The White House staff reflects the president. This is obvious to the point of being a truism. Yet it needs to be remembered in the context of a Bush presidency smacked by Scooter Libby's felony conviction, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal, and the overblown flap over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. And of course there's still the war in Iraq, which remains unpopular. Given all this, why hasn't the president's staff drifted into despair and gloom and given up? Because President Bush hasn't.

Bush's relentlessly upbeat demeanor, which he flaunts at press conferences and other public events, infuriates his political opponents and much of the mainstream media. They want him to act like the broken man they think he should be. Sorry, but he's a healthy man, mentally and physically. He's bolstered by his religious faith, his sense of mission, his scorn for elite opinion, and what an aide calls "his really good physical shape." Exercise and sleep help to "keep his spirits high," the aide says.

Bush has retained, despite low approval ratings and fierce criticism, a capacity for enthusiasm. In early March, he spent 45 minutes in the Oval Office in a one-on-one conversation with British historian Andrew Roberts. He had read Roberts's new book, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900 (see review on page 29).

Roberts is a Thatcherite. He's strongly pro-American and pro-Iraq war. Among other things, Bush and Roberts talked about the decline of Europe and the role in this played by the shrunken influence of Christianity. By the time they broke for lunch, the president was "revved up," an aide says. His fervor was infectious. "Roberts is more conservative than I am!" a pleasantly surprised White House official exclaimed.

Bush's steadfast attitude has contributed to the combative approach the White House has taken toward the newly Democratic Congress. The president's aides, particularly from the National Security Council, have flooded Capitol Hill to lobby for the defeat of antiwar resolutions. "They're fired up on Iraq," a Senate official says.

Last week, the president declared his intention to veto legislation funding the war in Iraq moments after Democrats in the Senate and House announced they intend to attach amendments setting a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops. The lack of hesitation was partly due to the demanding style of Josh Bolten, the White House chief of staff. Bolten's view--and presumably Bush's--is that if you're going to do something, do it swiftly. And that, by the way, is exactly what the White House did in response to the Walter Reed scandal, instantly denouncing the poor treatment of wounded soldiers and hastily naming a commission to recommend improvements.

What has cheered congressional Republicans is the White House's eagerness to fight back on a wide range of issues, not just on Iraq and the war on terror. "They're tired [at the White House] but you don't get the sense they're giving up," a Senate official insists. "From Bush on down, they haven't stopped fighting back. If they do, it'll be trouble up here" on Capitol Hill for Republicans.