And if there’s any doubt, then I think I’ll leave it out
This New York Times article on Bush’s faith is bouncing around the blogs, and with good reason. I warn you it’s long, but here’s a few paragraphs that jumped out at me to give you a flavor:
“Biden, who early on became disenchanted with Bush’s grasp of foreign-policy issues and is among John Kerry’s closest Senate friends, has spent a lot of time trying to size up the president. ‘‘Most successful people are good at identifying, very early, their strengths and weaknesses, at knowing themselves,’’ he told me not long ago. ‘‘For most of us average Joes, that meant we’ve relied on strengths but had to work on our weakness – to lift them to adequacy – otherwise they might bring us down. I don’t think the president really had to do that, because he always had someone there – his family or friends – to bail him out. I don’t think, on balance, that has served him well for the moment he’s in now as president. He never seems to have worked on his weaknesses.’’
“And for those who don’t get it? That was explained to me in late 2002 by Mark McKinnon, a longtime senior media adviser to Bush, who now runs his own consulting firm and helps the president. He started by challenging me. ‘‘You think he’s an idiot, don’t you?’’ I said, no, I didn’t. ‘‘No, you do, all of you do, up and down the West Coast, the East Coast, a few blocks in southern Manhattan called Wall Street. Let me clue you in. We don’t care. You see, you’re outnumbered 2 to 1 by folks in the big, wide middle of America, busy working people who don’t read The New York Times or Washington Post or The L.A. Times. And you know what they like? They like the way he walks and the way he points, the way he exudes confidence. They have faith in him. And when you attack him for his malaprops, his jumbled syntax, it’s good for us. Because you know what those folks don’t like? They don’t like you!’’
“The bond between Bush and his base is a bond of mutual support. He supports them with his actions, doing his level best to stand firm on wedge issues like abortion and same-sex marriage while he identifies evil in the world, at home and abroad. They respond with fierce faith. The power of this transaction is something that people, especially those who are religious, tend to connect to their own lives. If you have faith in someone, that person is filled like a vessel. Your faith is the wind beneath his or her wings. That person may well rise to the occasion and surprise you: I had faith in you, and my faith was rewarded. Or, I know you’ve been struggling, and I need to pray harder.”
ETA: And then after you’ve read the article, read Kevin Drum’s reaction to it.
