THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT

Michael and I were blessed with the honor of hearing President George W. Bush speak last night.
I have to say that I've never been all that politically minded, and never followed agendas or decisions all that closely until recent years. I don't feel super-crazy-passionate about political ideas or stances, but I was really looking forward to this event. It really was amazing to hear him speak in person. It felt like I was a part of history; it felt heavily significant to me. Beyond that, I was more than pleasantly surprised by how down to earth our former President is, by how truly funny he is, and by how much I genuinely liked him and what he had to say. Hearing him speak last night also made me sad that the media spent so much time and energy making him look and sound like a bumbling idiot, because if the speech I heard was any indication, he most certainly is not. He sounded like a regular, intelligent man with strong convictions and a natural ability to lead - how refreshing!

He spoke on many issues that I'd never truly known where he stood on (mostly because of the way said media twisted and presented his intentions/motives), or why he decided the things he did, and it was so nice to hear reasons and thought-processes based on the principles he holds dear, coming from his own mouth. I know there are a lot of people who think he did a poor job as President. I know that he has his own side of the story, and that it favors himself, as our own stories about ourselves often do, but he seemed genuine and honest and wonderfully steady and dependable to me, and that is something worth holding onto...maybe that's why we elected him in the first place, eh?

Anyway, here's a shout-out to the former President of the United States from little old me: Thank you, Mr. President for being yourself, for being personable, and for standing up for what you believe in, in a world and culture where those attributes are fading and becoming more and more difficult to find. Thank you for doing the best job you could do, and for trying to honor God and America in your decisions. And thanks for coming to our little get-together to bless us with your time and words. I'm thinking that someday, when history is more hind-sighted and objective, you might be appreciated a bit more.