In the Bush dugout

There is a Bush family tale of woe presented in the New York Times today. The tears and remorse of Padre Bush spill onto the page about the mean way people speak to him about his widely despised son. Indeed, so rough is the treatment that Papa Bush endures, we are told that Bush Sr.

likens himself to a Little League father whose kid is having a rough game.

This is how George Bush senior views his relationship both to the world and his miscreant son, a man who lied the country to war, stewards the horrific killing in Iraq and continues to exacerbate the worst humanitarian disaster on the planet. Why, it's just like Little League! Poor Georgie is having a rough game, getting hit with every wild pitch that comes off the mean mound of public opinion. No wonder the continuance of the Iraq disaster is of little concern to the Bushes. It is all just a game.

But further into the article, another telling passage is offered up as we learn that Bush Sr. speak a lot more frequently and confidentially with Bush Jr. than many people, even Bush's White House advisers, know about. Former White House chief of staff, Andrew Card, says that sometimes he can hear and see Daddy Bush speaking through his son.

It was relatively easy for me to read the sitting president’s body language after he had talked to his mother or father. Sometimes he’d ask me a probing question. And I’d think, Hmm, I don’t think that question came from him.

A probing question from Bush. I think we can all agree that probing questions are not Bush Jr.'s strong suite. And you don't need to read body language to figure that out.