Principle

In today's Politico, President Bush sits down for an interview which is posted online. Say what you want about the man and his presidency, he stands firm in his belief. Liberals tend to mock him for that trait. Why? They tend not to share it? Bill Clinton had to take a poll to take a leak.

Here are a few things which stood out to me....

“I could have supported a lousy [Kyoto] treaty and everybody would have went, ‘Oh, man, what a wonderful-sounding fellow he is,’” Bush said. “But it just wouldn't have worked.

“I don't think you want your president trying to be the cool guy and not end up with policies that actually make a difference. So the policies I've outlined are policies that will actually make a difference: nuclear power for generating electricity, battery driven cars, ethanol.”

— Asked a question that was submitted online about skyrocketing gas prices, Bush said the problem doesn’t have “a quick answer.”

“It took us a while to get to where we are — very dependent on oil,” he said. “So my answer ... is that the best thing we can do is to increase supply and to drill for oil and gas in environmentally friendly ways at home and build more refineries.”

— He criticized former President Jimmy Carter for suggesting an approach to Middle East involvement that Bush described as “if you want to be popular in the Middle East, just go blame Israel for every problem.”

“That will make you popular,” he said. “Popularity is fleeting. … Principles are forever.”

I think there is a lesson there.

prin·ci·ple Audio Help /ˈprɪnsəpəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[prin-suh-puhl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun

1.	an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct: a person of good moral principles.

2.	a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from which others are derived: the principles of modern physics.