Message-ID: <32127635.1075858974033.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 06:28:48 -0700 (PDT) From: debra.thompson@enron.com To: richard.babin@enron.com, christi.culwell@enron.com, teb.lokey@enron.com, blair.lichtenwalter@enron.com Subject: FW: Keep this man in our Prayers Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Thompson, Debra X-To: Babin, Richard , Culwell, Christi , Lokey, Teb , Lichtenwalter, Blair X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \TLOKEY (Non-Privileged)\Inbox X-Origin: Lokey-T X-FileName: TLOKEY (Non-Privileged).pst Lengthy - but worth reading in my opinion > > We need to keep THIS MAN in our prayers. > > (Authored by Bruce Holbrook) > > We thank God for "this man". > > > This was the same man who came within a hair's breadth of losing an > election in November, who withstood the political chicanery of the Florida > Democratic machine to fix the vote count. > > This was the same man who admitted to having a drinking problem in younger > years, and whose happy-go-lucky lifestyle led him to mediocre grades in > college and an ill-fated oil venture. > > This was the same man who mangled syntax even more than his father, and > whose speaking missteps became known as "Bushisms." > > And on Friday, this was the man who bore the weight of the world and the > responsibilities of a generation with dignity, class, confidence, > appropriate solemnity, and even much-needed wit. > > One thing struck me during the campaign, that difficult, roller-coaster > campaign that now seems years ago. It was that George W. Bush never seemed > to get ruffled. Whether the theft of a campaign debate video or the sudden > (some would say, vicious) release of a DUI arrest two decades ago at a key > moment, "W" did not lose his cool. At times, his staff seemed > overconfident, as did many of us. A 350-electoral-vote win, they quietly > implied. . .and we optimistically believed. > > Then they counted the votes, miscounted others, and re-counted still > others. At the end, he was still there. Whereas Al Gore almost frantically > huffed and puffed, trying to gin up something out of nothing, Bush quietly > but confidently waited at his ranch. He didn't do nothing: that is the > mistake people have constantly made with this man, confusing lack of > bluster for absence of action. No, his team of attorneys and the > iron-willed James Baker were carrying out his orders, but W stayed > in the background, confident and faithful. > > You see, it is this faith business that confounded everyone. We have had > such actors and liars in public office that we have looked skeptically > whenever anyone used the term faith. > > But this was the same man who was the first politician ever in recent > memory to name Jesus Christ as the Lord of his life on public TV. Not an > oblique reference to being "born-again" or having a "life change." He said > the un-PC-like phrase, "Jesus Christ," to which his handlers and advisors, > no doubt, off stage, were also saying, "Jesus Christ" in a much different > tone. > > God has a way of honoring those who honor him. David learned that while he > was on the run from Saul's armies. Job learned that after his time of > horrible tribulation. The Messiah said so Himself, many times. > > So this was the man who actually put faith into practice. He actually > loves > those who hate him. It is a staggering concept, so foreign in daily > occurrence that few thought it anything but grandstanding. Even one of W's > biggest supporters chided the president for adhering to his "new tone." > > Yet there he was, again and again, thanking the Democrats. Appointing his > enemies to high places in his government. Inviting his former foes and > their wives to private movie screenings, and (I know, this is hard to > stomach) even treating them with dignity. See, this was the man who > learned > early on how faith worked: by praying for his enemies, you "heap burning > coals upon their heads." Happen to catch Bill Clinton at the National > Prayer Service? Didn't look too good, did he? > > This was the man who named the absolute top people in national security > and defense, then caught barbs from the politically righteous that this > one > didn't have the right views on abortion or that one didn't have the right > position on guns. > > And on September 11, at mid-morning, this was the man thrust into a > position only known by Roosevelt, Churchill, Lincoln, and Washington. The > weight of the world was on his shoulders, and the responsibility of a > generation was on his soul.. > > So this same man---the one that the media repeatedly attempted to tarnish > with charges of "illegitimacy," and the one whose political opponents > desperately sought to stonewall until mid-term elections---walked to his > seat at the front of the National Cathedral just three days after the two > most impressive symbols of American capitalism and prosperity virtually > evaporated, along with, perhaps, thousands of Americans. > > As he sat down next to his wife, immediately I knew that even if his faith > ever faltered, hers didn't. I have never seen a more peaceful face than > Laura Bush, whose eyes seemed as though they were already gazing at the > final outcome. . .not just of this conflict, but of her reward in Heaven > itself. In this marriage, you indeed got two for the price of one. > > The appropriate songs were sung, as one said, to in an almost unbearably > emotional service. I, for one, broke down innumerable times merely > listening on tape delay on the radio. How the man spoke without > blubbering, > I'll never know. > > Then came the defining moment of our generation. Some people fondly recall > their Woodstock days. Others mark with grim sadness November 22, 1963, as > the day America lost her innocence. But I firmly believe when the history > of this time is written, it will be acknowledged by friend and foe alike > that President George W. Bush came of age in that cathedral and lifted a > nation off its knees. > > It wasn't so much his words, though read a decade later, they will indeed > be as stirring as any. The conflict would end, he noted, "at a time of our > choosing." It certainly wasn't his emotion. What had to have been one of > the most stunning exhibitions of self-control in presidential history, W > was able to deliver his remarks without losing either his resolve or his > focus, or, more important, his confidence. It was as if God's hand, which > had guided him through that sliver-thin election, now rested fully on him. > His quiet confidence let our enemies know. . .and believe me, they know > ... > that they made a grave miscalculation. > > Now, this same man who practiced his faith through a tough election, who > steeled his convictions even more in a drawn-out Florida battle, and who > never once gave in to the temptation to get in the gutter with his foes > (well, ok, maybe the "Clymer" comment is an exception), this same man now > lifted the weight of the world and the responsibility of a generation and > put it on his modest shoulders as though it were another unpleasant duty. > > As he walked back to his seat, the camera angle was appropriate. He was > virtually alone in the scene, alone in that massive place of God, just him > and the Lord. But that's the way it's always been in his life recently. In > that brief time it took him to return to his seat, I believe he heard > words > to the effect of, "You can do this, George. I am with you always. And you > can do this well, because I am going before you. And don't worry about the > weight. I've got it." > > And I saw in his eyes a quiet acknowledgement. "I know. Thank you! , > Lord." > > Back at his seat, when W sat down, George H. W. Bush reached over and took > his son's hand. The elder Bush always struck me as a religious man,but not > someone who shared his life on a daily basis with the Lord. George H.W. > treats the Father like a respected uncle, visiting him on appropriate > holidays and knowing the relationship is real, but not constant. Anyway, I > believe that in that fatherly squeeze George H. W. said, "I wish I could > do > this for you, son, but I can't. You have to do this on your own." > > He squeezed back and gave him that look of peace that Laura had kept > throughout. It said, "I don't have to do it alone, dad. I've got help." > ============================= > God Bless President Bush > God Bless America > Bruce Holbrook > > > > > >