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28 Two : BUSH’S PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP D r. allen Weinstein, who founded and headed the Center for Democracy, and one of its board members, Senator Richard Lugar (R-Indiana), came to visit President Bush in the Oval Office in December 1989. The center was preparing to monitor the Nicaraguan elections to be held in February 1990, and Weinstein, who had just returned from a visit to that country, came to brief Bush on the progress of the election process . It was the first time that Weinstein had met Bush. He did his briefing and presented the president with a T-shirt emblazoned with a slogan in Spanish that translated as “Your vote is secret—use it.” Soon afterward, back at his office, Weinstein received a handwritten thank-you note from Bush and an autographed photo of their meeting. Years later, in March 2005, Weinstein, then the archivist of the United States, met with Bush at his presidential library. One of the first things that Weinstein recounted was that first meeting and Bush’s courtesy with the note and the photograph. This episode underscores Bush’s reliance on personal contacts as a mechanism for placing his stamp of professionalism and courtesy on the political world. Positive personal relations may be an inexhaustible commodity. You may not be able to repay a favor, you may not be able to support someone, you may not be able to lend money, but you can always empathize with a person’s situation, treat them in a decent manner, or give them a friendly hearing, all of which create a certain bond and respect that both friend and adversary will remember and appreciate. Such behavior is not only a courtesy but also a link bush’s principles of leadership 29 that reaffirms a friendship or relationship. It gives the recipient a feeling of inclusion in an inner circle, reaffirming a sense of obligation and friendship toward Bush. This sort of professional courtesy was the currency that Bush utilized, not in a Machiavellian mode but as an extension of his personality and upbringing. His notes and contacts were a way of reinforcing friendship and expressing gratitude. He appreciated what people did for him and wanted to make sure that they realized it. Such manners helped create a vast network of contacts and, equally important, the image of a likeable and decent individual , which, in itself, became a source of power and influence. Personal correspondence is a practice that Bush holds dearly. Pecking away at his typewriter—now computer—Bush is notorious for misspellings and grammatical errors made in his haste to get the note out. He often added “self-typed” to the note or one of his staffers would add the notation. By doing so, he protected the credibility of his secretary as a professional typist but, more importantly, confirmed for the recipient that they were in possession of a unique document, one that had been personally attended to by Bush. Many of his notes were written at the end of his working day in the residence of the White House, and he would bring them into the office early the next morning. And although he sometimes typed them, most of his notes were handwritten, thus adding an extra personal touch. As president, his note writing practice came up against a formidable increase in the volume of mail that he received. In 1989 alone, he received more than 5 million pieces of mail, the vast majority of which he never saw. In his postpresidential years, Bush has become an avid e-mailer. His frenetic pace of letter writing and phone calling has not abated; he has simply worked e-mail into his daily routine. Bush puts such a great emphasis on the practice of personal contact that he regards it as something that should be passed on in the family. Indeed, he follows in the footsteps of his father, who was an avid note writer. Once, on a return trip to the White House on Marine One from Camp David with his young grandson, George P. Bush, son of former Florida governor Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba, he took the occasion to instruct the youngster on the need for thank-you notes. George P. had received a number of gifts for his birthday and, like any youngster, was more impressed with the gifts than with where they came from. “George, you need to write thank-you...

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