Recidivist

You can tell a lot about a man by his past actions. I'm hardly ever surprised by something I learn about George Bush's life before politics, whether it be his repeated failures in business, his dodgy National Guard service, or even his days as a frat boy.

The AP has a teaser on Rolling Stone's upcoming interview with Doonesbury cartoonist Gary Trudeau who, it turns out, knew G.W. in college. He gives a little insight into what Bush was like at Yale:

"Even then he had clearly awesome social skills," Trudeau said. "He could also make you feel extremely uncomfortable ... He was extremely skilled at controlling people and outcomes in that way. Little bits of perfectly placed humiliation."

There's also a glimpse at the beginnings of Bush's much heralded career as a "compassionate conservative."

Trudeau said he penned his very first cartoon to illustrate an article in the Yale Daily News on Bush and allegations that his fraternity, DKE, had hazed incoming pledges by branding them with an iron.

The article in the campus paper prompted The New York Times to interview Bush, who was a senior that year. Trudeau recalled that Bush told the Times "it was just a coat hanger, and ... it didn't hurt any more than a cigarette burn."

"It does put one in mind of what his views on torture might be today," Trudeau said.

I wonder if the cartoon referenced in the article, Gary Trudeau's first, is available. Anyone?