made up "ready to do some damage" to sum up what Cuthell may have to read in Bush's mind. But Cuthell said "I think was going to squash a grapefruit in my face," which is patently not literally what he imagined to be Bush's intent. Cuthell is being comical... and dragging in a reference to the famous scene in the Jimmy Cagney movie "Public Enemy":



In the end, another guy lifted Bush away from Cuthell, and one can only guess what life at the prep school was like. Boys lifting up other boys. Not even tackling them. Lifting them. So what?! What I'm reading here is an absence of cruelty and a damned modest amount of rowdy fun. This is all you've got, Globe? It's just dumb.

But, now, I do want to take this part seriously. Again, the informant is Tibbets:
The first time Tibbetts smoked marijuana, he said, was with Bush and a few other classmates in the woods near Pemberton Cottage. Then, a few weeks later, Tibbetts said he smoked hashish — a cannabis product typically stronger than pot — in Jeb’s dormitory room.

“The first time I really got stoned was in Jeb’s room,” Tibbetts said. “He had a portable stereo with removable speakers. He put on Steppenwolf for me.” As the rock group’s signature song, Magic Carpet Ride, blared from the speakers, Tibbetts said he smoked hash with Bush. He said he once bought hashish from Bush but stressed, in a follow-up e-mail, “Please bear in mind that I was seeking the hash, it wasn’t as if he was a dealer; though he did suggest I take up cigarettes so that I could hold my hits better, after that 1st joint.”
Globe is really screwing up the facts here. Steppenwolf's signature song is "Born to Be Wild":



But, okay, let's throw out that "drug dealer" shit. No reason not to muddy the campaign waters, eh, Globe? But you should have dug deeper, like I did. I found some actual film footage of Jeb smoking pot:



You know, this used to be a hell of a good country. I can't understand what's going on with it....

90 comments:

RecChief said...

just that fact that he spent 4 years at Andover is disqualifying in my opinion. I think it's time to look elsewhere

fivewheels said...

I know when I think of sadistic, fearsome bullies, they're always sewing something. When will we finally have proper needle-and-thread control in our schools? When?

ron winkleheimer said...

Personally, I would vote for Hillary over Bush in a vain attempt to signal the GOP that nominating left-liberal Republicans is unacceptable to me.

That said, Jeb Bush was a teenaged boy. Rowdy behavior kinda of comes with being in that state. If your greatest regret is sewing up the legs of someone's pajamas you have led a remarkably uneventful life.

rehajm said...

Grades are important. Drugs are bad.

Humperdink said...

Well that does it for me. Sewing PJ bottoms together reflects a pathology akin to water boarding (or as Rev Al calls it "water boating"). Quit the race Jeb, please.

Now if we could only label that Christie fellow a bully ......

Curious George said...

"Ralph Hyatt said...
Personally, I would vote for Hillary over Bush in a vain attempt to signal the GOP that nominating left-liberal Republicans is unacceptable to me."

This kind of lunacy will get you a SCOTUS stacked with lefties. But hey message sent.

kjbe said...

I'd rather hear stories of him standing up for someone.

Anonymous said...

"Born to Be Wild"

love that tune...

Bob Ellison said...

Why is the Boston Globe trying to hurt Jeb? He'll probably be driven away by friendly fire.

MayBee said...

As we were discussing yesterday. Our method of electing a president does not give us the best man for the job.

Because of crap like this. I really thought after 2012 the press might have had a "we sure acted stupid" moment. But I guess not. This is going to be an epic election for stupidity.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

At least he learned how to sew.

MayBee said...

Personally, I would vote for Hillary over Bush in a vain attempt to signal the GOP that nominating left-liberal Republicans is unacceptable to me.

I would say McCain-Romney-Bush would indicate it would once again be message not received. And we'd have 3rd Dem presidency in a row.

Tank said...

Weakest tea ever?

See what I did there?

==================================

I am pissed off that Bush was smoking hash and did not invite Tank. And now he wants my vote? No way loser.

As a great man once said, don't bogart that joint my friend, pass it over to me. Dude. Bro. Dudebro.

ron winkleheimer said...

@Curious George

You're under the impression that a Jeb presidency won't result in a Supreme Court stacked with lefties?

