'I'm a uniter, not a divider,' George W. Bush loves to tell campaign crowds, summing up his personality in six quick words. And a straightforward likeability is one of the biggest assets Mr Bush has brought to his drive to the White House.
To his critics, it has certainly not brought much experience or grasp of hard policy. Some commentators insist the Republicans are so desperate to regain the White House they will allow a restoration of the Bush dynasty, whose scion, George senior, lost the presidency to Mr Clinton back in 1992.
If the 54-year-old Mr Bush does win, it will mark a stunning political rise. For much of his life, he seemed to be living in daddy's shadow, content to party through much of his early adulthood.
Born in the family's seat of power and wealth in northeastern Connecticut, he grew up in the oil town of Midland, Texas. He happily returned south after getting the best education the northeast can offer - Yale undergraduate and Harvard Business School, earning his name as a frat-boy in the legendary, if secretive, Skull and Bones Society rather than as a scholar.
Mr Bush struggled in the oil exploration business and was bailed out several times by family connections. He struck it lucky when he headed a successful consortium to buy the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989 - unhindered by the fact his father was then president. Mr Bush financed his US$600,000 (HK$4.7 million) share by selling his lumbering oil stocks in a deal that still raises eyebrows today.
The deal made George W. rich in his own right. He sold the shares later for US$15 million, while his tenure gave him the profile needed to run for governor of America's second largest state, winning a surprise victory against high-profile Democrat Ann Richards in 1994.