BUSH THE "MESSIANIC CALVINIST"

Ron Suskind examines Bush in a NY Times Magazine profile quite unlike that published about John Kerry last Sunday. The theme of Suskind's piece is the faith of Furious George, its sources and applications in his life and presidency, and its consequences for policy.

It's an interesting and unsettling read, though there's no new meat for the already well-informed. For those who don't get the Christian faith and are inclined to think that Bush's version is representative, I'll leave you with the closing graph of the article:

''Faith can cut in so many ways,'' he [Wallis] said. ''If you're penitent and not triumphal, it can move us to repentance and accountability and help us reach for something higher than ourselves. That can be a powerful thing, a thing that moves us beyond politics as usual, like Martin Luther King did. But when it's designed to certify our righteousness -- that can be a dangerous thing. Then it pushes self-criticism aside. There's no reflection.

''Where people often get lost is on this very point,'' he said after a moment of thought. ''Real faith, you see, leads us to deeper reflection and not -- not ever -- to the thing we as humans so very much want.''

And what is that?

''Easy certainty.''

Amen.