The Measure of a Man

Most of you have heard of President Bush’s gaffe in Ohio:

“Mr. President, I know immigration has been a big problem in the U.S. And what is your next step with the immigration bill?” Jessica asked Mr. Bush, during a question-and-answer period after a speech Mr. Bush gave to a business group.

Mr. Bush’s reply — a wry “yeah, thanks” — drew laughter from the crowd of 400, Jon Ward of The Washington Times reports. But the attention caused Jessica to immediately tear up.

Bush knew he’d made a mistake and tried to recover:

“No, it’s a great question. No, I appreciate that,” Mr. Bush said, as he saw Jessica’s reaction.

Jessica later explained in an interview that she was crying because she was so nervous. But when the president’s sarcastic answer was mentioned, she said, “I heard that, too.”

Jessica, who attended the Cleveland event with her parents and younger sister, continued to wipe tears from her eyes for several minutes, and midway through his answer, Mr. Bush tried to encourage the distraught youngster.

“It’s a great question by the way, and I’m glad you asked it,” Mr. Bush said.

After the president finished taking questions, an aide immediately went to Jessica and took her backstage, where Mr. Bush met with Jessica and her family.

“He said it was really brave of me to do that and he said he probably wouldn’t have been able to do that,” Jessica said. “And he said it was the first time anybody had asked him about [immigration] since it happened.”

The President has set a good example. Good people aren’t perfect. They make mistakes in tough positions and say things