Dembski planned to meet George W. Bush in 2004!

Posted 20 December 2006 by Nick Matzke

The email exchange between Dembski and Richard Dawkins continues. Dawkins just posted an email that Dembski sent to him in 2004 (2003 actually, referring to "early next year", which would be 2004). It sparked a memory that I had seen it before. So I asked around. It turns out that in late 2003 Dembski sent the following email to most of the people he is spamming right now. In response to this letter in the UK Guardian by Dawkins, Dembski emailed the following. It really...well, any comment would be superfluous.

X-Sender: [Dembski's email at discovery.org] (Unverified) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 21:11:27 -0600 To: Richard Dawkins [email] From: "William A. Dembski" [email] Subject: President Bush Cc: "Eugenie C. Scott" [email], [Daniel Dennett email], [Paul Gross email], [Barbara Forrest email] Dear Prof. Dawkins, I enjoyed this bit of fun in last week's Guardian. It might interest you to know that Senator Rick Santorum, who is close to President Bush, endorsed my forthcoming book The Design Revolution. It might also interest you to know that President Bush lives in the same Texas county that I do (McLennan County -- his home is about 35 miles from my home). It might futher interest you to know that my university, Baylor, today made a bid on the George W. Bush Presidential Library (for the news conference, go to www.baylortv.com). Why might all this interest you? With the recommendations by Senator Santorum and others close to President Bush, I plan to pay him a visit at his home early next year and have a frank discussion with him about the future of science in the United States and the possibilities for public funding of intelligent design research. I expect your remarks below will help me make my case. Thanks for all you continue to do to advance the work of intelligent design. You are an instrument in the hands of Providence however much you rail against it. With all good wishes, Bill Dembski

As Dave Barry says, I Am Not Making This Up. Whatever you think of Bush, odds are he's never heard of Dembski, and Dembski's apparently confident plan that he was going to drive over to Crawford and gain legitimacy for ID by explaining it to Bush is pretty incredible.

38 Comments

TomS · 20 December 2006

Readers may recall the Doonesbury cartoon:

Andrea Bottaro · 20 December 2006

Well, who knows - maybe the meeting did happen, and that's why Bush said a little while later that he thought ID should be taught. Alas, as seemingly every other ID move, this too turned out to be just a short-lived PR coup with no substance whatsoever.

Andrea Bottaro · 20 December 2006

Oops, I should have read Dawkins's site first. Apparently Dembski later wrote:

"I'm afraid with the war in Iraq and the election, I decided to postpone getting in touch with President Bush."

LOL - I am sure Bush was devastated by Dembski's decision to postpone the meeting.

steve s · 20 December 2006

Comment #151235 Posted by Andrea Bottaro on December 20, 2006 8:58 PM (e) | kill Well, who knows - maybe the meeting did happen, and that's why Bush said a little while later that he thought ID should be taught. Alas, as seemingly every other ID move, this too turned out to be just a short-lived PR coup with no substance whatsoever.

GWB: "Hey good to see ya Mr. Dempski. I read all aboutcha." WAD: "Pleasure to meet you Mister President. I'm here to discuss Intelligent Design." GWB: "That's right. I'm in favor of that. Creationism is great." WAD: "Well it's...um...it's not creationism exactly." GWB: "But you talk about the Creator, right? Supernatural creator? Not Darwin?" WAD: "Well, yeah, uh, we talk about a Transcendent Designer." GWB: "Oh, yeah, I like that stuff. I'm all about Jesus." WAD: "Uh...well, see it's not about Jesus, really, it's about science..." GWB: "Wait a minute I thought you said it was the book of john in science talk." WAD: "Well...uh...it's totally separate from christianity--" GWB: "Jesus is separate from christianity? That doesn't make no sense." WAD: "This isn't about the bible. It's about very scientific math and terms and it's not just christianity." GWB: "Not christian? You mean its atheist? Like the commies? I thought this was creationism." WAD: "Well no, it's...um...it's...okay like I said it's not really creationism..." GWB: "But you got a Creator, right? And the Creator, that's Jesus, right?" WAD: "Uh...uugggghhhhhhh." GWB: "Don't worry man I'm in your corner. I think the earth is 6,000 years old too." WAD: "AAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" GWB: "Hey whatever happened in that Dover case? How'd that go?" WAD: [runs out of room] GWB: "That guy was high strung. And tall like a string bean. I'm gonna call him Stringy."

