In The Red Jean Edward Smith Summary

Words: 650
Pages: 3

Jean Edward Smith, widely known for his neutral, unbiased publications of presidential biographies, critiques the presidency of George W. Bush with scathing indictments in his book, Bush. Throughout his biography, he repeatedly enunciates Bush’s flaws and rarely his strengths. He cuts through Bush’s presidency, chronologically explaining the effects of his term. In his biography, Smith sets his point by declaring that rarely in the United States has the nation been ill-served as during the presidency of George W. Bush.” He cuts to the point with a blunt and concise declarative sentence to state his stance. He compares the unemployment rate before and after Bush’s presidency showing the negative changes that happened. With the “unemployment clocked in at 4 percent” at its lowest to after the presidency where “unemployment stood at 9.3 percent and was rising” reveals just how Bush’s actions affected the US. Smith’s use of logos allows for the readers themselves to absorb and digest this information. Smith even goes further by contrasting …show more content…
When Smith called the Bush budget as “in the red,” there is an immediate reaction to red because red tends to be a highly emotional color. Adding on to that, Smith also pronounces Bush’s budget as “out of control.” Both phrases appeal to the reader’s emotion to frighten them by the thought of debt. Moreover, the use of a rhetorical question allows for the reader to question the presidency themselves. They would just need to connect the dots together in this thorough argument. He asked “Was Bush responsible?” which can be answered by using logical sense. Reinforcing on his argument, he answers the question itself by proving George W. Bush’s greatest weakness, his “greatest strength became his worst flaw” and his self-confidence and his own decisions caused greater damage to the