Bumping to an antiquated bump list.
ping
Anyone who wonders why this man was elected only needs to read this interview to find out why.
I do not agree with all of President Bush's policy viewpoints, but he humbly and on a daily basis demonstrates that he is worthy of the deep respect of all honorable persons.
This could be optimistic thinking but it sounds like the press may have been affected by the ceremony as well. (Well, at least it sounds like they were momentarily stunned out of their usual asinine rudeness.)
BINGO!
Thank the Lord that this man is president.
and as for this quote:
"Q Are there any qualities that you're specifically looking for [in the next Pope]?
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not a part of the selection process."
It would be nice if the media remembered this.
I have pinged some people that will be interested in this. Thank again!
Fabulous interview.
bttt
btt
Thanks for posting this.
As if I didn't love this man enough already! We are fortunate to have such an honorable person as president.
What an amazing, revealing interview. I can't imagine any other president in my lifetime (I was born in 55) able to combine the intelligence and humility revealed here. Time and again, GW hits just the right note. Amazing. And who are those people again who claim that he is stupid?
REPORTER: Italy is going to pull out 3,000 troops, I think, by the fall. Will you be able to absorb that?
THE PRESIDENT: I don't know why you say that. I'm not sure why you said what you just said.
REPORTER: I thought that was the number of troops Italy had in Iraq, and I --
THE PRESIDENT: They've got 3,300 now, and you said they're going to pull 3,000 out by the fall?
REPORTER Well, I guess -- I don't --
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. What I did hear was is that the Prime Minister wants to work to make sure we complete the mission. But I'm not sure where that came from.
*giggle*
Thanks for posting this! From time to time I forget what an incredible person GWB is - interviews like this remind me why I voted for him and worked on his campaign.
bump for later
THE PRESIDENT: I think a walk in faith constantly confronts doubt, as faith becomes more mature. And you constantly confront, you know, questions. My faith is strong. The Bible talks about, you've got to constantly stay in touch with the Word of God in order to help you on the walk. But the Lord works in mysterious ways, and during all our life's journeys we're enabled to see the Lord at work if our eyes are open and our hearts are open. And today -- you can analyze and you can look at the coffin being held, with the sun shining on it, anyway you want. I happen to feel it was a special moment that was part of a special ceremony for a special person. And it helped strengthen my faith. And you can have your faith strengthened on -- you can have your faith strengthened when you stand up at a faith-based initiative and see someone standing up and testify to what their love has done to help a child, or how a child's life has been helped.
My faith gets strengthened when I went to the school the other day and saw the mentoring relationship between a young professional woman and a young kid who's going to go to the seed school where there's a 95 percent chance that kid is going to go to college. And that helps strengthen my faith. So there's, you know, ways -- whether the moment be majestical or whether the moment be a part of just an average -- your average moment in life, you can find ways to strengthen your faith. And it's necessary to do so, in my judgment. There is a -- it's called a "walk," it's not called a "moment" or a "respite," it's a walk. It's a constant maturing of an understanding of a -- and today's ceremony, I bet you, for millions of people was a reaffirmation for many and a way to make sure doubts don't seep into your soul.
Q Mr. President, I know you're not -- you've said -- you've often said you're not consumed by polls, but a fair amount has been written lately about your approval ratings, which in some polls are at sort of a low point. Some polls --
THE PRESIDENT: Some of them were going up the other day.
Q Okay. Well, some say that --
THE PRESIDENT: You can find them going up and you can find them going down. (Laughter.)
Q In general, what --
THE PRESIDENT: You can pretty much find out what you want in polls, is my point. (Laughter.)
Exactly! LOL The President knows the Game being played.
I've learned that lesson, as a governor and President, that the people expect and respect people for setting agenda items and staying focused on achieving a solution to the problem.
Hear that Senators?
THE PRESIDENT: I believe in an independent judiciary. I believe in proper checks and balances. And we'll continue to put judges on the bench who strictly and faithfully interpret the Constitution.
Hmm. Sounds as though the President is backing Delay up. Good for him.
There is a lot of interest, obviously, with former Presidents about, you know, policy, so I had them sit in on our policy briefings this morning with Condi and Steve and the CIA fellow traveling with us -- not this morning, yesterday and the day before, on Air Force One. And then yesterday at the embassy I wanted to include them in. And, you know, we had a -- these CIA briefings a lot of time prompt policy discussions, you know, how is this process going, Steve -- and Condi, now that she's here, both of them were able to bring dad and President Clinton up to date on our strategy in dealing with a particular issue. It's interesting to get their points of view about their experiences in particular countries. It was fun. It was really a lot of fun. I was honored they came.
I've been thinking about this. It would have been interesting to witness 41 observing his son up close in the position, and certainly would have been interesting to witness Clinton responding to a president that takes his job seriously.
By the way, I think when you discuss religion -- on doubt --there is no doubt in my mind there is a living God. And no doubt in my mind that the Lord, Christ, was sent by the Almighty. No doubt in my mind about that. When I'm talking about doubts, I'm talking about the doubts that an individual struggles with in his or her life. That's important for you to make sure you get that part of the dialogue correct, if you don't mind.
AMEN!
Bush's comments about his faith and the Pope remind me of a line from Zell Miller's convention speech: "I have knocked on the door of this man's soul and found someone home, a God-fearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel. "
Bush sure seems to be a manifestly decent, humble and honorable man. It's inspiring and reassuring to have a president who is so comfortable in his own skin no matter how great or small the moment.
I would not be surprised if Bush converts to Catholicism in the future...
I love President Bush. I am so glad that he leads our country....and represents us abroad.