Rising to the moment
Bush's approach to recent tragedies reveal character

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." -Mohandas Gandhi

In her biography of Ronald Reagan, When Character was King, Peggy Noonan wrote of a sense of nationwide consensus that Reagan was the "last great man" - at least until the next one comes along. He was great because of the man he was: a man with understated strength, committed to his principles, uncompromisingly optimistic. But he will also be remembered for the challenges history threw at him, and how he managed to measure up to each moment.

We saw this in President George W. Bush just this February second, when he was faced with one of the somber responsibilities of his office: to announce to the United States the
tragic destruction of the space shuttle Columbia and to tend to the aftermath. The last American president to face this task was Ronald Reagan, who in 1986 reassured a despondent nation after the Challenger crew paid the ultimate price for human curiosity.

At 2:04 p.m. on February second, President Bush addressed the nation with a sincere and somber sense of loss, but also with a continued confidence in the American space program. "The cause in which [the Columbia crew] died will continue. Mankind is led
into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on."

This is just another illustration of Bush's approach in responding to tragedy: lamenting the loss of human life, but meeting adversity with confidence and encouragement, a kind of deliberate and tender strength. After September 11, Bush reassured an uneasy citizenry that they must continue going to work, stopping by the supermarket, going to baseball games. He was a leader, demonstrating that the only response to tragedy must be hopefulness coupled with a determined effort to persevere.

This fortitude is reminiscent of President Reagan, who willingly accepted the challenges and anxieties of his term with a faith in his ability to exert strength and affect change. Throughout the tensions of the Cold War, Reagan stayed committed to his philosophy that America could secure peace through subtle strength.

Even during the trauma of an assassination attempt in the ninth week of his term, President Reagan, with a bullet lodged in his torso, refused to be rolled into the hospital on a gurney. Instead, when his limousine pulled up to the curb of George Washington
University Hospital, Reagan stepped out, buttoned his suit jacket, and walked through the doors of the emergency room, defying crisis with willful composure and strength.

President George W. Bush has demonstrated more and more that he shares Reagan's strong moral resolve. Another great statesman of American history, Henry Clay, asserted that "above all the properties which belong to honorable men, not one is as highly prized as that of character." Both Presidents have demonstrated their strength of character by their willingness to define their principles and apply them to the world -- not afraid to
make moral claims, to assert a moral sense of right and wrong, and to judge by a set of firm beliefs. Reagan did this in his "Evil Empire speech," when he asserted that the Communist government of Soviet Russia was not just disagreeable, or irrational, but clearly morally wrong because it deprives people of freedom.

President Bush has also been willing to wear his principles on his sleeve. In response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, Bush addressed an audience at the Pentagon: "We are not afraid. Our case is just and worthy of sacrifice. Our nation is strong of
heart, firm of purpose. Inspired by all the courage that has come before, we will meet our moment and we will prevail."

America is a great nation because it is one of a free people who do not turn away from the challenges of history and the unknown edges of science. Once in a while we have great men to lead us steadfastly through times of darkness and doubt, who see with
luminous clarity the destiny we must pursue. They reassure us that we will fly again, know peace again, we will rebuild what is broken and restore what is bruised and never stray from our course; we will continue to pursue justice on Earth and to reach with reverence and wonder toward the infinite mysteries of the universe. Above all, they remind us that when history calls, we must rise up and meet it with optimism and resolve.

President Reagan proved to be one such great man. Now, after his 92nd birthday, it appears the next great man is swaggering along.