We are not fools

Why secretly record conversations of a friend who is running for president?

Mr. Wead said he recorded his conversations with the president in part because he thought he might be asked to write a book for the campaign. He also wanted a clear account of any requests Mr. Bush made of him. But he said his main motivation in making the tapes, which he originally intended to be released only after his own death, was to leave the nation a unique record of Mr. Bush.

"I believe that, like him or not, he is going to be a huge historical figure," Mr. Wead said. "If I was on the telephone with Churchill or Gandhi, I would tape record them too."

Why disclose the tapes now?

As the author of a new book about presidential childhoods, Mr. Wead could benefit from any publicity, but he said that was not a motive in disclosing the tapes. . .

"I just felt that the historical point I was making trumped a personal relationship," Mr. Wead said.

Does this guy really think that we are all stupid enough to believe that his motives in making the tapes in the first place and in releasing them now have been consistently pure and unselfish? What a putz.

UPDATE: Even kos agrees. ("To be honest, I do think releasing these tapes is a betrayal. This guy Doug Wead is an ass. Could you imagine one of your good friends secretly taping a conversation with you and then leaking it to the NY Times?")