Right around the time he took office, Pres Bush was asked by a foreign journalist why the United Sates was a great nation.

He could have said a lot of things about our founding fathers’ vision and our basic principles. I was disappointed with his reply. He said “It is because we are kind to each other.” Rush Limbaugh even said he was disappointed with that answer.

I was wrong. Rush was wrong. It was a great answer. And on 9/11/01 we saw the truth of it. How many people went to their deaths because they were trying to be kind to other people? The firemen and police officers and even civilians at the WTC. The passengers of Flight 93. All of them died not because they were following the principles of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution but instead because they wanted to be kind to others.

It was a great answer. Admittedly, it was those basic American principles, themselves rooted in kindness, that produced that ultimate kindness.

It was a great answer. We owe the President an apology.