Tank said...

@Ralph

Thank you.

pm317 said...

I don't like any of the names on the left (Hillary) or right.
Jeb Bush is so boring and uninspiring.
Walker is so boring and have doubts he will rise to the challenge.
Christie scares me.
Rubio, Paul, etc. are too inexperienced.
Cruz is a Canadian who suddenly became an American.
Romney was good man and inspired confidence in the mold of elderly statesman who was capable.

Maybe I should get out of politics.

ron winkleheimer said...

@MayBee

Since Hillary and Jeb both hold pretty much the same views what difference does it make which party takes control of the presidency in the next election?

Curious George said...

"Ralph Hyatt said...
@Curious George

You're under the impression that a Jeb presidency won't result in a Supreme Court stacked with lefties?"

Like Hillary lefties? No, no it won't.

Look, I'm no fan of Jeb, but this staying home or voting for the Dem to send a message is idiocy. That led to Obama II, and look what that has brought.

pm317 said...

And the state of the press/media in this country scares the heck out of me. The left and right divide in the media is much more than it is in the public and has been for a while and that is a sign of doom.

traditionalguy said...

John Ellis Bush was born privileged as are all of the Connecticut Bush men. It looks like he used the full weight of Daddy's Vice Presidency to sneak into whatever he wanted in life while pretending to be the easy going and unseen middle child.

It's revealing that John did not even get called his own name inside the Bush Clan. He was just the J. E. B. and he had to go elsewhere if he wanted a role, like to Mexico.

But as a Governor in Florida he finally snuck his way back into a family role as another rich men's politico.







Humperdink said...

The press is going to be press. They will go after any R candidate that is perceived to be leading the pack. It will never change. Just need to overcome it.

Although I will not be sorry if Jeb takes on so much water his candidacy sinks and he takes Krispy Kreme (R-Grassy Swamp East of Pa.) with him.

Amadeus 48 said...

"Personally, I would vote for Hillary over Bush in a vain attempt to signal the GOP that nominating left-liberal Republicans is unacceptable to me."

It's been said before (by Reagan), but I'll say it again: Someone who agrees with me 80% of the time is not my enemy. I am not a Jeb fan (no more Bushes needed, thank you), but he is a much better choice than HILLARY!
To quote another great man (Haymitch Abernethy), "When you are in that Arena, Katniss, just remember who your real enemy is."
I stand with Walker.
I am not a robot. I am a free man.

dbp said...

I seem to recall that the MSM went after Romney with a BS bullying charge last election cycle.

Humperdink said...

Notice how easy it is for the media to dredge up college classmates from the R candidates.

Obama's college classmates? At his 10 year reunion, he was the only one that showed up.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Next we'll be informed that he put his dog on the roof of his car.

Sebastian said...

What I want to know is, how did he treat his pets?

Sydney said...

So we're supposed to judge adults by their behavior as children? I'm in trouble then....

JSD said...

He went to an exclusive prep school and was a dufus. BO did the same thing at Punahou. I think the whole Phillips Andover angle is what the Globe’s after. Rich white boy privilege and all that.

Prep school is humiliating for everybody. You’re stuck in a cold, dank New England town with no ride and no money in your pocket. You either become a member of the community or you get thrown out. That’s the whole point.

Pot smoking and pranks, meh, that’s also part of the deal.

Sydney said...

Also, I am really sick of this "bullying" bullshit. It's the new way to tar someone as irredeemable, joint the accusations of racism and sexual harassment or abuse. A police chief in a small town near us just recently lost his job after being accused of being a "bully" and of "sexual harassment" by one of his subordinate officers. The reports of the bullying souned to me like a gruff superior telling his staff what they need to do. The harassment consisted of bear hugs, which he gave everyone on the staff regardless of sex. I think the accuser included racism, too, but the accusation was so vague, I can't recall the details. Just seeing the three labels together from one accusation made me think he was being railroaded. And it worked!

PB said...

they're just trying to find the dog on the roof of Bush's car. Anyone who falls for this is exactly the sort Gruber was talking about - which seems to be the average Dem voter, tragically mal-educated by public education.

Unknown said...

What I want to know is did he eat his pets?

Unknown said...

It's discouraging that MSM thinks JEB is the R nom.

