FINALIST:GEORGE W. BUSH
President of the United States
On Beliefnet's message boards, no one received more nominations than George W. Bush. Though many people mentioned qualities like "strength," "calmness under pressure," and "wisdom," the more common point of praise had to do with his faith. Beliefnet users applauded Bush for his public discussion of, and reliance on, prayer. User ch531, for example, commented that "it gratifies my heart to know that our President prays about everything he does."
Many also said Bush’s personal transformation had inspired them. People view him not only as a famous politician but as a man with serious limitations who, when faced with enormous challenges, rose to the occasion. In nominating Bush, Pwicekearney wrote, "The manner in which he emerged over the last year from being one who did not even win the popular vote...to the man today is a remarkable metamorphosis! He is so real, so genuine. What you see is what you get! He’s so human, willing to mention the name of God without fear or shame. Never has there been such a change in one man."
The editors would like to add one other point. At a critical moment shortly after the attacks of September 11, Bush warmly embraced Islam. He referred to the Qur’an as a "holy book" and Islam as a great religion that had been hijacked. He invited Muslim leaders to the White House for a Ramadan meal and invited Imams to the national prayer service. As anti-Muslim backlash grew, he stood firmly for the principle that our war was against terrorism, not Muslims.
To be sure, there were practical political reasons for him to do that. But Bush went farther than he needed to, and his comments carried special weight coming as they did from someone as religious as he. Just as it took Nixon (a fervent anti-Communist) to open up relations with China, and it took Bill Clinton (an antipoverty Democrat) to reform welfare, it took Bush-–a devout Christian-–to legitimize and defend Islam.
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