Was George Bush underrated in some ways?

I went to the Bush/Clinton meeting here in Toronto on Friday, and frankly was surprised by how charming, insightful, and intelligent Bush showed himself to be. He was far and away more charismatic than Clinton at this engagement at least. I went in with preconceived predictions and thus, once again proved to myself how making assumptions is a dangerous game. In any case, it got me to wonder what positive qualities Bush had that captured the American vote. We all know the negative, but there may be more to his election than the world gives this dude credit for, even if one does not agree with his policies.