Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2002

Think about it. He came into office after winning the presidency by the tiniest of margins and in the wake of the hotly contested Florida recount fiasco, with serious questions being raised about his ability to serve in the nation's highest office. Yet today he enjoys sky-high approval ratings for his performance as president.

His enemies, infuriated because Team Bush - the hard-nose crew he picked and sent to Florida to protect his small victory margin - frustrated all the efforts of the people Al Gore sent to steal enough votes to put the state in his win column, refused to accept the reality of Bush's victory.

With disgruntled, angry Gore supporters snapping at his heels and questioning his legitimacy as president, he calmly set about restoring the nation's confidence in a White House badly shaken by eight years of corrupt and juvenile government under Bill Clinton.

What a Difference a Year Makes

One of his biggest challenges was to restore the morale and competency of the nation's military, so badly damaged by a president who had once expressed his loathing for the men and women charged with protecting the American people.

Recognizing the need not only to repair the damage done by the Clintonites but also the absolute necessity to modernize the military to enable it to fight new and different kinds of wars, he instructed his tough, plain-talking secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, to rebuild and re-equip the armed forces in ways that would empower them to fight 21st century conflicts.

In the face of strident criticism by those who see the military as a second-tier governmental concern, he pushed ahead - and the results are evident today in Afghanistan, where a newly re-energized military has stunned the world with its ability to adapt to a completely different kind of warfare and do it with great courage and skill.

In his brief time in office he has restored morale among the men and women of the armed forces, raising their salaries and treating them with the respect they richly deserve as guardians of our freedoms. They have responded by showing the world what Americans can do when roused.

Even his enemies are forced to admit that his careful and steady conduct of the war against terrorism in Afghanistan has been a classic example of presidential leadership in a time of crisis. In the wake of Sept. 11 he has, by his inspired behavior, united this nation and reawakened a sense of patriotism and determination not seen in America since World War II.

Stopping the Robbery of the People

On the domestic front he forced a reluctant, tax-hungry Democratic Party to swallow a program of tax cuts, reminding them that whatever money the government has that it does not absolutely require to meet its needs belongs to the American people and should be returned to them – a radical idea to the tax-and-spend crowd on Capitol Hill.

His programs have reflected his conviction that most government functions can be best handled at the state and local levels. His confidence in the ability of the American people to tend to their own affairs without hindrance from an all-intrusive federal government is in the best traditions of the Founding Fathers.

He has defied the radical environmentalists, who prefer to see this nation remain dependent upon foreign sources for our energy needs, insisting instead that domestic resources such as a tiny, oil-rich section of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge must be tapped.

His openly proclaimed faith in God and his willingness to put himself into the hands of his Creator stand in stark contrast to the shockingly immoral behavior of the prior administration. Despite media cynicism and attacks, he has remained steadfast in his opposition to such liberal sacraments as abortion, gun-grabbing and racial quotas.

When he came into office in January 2001 the media attempted to characterize him as lacking in intellect and what the media elite regard as sophisticated behavior. Unwilling to admit that their assessment of this Reaganesque statesman was way off the mark, the establishment media now tell America that he has somehow "grown in office."

We have news for them. The George W. Bush we see today is the same George W. Bush who took the oath of office last Jan. 20 – a tough but compassionate Texan who loves his country and its people and knows exactly who he is, what he needs to do and how he means to do it.

He is George W. Bush, NewsMax.com's Man of the Year.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Al Gore
Clinton Scandals
George W. Bush
Presidential Race 2000
War on Terrorism

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