The Evangelical President: George Bush’s Struggle to Spread a Moral Democracy Throughout the World

A relentlessly hostile mainstream media, predicting imminent electoral doom for Republicans. An Al-Qaeda operating freely in Iraq, remaining one step ahead of U.S. forces and plotting mayhem on a grand scale. And in the White House, a man of faith and prayer — along with a depth and vision that few of his detractors were willing to admit he had. The Evangelical President is the story of that man: George W. Bush.

“The Evangelical President” is the latest installment of Bill Sammon’s acclaimed moment-by-moment account of Bush’s historic presidency. The first volume, “Fighting Back,” examined how September 11 utterly transformed that presidency; the second, “Misunderestimated,” documented the toppling of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Then the third, “Strategery,” chronicled Bush’s reelection and the difficult first year of his second term. Now, “The Evangelical President” picks with Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney fighting back against the Democrats’ savage attacks against them and their policies.

Sammon here chronicles the period of the Al-Qaeda’s frenzied activity against the Americans in Iraq, and the killing of Iraqi Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi by American troops. He also details the activity in the Bush White House during Saddam Hussein’s trial for crimes against humanity, the historic Supreme Court ruling on partial-birth abortion, and the spectacularly successful elections in Iraq that gave rise to hope for stability in that war-torn nation — a hope, alas, that would prove premature.

Sammon also recounts the development of George W. Bush’s strong Christian faith, providing illuminating background for the profound faith on which the President relies during the troubled times chronicled in this book — and which continue. The Evangelical President is an unparalleled and unforgettable glimpse into the soul of the man whom history will remember as one of the foremost crusaders for democracy ever to lead our nation.

Sammon on George W. Bush, believer:

• How Bush describes his faith in Jesus Christ — and why his faith his grown during his time as President
• The 1985 incident that heralded the big change in Bush’s faith — and his unapologetic candor about his religious conviction, even after entering national politics
• “Is President Bush a religious zealot, or does he just pander to that crowd?” The mainstream media’s scorn, fear-mongering, incomprehension and hostility toward Bush’s Christian commitment
• Cheney on Bush’s religious commitment: “What you see in private is what you see in public”
• The enduring legacy of Dan Rather — whose ignominious professional demise was the direct result of his blind determination to destroy the presidency of George W. Bush
• Why the victory in the partial-birth abortion battle would not have been possible without Bush’s unwavering belief in the sanctity of human life
• Bush’s serene reaction to negative polls: “Look, history will get it right and we’ll both be dead. Who cares?”
• The 2006 elections: with so many Republicans ensnared in scandals, Democrats gained traction by charging that the GOP was permeated by a “culture of corruption” — while Democratic scandals were ignored by the mainstream media
• The arbitrary and politically motivated nature of the Democrats’ calls for a timetable for leaving Iraq
• Al-Qaeda’s plan in Iraq: “The solution that we see is for us to drag the Shiites into the battle, because this is the only way to prolong the fighting between us and the infidels”
• “It’s a terrorist tip sheet. That’s basically what the New York Times has become, hasn’t it?” Why the White House criticized the liberal media for placing “in jeopardy the safety of fellow Americans”
• How the President, even after the torrents of abuse heaped on him by the liberal media, consistently receives a rock star’s welcome from U.S. troops
• How the media establishment attempted to broaden Vice President Cheney’s hunting accident into a sweeping indictment of the Bush administration
• Bush’s surprising victory in the fight over the military commissions he had created to try detainees in the war against terror
• How the liberal media distorted accounts of Saddam Hussein’s trial — and why Bush was unable to muster much enthusiasm when Saddam was executed
• The drastic changes in the Democratic party leadership’s position on Iraq — with Hillary going from rejecting a timetable for withdrawal in June 2006 to calling for one in February 2007
• The single principle that Bush identifies as the major role of the federal government at the beginning of the twenty-first century — and on which he says all his decisions have been based
• How Bush’s critics, in the teeth of all the evidence, continue to perpetuate the popular caricature of a president who applies a religious litmus test to all policy decisions
• Why Bush was determined to press ahead with his policy in Iraq, despite his party’s loss in Congress
• Bush’s remarkable candor about his original Iraqi strategy’s shortcomings — especially the lack of sufficient troops in Baghdad
• The surge in Iraq: how initial signs of its success had to be acknowledged even by the liberal media
• Why, even after numerous setbacks, Bush continued to emphasize that “failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States”
• Bill Clinton’s outrageous dishonesty as he twice vetoed partial-birth abortion bans in the 1990s
• A White House official on Hillary: “Nobody looks at her and says the things that she’s saying is because she believes it”
• The Democratic presidential candidates: how the need of every candidate to remain in good standing with the party’s left wing has dramatically dragged not just the candidates, but the whole party, to the Left
• Why George W. Bush believes that the Republicans will hold the White House in 2008
• Bush’s plans for retirement — and how he plans to continue working for democracy around the world

Tags: Bill Sammon, The Evangelical President