The Pendragon's Hall

It's exciting when I find the views expressed on this blog written in book form. I recently finished "Rebel-in-Chief: Inside the Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush" by Fred Barnes, a reporter for the "Daily Standard." The Pendragon has long felt that in a traditional list of Presidents who changed the nature and perception of the office (a list that usually runs Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, the two Roosevelts and Woodrow Wilson) George W. Bush would one day figure prominently. Barnes sets out to show how that might work. While admitting that history still hasn't finished with George Washington, let alone George Bush, Barnes thinks that Bush will one day be considered one of the foremost presidents for what he attempted, if not for what he achieved. Probably the most brilliant stroke in this book is his differentiation between "presidents who govern" (people like the first Bush who are content to hew close to the letter of their responsibilities and do nothing too controversial) and "presidents who lead" and this would include both Roosevelts and George W. Bush. These presidents have a vision for their nation and the world and they do what they can to help it along. At any rate the Pendragon strongly recommends this book to any who really want to understand the place of a president like Bush in American History.