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Letters to the Magazine

Newsweek

Aug 6, 2006

I read your behind-the-scenes article about President Bush at the G8 summit and on Air Force One. Unlike that portrayal, my firsthand experience with the president points to a serious and determined leader. As a chaplain working in New Orleans recovering the bodies of those who perished in Katrina's wrath, I had a chance encounter with him at the command center in Baton Rouge. I watched as our president comforted those under considerable duress with exchanges of real encouragement and resilient determination, instead of taking a golden opportunity to shift blame elsewhere. Not simply because of his political office, but through his personal integrity, this man rises above so many. In the face of extreme adversity, Bush's relaxed and reassuring demeanor effectively models how unpretentiously heroic a president can be.
Rev. William J. Keane
Branford, Conn.