The Man in the Oval Office

For those of us who sometimes find ourselves having doubts about our
President, here is an excellent piece--- worth every minute it takes to
read it. This is from a man, Bruce Vincent, from Montana who received an
award from the President. He writes:

I've written the following narrative to chronicle the day of the award
ceremony in DC. I'm still working on a press release but the White House
press corps has yet to provide a photo to go with it. When the photo
comes I'll ship it out. When you get done reading this you'll understand
the dilemma I face in telling this story beyond my circle of close
friends.

Stepping into the Oval Office, each of us was introduced to the
President and Mrs. Bush. We shook hands and participated in small talk.
When the President was told that we were from Libby, Montana, I reminded
him that Marc Racicot is our native son and the President offered his
warm thoughts about Governor Racicot. I have to tell you, I was blown
away by two things upon entering the office.

First, the Oval Office sense of 'place' is unreal. The President later
shared a story of Russian President Putin entering the room prepared to
tackle the President in a tough negotiation and upon entering, the
atheist muttered his first words to the President and they were "Oh, my
God."

I concurred. I could feel the history in my bones. Second, the man that
inhabits the office engaged me with a firm handshake and a look that can
only be described as penetrating. Warm, alive, fully engaged,
disarmingly penetrating. I was admittedly concerned about meeting the
man. I think all of us have an inner hope that the most powerful man in
our country is worthy of the responsibility and authority that we bestow
upon them through our vote.

I admit that part of me was afraid that I would be let down by the
moment- that the person and the place could not meet the lofty expectations
of
my fantasy world. This says nothing about my esteem for President Bush
but just my practical realization that reality may not match my 'dream.'

Once inside the office, President Bush got right down to business and,
standing in front of his desk, handed out the awards one at a time
while posing for photos with the winners and Mrs. Bush. With the mission
accomplished, the President and Mrs. Bush relaxed and initiated a
lengthy, informal conversation about a number of things with our entire
small group.

He and the First Lady talked about such things as the rug in the
office. It is traditionally designed by the First Lady to make a statement
about
the President, and Mrs. Bush chose a brilliant yellow sunburst pattern
to reflect 'hope.' President Bush talked about the absolute need to
believe that with hard work and faith in God there is every reason to
start each day in the Oval Office with hope. He and the First Lady were
asked about the impact of the Presidency on their marriage and, with an
arm casually wrapped around Laura, he said that he thought the place may
be hard on weak marriages but that it had the ability to make strong
marriages even stronger and that he was blessed with a strong one.

After about 30 or 35 minutes, it was time to go. By then we were all
relaxed and I felt as if I had just had an excellent visit with a
friend. The President and First Lady made one more pass down the line of
awardees,
shaking hands and offering congratulations. When the President shook my
hand I said, "thank you Mr. President and God bless you and your
family." He was already in motion to the next person in line, but he stopped
abruptly turned fully back to me, gave me a piercing look, renewed the
vigor of his handshake and said, "Thank you - and God bless you and yours as
well."

On our way out of the office we were to leave by the glass doors on the
west side of the office. I was the last person in the exit line. As I shook
his hand one final time, President Bush said, "I'll be sure to tell Marc
hello and give him your regards."

I then did something that surprised even me. I said to him, "Mr.
President, I know you are a busy man and your time is precious. I also know
you to
be a man of strong faith and have a favor to ask you."

As he shook my hand he looked me in the eye and said, "Just name it."
I told him that my step-Mom was at that moment in a hospital in
Kalispell, Montana, having a tumor removed from her skull and it would
mean a great deal to me if he would consider adding her to his prayers
that day. He grabbed me by the arm and took me back toward his desk as he
said,
"So that's it. I could tell that something is weighing heavy on your
heart today. I could see it in your eyes. This explains it."

From the top drawer of his desk he retrieved a pen and a note card with
hiss seal on it and asked, "How do you spell her name?" He then jotted a
note to her while discussing the importance of family and the strength
of prayer. When he handed me the card, he asked about the surgery and the
prognosis. I told him we were hoping that it is not a recurrence of an
earlier cancer and that if it is they can get it all with this surgery.

He said, "If it's okay with you, we'll take care of the prayer right
now. Would you pray with me?" I told him yes and he turned to the staff
that
remained in the office and hand motioned the folks to step back or
leave. He said, "Bruce and I would like some private time for a prayer."

As they left he turned back to me and took my hands in his. I was
prepared to do a traditional prayer stance - standing with each other
with heads bowed. Instead, he reached for my head with his right hand
and pulling gently forward, he placed my head on his shoulder. With his
left arm on my mid back, he pulled me to him in a prayerful embrace.

He started to pray softly. I started to cry. He continued his prayer for
Loretta and for God's perfect will to be done. I cried some more. My
body shook a bit as I cried and he just held tighter. He closed by
asking God's blessing on Loretta and the family during the coming
months. I stepped away from our embrace, wiped my eyes, swiped at the
tears I'd left on his shoulder, and looked into the eyes of our
president. I thanked him as best I could and told him that me and my
family would continue praying for he and his.

As I write this account down and reflect upon what it means, I have to
tell you that all I really know is that his simple act left me humbled and
believing. I so hoped that the man I thought him to be was the man that
he is. I know that our nation needs a man such as this in the Oval
Office. George W. Bush is the real deal. I've read Internet stories about
the
President praying with troops in hospitals and other such uplifting
accounts. Each time I read them I hope them to be true and not an
Internet perpetuated myth. This one, I know to be true. I was there. He
is real. He has a pile of incredible stuff on his plate each day - and yet
he is
tuned in so well to the here and now that he 'sensed' something heavy on
my heart.

He took time out of his life to care, to share, and to seek God's
blessing for my family in a simple man-to-man, father-to-father,
son-to-son, husband-to-husband, Christian-to-Christian prayerful
embrace. He's not what I had hoped he would be. He is, in fact, so
very, very much more.