Richard Brookhiser, another Bush-admiring conservative intellectual observers, "Bush's faith means that he does not tolerate, or even recognize, ambiguity: there is an all-knowing God who decrees certain behaviors, and leaders must obey."

Listen to Secretary Powell speaking at an Air Force base in Rome in September 2002 with regard to the president's negotiating style. "He tries to persuade others why that is the correct position. When it does not work, then we will take the position we believe is correct."

Lest this sound like hyperbole, consider the following statement: "Our war with terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end...until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated." And what if America ends up alienating the entire world in the process? "At some point, we may be the only ones left," Bush told his closest advisers, according to an administration member who leaked the story to Bob Woodward. "That's OK with me. We are America."