Meet The President As The Cutup In Chief

• Share

(2 of 2)

Unlike The War Room, which chronicled the back-room intensity of Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign, the Pelosi video does not pan across the full landscape of the campaign. Cut down from hundreds of hours of footage and put together in her New York City apartment, what it does capture is a never-before-seen view of the cutup former Deke fraternity president who, friends and supporters always boasted, was such fun in close quarters. If Americans were surprised that Bush at war was so different from the man they saw before Sept. 11, they are likely to be just as amazed now at the campaign trickster. Is the somber man who consoled a nation at the National Cathedral days after the attacks the same guy who walked the aisles wearing a neck pillow, asking Pelosi for her vote? More Jonathan Winters than John Wayne, Bush can't pass the camera without twisting his face in on itself or striking a pose. Often the Governor provides mock counseling to the filmmaker on her careening romance with another member of the press corps. "I predict that you...will have a relationship that goes beyond hand holding," he says of the fling. Bush never leaves PG-13 territory, but that has not kept the White House from fretting about the movie. Former campaign media adviser Mark McKinnon persuaded Pelosi to show him a copy. Afterward, he sent White House counselor Karen Hughes an e-mail saying there was no great damage. Late-night comedians and columnists are likely to have a different view, though, using the video to open up a new season of poking fun at the Commander in Chief as a fraternity goof. Clips are certain to find their way onto the Internet to provide a bright contrast to the square-jawed Bush who is trying to fight terrorism. "The Europeans will love this," chuckles one Administration official.

But some senior advisers are a good deal more concerned, claiming Pelosi, who now has her own production company, broke an agreement with the campaign. "She promised then Governor Bush and looked him in the eye and said it was for personal use," says one. "It is disappointing that she gave her word and didn't keep it." Pelosi says the conversations she had with Bush about her filming are in the movie, which speaks for itself.

Those who have seen it say the President was a willing participant, referring often to how the movie will make a "lousy documentary" and even coming up with the title himself. He asks what the movie will be called and then offers his own suggestion. "Journeys with George," he says, adding mysteriously, "You know, you can spell it with a G."