A very quick thought:

Perhaps the thing I love most about George Bush is his peace.

Politicians and campaign managers have always admired (or coveted) his ability to be "comfortable in his own skin."

The familiar questions that have generally accompanied that cliché:

Who would you rather have a beer with? Bush, Gore, or Kerry?

Who seems more genuine? Who connects better with the heartland? Who has more core convictions? Who actually means what he says? Who is less likely to set policy based on transient public opinion polling?

Bush always wins those questions.

Granted, those are not the end-all, be-alls to attaining greatness (or perhaps even competence) as President of the United States.

However, I admire our President for his placidity in the midst of the sound of the fury of low approval ratings, a hostile Congress, and a media deliriously in pursuit of a weakened Chief Executive.

Amazingly, President Bush has not made any excuses. Can you imagine if you or I (or Bill Clinton) were in this mess? Can you imagine the tortured explanations and protestations we would have heard by now? Think about the elaborate public demonstrations of intrinsic goodness that we would have been subject to by this point to convince us the man in the Oval Office really was a good-hearted fellow.

Thankfully, President Bush has spared us all that dramatic emotional unburdening. He just goes on. He continues to show up, doing his job, smiling at us, encouraging us and not once complaining about the raw deal he is getting.

Remarkable.