Our new President chose to be sworn in on the Bible Abraham Lincoln used, and that is deeply satisfying. However, Obama is too sane to be that much like him. Lincoln, the Great Liberator, was both a genius and a deeply melancholic man suffering from lifelong depression.

I see a stronger parallel between the father of our country and this new president. Obama drew some criticism during the campaign for being cool, distant, intellectual. But those qualities are what we need right now.

Washington was very bright, but not a genius. He was, above all, a self-disciplined, hard-working, emotionally balanced man of the rational eighteenth century. In the words of Fisher Ames, a Federalist,

His habits of inquiry were so far remarkable, that he was never satisfied with investigating, nor desisted from it, so long as he had less than all the light that he could obtain upon a subject, and then he made his decision without bias.

Thomas Jefferson, a Democrat-Republican, said,

Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, was maturely weighed; refraining if he saw a doubt, but, when once decided, going through with his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed. His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known, no motives of interest or consanguinity, of friendship or hatred, being able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a good, and a great man. His temper was naturally high toned; but reflection and resolution had obtained a firm and habitual ascendancy over it.

In order to undo the damage of the corruption, paranoia, and irrationality of the Bush II regime, we need a president of old-fashioned virtues. Duty, responsibility, self-control, hard work. We’re all going to need to put in a lot of effort to reconstruct our country, our moral position, and our economy.

Bush’s character was compounded of privilege, laziness, greed, favoritism, and rage. He stumbled around drunk for forty years and then decided he wanted to be president. Nothing could be more different from Obama’s hard work, compassion, steadiness, and intelligence. Bush thought he was appointed by God and that anything he wanted was God’s plan for the world. Obama takes a more nuanced view, and he is well aware that God helps those who help themselves. Bush thought it’s right because he does it. Obama does it because it’s right.

No, he’s not perfect, and he won’t come riding in on his unicorn to save us all. My sister, a longtime Obama supporter, asked me if I expected him to do miracles, and I said, “Well, he already put on his Superman cape and brought that plane down safely in the Hudson.”

A few days ago, I referred to the safe emergency landing in the Hudson as a miracle. xiphias called me out on it, and he was right. It was a miracle only in the sense that any human cooperation is a miracle. It was a miracle created by discipline, steady work, careful thought, and years of experience. A human miracle.

If Obama can work miracles, they will be miracles of that sort. I’ve always believed that work is a kind of prayer. It’s certainly the kind of prayer we need now. Not “Thank you, God, that our country is superior,” but the steady, thoughtful application of time, resources, and energy to our goals, a meditative and patient focus that brings together many kinds of people in a common purpose — even, as our new president reminded us, even unbelievers.