The Boss.
He never swears. His saltiest language is the word “flip.”
On our quarterly luncheon, there was prayer before the noon meal, that he led.
I would schedule an hour of his time, to brief him on a matter of tremendous military complexity, and the man completely understood the situation in 10 minutes. Not only the immediate, but the likely branches and sequels.
I did then and still do receive texts from this man on every Veteran’s day. A few other holidays as well.
The first question that he asked me on my interview was, “General, do you read?” When I told him what I was reading, (Steven Sears, Chancellorsville) we discussed the book for most of the interview.
I was the fellow that rode right under him on the SPIES rig at Sparta. The Governor had never done anything like that before, and such a thing is naturally intimidating. There was one point that I looked up the rope, and he was waving the flag and taking a selfie. 
He had no sense of fear. I was in the capitol during the “right to work” surge, and I saw him, by myself in the middle of dozens of Union men, by himself – explaining and arguing with all of them at the same time. Things like that used to worry the flip out of me.
I have seen him do (military correct) pushups during a Distinguished Air Medal ceremony, fill hundreds of sandbags with a shovel at Smithland during a flood, and hit a 30 foot jumper at the Gov Mansion’s b-ball court.
During the cabinet meeting that we held in Greenville at the Training Site, there was a protest at the front gate of the installation in regard to teacher retirement, and the Governor asked them to come in and join us.
After that meeting, he met with a citizen/teacher, prefaced the conversation with “I know you are not going to vote for me, and that is ok”, and then spoke to her for forty-five minutes just to explain his thinking, and why he believed the plan he had was the right one.
I once told him that I considered myself the “second worst politician in the Commonwealth”, and he considered that hilarious, “We all know who is in front of you on that list.”
He is not nor has he ever been, a good politician. He believed that the truth, driven to point with authority of reason, was enough.
Politicians succeed with some measure of fear, and since he had none- that was a strength and weakness at the same time.
Reporters always thought he was lying, just because he had such mastery of the English language and its use was unvarnished. It was so different, that they did not know how to handle it.
The only sin that one of his people could have in front of him, was not to be prepared to speak to him on something in our lane. He demanded situational awareness and competence.
He is the singularly most competent man that I have ever met. I do not think any subject, conversation, or detail ever went over his head. If it did, I’m sure by the next morning the issue was researched, and he had mastery over it.
I would get texts from him at 2 a.m., regularly. It was either direction or a short question. Most of the time I would answer them right away. The next text was “General, why are you up at this hour?”
I know that it is nearly impossible to be a good man and a great man at the same time. The Governor is one of few real exceptions to this.
This business today is solely a political hit job, designed to produce smoke.
I doubt he gives a flip.