Decision Points

I had the chance to read Decision Points over the Christmas holiday. It was actually hard to put it down and accomplish anything else but I stretched it out over a week. The biography is impressive, well-written and illuminating.

I came away thinking, That's the leader whose inauguration I stood in the freezing rain to be a part of. While I found myself frustrated with some of Bush's decisions (Harriet Miers, the financial crisis), he soundly cleared up any doubts I had about his ability to lead us through a war on terror. My questions about Iraq were answered and I have no doubt that any effective leader who took seriously his or her role to keep the nation safe would have handled Iraq similarly. At several points, Bush himself tells us what he "should" have done.  But usually the should haves are the result of new information, and not because he failed to act in the best way possible based on the information he had at the time.

Bush struck me as more of a business-minded conservative, than a person grounded in conservative philosophy. But I was impressed with his knowledge of history and the way history guided him in his task. This book only deepened my appreciation of the Bush family and made me grateful that we had this leader at the helm for eight pivotal years in our history,  particularly on and in the aftermath of 9/11.

The book's organization, examining the decisions Bush made and what guided him as he made those decisions has provided a sense of process to my own decisions in the last week. Say what you want about his communication style, Bush is a clear thinker. This book leads me to believe that history will justify much of his presidency and interpret him as one of the best war-time presidents we have had. But as Bush says, he'll be gone before history can form an authoritative opinion.