Evangelical aide has Bush taped on drugs, UN and gay sex
-22/02/05
Secret tape recordings that provide documentary evidence of George W. Bushís pre-White House thinking have been passed on to the New York Times by a former Assemblies of God minister well connected in US evangelical circles.
Dating from 1998 (when he was seeking re-election as Texas governor) through to 2000 (shortly before he accepted the Republican nomination to run for the presidency), the tapes made by Doug Wead document Bushís opinions on everything from drugs to gay sex.
Wead made the tapes in US states where it was legal to do so with only one partyís knowledge. He says that he is not using them for personal financial gain, but their release does coincide with his new book about presidential upbringings, ëThe Raising of a Presidentí.
The tape recordings have been authenticated by audio expert Tom Owen and have not been challenged by the White House. Those made available to the New York Times vary in length from five minutes to nearly half an hour.
Among the topics the future president discusses are allegations that he used cocaine (ìI havenít denied anythingî) and his belief that baby boomers should tell young people to stay off soft drugs ñ without admitting their own use. According to a report in the International Herald Tribune he ìmocked [former] Vice President Al Gore for acknowledging marijuana use.î
Bush also talked to Doug Wead about his implacable opposition to ëgay marriageí, but at the same time he repeatedly worried that prominent US evangelicals would not like his refusal ìto kick gaysî per se.
On the political front he was more sure footed. ìItís me versus the world,î he told Wead. ìThe good news is, the world is on my side. Or more than half of it, anyway.î
He went on to take stock of conservative Christian views on foreign policy, noting that the religious right ìwants the American flag flying overseas, not the pale blue of the UN.î
In September 1998 the future president also discussed with Wead, a former aide to his father, the issue of the intersection between religion and politics. He suggested that his convictions could be appropriately coded to avoid unnecessary controversy.
But Bush added: ìI am going to say that Iíve accepted Christ into my life. And thatís a true statement.î
During the 2004 presidential election campaign church leaders, including Sojourners founder Jim Wallis, challenged the Republican candidate to commit to social justice, peace building and environmental protection, proclaiming: ìChrist has changed your life. Now let him change your mind.î
Evangelical aide has Bush taped on drugs, UN and gay sex
-22/02/05
Secret tape recordings that provide documentary evidence of George W. Bushís pre-White House thinking have been passed on to the New York Times by a former Assemblies of God minister well connected in US evangelical circles.
Dating from 1998 (when he was seeking re-election as Texas governor) through to 2000 (shortly before he accepted the Republican nomination to run for the presidency), the tapes made by Doug Wead document Bushís opinions on everything from drugs to gay sex.
Wead made the tapes in US states where it was legal to do so with only one partyís knowledge. He says that he is not using them for personal financial gain, but their release does coincide with his new book about presidential upbringings, ëThe Raising of a Presidentí.
The tape recordings have been authenticated by audio expert Tom Owen and have not been challenged by the White House. Those made available to the New York Times vary in length from five minutes to nearly half an hour.
Among the topics the future president discusses are allegations that he used cocaine (ìI havenít denied anythingî) and his belief that baby boomers should tell young people to stay off soft drugs ñ without admitting their own use. According to a report in the International Herald Tribune he ìmocked [former] Vice President Al Gore for acknowledging marijuana use.î
Bush also talked to Doug Wead about his implacable opposition to ëgay marriageí, but at the same time he repeatedly worried that prominent US evangelicals would not like his refusal ìto kick gaysî per se.
On the political front he was more sure footed. ìItís me versus the world,î he told Wead. ìThe good news is, the world is on my side. Or more than half of it, anyway.î
He went on to take stock of conservative Christian views on foreign policy, noting that the religious right ìwants the American flag flying overseas, not the pale blue of the UN.î
In September 1998 the future president also discussed with Wead, a former aide to his father, the issue of the intersection between religion and politics. He suggested that his convictions could be appropriately coded to avoid unnecessary controversy.
But Bush added: ìI am going to say that Iíve accepted Christ into my life. And thatís a true statement.î
During the 2004 presidential election campaign church leaders, including Sojourners founder Jim Wallis, challenged the Republican candidate to commit to social justice, peace building and environmental protection, proclaiming: ìChrist has changed your life. Now let him change your mind.î