President George H.W. Bush died last night at age 94. Lower your flags, please.
NPR just had Christopher Buckley, who wrote speeches for Bush during his Vice-Presidency, on to talk about his old boss. Buckley said the senior Bush was “maddeningly self-effacing.” Buckley spoke of how Bush’s mother drilled into young George the impropriety of talking about oneself all the time, a lesson that stuck with President Bush throughout his life. Here Bush is, talking a little uncomfortably to CNN’s Paula Zahn in 2003 about his experience in World War II:
BUSH: The feelings we’re talking about here have been very personal for me. And I think a few years ago, I couldn’t even discuss them. I’d get broken up and I’d just feel a, you know, overwhelming sense of personal — I still feel it. I just am able to discuss it a little better.
ZAHN: A sense of personal responsibility that keeps Bush from seeing himself as a war hero.
BUSH: It was just part of my duty. People say, “war hero.” How come a guy who gets his airplane shot down is a hero and a guy who’s good enough that he doesn’t get shot down is not? Ask Kennedy about it, why are you a hero? “They sank my boat.” Why am I a hero? They shot down my airplane.
ZAHN: But when they shot down his airplane, there was a very, worried woman back home, his then fiancee Barbara.
B. BUSH: When you’re 18, you think everybody is invincible. I knew he was going to come home. I mean that was stupid but I knew he was going to come home. He was Superman.
ZAHN (on camera): Does a lot of that World War II experience come alive for you?
BUSH: It does when you see…
ZAHN (voice-over): Bush himself will only reluctantly talk of the World War II exhibit here at his presidential library here in College Station, Texas
BUSH: I worry about the whole gallery, from what mother used to call the “Big I Am.” “Nobody likes the Big I Am, George. Don’t be talking about yourself.” You walk in here and it’s all about me [President George H.W. Bush, interviewed by Paula Zahn, transcript by CNN, 2003.12.20].
President George H.W. Bush was a man of prudence and humility. Rather than dancing on the Berlin Wall when the Iron Curtain fell and taking credit for the victory of American values, President Bush said the end of the Cold War was “‘set in motion’ not by leaders in Washington, Moscow, or Bonn but by ‘the people themselves.’”
A month after Mikhail Gorbachev announced the dissolution of the Soviet Union, President Bush came to Congress in good humor, spoke of “changes of almost Biblical proportions,” and pointed toward the opportunity America had to bring the world together:
Much good can come from the prudent use of power. And much good can come of this: A world once divided into two armed camps now recognizes one sole and pre-eminent power, the United States of America.
And they regard this with no dread. For the world trusts us with power, and the world is right. They trust us to be fair, and restrained. They trust us to be on the side of decency. They trust us to do what’s right [President George Herbert Walker Bush, address to Congress, transcribed in New York Times, 1992.01.29].
…and the opportunity to prudently reduce our military spending:
The Secretary of Defense recommended these cuts after consultation with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And I make them with confidence. But do not misunderstand me:
The reductions I have approved will save us an additional $50 billion over the next five years. By 1997 we will have cut defense by 30 percent since I took office. These cuts are deep, and you must know my resolve: This deep, and no deeper. To do less would be insensible to progress, but to do more would be ignorant of history [Bush, 1992].
When his unmatched military liberated Kuwait and blasted a clear road to Baghdad, President Bush resisted advice to further humiliate or even topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and chose instead to respect the limits of the U.N. mandate and the fragile Arab coalition and end the war.
Like John McCain, Bush got shot out of a warplane. Luckily for him, he went down in reach of our forces at sea:
George H.W. Bush married Barbara Bush in 1945 and stayed married to her for 73 years, until she died last summer.
But the liberation of Kuwait was predicated on lies and public relations efforts to gin up support for an unnecessary soire which started to destabalize the whole region.
ask April Glaspie.
President Bush, the elder, was a swell fellow indeed.
https://adst.org/2016/02/a-bum-rap-for-april-glaspie-saddam-and-the-start-of-the-iraq-war/
Lots of familiar names keep popping up from early ME history.
Then check out the real reasons Bush invaded Panama and the CIA operative who was sacrificed so we had an excuse to invade. Looks like a pattern.
Great tribute, thank you!
“Maddeningly self effacing.” Agree or disagree with his politics or decisions, he was a humble gent. Our present situation just goes to show that there is a law overages. “Very sad!”
Daddy issues, wars…let’s save the world with a competent, compassionate liberal female president.
Sadly not many of this kind of Republican left in the Republican Party. The GOP has been overrun by the far right who wants it done their way or no way.
