Lily liked that George Washington met his wife at a party and that he didn’t want to be a king. Wade liked his quiet dignity and is inspired by his visionary perspective of balance and wisdom, especially during the founding years following the Revolution.

While this quote is not from the book I think it captures the essence of Washington: “It seemed to me that Ben Franklin was wiser than Washington; Alexander Hamilton was more brilliant; John Adams was better read; Thomas Jefferson was more intellectually sophisticated; James Madison was more politically astute. Yet each and all of these prominent figures acknowledged that Washington was their unquestioned superior”
From His Excellency by Joseph Ellis