Pigwidgeon · 20 December 2006

steve, if there's a post of the month on panda's thumb, that gets my vote ten times over. XD

Hrafn · 20 December 2006

Amusing that Dembski is no longer at Baylor, Santorum is no longer a senator and Bush's approval rating is so deeply in the tank that he is a complete lame duck, lacking the political capital to achieve even his core agenda, let alone political puffery like ID.

Gerard Harbison · 20 December 2006

"Delusions of grandeur" is the technical term.

waldteufel · 20 December 2006

Is this Dembski clown sane? I know George B. is probably not sane, but Professor Doctor Doctor Dembski?

Sophist · 21 December 2006

"I'm afraid with the war in Iraq and the election, I decided to postpone getting in touch with President Bush."

Yes, I'm sure it was his decision. Just like when he decided that he would to allow the sun to set and that the tide would be permitted to come in. I'd say more, but I have to go sanction the continuing operation of the strong nuclear force.

Popper's ghost · 21 December 2006

Just like when he decided that he would to allow the sun to set and that the tide would be permitted to come in.

Absolutely; he's a "tool of Providence".

k.e. · 21 December 2006

Maybe its time for a lullaby for ID

But what a fool believes he sees
No wise man has the power to reason away
What seems to be
Is always better than nothing
Theres nothing at all
But what a fool believes he sees...

What A Fool Believes.

Dene Bebbington · 21 December 2006

The most amazing thing about Dembski's letter is reference to a President Bush library. I thought Bush has admitted that he doesn't read books?!

Dene Bebbington · 21 December 2006

The most amazing thing about Dembski's letter is reference to a President Bush library. I thought Bush has admitted that he doesn't read books?!

N.Wells · 21 December 2006

Steve S, thanks for the Christmas present.

mark · 21 December 2006

It might interest you to know that Senator Rick Santorum, who is close to President Bush, endorsed my forthcoming book The Design Revolution.
— wMAD

I know. That's why I (with the help of many others) voted that moron out of office. It might interest you to know that President Bush works just down the road from me--I plan to pay him a visit and tell him what a jackass he is...unless something comes up and I don't.

Steverino · 21 December 2006

I think the email just serves to show how childish and how much of a flaming asshole Demski is.

I'm pretty certain, in his youth; Demski was no stranger to the term "Swirly".

Katarina · 21 December 2006

All this letter-writing to opponents. It smells of pathetic desparation.. Or, what is that smell? Time to open up the windows of heaven!

Raging Bee · 21 December 2006

Actually, back then Dembski's claim would have been quite credible, given how deep in the "Christian" "Right's" pockets Bush was, and surely still is. Bush spent time chatting with even more ridiculous wingnuts, such as "al Qaeda Pat" Robertson, so a visit by Dembski would not have been that unusual.

...my university, Baylor, today made a bid on the George W. Bush Presidential Library...

They needed his copy of "My Pet Goat" to complete their scholarly archives. And that's only the least significant part of America that Bush has been willing to sell to the highest bidder.

Raging Bee · 21 December 2006

"I'm afraid with the war in Iraq and the election, I decided to postpone getting in touch with President Bush."

Self-important and pathetic as it sounds, this is also credible: it's possible that even Dembski was smart enough to guess that the Iraq war was one embarrassment he and the ID "movement" didn't want to get close to. Yes, Dembski is stupid; but stupider than Pat Buchannan and Phyllis Shlafly? I don't think so.

Doc Bill · 21 December 2006

Apparently, Dembski has succeeded in establishing an ID beachead in Crawford, Texas. Right on the edge of town you'll find the following establishment:

Stringy Bill's Intelligent Design, Hair Care and Tire Center

Get your hair washed, your brain washed and your tire fixed in one convenient visit!

