History moves quickly and rarely have the pages turned as fast under any man’s watch. At first glance, George W. Bush would appear an unlikely leader for this era. Now, four years after he entered the presidency, we know the full measure of the man as commander in chief. In his vision of himself as disciplined and resolute, as a man of faith and family, we see that Mr. Bush deserves to be called the Promise Keeper President.

This second White House resident from the baby boom generation did not fight in a war or overcome immense obstacles on his road to the presidency. Neither did he turn off, tune in or drop out. Instead, Mr. Bush represents another less heralded rite of passage for his generation, one of youthful exuberance turned to a quiet battle with the bottle, hidden capacities finally forged together in middle age by religious faith.

It is a path mirrored by many men on a less attention-getting level, though a Christian men’s movement called The Promise Keepers. It was founded by University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney in the early 1990s, while Mr. Bush was running the Texas Rangers baseball team. Like Mr. Bush, Mr. McCartney made the decision to refocus his life in early middle age, after an internal sense of drift and a growing use of alcohol caused him to reconnect himself to his religious faith. Like Mr. Bush’s decision to have Aaron Copland’s “Simple Gifts” played after his inauguration address instead of the usual pomp and circumstance, Promise Keepers are devoted to a life built around the simple things with transcendent importance.

The Promise Keeper movement brought thousands of men together in athletic stadiums to re-devote themselves to faith and family. It transferred the male-bonding rituals of frat houses and football games to the religious arena and in its very American way presented religion as a means towards self-improvement for a higher purpose. It is a re-emergence of the American tradition of muscular Christianity, where the assumption of responsibility became the ultimate expression of a man’s inner strength.

Mr. Bush’s midlife conversion to evangelical Christianity was the central fact of his life. Without it, his marriage might have ended and he would be only the son of a famous father, whooping it up in the back room of some Texas restaurant. Instead, he is president of America and leader of the free world.

On the campaign trail it was the emotional intelligence that stems from his central faith in God and resolutely western perspective that distinguished him from his father. He said that as president the American people might find that his religious faith enabled him to have a steadier hand on the tiller in times of crisis. No one could have predicted how quickly the president would be forced to face the defining crisis of our time.

The violent imposition of a new world war against Islamic fascism ignited Mr. Bush’s evangelical vision and he was refreshingly quick to cast the conflict in terms of good and evil, saying in his epic speech to Congress on September 20, “Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.”

In the expansion of the war on terror to a new front in Iraq he again called on faith, as he deflected a question about whether he consulted his biological father about the attack by saying to Bob Woodward “There is a higher father that I appeal to.” His unwavering confidence is rooted in his unshakeable faith.

Mr. Bush’s faith allows him to bear the burdens and privileges of being the most powerful man on earth with humility and the occasionally light touch that makes his opponents’ apoplectic. In conversation he constantly uses the word “appreciate,” showing even in this small way how deeply tempered he is by his faith.

Moreover, and in intentional contrast to President Clinton, he seems to view himself as a literal promise keeper: someone whose word is his bond, who will not back down from commitment, who will see things through. This also creates a degree of inflexibility that at times may only deepen the impact of mistaken decisions, especially as new facts emerge, but it gives him an inner certainty that allows him to clearly claim the mantle of leadership. Even his opponents acknowledge that he is a decent man with decisive leadership skills.

Ironically, the Promise Keeper President now has a credibility gap that has forced him to fight a much tighter battle for re-election that a Republican incumbent during wartime should have to endure. In his 2000 campaign, he borrowed from Mr. Clinton’s playbook, promising to moderate the Republican parties excesses as a “compassionate conservative” and a “uniter and not a divider.” As a result, he won over moderates and independent voters whom Mr. Clinton had successfully wooed four years before.

But upon reaching office, Mr. Bush’s constant courtship of the religious right caused many centrists to feel that this president had broken his promise to them. As a result, despite the choreography of this convention from the opening night defenses by Senator Mc-Cain and Mayor Giuliani, to last night’s keynote address by Democrat Zell Miller, many Americans are skeptical and need to be won back over.

By recalling his original campaign promises in this convention, and one must assume his original intentions, Mr. Bush is in effect asking these voters from the vital center to forgive and forget even while he is characteristically unlikely to apologize. Tonight he needs to re-earn their trust with a clear vision for a second term that will win more Americans over to his side and convince voters that he will do a better job at keeping his original promise in his second term.