The Faith of George W. Bush

Rating:
Summary: Solid overview of president's faith
Review: This is not a long read; I read it in one plane flight. It's a solid summary of the president's faith.

The book has a realistic, middle of the road viewpoint, neither hero-worshipping nor denigrating the president. Mansfield doesn't balk at showing Bush led far from a spotless life -- and he doesn't rub his nose in it, either. For a quick-hit, relatively superficial book, this is surprisingly good. Better than I expected. This is not a homily to Bush and yet at the same time it managed to erase some of my recent doubts about the president.

What I've liked about Bush since the first presidential campaign is precisely that he's a flawed human that I can relate to. He doesn't speak well (Mansfield suggests, interestingly, that he might be dyslexic). He's made mistakes. He is probably an alcoholic. He was not a picture of success at age 40. Yet he's turned all of this around and was president less than two decades after that midlife low point. Clearly part of the turnaround is confronting his alcoholism and finding a higher power. What Bush pulled off -- and the faith behind it -- is inspiring. DESPITE his family and wealth, he's a reminder that anyone can be president.

The president's faith is not a scarey thing: One gets the impression of a flawed real person who probably has the same doubts many do even as he pursues a humble walk. It seems a deeply personal faith, not one he's trying to bash people over the head with. And Bush seems very far from trying to play the saint. It doesn't seem a scarey politicized facist sort of faith at all. It's not POLITICAL faith -- it's PERSONAL faith.

Overall, this is inspiring and reassuring. And it's nice to have the details of the president's Methodism and his daily reading of Chambers.

What's so fascinating in 2004 is the perspective that the president may very well be a bold leader who is facing a storm of criticism and passion precisely because he's a strong leader who does not slavishly turn with each subtlety of the opinion polls in a desperate effort to be all things to all people. He clearly doesn't care to please every critic.

I suspect history will judge Bush more kindly than contemporaries, unlike say Clinton, who was clearly better liked by his contemporaries than he will be (or is already) by historians.


Rating:
Summary: True Faith
Review: Truly revealing. I am moved by this man and his faith.

Rating:
Summary: The Faith Of George W. Bush
Review: While the rest of the world seems to be falling apart, Stephen Mansfield takes a look into the man that may have been sent by God himself. The book talks about how a man like every other man has had his problems and yet has climbed to the top with his firm believe in God. While so many people said George W. Bush would never run for president because of his past history of parties and drinking, stood up and took the bull by the horns. Mansfield takes you through the life of a true man and his rise to the top with his new faith in God. A must read- Larry Hobson-Author- "The Day Of The Rose"

Rating:
Summary: The TRUTH About George W. Bush
Review: With all of the negative books about George W. Bush in the market, it is about time that someone has the courage to write an unbiased book about our president and his faith. As an Christian independent with conservative leanings, it has helped me see how the president's policies have been influenced by his relationship with God. And as someone whose past has not always followed God's path, I can relate to the president's sometimes checkered past. The engaging, narrative writing style is easy to read.
I let my father-in-law, a long-time labor Democrat read the book, and he said he had gained a newfound respect for the president. I hope the same will be said for other Christians who read this book with an open mind.