WASHINGTON, February 21, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Confidential taped conversations that took place in 1998, while US President George W. Bush was still Governor of Texas, and in 2000 after Bush had accepted the Republican nomination to run for US president, were recently released to the New York Times. The tapes were recorded by Doug Wead, a personal friend to the President and a former aide to George Bush senior. In the conversations, President Bush is candid about some spiritual and moral issues.
“Gay marriage, I am against that,” Bush said. “Special rights, I am against that.” Bush said that, despite his opposition to homosexuality and same-sex “marriage,”
“I’m not going to kick gays, because I’m a sinner,” referring to the suggestion by some evangelicals that he fire homosexuals. “How can I differentiate sin?” he added.
“Preparing to meet Christian leaders in September 1998, Bush told Wead, ‘As you said, there are some code words. There are some proper ways to say things, and some improper ways.’ He added, ‘I am going to say that I’ve accepted Christ into my life. And that’s a true statement.’”
Wead, warning Bush that “power corrupts,” said “I have got a great wife. And I read the Bible daily. The Bible is pretty good about keeping your ego in check.”“Preparing to meet with influential Christian conservatives, Mr. Bush tested his lines with Mr. Wead. ‘I’m going to tell them the five turning points in my life,’ he said. ‘Accepting Christ. Marrying my wife. Having children. Running for governor. And listening to my mother.’”
Bush acknowledged that he considered John Ashcroft a potential running mate for the election. “I like Ashcroft a lot,” he said in 1998. “He is a competent man. He would be a good Supreme Court pick. He would be a good attorney general. He would be a good vice president.”
“When Mr. Wead predicted an uproar if Mr. Ashcroft were appointed to the court because of his conservative religious views, Mr. Bush replied, ‘Well, tough.’”
“I want Ashcroft to stay in there, and I want him to be very strong,” Mr. Bush said. “I would love it to be a Bush-Ashcroft race. Only because I respect him. He wouldn’t say ugly things about me. And I damn sure wouldn’t say ugly things about him.”
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