Merry Christmas from the Clingan Family

Decision Points by George W. Bush

     I like George W. Bush. I voted for him twice for president of the United States. I was privileged to host him in the spring of 2000 in Jackson, Mississippi when he was running for president. I was impressed with him then and my respect for him has only grown after reading this book. Of course, there were many decisions of his I did not agree, but I am always thankful for any president who makes the tough decisions on behalf of all of us. Naturally, I anticipated his book and I was not disappointed.
     I have been a bibliophile for as long as I can remember. I especially enjoy political biographies. The first “adult” book I can remember reading as an older child was Plain Speaking, an oral biography of Harry S. Truman. I remember the plethora of books that were published after the Watergate crisis. I devoured All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, I was fascinated by G. Gordon Liddy’s Will and forever changed by Charles Colson’s Born Again. All of these and more almost made me thankful for Watergate.

     It was in this spirit of love of political books that I anticipated reading Decision Points by President Bush. Now, unlike previous generations, we have the ability to have a political book in front of us much nearer to the actual events themselves. I was mildly surprised at how much information survived the inevitable classified intelligence scrubbing and I was impressed on how candid he was about world leaders and the men and women who served him.

     Decisions Points is not an autobiography but rather a collection of the stories surrounding some of the most important decisions made by President Bush. It is his desire to give the reader a glimpse of some of the details leading to these important decisions.

Instead of giving a typical book review, I would like to list several of the impressions and anecdotes I take away from reading this book.

•   The Personal Details of His Biographical Information

The first chapter, Quitting, only comprises 23 of the 481 pages of the book, yet it contains many interesting biographical details and several very humorous stories. It is impressive that President Bush describes a decision he made long before his Presidency as the primary decision. The decision to “quit” drinking alcohol on his fortieth birthday is foundational to understanding the person and the man who served as president for eight years. All other decisions are a manifestation of the character revealed in this decision. The spiritual nature of this decision and some of the humorous details that accompany it make this chapter some of the most interesting reading in the book.
 

• Some People are More Qualified to be President than Others

In reading this book one gets the overall impression that a quality family background and some of America’s best educational opportunities provides great qualifications to be president. I know that speaks of elitism and many of our great presidents (most notably, Abraham Lincoln) did not have the opportunity of a good family background or excellent education, yet I have come to see the values in these twin pillars of preparation for public service. George W. Bush possessed an excellent foundation in both and coupled with his common sense Texas roots, it uniquely qualified him to be president.

America abhors a ruling class of elites. Family background and education are wisely not included in our Constitution as requirements for the office of President. One of my favorite evangelists of a former era was fond of saying about marriage, “Staying with the same woman will not get a man to heaven, but it sure gives him a tailwind in the right direction.” I come away from this book with the same impression about family and educational background as beneficial for positions of leadership in our nation. It does not qualify you alone to be an effective president, but it sure gives you a head start on the competition.