President Bush hates responding to the press, hates responding to political enemies ? he thinks it's beneath him. He's got a stubborn streak.

Do not press an enemy at bay.

It's tough facing a run-and-jump (press) from so many kids. Their depth smoked us.

We believe. We believe in our destiny as a nation. We believe we have been called to do good, to spread the blessings of liberty and encourage the sense of trust upon which free societies depend.

Yet, it ought to be obvious that good music generally occupies a higher plane that mere politics. Great writers can express moods through melody and capture experiences we share most powerfully - love, lust, longing; joy, rage, fear; triumph, yearning and confusion.

Every one of our greatest national treasures, our liberty, enterprise, vitality, wealth, military power, global authority, flow from a surprising source: our ability to give thanks.