The Greatest. - 'Rediscovering George Washington' - television program review

National Review, July 15, 2002 by Matthew Spalding

Manners: Throughout his life Washington worked hard to be the model of a gentleman. His moral sense was the compass of his private as well as his public life; it had become for him a second nature. The genteel civility he came to personify defined a new kind of manners, based not on birth but on behavior, the kind appropriate for republican self- government.

Constancy: Washington followed his best judgment under particular circumstances, often pursuing what seemed at the time a bold course. But in the end, his life was a pattern of decisions and actions that remained true to a set of core principles. Whether it was returning his military commission once the war was over or freeing his slaves and caring for them in his will, Washington always upheld a very high set of ideals.

In short, George Washington displayed the practical wisdom and prudence of statesmanship, guiding his people through the dangers of establishing their own freedom, alive to the difficulties and challenges of founding a new nation. "Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence," Jefferson once wrote of Washington, "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."

By focusing on the truly great accomplishments and distinctive characteristics of Washington, Rediscovering George Washington points us toward the reasons behind Washington's mythical stature, and the real reason why he will always be in the highest ranks of statesmen. It also reminds us why Washington -- and not Madison, Jefferson, or Hamilton -- is rightly remembered as the Father of His Country.