Adam · 21 December 2006

Ol' Dave needs to read the Templeton Foundation's STEP study and the MANTRA II trail, both of which concluded distance prayer doesn't work. You gotta get closer before it'll work, Dave.

minimalist · 21 December 2006

I can meet with the Pope anytime I want, but I respect his privacy. He really needs a lot of "Pope Time."

PvM · 21 December 2006

On Pharyngula, George notices that

I first noticed signs that Bill is finally cracking up back in October, when he posted this statement: "I am Richard Dawkins' worst nightmare."

Dembski seems to be an intellectual giant in his own mind... If only he had not sent that darn victory email...

ben · 21 December 2006

Ol' Dave needs to read the Templeton Foundation's STEP study and the MANTRA II trail, both of which concluded distance prayer doesn't work. You gotta get closer before it'll work, Dave.

Maybe prayer works via gravity and is thus inverse to the square of the distance between prayer and, uh, prayee.

slpage · 21 December 2006

Unreal...

Let's see:

'Senator' Rick Santorum was booted from office

Bush has the lowest approval rating of his presidency

Republicans lost both houses of congress

Providence, indeed...

Wesley R. Elsberry · 21 December 2006

You guys who aren't on the CC list for these various emails have a glimpse here of what you've been missing all along.

chunkdz · 21 December 2006

Dembski's right about one thing - Dawkins is a tool.

MarkP · 21 December 2006

I'm sure your opinion will keep him up at night.

deadman_932 · 22 December 2006

Dembski's right about one thing - Dawkins is a tool.

Well, Dawkins **work** is perhaps like a literary laparoscope that wedged its way into your sphincter and allowed a glimpse of your brain, right here, online. There seem to be bats and other objects in there, too. You may want to douche.

Thinker · 22 December 2006

All I can say is: "Billy, you're doin' a heckuva job!"

blipey · 22 December 2006

Posted by ben on December 21, 2006 12:33 PM (e) Ol' Dave needs to read the Templeton Foundation's STEP study and the MANTRA II trail, both of which concluded distance prayer doesn't work. You gotta get closer before it'll work, Dave. Maybe prayer works via gravity and is thus inverse to the square of the distance between prayer and, uh, prayee.

And since gravity is the strongest force in the universe, he should be getting an answer any moment now. yikes.

John Phillips · 22 December 2006

Thank you one and all, well nearly all, they say laughter is the best medicine and I have been feeling rather shxxxy but reading these posts has been better than all my meds put together. Thanks again. Sometimes I almost wish there was a god so that I could give thanks to someone for unintelligently designing the Dumbskis of the world to amuse us with their self important posturing.

STEVE · 22 December 2006

Dembski's apparently confident plan that he was going to drive over to Crawford and gain legitimacy for ID by explaining it to Bush is pretty incredible.

In fact, Dembski's plan is highly credible and worrisome, at least before the Dover trial. After all, Michael Crichton was a hosted at the White House in January 2005 to present his fictional anti-global warning global warming views to the President. [Also see Michael Crawley's follow-up on this story.] The salient question is not why Dembski imagined that he would have such an opportunity, but who in the Administration might have been working toward these ends. Bush's ultimate endorsement of ID didn't come from thin air.

Popper's ghost · 22 December 2006

Yes, Dembski is stupid; but stupider than Pat Buchannan and Phyllis Shlafly?

As unpleasant as those two are, they both opposed the war in Iraq, and I'd say yes, certainly, they are brighter than Dembski.

jeroboambramblejam · 22 December 2006

After I heard today about a $500M W. library - and got up off the floor - I reserved the domain georgewbushpresidentialLIBARY.com ... couldn't resist. It will probably consist of links to the many fine collections of Bush witlessisms and malaprops. Suggestions are welcome at the Gmail of the same name.

Robert O'Brien · 22 December 2006

Dembski's right about one thing - Dawkins is a tool.

Yep.

wamba · 24 December 2006

I reserved the domain georgewbushpresidentialLIBARY.com

I'd say it needs an entire section devoted to nukular physics.

Gene Goldring · 31 December 2006

"I'm afraid with the war in Iraq and the election, I decided to postpone getting in touch with President Bush."

Dembski actually seems to be a pretty thoughtful guy. He didn't want to bother Judge Jones either.