Bush the Lesser.

Nick Gillespie

Living through a minimalist presidency

It's hardly surprising that conservatives have been exceptionally quick to claim that a dark cloud of national scandal and shame lifted the very moment George W. Bush stammered through the presidential oath without incident. As The Weekly Standard, doubtless speaking for many on the right, put it on their January 29 cover, "Our Long National Nightmare is Over." "Bill Clinton, the vulgar narcissist, is gone," announced an obviously relieved editor William Kristol. "George W. Bush's inaugural address showed a man plainspoken, secure in his faith, and confident in his ability to lead the nation." (Just how sure of himself is Bush? According to another Standard bearer, Fred Barnes, Bush "brims with self-confidence" and doesn't take no for an answer. When he was told by a White House cook that he couldn't get a cheeseburger at his new home, reports Barnes, "Bush was insistent. 'Texas,' he said. 'Cheeseburger.' Next time he asks," enthuses Barnes, "you can bet he'll get his cheeseburger--pronto." Saddam Hussein, on e assumes, has been put on notice.)

But a similar sense of relief regarding the president, if not necessarily the same sense of exuberance or fellow-feeling, extends well beyond the ranks of obvious Bush partisans. Many of the same reporters who questioned the smarts and bona fides of Candidate Bush are now fully taken with the man s "charm offensive," particularly his penchant for giving everyone he meets an odd, idiosyncratic nickname. (This is, it's worth pointing out, a quirk with real potential for causing trouble. It's one thing to call Rep. George Miller "Big George"; it's another to reportedly dub Sen. Ted Kennedy "Chappy.") One journalist, based in D.C. long enough to recall more than a few changes in administrations and no fan of either the Republicans or Bush, told me recently that he's simply enjoying the idea that an apparently relatively normal person is once again in the White House.

Much, if not all, of the generally positive mood toward Bush should be chalked up to the traditional presidential honeymoon, that vague period after inauguration when the press corps and even the loyal opposition seem to think the president is one swell guy, worthy of the office, and destined to do great (or at least not patently evil) things.

That said, Bush is clearly making the most of the moment, essentially setting the national agenda on his terms and generating mostly respectful...