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With Book, Bush Is Back in Spotlight


George W. Bush will end a self-imposed silence about his presidency in an NBC prime-time special on Monday, the eve of the release of his memoir, “Decision Points.” That the interviewer will be Matt Lauer, the co-host of the “Today” show, reveals calculations by Mr. Bush and his advisers, as well as a campaign by NBC.

Peter Kramer/NBC

Matt Lauer of “Today” interviewing George W. Bush in his first one-on-one interview since leaving the White House. The special will be shown on Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

In the past, the first interview of a controversial ex-president would be expected to go to the nation’s top evening news anchor, currently NBC’s Brian Williams. By choosing the top morning anchor instead, both sides are essentially endorsing the soft power of Matt Lauer.

“He’s an extraordinarily fair interviewer,” said Jim Bell, the executive producer of “Today” and of the prime-time special. “We’re living in a time when some of television news is partisan, and Matt and the ‘Today’ show are decidedly not so.”

That was a selling point for Mr. Bush and his advisers, who decided that “the first interview should be in a news context, with a network news anchor,” said David Drake, a senior vice president of Crown, the publisher of “Decision Points.”

For NBC, the interview — which was taped over the course of two days in Texas late last month — is a major coup. “They talked about every subject under the sun,” said Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, who observed that Mr. Bush “has things he wants to get off his chest.”

But critics of Mr. Bush — and there are many, with polls showing that most Americans still hold an unfavorable view of him — who would like to see a televised confrontation over issues like the Iraq war may come away disappointed. The tone of the prime-time special is conversational, not prosecutorial, and for that reason, “Lauer/Bush” is not likely to join “Frost/Nixon” in the public imagination.

Mr. Bell pointedly called the special “a conversation with President Bush about his book,” not just his presidency. Many tough questions are asked, and the word “torture” is used, Mr. Bell emphasized, but it comes down to tone.

Dana Perino, who was a White House press secretary while Mr. Bush was in office, said that tone was an important consideration for the TV book tour.

“He’s not interested in having a debate about the policies,” Ms. Perino said of Mr. Bush. She elaborated later: “There’s been plenty of debates about the decisions he has made. Now he’s trying to explain what he was going through, and the conditions he was working under.”

Doris Kearns Goodwin, the presidential historian, said Mr. Bush’s televised interview was not likely to deviate from the words in his memoir. But “there is some value in seeing his mood,” she said, including his attitude about the memoir itself. (Ms. Goodwin was a paid contributor to NBC until 2008.)

To get the first shot at the Bush interview, each major television network pieced together its best proposal — a “package,” Mr. Drake said — and at least one other offered a prime-time special like NBC’s. He declined to share specifics, but said “it was a close decision.”

The NBC interview is the start of a book tour like almost no other. Mr. Bush will sit down with Oprah Winfrey and Rush Limbaugh, as well as with all three prime-time hosts on the Fox News Channel this week. There will be print interviews, too, but the only one announced so far is with AARP The Magazine.

Andrew Tyndall, who publishes a newsletter about the television news business, The Tyndall Report, said he suspected that Mr. Bush and his aides were striking a balance by selecting Mr. Lauer for the first interview. “On the one hand, you’re looking for comfort,” Mr. Tyndall said. “On the other hand, you don’t want the interview to be perceived as a series of softballs.”

NBC executives privately agreed with that assessment, and said they thought that Mr. Bush would not have felt as comfortable with the network’s other top interviewers.

Asked whether Mr. Williams or the “Meet the Press” moderator David Gregory pursued the interview, Mr. Capus said “I’m sure they did,” but that “Matt was the official push from NBC News and I’m thrilled that we got it.” Mr. Capus said that Mr. Lauer had a “rapport” with Mr. Bush in prior interviews.

Along with comfort, audience size was important. “Today” is both the top-rated morning show and a highly sought-after outlet for authors.

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