US President George W. Bush was so disengaged that he led cabinet meetings 'like a blind man,' former Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill (L) said in an interview. (AFP/File/Paul J. Richards)

WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush led cabinet meetings "like a blind man in a room full of deaf people," former Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill said in portions of a television interview.

O'Neill, whom Bush fired in December 2002, explained that there was a lack of dialogue between the president and his top aides, either as a group or individually, CBS reported on its Internet site.

The former insider told the network in an interview to be broadcast January 11 that the president asked him no questions during their first one-on-one meeting.

"I went in with a long list of things to talk about and, I thought, to engage (him) on. ... I was surprised it turned out me talking and the president just listening. ... It was mostly a monologue," O'Neill was quoted as saying.

The interview came after O'Neill served as the main source for an upcoming book, "The Price of Loyalty," which paints an insider's view of the Bush administration, the network said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan deflected repeated questions about O'Neill's assertions, saying: "I don't do book reviews."

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