McElvaine W's in Charge

The scene that revealed the most about George W. Bush's character in the movie is the scene during which the President and his cabinet members are having a meeting and the President sternly reminds Cheney that he is the one who makes the decisions. Bush reminds Cheney periodically through out the movie who the man in charge is. However, Bush's constant reminders reveal more to us about Bush rather than Cheney.

Through out the film, W is constantly seeking recognition and approval from his peers, especially his father. All of his life he is seen as a outgoing, personable man with deep seated insecurities. These insecurities manifest during his Presidency and Cheney ends up in the background in order to satiate W's personal needs. It is clear that Cheney is very manipulative and is able to persuade W to make certain decisions. W seems to be well aware of the fact that Cheney is doing most of the thinking but he knows that he relies heavily on Cheney's political prowess and intellect. So, rather than having a two-way conversation with Cheney, W allows Cheney to do the thinking but takes credit for the ideas that Cheney puts in his head. W wants to be considered the "big boss" but does not have the smarts to be what it takes. So he uses the people around him and allows the people around him to make his decisions but he strives to maintain the image that he is the one making all the decisions.

The scene where we see George W. Bush telling Cheney that he is the decision maker shows us that W is an insecure man who got to his high position of power by passing off other's ideas as his own. In some sense, what he did was smart because he climbed a very tall ladder without ever having to do much thinking. Nevertheless, the true, insecure, needy W is shown when he constantly reminds his peers who is "in charge".