The Bush-Condi Rumors: An Update

As we’ve previously stated, we don’t put much stock in the rumors of an affair between President Bush and Condoleezza Rice — an affair that supposedly led a furious Laura Bush to decamp from the White House for the Mayflower Hotel. We have our doubts, largely because of the Condi part. C’mon, guys — Condi???

Right now, the Bushes are traveling in Europe. George and Laura Bush have made several public appearances together, and nothing seems amiss. In a question-and-answer session in Vienna, Laura revealed that George brings her coffee in bed each morning. This doesn’t seem like the behavior of a cheater.

Nevertheless, the Dubya-Condi rumors persist — and now they’ve been picked up by the tabloids. After the jump, for those of you who don’t share our skepticism, we recount — but don’t vouch for — the latest Bush-Condi gossip.

On June 15, the Wayne Madsen Report made these claims:

Although the major media and the White House spinmeisters have worked overtime to squash the story of marital problems between George W. Bush and Laura Bush over the reported affair between the President and his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, WMR is continuing to pursue it. We recently learned from a noted Washington socialite that Laura Bush has been seeing an old romantic flame, described as a wealthy businessman from Texas. Mrs. Bush is said to have been comforted by the male friend over the years as she weathered her husband’s various extramarital trysts.

Conducting an affair in the fishbowl that is the White House would seem to be nearly impossible. Both the President and First Lady have packed schedules and are seldom alone. There’s a reason why the Clinton-Lewinsky affair involved little more than brief and furtive trysts, on the White House premises, featuring nothing more hard core than fellatio. (Hence President Clinton’s claim that he did not have “sexual relations” with “that woman.”) So Laura spending lots of quality time with an “old romantic flame,” or coming and going at the Mayflower Hotel, would probably raise an eyebrow or two.

Nevertheless, the irresistibly salacious story was picked up by the supermarket tabloids. Again from the Wayne Madsen Report, June 19:

American Media, which owns the tabloids National Enquirer, The Star, and The Globe, and which scooped the mainstream media on Gary Hart’s affair with Donna Rice on “Monkey Business II”; Bill Clinton’s affair with Gennifer Flowers and salacious details about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky; and Jesse Jackson’s illegitimate child has published details of the George W. Bush-Condoleezza Rice relationship and his problems with First Lady Laura Bush in the current, June 26, 2006 issue of The Globe. WMR is quoted in the story.

Obviously we have our doubts about the reliability of the tabloids. We recall how they took our post throwing cold water on the possibility of Chelsea Clinton using cocaine and turned it into an article implying she has a drug problem.

But hey, the rumors are out there. And if there’s anything we learned from the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, it’s that truth can be stranger than fiction. Despite our big-time skepticism with respect to the Bush-Condi rumors, we’ll never say never when presented with a seemingly outlandish tale of presidential misbehavior.

Wayne Madsen Report (no permalinks; scroll down to June 19 and June 15 entries)

Earlier: Crazy Talk We Can’t Ignore: The Bush-Condi Rumors

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