President Bush made the decision even before he was in the White House that he was going to have to govern as if he had won an enormous majority

John Dickerson, Time magazine

"I will live and lead by these principles: to advance my convictions with civility, to ensure the public interest with courage, to speak for greater justice and compassion, to call for responsibility and try live it as well," he said.

"In all these ways, I will bring the values of our history to the care of our times," he said.

'Full steam ahead'

But on Washington rain-soaked streets, the protestors were out in force.

It was the expectation that President Bush would have to govern with a careful eye on the majority that had voted against him.

It was an expectation the president decided to ignore, Time magazine's John Dickerson said.

"President Bush made the decision even before he was in the White House that he was going to have to govern as if he had won an enormous majority.

George Bush was smaller than life as president, and his agenda was basically a modest one. The tax cut was ambitious, but beyond that, it seemed to be a modest presidency

Thomas Mann, the Brookings Institution

"He could, in fact, never go back and talk about the contentious election because if he did, it would mean that each time he brought it up he would be raising questions about his legitimacy," Mr Dickerson said.

But it was a personal decision as well as a political decision, he added.

"He thinks that his approach is the right approach, and he is going to go forward full steam ahead."

Despite that bold political strategy, Tom Mann of the Brookings Institution said his presidency seemed destined for mediocrity.

"George Bush was smaller than life as president, and his agenda was basically a modest one. The tax cut was ambitious, but beyond that, it seemed to be a modest presidency. Everything looked rather small," Mr Mann said.

There is a saying down in Texas about people who speak too much. They're all hat and no cattle. Bush doesn't show you much hat, but he shows you a lot of cattle

David Gergen, veteran of the Reagan and Clinton administrations

The president, though, was undaunted. He succeeded in passing the biggest tax cut in decades, and seemed at peace with who he was, even making fun with his famous struggles with the English language.

"Most of you probably didn't know that I have a new book out. Some guy put together a collection of my wit and wisdom. Here's one from the book, and I actually said this," the president said.

"I know that human beings and fish can coexist peacefully," he said.

"Now that makes you stop and think."

Among those in the audience that night was Time's John Dickerson.

"George Bush has a certainty about him that is something that those of us who cover him are still trying to figure out. He is not troubled terribly with his verbal malapropisms, and as we heard, even makes fun of himself," Mr Dickerson said.

"He doesn't think that it tarnishes his presidency or makes him seem any less serious than he is. But there are those in the White House that think that too much of this self-deprecating humour strips away from the power of the presidency," he added.

Unilateralism

And if the president was unmoved by his own advisors, he also appeared to have scant regard for the concerns of other world leaders.

First, he ditched the Kyoto environmental protocols, and then backed missile defence. It is a unilateralism that Thomas Mann describes as a reaction to his predecessor's foreign policy.

The president's rejection of the Kyoto climate protocols showed his unilateralist tendencies

"I think that he had unilateral tendencies, by all means. He was not enamoured of multilateralism. But part of it was a desire not to be Bill Clinton. To the extent that Bill Clinton worked multi-laterally then Bush was against it," Mr Mann said.

There was also disharmony at home. The otherwise obscure Vermont Republican, Senator Jim Jeffords, caused a political earthquake when he resigned from the party accusing the president of moving it too far to the Right.

That handed control of the Senate to the Democrats and added to the general sense of drift surrounding the Bush White House, according to that veteran of the Reagan and Clinton administrations David Gergen.

"The political scene in mid-to-late summer of 2001 was that Americans were dispirited about politics. They were not certain about their president, and frankly, his administration was starting to drift," Mr Gergen said.

"There was a distinct sense that he may have been at his strongest point when he did pass his tax cut, and that Democrats were regaining their voice in the summer.

"I remember being on television one night and saying that his best days may be behind him," Mr Gergen said.

11September

But 11 September shattered not only thousands of lives but also the political status quo.

President Bush's address to Congress after the attacks was seen as a turning point in his presidency

Suddenly, America was looking to George W Bush for leadership. At first he appeared hesitant.

But the president recovered quickly, first visiting the devastation in New York, and then making the short trip up to Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill.

His address to a joint session of Congress marked for many the moment that Mr Bush really became president.

"Right now we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or justice to our enemies, justice will be done," the president told congress.

The man who had been accused of being too shallow, too inexperienced and not too bright was now, according to John Dickerson, the right man for the right time.

"After 11 September, a lot of George Bush's character traits that some people had thought were weaknesses - his disinterest in detail, his occasional focus on a single thing to the detriment to others - all turned out to be great strengths.

"He is a quick decision maker and does not go back and gaze at his navel worrying about whether the decision was right or wrong. This may turn out to be a horrible disadvantage, but so far, in prosecuting this war, it has been just the right approach," Dickerson said.

And, said David Gergen, Americans liked the president's style.

"He is very direct. He doesn't mince words. Sometimes he gets in trouble because it's a bit too-Texas for people. You know when he says 'over my dead body' or 'we're going to roust them out of the holes, those caves over there in Afghanistan,'" he said.

"But you know there are a lot of folks in America who are blue collar workers who like that kind of language, especially after Bill Clinton, who was extremely articulate but he could also be verbose.

"There is a saying down in Texas about people who speak too much. They're all hat and no cattle. Bush doesn't show you much hat, but he shows you a lot of cattle," Mr Gergen said.

President Bush has shown greater comfort with the world stage since September

The president also seemed more comfortable dealing with fellow world leaders, mixing diplomatic arm-twisting with folksy hospitality.

But despite the bigger international phone bill at the White House and all the talk of co-operation, Thomas Mann believes September 11 has not profoundly changed the president's unilateralist take on foreign policy.

"The president now sees terrorism as the fundamental problem facing the US and the world. In that sense there is change, but in the broader sense, I see relatively little change.

"He still is inclined to believe in America acting on its own militarily. He is not enamoured of foreign assistance, of nation-building, of peace keeping," Mr Mann said.

Rise in popularity

There is certainly no doubting the president's popularity at home. Opinion polls show record-breaking support for his handling of the job.

People are more likely now to say that Bush represents people like them, which was a dimension of his character which Bush had considerable problems with

Washington Post pollster Richard Morin

Washington Post pollster Richard Morin says the American people are also rethinking their opinions about the man himself.

"The evidence suggests that they have changed their minds considerably and in a variety of ways. We were very much interested to see if the many of the secondary measures of Bush - his character, his political personality, even how much people trusted him to do the right thing - had changed or not changed as a consequence of the crisis," Mr Morin said.

He found dramatic increases for the president across the board.

"People are more likely now to say that Bush represents people like them, which was a dimension of his character which Bush had considerable problems with during his campaign and during the early months of his presidency," Mr Morin said.

At his ranch in Texas recently, George W Bush was asked the question that many here in Washington have been pondering. Had he changed or was it just the times?

"Talk to my wife," he said.

"I don't spend a lot of time looking in the mirror, except when I comb my hair. And, listen, I'll give you a hint. I liked coming to ranch before 11 September. I like coming to the ranch after 11 September."

George W Bush is clearly not a man comfortable thinking or talking about who he is.

Despite such massive public exposure in his first year in office, his political and personal motivations remain something of a mystery.