On 60 Minutes, Katie Couric kept asking Chesley Sullenberger whether his heroic flight was influenced by anything beside training: his gut, his terror, his God. No: "I was sure I could do it."

Swoon.

If the Bush years were about winging it, Sullenberger is the refreshing antidote: Someone who knows how to do his job.

And not just as a pilot. Sullenberger, somehow, can handle not only a water landing on the Hudson River but also being elevated from mere mortal to the walking embodiment of a nation's hopes for itself. As he indicates at the end of the clip above, the pilot is fully aware of the projection that's going on and is trying his best to handle it with grace.

He's already ensured himself a distinguished record in that regard, too.

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