Much has been written about how deep-pocket California businessmen helped elect as president Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan and how their investment reaped a rich return. Now comes Oklahoman Robert Bryce with the saga of how "a small network of Texas corporations, lawyers, and politicians brought Bush to power." Note, that's 41 as well as 43.
If the one-word advice to Dustin Hoffman was "plastics," its counterpart to W and his dad was surely "oil." And, as such, it's not simply a partisan tale, for Bryce weaves such Democratic luminaries as former House Speaker Sam Rayburn and President Lyndon Johnson into the tapestry.
Perhaps most ominous is how oil politics have shaped American foreign policy as far back as World War II and running through Vietnam and the two Iraq wars. Cronies shows how the 2004 election was the capstone to the Texans' efforts, allowing them to consolidate their power in a way that insures their presence on the American political stage for some time to come.