SteveM said...

So the media is willing and able to investigate Jeb's and Mitt's high school years, but can't investigate anything about Obama at all, either currently, such as the IRS scandal, or his years in Chicago or his college years such as how did Obama afford Columbia and Harvard Law and his grades.

robinintn said...

Good God are they trying to make me like him? (I would have put this comment over there but you have to be a subscriber to comment). Which means they're pretty much pre-loaded with taking the whole article at face value.

james conrad said...

The left fears Bush & with Hillary as their candidate this cycle, can't say i blame them. The dems have a really weak bench these days and the way things are going in state legislatures they are not developing any new talent. Expect more of this bully nonsense, it's all they got, pretty weak tea indeed.

Mark Caplan said...

Credit the 6' 3" Jeb for overcoming his prejudice against short people. Future First Lady Columba Bush is barely 5-foot.

The best and perhaps only reason to vote for Jeb Ellis Bush is that his Mexican-born wife is legally barred from seeking the presidency after Jeb's time is up.

Brando said...

The Hillary team fights early and dirty--make no mistake about it! GOP is going to have to go toe to toe with them.

If this is the best they have on Jeb, he hasn't much to worry about.

Curious George said...

"Brando said...

If this is the best they have on Jeb, he hasn't much to worry about."

No one is more vetted than Scott Walker. Millions of dollars and thousands of man hours have been spent trying to dig up dirt on him here is Wisconsin. Remember garage mentally masturbating when all his emails were released? Not only did they not find any illegal behavior, they didn't even find any embarrassing behavior. Even all the "rumor" crap about his time at Marquette has proven to be bullshit.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
FullMoon said...

You guys all missed it. Bush tried to get his friend hooked
on cigarettes!.

jr565 said...

THey did the same thing wit Romney. Apparently he was something of a bully in College. THAT is relevant. But when it comes to who Obama asssocioates with, its "look over there, a squirrel...."
Nameless guy bullied, headline news. Inquiring ;minds and all that cal. 20 year long assoications with Amerikkkan hating preacher, associations don't matter. palling around with domestirc terroristrs, and starting your campaing in their living room. HOw dare you look into Obammy's past!?

Original Mike said...

"You're under the impression that a Jeb presidency won't result in a Supreme Court stacked with lefties?""

As lefty as Hillary? Grow a brain.

Michael said...

Good Lord! Phillips Academy is a high school. So adolescents sometimes play tricks on each other and practice petty cruelties. Who knew? I eagerly await the Globe's expose of Hillary Clinton as a Mean Girl in suburban Chicago middle school.

Original Mike said...

How many times does the press think they can pull this shit?

Mark said...

I really thought after 2012 the press might have had a "we sure acted stupid" moment. But I guess not. This is going to be an epic election for stupidity

This isn't stupidity, it's malice.

buwaya said...

It seems that he DID inhale.
Well, after Obama that no longer seems to be an issue.
Maybe he can work it for the pothead vote.

tim in vermont said...

I saw a documentary once that included the actress who played Louise in the "Harry and Louis" ads, she told a story of being bullied. According to her, Hillary told her that she had friends in Hollywood who could either help or destroy her career, and she was trying to force "Louise" into recanting those ads.

I saw this documentary in the UK, it would never see the light of day in the US.

Michael K said...

"Notice how easy it is for the media to dredge up college classmates from the R candidates.

Obama's college classmates? At his 10 year reunion, he was the only one that showed up."

Exactly.

I wonder who Tibbets works for now ? Hillary ?

Michael K said...

By the way, the Daily Mail story says "it is reported" that George W "experimented with cocaine." I assume this is a reference to the wild stories of murderer Brett Kimberln while in prison. He is the source of the "rumors" about Dan Quail.

George said...

I love how we learn more about Bush's childhood than we're ever told about Obama's. The double standard is stunning.

Bruce Hayden said...

Who knew? I eagerly await the Globe's expose of Hillary Clinton as a Mean Girl in suburban Chicago middle school.

I think that her college stint would probably be more interesting. Was she really a LUG (Lesbian Until Graduation)? Been hearing stories for over twenty years now. That is also where she apparently moved from being a Goldwater Republican to a follower of Saul Alinsky.

