Time & Perspective Quote by George W. Bush

The phrase "duty, honor, country" is doing heavy lifting: it borrows the moral gravity of military tradition and repackages it as a civilian job description. Bush isn’t just defining leadership; he’s auditioning for a lineage of commanders, captains, and wartime presidents where patriotism functions as proof of seriousness. In a single triad, he frames the leader’s role as service and sacrifice rather than ideology or policy detail, which is politically useful when your coalition is broad and your agenda is contested.

Then he pivots. "Character" is the tell. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, "character" wasn’t a Hallmark noun; it was a campaign weapon, a way to contrast temperaments after the Clinton scandals and to imply steadiness without litigating specifics. Bush’s brand leaned on a plainspoken moral clarity: the leader as decider, guided by internal compass.

The last clause softens the whole performance: "listening from time to time". It’s almost a wink at criticism. The qualifier signals that listening is a virtue, but not a governing posture; it’s something a strong leader graciously permits himself occasionally. Subtext: consultation is optional, authority is not. In the context of Bush-era rhetoric - especially post-9/11, when resolve and certainty were prized - the line threads a needle between humility and command. It reassures skeptics that he’s not deaf to others, while still insisting the job is ultimately about unbending commitment to nation and principle.