Posted on 10/23/2004 10:08:02 PM PDT by Ligeia
George W. Bush ‘Right Man, Right Place, Right Time’
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, George W. Bush was in Florida, reading to a class of elementary schoolchildren. Mere minutes into his presentation, he was informed that hijacked aircraft had plunged into the “twin towers” of the World Trade Center in New York City.
In that instant, America changed, and the world with it. So did the presidency of George W. Bush.
If it is accurate to say that the true measure of a man is best ascertained through trial and adversity, through storm and strife — and we believe it is — then George W. Bush has measured up well. We learned a lot about our 43rd president in the weeks and months following “9/11.” Much of it confirmed our initial impressions of the former Texas governor — that he is firm, that he is resolute, and, even in the face of withering criticism both home and abroad, that he remains comfortable in his own skin. With Mr. Bush, what you see is what you get — nothing more, nothing less.
As Zell Miller, the retiring Democratic senator from Georgia who is supporting Mr. Bush this election, so aptly stated in a November 2003 piece for The Wall Street Journal, “I like the fact that he's the same on Saturday night as he is on Sunday morning.”
But what, precisely, have we, as a nation, “gotten” from Mr. Bush, other than — and again to quote Mr. Miller — “the right man in the right place at the right time”?
For one thing, a practical man, but yet one whose very practicality is not averse to taking what he believes are necessary risks in the defense and the best interests of the United States.
This trait is perhaps best exemplified by what has become known as the Bush Doctrine — a steely determination to take preemptive action, if necessary, against the enemies of this nation, and the West, on their own soil.
In the president’s mind, going on the offensive against the global threat of terrorism — the raison d’etre for the respective liberations of Afghanistan and Iraq — is a more judicious course of action than sitting back and waiting for the next attack inside our own borders. We happen to agree with him. A cowering appeasement, as Churchill repeatedly reminded us decades ago, only emboldens the enemies of freedom.
Ah, freedom. Mr. Bush’s animus in this increasingly climactic tussle with the international forces of darkness has not merely been the practical — what works — but the ideological as well. In no small way has he staked his entire presidency — and subconsciously, perhaps, his place in history — on the primacy of a decidedly big-picture idea. When given the choice, the opportunity, he believes people will choose freedom (with all its challenges) rather than oppression, liberty rather than tyranny. He contends this desire beats within the breast of every man, not merely Americans or Westerners.
As Mr. Miller observed in his commentary for The Journal, this belief has been tempered by resolution.
“This is a president,” he wrote, “who understands the price of freedom. He understands that leaders throughout history often have had to choose between good and evil, tyranny and freedom. And the choice they make can reverberate for generations to come. This is a president who has some Churchill in him and who does not flinch when the going gets tough. This is a president who can make a decision and does not suffer from ‘paralysis analysis.’ This is a president who can look America in the eye and say on Iraq, ‘We're not leaving.’ And you know he means it.”
To be sure, this stance — to liberate Iraq and remain until the fledgling democracy is secure — has been less than popular in some quarters (again, both home and abroad). But, as psychologist and political scientist Stanley Renshon, author of a new book on the president, “In His Father’s Shadow,” says, Mr. Bush possesses that rare capacity to “stand apart” and willingly suffer criticism’s slings and arrows when he believes he is right.
“Mr. Bush is a president who is comfortable taking controversial stands and sticking with them,” Mr. Renshon writes. “He is able to do so through sometimes severe storms of public anxiety and critics’ cries to change course.”
Some may deem this stubbornness; others call it resolve. Place us in the latter camp. In this presidential election, character truly does count — and George W. Bush has it in abundance.
my old hometown paper,, you brought back great memories of the early and middle 70's,, thanks!
So the NRA really did start their own media outlets.... =o)
Bush is the right stuff for freedom!
Ah, the days of Apple Blossom and Wood-Handley football games. There's no better place in the world to be from; thank God for Winchester, VA. The queen of country music, the home-girl Patsy Cline is witness. Does anyone wonder that our hometown paper endorsed one of the best Presidents this country has ever had? Gimme the Star and WINC (1400 AM/92.5 FM) on a bad day, it's better than MessNBC or CBS!!! Old Mr. Bridgeforth would be proud.
Good one from Zell.
Thanks for the Tagline, Zell.
Do you think Zell would accept some sort of Appointment in a second Bush Administration??
Zell seems most interested these days in grandfatherhood. Good for him. I'd certainly be happy to see him in the next Bush administration, but I think he's retiring from public life.
I love Winchester, too. Since it shares the 10th District with parts of Fairfax County, we've had our conventions there. I always love the trip!
I meant to thank you last night for your graphic and time got away from me. It's wonderful, thanks!
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