On Reading Decision Points

I never really intended to write so many book reviews in this blog. But, reading is something I do - whether it's the news websites or books or my new Kindle(!), it's one of my favorite ways to ingest information (as opposed to the TV). And so, I find myself in the middle of at least three books that I feel a need to share thoughts on.

I have always respected George W. Bush, and have said so. One reason is that he went after two of my deepest fears as a child: Sadaam Hussein and Social Security. True, he was unsuccessful with the second item, but I know the circumstances were beyond his control - even the most powerful man in the world is not all-powerful.

Of course, Bush's outspokenness abou his faith has always impressed me. Before I speak of specific in his book, Decision Points, I would like to pull out an example. As a new Catholic, I was stunned to read some of the president's memoirs regarding pope John Paul II. For instance, although not a Catholic himself - nor bound by Catholic teachings - he asked the pope and the Catholic church in general to continue its strong leadership in lessons of morality for the United States and the world. Also, he said that at the funeral of the late pope, his wife told him, "Now is the time to pray for miracles."

I wrote in my own story of coming to the Catholic faith how the pope, and probably John Paul II played a role. I felt that the belief of the holiness of this man by people who were not even Catholic justified to some extent the Catholic beliefs about him. How could he be holy and also a liar? The president's memory of the burial impacted me because it helped to confirm what I already knew. As Christians we are all on the same side - most Christian denominations agree with Catholic Christians on teachings of morality, and we can see someone devoted to God and agree on that. Catholicism and fundamentalism are intertwined in close ways, and without knowing it, the former president helped point it out.

But to continue - after Bush won his second term, I tuned him out. This wasn't an insult on my part - it was actually a complement. I felt he could run the country, and I didn't need to worry about checking the daily news or talk radio to see what was going on. I knew about the protestors, and I wished he would have defended himself against some accusations. In his book, he explains he thought it was beneath him. But I also had fun watching his and Donald Rumsfield's press conferences, where they sidestepped trapping questions of the media like pros, Bush always with that little smile on his face.

(By the by, I have always seen something of Harrison Ford in George Bush - perhaps that laid back accent and half-smile. If there were ever going to be a big time movie made about him, I would love to have Ford play him. Unfortunately, their generations are backwards, which I suppose is acceptable, given that Hollywood would probably never honor the president with that type of attention).

Already just a few chapters in, I have noticed some topics the former president brings up that inspire me to write. So I will follow this post with a few more topical posts about his book.

(Oh, and as a general critique, the book is well-written in that it is clearly in his voice - his own words. What I find interesting is that the first few chapters mirror a biography I read of him soon after his election in 2000 - the data was the same, but it was interesting to hear what he pulled out and thought was important to share).