Still, who would you rather in the Presidency, a member of the Choom crowd? Or someone who bullied some poor kid once or twice? And, maybe that is part of the problem with Obama - that he smoked his way through expensive private prep school, too high to really bully anyone, and now too timid to protect this country against the bullies around the world.

William said...

Many years later we learn about the wild ways of the Democrats. LBJ was an extraordinary bully, but, when he did it, it was described as being persuasive. There are volumes yet to be wriitten about the Kennedys and the Clintons. Some of their "love affairs" could be more properly characterized as bullying....Ponder Bill Cosby. Several of his rape victims have said that they declined to come forward because Cosby was such a revered and respected man. Do you think that might be true of other revered and respected, i.e., Democratic, public figures?......One hundred years on since the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson, we learn that he was a white supremacist who segregated the city of Washington DC, that he had a massive stroke and let his high school dropout wife govern the country for months, and that he signed a treaty that committed he United States to protect the territorial integrity of Armenia....,.I have a sneaking hunch that we don't know all there is to know about Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Thank God for the National Enquirerer.

bbkingfish said...

A blizzard of these "cruelty" stories might help shore up Jeb's support with the base.

Known Unknown said...

Thank God for the National Enquirerer.

They broke the John Edwards story for pete's sake when no MSM outlet would cover it.

Mark Nielsen said...

This is just like all those stories we got back in 2007 and 2008 about interviews with everyone in Obama's past.

Oh, wait.

CatherineM said...

Good Lord, it's starting already? He was mean in school? Reminds me of the bully stories on Romney to prove he's anti-gay.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

bbkingfish said...
A blizzard of these "cruelty" stories might help shore up Jeb's support with the base.


It's a liberal plot by the lame stream media.

Sam L. said...

They must be really afraid of Jeb, to throw those marshmallows at him. Can't find rocks or mud, hmmmmmmmmm?

Fandor said...

No doubt, this is a preview of what another Bush in the White House would do to political prisoners in Gitmo.

Sew their pumpkin suit legs closed.
Have lesbian marine guards bench press prisoners.
Play "Born to be Wild" over the loudspeaker system at prayer time.
Serve Spam at all meals.
Replace the Koran with the "Audacity of Hope".
Play reruns of the "Love Boat" and nothing else.

I'm sure Jeb could think of lots more cruel things too.

Let's elect him and find out!

Charlie Martin said...

Seriously, have these people completely lost their minds?

jr565 said...

AReasonableMan wrote:
It's a liberal plot by the lame stream media.

It has to be considering the way in which the stories are being pushed.
By his own admission Obama was a pot head and took coke. So, you'd think we'd have a few stories about him during his glory coke days. If it were Bush you could be damn sure they'd insinuate it was true.

Unknown said...

The Glob is going to get to trot this one out every 4 years yet remarkably never ask any personal questions about the Dem candidate

MadisonMan said...

Teenage boys in groups will always (ALWAYS) make bad decisions. Especially when they are far removed from their parents.

All things being equal, I would vote against someone who went to Philips/Exeter or Andover.

All things are never equal, however.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

The MSM is tanned, rested and ready to go after having an 8 year vacation.

AmPowerBlog said...

Thanks Althouse!

Nice posting. I've got you linked, 'The Far-Left, Obama-Coddling Media Gives Jeb Bush the 'High School Bully' Treatment'.

walter said...

Hmmm..these stories would almost suggest he had a pulse at one point.

Freeman Hunt said...

Oh, what a savage sewing prank!

(It's positively quaint!)

Freeman Hunt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Freeman Hunt said...

Another time he impersonated a lad on the rotary phone with a local haberdasher and had the band of the boy's new boater changed to a garish shade of scarlet! Positive bedlam!

Alex said...

I know when I think of sadistic, fearsome bullies, they're always sewing something.

Makes me think of another sewer, the kind who says "it puts the lotion on or it gets the hose again".

No thanks.

Alex said...

Young men who bully others have a sociopathic tendency. We don't need that in the White House. Jeb Bush needs to beg forgiveness.

cubanbob said...

