The Financial Times is not normally given to puffing George Bush. But on Monday it splashed a picture on its front page that, from the White House's point of view, more than made up for all those sniffy editorials about the budget deficit. A rugged-looking president is dressed in jeans and a sweat-sodden T-shirt. In his gloved hands he carries branches that he has just lopped off trees. On his head, protecting him from the searing Texas sun, he wears a white cowboy hat. Bill Clinton spent his vacations in Martha's Vineyard, sucking up the salt air and bantering with the likes of Ted Danson. Mr Bush prefers to labour on his Texas ranch, clearing brush, chopping down trees and defying the 110-degree heat. This is a man with deep roots and solid values, the White House whispers, a man who is at home in the heartland.
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