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Doug WeadDoug Wead was a Special Assistant to former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and is the author of over twenty books, including the New York Times best-seller, All the Presidents Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of the First Families. He has recently authored a sequel which examines the childhoods of U.S. Presidents, The Raising of a President: The Mothers and Fathers of Our Nation's Leaders. Wead asserts that the books are the first two installments of a trilogy. On February 23, 2005, Wead said that all future proceeds from the sale of The Raising of a President would be donated to charity. Wead admitted in February of 2005 to having secretly tape recorded conversations with President George W. Bush. Wead contended that he began tape recorded these conversations in 1998 in order to create a record of Bush, then Governor of Texas, as an historical figure. In these conversations, Bush is heard discussing potential 2000 presidential foes such as John McCain and Steve Forbes, and hints that he had smoked marijuana, but would not admit to it for fear of becoming a bad role model for children. Excerpts of the recordings were first published by the New York Times on Saturday, February 19, 2005. The Bush Administration did not deny the authenticity of the tapes. White House spokesperson Trent Duffy stated only that "the governor was having casual conversations with someone he believed was his friend." Wead has asserted that his release of the tapes was not intended to hurt the president politically, nor to improve Wead's own marketabilty. He noted that, had those been his motives, he could have achieved them much more effectively had he released the tapes prior to the 2004 election. Less than a week later, Wead announced that he considered his personal friendship with Bush "more important than history" and would have the tapes turned over to the President. He expressed regret at having made the tapes, saying he was "certainly wrong to tape the president without his permission." http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050223-113815-1461r.htm External links Wead, Doug
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