Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush

¹Yesterday I finished reading Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush².  Not one to go looking for political books, I was surprised when I saw it on the bookshelf and immediately wanted to read it.  All in all, I really liked the book.  I learned a lot about the political process, and gained a broader sense of how things fit together and how our government works day-to-day.  Most of all, I learned a lot about our incumbent president—his character and decision-making and leadership style.  He has not been a popular president by any means.  But as the title suggests, he is a man of certainty and determination, and I would argue, a man of authenticity.  That's rare (and attractive) in the political world.

The author (Robert Draper) writes less of an analysis of Bush's activity as president, but more unfolds the story in narrative form about how the man of George Bush tackled his presidential activities.  It's about who Bush is, where he comes from, what makes him tick, his personality, and so on.  Draper interviewed some 200 people to write this book, and it reads as though you are a part of the White House administrative staff—right there in the action.

While it's not a comprehensive critical analysis of the past 7 years, I did learn a lot about many notable events: the 9/11 terrorist attack, the "war on terror", the ongoing activity in Iraq, hurricane Katrina, and the immigration issue.

Since the book was written and published during Bush's presidency, there wasn't much insight into how political historians will consider Bush's contributions as the 43rd president of the United States.  But I did learn how this "untested" man prior to the presidency "grew" into being a wartime president and national leader.

I now have a renewed interest in watching the 2008 presidential race come to a close, and am already praying and sacrificing for the best candidate (in God's eyes) to win.