[pattyvita]

Just discovered this terrific interview by Timothy Goeglein, who was President Bush’s Deputy Director of the Office of Public Liaison in the White House. He just wrote a book called, “The Man in the Middle” about why most of Bush’s decisions were made for the greater good and debunks the myth that the President’s “compassionate conservatism” lead to the expansion of big government.

Read the interview here:

Reconsidering Bush’s “Compassionate” Conservatism

If you’d like to order the book, click on this link to Amazon:

The Man in the Middle: An Inside Account of Faith and Politics in the George W. Bush Era

************************************************************

Here’s an excerpt where Timothy talks about resigning from a plagiarism scandal and how the President forgave him and showed concern for him and his family. It’s pretty touching!

So surely this, I thought, would be the woodshed moment, and again I completely deserved it. I expected other people to be there, but when I got to the Oval Office the only other person there was the executive assistant. I thought I must have come on the wrong day—but the President called me in. I thought: This is going to be really bad. I went in and closed the door.

I turned to him to apologize, but barely got the words out before he looked me in the eyes and said, “Tim, I forgive you.” To say I was stunned would be an understatement. I tried again to apologize, but he wouldn’t let me. He said, “Tim, I’ve known grace and mercy in my life. I’m extending it to you. You’re forgiven.”

I said, “You should have thrown me into Pennsylvania Avenue.” Again he said, “My friend, you’re forgiven. We can talk about all of this, or we can talk about the last eight years.”

As I turned to head out, though, he said, “I want you to bring your wife and boys here, so I can tell them what a great job you’ve done.”

I was stunned and speechless. The leader of the free world, the most powerful man on earth, wanted to affirm me before my wife and children. Sure enough, my wife and boys came, the President gave them a great amount of time in the Oval Office and gave them gifts.

[pattyvita]

This photo was just published a few days ago. I don't know when it was taken, perhaps while President Bush was still in office or after he left office. But nevertheless, it is very moving to see him greet and hug the troops as they are on their way to fly out for deployment or going back home. Once again it just proves that he is a truly caring and good-hearted man.

[Wolfstar]

He just wrote a book called, “The Man in the Middle” about why most of Bush’s decisions were made for the greater good and debunks the myth that the President’s “compassionate conservatism” lead to the expansion of big government.

The way so many on the Right viciously turned on GWB less than a year after his reelection is why I've largely given up on politics.

I'm a political conservative, but no longer consider myself part of the modern conservative movement. I know that might be hard to understand, but basically it means I'm now an independent who has little patience for rabid ideologues and demagogues on either the Left or Right.

[NordP]

That’s the way he rolls! God love ‘em!