Jeb was a good governor and would make an OK president which in of itself is a reason for voting for him versus any Democrat in the general. However I would much prefer a more conservative and pro-smaller government candidate in the primaries. Someone who would advocate shrinking the federal government and curbing civil service unions and reducing taxes would be a godsend.

Michael said...

MadisonMan

What could you possibly know about Andover?

SDN said...

"Look, I'm no fan of Jeb, but this staying home or voting for the Dem to send a message is idiocy. That led to Obama II, and look what that has brought. "

I'm not out to send a message. If Jeb or Christie or some other RINO is the candidate, my decision to vote Democrat will be to push this country into a second Revolutionary War as fast as possible.So telling me how much worse it will be under Democrats is a feature.

Rick Caird said...

This sounds so much like the accusation against Romney. It is some guy with a hazy memory and a drug problem with a nothing burger of a claim. What a waste of newsprint and pixels. Point and laugh at the Globe.

tim maguire said...

Exactly Rick. The progressive playbook is so tired..."Mitt Romney’s prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitt-romneys-prep-school-classmates-recall-pranks-but-also-troubling-incidents/2012/05/10/gIQA3WOKFU_story.html

Bob Boyd said...

I also used to be a pot smoking bully who avoided anti war protests.
It was just too much.
I realized I needed to focus so I gave up smoking pot.

MadisonMan said...

@Michael, only that it's a poor imitation of Phillips Exeter.

Birches said...

Oh come on, shouldn't the MSM give Jeb a bullying pass since he ended up marrying a poor Mexican against his parents' wishes?

(It's only a matter of time before we get the real story on how that whole thing went down).

Michael said...

Madison Man

But it was founded before PE. So how does one imitate that which is yet to be revealed?

The Godfather said...

It's funny to hear Andover referred to as "high school". It's a prep school. A "high school" is a public school.

When I was an undergraduate at an Ivy League college (I won't mention the name of the college, because when I did so once in a comment on this blog I was accused of boasting -- and it's not really relevant anyway), the REAL preppies, those who'd gone to Groton or St. Paul's, referred to Andover and Exeter as "high schools". It was a put-down. (They were polite enough not to tell me to my face what they called the little private day (no boarders) school I'd gone to.)

But in "41", GW Bush's memoir about his father, he refers to Andover as "high school", so I guess that's an attempt at democratization.

The Godfather said...

I don't favor Jeb for the Republican presidential nomination for much the same reasons I didn't favor Mitt before he dropped out. I think both Jeb and Mitt could serve the country well in Pres. Walker's cabinet. I'm inclined to favor Chris Christie as ambassador to Russia. Or Iran.

Paul said...

Jeb Bush is no lefty.

Now he isn't a Reagan, but he ain't no Clinton either.

Forget he had a father and brother as President. Only question you need to ask is, would he be the best pick of the litter in about a year from now in ability.

Paul said...

Chris Christie I'd favor to be Ambassador to Outer Mongolia. That or Zimbabwe.

Yea Walker or Rubo I hope show up well. Like I said Jeb to me is ok, but I hope there are some real good choices for us to choose.

Last time it was Mitt .vs. Obama. And we chose poorly.

Michael K said...

"Young men who bully others have a sociopathic tendency. We don't need that in the White House. Jeb Bush needs to beg forgiveness."

Yes from rapist and pedophile Bill Clinton.

kzookitty said...

I say, those Phillips Academy chaps sound like right sports! I'll wager they give each other a proper drubbing after the Housemaster turns lights out.

I just must put the touch on Aunt Millicent for a five bob postal order so I can treat these young bloods at the tuck shop next half day!

kzookitty

kzookitty said...

Jeb's conduct is small beer compared to that criminal Romney. After all, Romney tied a poor innocent dog to the roof of his car.

Jeb just strapped his fag on.

kzookitty

kzookitty said...

Too bad Jeb is just a nickname.

"President Jebidiah Bush" sounds almost as cool as "President Goodluck Jonathan"

kzookitty

chickelit said...

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...The MSM is tanned, rested and ready to go after having an 8 year vacation.

Threadwinner

Colleen Castille said...

The whole story is really the everyman story. Young males making some bad decisions and then finally maturing after experiencing something greater than themselves. Jeb's experience helping the poor in Mexico showed how shallow high school boys can be and how he had the ability to change the world for a better place.