ROGER SIMON COLUMN
NOVEMBER 14, 2005
WASHINGTON - - "I have always been underestimated," George W. Bush was telling me. "You can understand why. People say, well, he's Daddy's boy and has never done anything of accomplishment. But that's good. I'd rather be underestimated than overestimated."
It was February, 2000, and as he spoke, Bush lounged on a long couch in the front of his campaign bus as it traveled through a piney swamp in the South Carolina Low Country.
Bush's feet were propped across the aisle, he held a can of Diet Coke in his right hand, and when I came into his cabin to interview him, he languidly extended a left hand to me as he stayed slumped to one side.
This was Bush body language at its worst. This was the man the Manchester Union-Leader had dubbed "Governor Smirk," the man who sometimes gave the impression that he was running for president largely as a fraternity initiation stunt.
But when I asked Bush if he really wanted to be president badly enough, he straightened up, drained the Coke and began crumpling the can in one hand.
"That's ridiculous," he said. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm up at 6:30 every morning, and go to bed at 10:30 at night, and I'm shaking thousands of hands, and I'm speaking from my heart, and I'm putting out policy initiatives that are on the (cutting) edge of reform. I haven't seen any policy initiatives from my opponent! It's an absurd statement."
He stopped for a moment. "But I understand how it works," he said glumly. "They have to say something after I got whipped."
Bush had just been whipped by John McCain by an incredible 18 points in the New Hampshire primary and if Bush didn't stop McCain here, in South Carolina, it would probably be all over.
Losing by that margin - - Karl Rove, in his pre-genius days, had actually told Bush he was going to win New Hampshire - - was not the worst thing that had ever happened to Bush, however.
The worst thing was calling his parents and telling him.
"I actually thought I was going to win (New Hampshire)," Bush told me. "I did. I didn't know I was going to lose until the exit polls came in. Then it was pretty clear."
He laughed a hard, short laugh and recalled the moment when he had to pick up the phone and make the call. "We're going to get whipped," the younger Bush told the elder.
Thinking back on it now, George W. said: "I had to assure them I was going to be fine. And I was fine. I didn't like losing, but I knew it was time to regroup and there would be another day."
There was. After one of the dirtiest campaigns in modern presidential history, Bush beat McCain in South Carolina. But McCain came back to beat Bush in Michigan, and the final outcome was still in doubt.
"It's important to me to show you I can not only take a punch but win," Bush was now telling the crowds.
It was so different a Bush than the Bush we see today. He was less molded, less prepped, less programmed, more willing to admit to human failings. Which is why I have been going back and looking up what he was like in those darker days of his soul.
The day after his loss in Michigan, I caught up with Bush in Los Angeles, as he walked heavily up the steps of an ancient second floor gymnasium in a community outreach center. His mouth was a solemn slash and his eyes were puffy and tired.
His staff kept searching for new messages - - after his loss in New Hampshire they had actually changed the name of his campaign plane from Great Expectations to Retool One - - but now Bush was grim and angry and refusing to change any more.
"You're stuck with me the way it is," Bush said.
In the gymnasium, he visited with a group of grade-school kids.
"My dream was to play baseball," he told them. "But you know what happened? I realized I couldn't hit the ball that moves sideways. So I had to adjust my dreams. I never really grew up wanting to be president, I'll tell you that. I guess the point is you've got to set realistic goals."