President George W. Bush - Character Analysis.

President George W. Bush was a religious family man. He was known as a party boy in college but when his drinking started to damage his marriage and family, which meant the world to him, he turned to God and never looked back (President and His Faith). Wayne Slater a reporter for Dallas morning news said; “When he was governor, he would read the Bible every morning” (1). Bush was known to pray every day no matter where he was. He did everything he could to not miss a church service and once held service on Palm Sunday on Air Force One (Harris). Bush stated many times that God was the reason why he ran for president, saying “I feel like God wants me to run for President, I know it won't be easy on me or my family, but God wants me to do it (1).” Even after the 911attack Bush claims God guided his way, 'I am driven with a mission from God'. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did" (MacAskill). Bush values family and God before all and is not afraid to tell everyone.

George W. Bush was famously known for his plain speaking and inarticulate vocabulary. He was raised in Midland, Texas, and speaks with a strong southern accent, spoke in simple words during his speeches and sometimes would mix words, creating new words. Even though he went to Yale and was highly educated, media would always highlight these mistakes and often devalued he words as not educated or professional (Trester). He would mess up or created his own words so often that the media started coining the terms “Bushims” like when he said, “let’s talk about some issues rait quick” (1). Bushisms typically involve the blending of words. For example, Bush once used the term “revengeful”, a combination of "revenge" and “vengeful” (Cloud). But if he is highly educated then why speak so plain? When speech writer Lyn Nofziger was asked about his vocabulary, Nofziger said, “sounded folksy enough to help the American people identify with him” (Smith). The media might have made fun of him for his plain talking and mis-matched words, but Bush wanted to appeal to the people not other politicians or media. He stated in his campaign, “we need plain spoken Americans in the White House” (staff). They say in the PBS article, Do You Speak Presidential, "Bush prides himself on speaking plainly and not sounding too highly educated, and as a result is called unstuffy, relaxed, down to earth"(Smith et al.). Many people may have made fun of the way he spoke but Bush's plain-spoken vocabulary was to be more relatable for the people.

Silly, is another way many people may describe Bush. He was known to dance while he is waiting around, giving high fives and joking around with everyone (Feller). NBC News said “He doesn't take himself too seriously…Like his herky-jerky dance moves in Liberia, or his odd little tap dance while waiting for John McCain to show up one day. He likes to back-slap people” (1). Bush recognized that people made fun of him for how he spoke so he would make jokes about himself. Like when he was talking about his new book he wrote he joked to Jimmy Kimmel, “So, I wrote these books which surprised a lot of people...they didn’t think I could read, much less write” (Shabad). He also made an appearance on “The Ellen Show” where he did a little dancing while walking onto the stage; he then got a little more serious when he spoke about the current political climate (1). Bush was never afraid to be silly even in serious settings.

We know what the media portrays of him but what about his friends or colleagues? They all state how direct, decisive and to the point he is. Tom Schieffer states in the article Bush as boss, “he does not second-guess himself about decisions…George is very good at addressing problems as they come across his desk and then moving on to the next one. When he makes mistakes, he doesn't dwell on them, he tries to learn from them. He thinks it's important to be decisive and provide some leadership…a classic executive, who focuses on strategic decisions and leaves it to the others to work out the details” (Kirschten). Joe Allbaugh, Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign director says “He doesn't regret decisions that he makes. He wants people to know exactly what he stands for, exactly where he's headed, exactly where he's coming from so, there'll be no guessing” (Decision making style). Richard Clark talked about Bush requesting minimal details because he wants to decide quickly and not get caught up in details. "I don't do nuance.” He's not interested in a lot of discussion about details. He wants to know, "Where are we going, what's the bottom line, what's your recommendation, OK, let's go on" (1). One thing we can all agree, Bush doesn’t spend much time on decisions and once the decision is made, he doesn’t change it.

President George W. Bush prioritizes family and God every day. Despite his high education, his plain-spoken words was a measured choice to connect with the American people. While the media portrayed him as silly, his friends and colleagues described him as direct, decisive, and focused on strategic decisions.