History will be kind to 41. I never felt at risk with him. Wish that was the case now. RIP H.W. I did not vote for you but I did not fear your actions for our country. I loved your wife, and my wife quotes her with each email she sends.
WaPo columnist Jennifer Rubin summed him up pretty well: “…our last president who ran on the strength of his experience — as a Navy pilot, congressman, Republican National Committee chairman, ambassador to China, CIA director and vice president.”
She went on to observe:”If we want great presidents again, we might consider selecting them for the sort of experience and temperament Bush displayed throughout his adult life rather than for their ability to turn a particular phrase, micro-target voters and make competitors seem foolish or weak.”
Never boast, always give credit to others, the contrast with the current president is stark.
HW’s better in retrospect. At the time, not so great. Compared to W (who is also better in retrospect) HW’s superior. Compared to the current guy – HW’s top notch.
“Do you know who my favorite magician is? David Cop-A-feel.” I can forgive the dementia-driven arse grabbing.
Soon Jimmy Carter will surpass HW both in age and for marital longevity.
“HW’s better in retrospect. At the time, not so great. Compared to W (who is also better in retrospect) HW’s superior. Compared to the current guy – HW’s top notch. ”
Trump has really lowered the bar, hasn’t he Rorschach?
History should and will be kind to former President George H. W. Bush.
Every man that takes the presidential oath knows that he may have to place young Americans in harms way with the exception of the current occupant of the White House.
President Bush with his experience in WW2 probably understood that better than any other current former presidents.
As a liberal I bear no ill will toward Bush and the decisions he made about going to war.
It took a few years for President Bush to redeem himself for the mistakes of his presidency, but he did redeem himself with the charitable work he did with his adopted son former President Clinton.
It is estimated that in the life time of George and Barbara Bush they raised over one billion for charity and other worthy projects.
GHWB was the best of the Bushes, a fairly mediocre bar. He didn’t help all the young men dying of AIDS and I was unaware of the items Mike linked to.
The Bush family isn’t a lot to cheer about, but GHWB seemed like a fairly decent sort.
BTW, his grandson has some kind of public office in Texas and he’s a grafting, grifting, scummy little jackass who got the position via family name and GOP shenanigans. Texans aren’t real fond of him. They call him PeePee, or something similar.
Ouch! A very uneven-handed obituary. I realize we are to speak well of the dead, but this is over the top. Ever hear the words `Willie Horton?’
When Drumpf is wrong (all the time) he gladly gives credit to someone else.
He can never claim to have been misled because he won’t follow anyone’s advice, but he isn’t a leader, either. He will be an insignificant alternative fact asterisk in the annals of history.
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Mark, as you can see, the comment section is open to those who want to submit evidence of Bush’s errors.
OK here goes. Bush, the former CIA director, was likely eyeball deep in the scheme that sent weapons to the Ayatollahs in exchange for them continuing to hold the American hostages through the 1980 election – thereby guaranteeing the election of Ronald Raygun and Bush the former CIA director. In simpler terms – treason.
Thanks, Cory. https://www.vox.com/2018/12/1/18121221/george-hw-bush-willie-horton-dog-whistle-politics
You can argue until your blue in the face that HW had no ties to this ad (I personally do not believe that) but he will forever be tied to it politically and it was well below the belt of political decency.
Like Goldwater and the ‘Daisy Ad’.
Anyone remember this despicable Presidential act- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bush-white-house-war-on-drugs_us_5c02c98be4b04fb211688aef
Seeing corrupt Republicans sell out the United States – ie the Iran arms for hostages deal and then using the money to funnel arms illegally to the Nicaraguan contras – and getting away with it – is what made me a Democrat. Reagan and Bush should both have been impeached, removed from office, and imprisoned. Nixon should have been imprisoned. These people who commit far worse crimes jump up and down and scream loudly when Bill Clinton lied about consensual sex. And they cover for the current criminal-in-chief. Just because HW became a kindly old dotard doesn’t mean I’m going to forget the treasonous actions that got him where he got.
mfi, wow, I had not seen that terrible story on the Bush set up drug deal. It makes me feel like puking and certainly undermines the compassionate representaion of Bush 1. It is bad enough to use fake law enforcement buyers to initiate drug sales for busts, but to wreck someone’s life for mere politcal propaganda is beyond the pale.
Well said and a LOT said in a few words, Rohr!
Remember the lies told by US PR firm (hired by Kuwaitis) to gin up US support for the first Gulf War by claiming Iraqi soldiers threw babies out of incubators? The celebrated eye witness was the daughter of the Kuwaiti Amb to the US and Canada, https://www.prwatch.org/books/tsigfy10.html
I still can’t seem to forget H.W.’s repeated reference to his favorite magician when groping young ladies from his wheelchair – David “Cop-a-feel.”
