"optimistic" leadership

One of the unreported gems from Bush's speech at KSU last Monday... a Presidential requirement of optimism.

I'll never forget the first decision I had to make as the president. I wasn't even sworn in yet and a fellow called me on the phone and he said: What color of rug do you want to have in the Oval Office?

(LAUGHTER)

I said: You've got to be kidding me, man.

(LAUGHTER)

He said, no, what color rug would you like to have in the Oval Office? I said, I don't know. He said, well it turns out that presidents -- you've just got to know -- presidents design their rugs.

BUSH: I said: Well, I'll be honest with you; I don't know much about designing rugs." So I called. I delegated. That's one of the things you do as a decision-maker.

(LAUGHTER)

I said, "Laura, how about helping design the rug?"

(LAUGHTER)

Part of being a decision-maker, though, is you've got to help -- you've got to think strategically. And so I said to her -- she said, "What color do you want?" I said, "Make it say this: Optimistic person comes here to work every single day."

(LAUGHTER)

You can't lead the nation, you can't make good decisions unless you are optimistic about the future. So for the students here, as you take over organizations or head out of college and become involved in your life, you got to be optimistic if you're going to lead somebody. Imagine somebody saying, "Follow me, the world is going to be worse."

If the American public picks up on this as a character trait mandated of the next President, I'd say the Dems will have a hard time picking a candidate from the halls of Congress. All complaints, accusations and venom - and no solutions.