I've got to be honest here, I'd rather have a CO/XO like this than some of the robotic and political CGs/COs/XOs that I had when I was in.
Simple reason? I know the man understands "human". Sure, we are Marines (or Sailors) but when bullets start flying it's training, instinct, experience, and each other. It's that "each other" part of the equation that makes the most difference in terms of keeping up the fight - the other three serve to get you through "situations"; where "each other" get you through the downtime, the letters from home, the boredom, and etc. A CO/XO that can understand downtime and the stupid/goofy things that are done to unwind is ACES in my book.
As the XO, it is one of his primary functions to keep the crew working as a well oiled machine and oil just isn't that dry. To keep morale up. He did that, in my opinion. People function better because they ENJOY doing their job for a leader like this - it becomes less of a job or deployment and more of a common mission.
The CO (Captain of a carrier in this case) is focused more on the big picture, like fleet or battle group operations. He's watching the moving parts and making sure he communicates up and down the chain what his capabilities are and what they need to be. He relies on the XO to handle a lot of the daily "crew" functions, issues, and life in general - among other things.
Simply put. The XO was doing his job. The Navy acknowledged that by giving him the Enterprise, the crew acknowledged that by going about business without filing complaint (and most likely enjoying the comradery), and what he did is in line with Navy tradition, frankly.