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/david-copafeel-is-my-favourite-magician-george-hw-bush-apologises-over-claims-he-groped-second-woman-a3668431.html
bcb- what Bush did was not a real surprise to me. I followed the news outlets, both print and electronic with no computer back then. There were several independent journalists who weren’t afraid to get themselves dirty investigating America’s dirty little secrets.
Interesting link, bear. So he was an old perv or just demented or both?
Placing a hand on a young lady’s lap is not groping. Pinching the backside is. If imaginary Saint Peter has a problem with Poppy, wait until he gets wind of the current occupant of the kremlin annex.
Anybody who reaches the highest level of government will end up with a complex legacy. Some good. Some bad. Most people should not be judged by the worst thing they have ever done. Of course for some people, the worst thing they have done defines them.
The question I ask when deciding how to judge a former president is: At what point does the sum of his bad acts go beyond ‘things he has done’ and define him as ‘who he is?’
For HW, I think he was a man of insatiable ambition who was willing to (and did) abandon principles and stoop to the lowest levels to win. But after winning the big office he generally endeavored to carry out his duties in a respectable manner and for the public good – as long as the wealthy got just a bit more than their fair share (consistent with GOP political orthodoxy). And he was well prepared to meet the challenges of the job. He’s been a pretty good ex-president notwithstanding the dementia-driven arse grabbing. May he rest in peace.
I went to see HW in 1988 as the VP when he came to Sioux Falls to campaign for President. He actually took questions from people in the audience who were not pre-selected, which seems quaint given that Rep. Noem won’t even do that in SD these days.
The most memorable part of the campaign visit was a Native American man who pleaded with the VP not for a handout, but for a job. He was escorted out of the room. Maybe some of the other commenters on the blog were there as well and recall this incident.
Rorschach’s wisdom applies not only to people who reach the highest levels of government but to every one of us:
Each of us “will end up with a complex legacy. Some good. Some bad. Most people should not be judged by the worst thing they have ever done.”
My recent discussion with Cory and others about the recent sentence imposed on Dan Guericke after his guilty plea to falsifying evidence comes to mind. Perhaps the sentencing judge shared that wisdom when discussing Guericke’s background as a mitigating factor.
H.W.’s positive contributions define him as much, or perhaps even more, than his negative history. Indeed, his Cop-a-feel comments suggest he likely intended an attempt at humor rather than either titillation or inflicting harm or humiliation on his victims.
I don’t think I exaggerate when i say had that been William Jefferson Clinton sitting in a wheel chair saying that exact line, the right wing walls would have caved in on him and we would be gifted with an extended version of all the charges leveled against Clinton that had some basis in fact or were flat out made up. But we would be obligated to allow wingnuts to roast Clinton over hot coals again because….reasons.
Might be my bias shining through.
One last thing, Manuel Noriega’s probably illegal trial in America where he wasn’t allowed to basically defend himself was a joke, imho. I, for one, would have loved hearing Noriega explain all the money, the awards, the gifts and protection provided him by Bush as CiA director. I would love to hear how we allowed him to run drugs and guns as long as he kept an eye on Castro and Cuba for the US.
I would have loved to hear Saddam Hussein’s version of aid and comfort provided him by our CIA under Bush’s tenure, too.
Very informative commenys everyone.
One thing Mike. “Placing a hand on a young lady’s lap is not groping.”
Maybe it’s not groping, but it’s unwanted touching. I really wouldn’t like it if anyone put their hand in my lap without my permission. Would you?
Ror mentions the complexity of Bush’s legacy. That’s another way in which Bush stands as a remarkable contrast to the current occupant of the White House… and that contrast motivated my choices of elements of Bush’s legacy to highlight. The current occupant of the White House is not complex at all. We will not debate his legacy the way we can honestly debate Bush’s legacy. When Donald Trump dies, we will be able to capture his legacy completely in one sentence: “Donald Trump was an a—–e.”
Yeah. That pretty much sums it up for Ole Baldy.
An opinion piece on Huff Post shreds GHWB for his mistreatment of LBTG people. He deserves it. The author is Michelangelo Signorile.
https://goo.gl/6GSkni
https://fas.org/irp/congress/2002_cr/s092002.html
How Saddam Happened.
Yes, Debbo, he was no friend to ‘those’ peoples.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/george-h-w-bush-wasn-t-trump-willie-horton-aids-ncna943331
HW was a precursor to Drumpf.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/12/bush-nixon-agnew-obstruction-scheme-memo-suggests.html
Moar dirt on Hitler Weasel.