Natalie Solent on what appeals about W:
And I thank God - literally thank God - that the guy in the White House who started work on making that downside on September 12 2001 was a sunny-tempered frat boy who is President, at least in part, because his Daddy was. Peter Briffa’s column said that professional politicians irritate. That’s only half the problem. The other half is that they are all a particular type of person. Bush is close enough to that type to function but doesn’t really belong. I am aware that he can be a ruthless political operator. (He can pick ‘em, too, a useful skill.) But in important respects his values are more normal than is normal in his milieu.
I will go further. I thank God that Bush is a believing Christian who takes seriously the obligation to love his enemies. He didn’t limit himself to making a downside for terrorism, necessary though that was. (Not that most of his opponents would have done it.) Instead he did what idealists claim to want: he set out to tackle the injustice and oppression that are the root causes of terrorism.
I think she’s hit it. I like that he seems uncomfortable with the job - he should be uncomfortable with it, it’s fundamentally immoral. I’d love to hear why he decided to run in the first place, but I guess I can wait ’til 2009.