"Short-term history will be written by people who didn't particularly want me to be president to begin with."
Link to an interesting account of interview with Christian journalists, published in the Christian publication World Magazine. There are several good quotes there.
On [presumeably gay] marriages: "I don't want this decided by judges. It's too big an issue."
When asked about how he expresses his Christian faith, he said, "I have a fantastic opportunity to let the light shine." He immediately followed that with a caveat: "I will do so, however, as a secular politician.... My job is not to promote a religion but to promote the ability of people to worship as they see fit..."
"I'm sometimes in a world of fakery, obfuscation [yes, he knows and can use big words], political bank shots, so I'm very mindful of the use of faith in this process." He says he's not concerned about how journalists judge him: "Short-term history will be written by people who didn't particularly want me to be president to begin with." He expresses a deeper concern: You "can't use your faith as a shallow attempt to garner votes. Otherwise you'll receive the ultimate condemnation." If you're not hell-bent on making Dubya appear inarticulate, he comes across as incredibly articulate, focused, and possessed of a laser beam economy of words.
Of course, "putting food on the family" is a gem, by any standard. But it's not the whole story. It's not 'the story.' And if we allow it to become 'the story' then we're allowing ourselves to be led astray by media people with motivations other than providing the reader an accurate and balanced portrayal of the truth.
The president George W. Bush reminds me of most is Ulysses S. Grant.
Grant was an alcoholic. He was considered by many to be stupid, uncouth, and inarticulate.
But he was one of the best horsemen in the Army as a young man.
And he could think outside the box, and demonstrated this in a brilliant campaign at Vicksburg.
When in charge, he took charge, saved the Union Army at Chattanooga.
He figured out how to beat Lee.
And though he was occassionally outmaneuvered by Lee, HE WOULD NOT BE STOPPED. Despite casualty rates that soared far over 100% in many regiments during the Overland campaign, he would not be stopped.
Longstreet crushed his flank at The Wilderness, and his whole army knew that Lee had whipped them. Again. His troops expected Grant to withdraw north again, as Hooker had done at Chancellorsville. As Burnside had done at Fredericksburg. As McClellan had done after Antietam. As McClellan had done after First Mannassas.
And when the order came--continue the march south. Carry the fight to the enemy. Seize the offensive. Seize the initative. Do not let up.--the men in the ranks cheered.
And then this inarticulate drunkard who saved millions from slavery goes on to befriend the greatest literary talent in American History, and produce one of the finest political memoirs ever written--in tight, efficient prose, solid as a cannonball.
His greatest failure: probably political naivete. He was blindsided by some corrupt officials and whacked over the head by Teapot Dome.
Dubya has screwed up many times. He will screw up again before the election. If reelected, he will screw up with metamucilian regularity until he leaves office.
All administrations do.
He has also liberated more people from slavery than Grant and Lincoln dreamed of. He's freed more people from slavery than any other president since Roosevelt (Depending on how much credit you want to give Reagan for winning the Cold War, but I think that was a team effort of many administrations).
As Obi Won Kenobi would say:
"The Force is strong with this one."
Splash, out
Jason