It’s sad how easily the press gets taken in by biographical spin. Time describes President Bush as a “Texas rancher” dispensing homespun wisdom in an article this week:

White House
officials contend that Bush quickly realized the ports affair was a
fiasco. “I know a prairie fire when I see one,” the Texas rancher
told an aide.

Bush is not, and was never, a Texas rancher. He bought the property in 1999 when he was running for president, and he does not raise animals on it (the word ranch means “a large farm for raising horses, beef cattle, or sheep” or some other kind of animal). Mostly, he clears brush for the television cameras. (Has Bush ever actually seen a prairie fire?)

To illustrate how ridiculous this is, let me offer a comparison. Ted Turner owns 14 ranches across the United States and actually raises livestock (bison) to sell for commercial use. Yet no one calls Turner a “rancher.” He’s a media mogul who owns some ranches, just like George W. Bush is a politician who owns a property in Texas.

(Also, note the origins of Bush’s alleged statement: a aide provided it to Time. That means it was strategically chosen at a minimum. Less generously, Bush may never have said it. But who cares if it gives you a juicy-sounding insider quote?)