72 years married to the same man? Yikes!
I'll say this: She's going out with a lot of class.
11
Uhm? Gravely ill, she's not dead yet, Mr. Baker.
1
What a wise and thoughtful decision. May she be comfortable and comforted by her family and find peace.
13
We all pray that her beautiful mind won't be troubled
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/barbara-bush-beautiful-mind/
War makes us all rich, powerful and happy!
2
Please...I have empathy for this dying woman, and your comment was taken out of context. From the link you posted: " Mrs. Bush’s point that news of that moment was much more about what could or might happen rather than what was happening was valid. Her comment was not meant as a dismissal of actual deaths or suffering (troops had not yet been engaged at the time of her remark), but of news coverage that amounted to one expert after another’s making predictions about what they saw as likely to occur."
1
There was a cool side to Barbara Bush. She was born in Flushing and did a bit on Letterman where Dave asked her to go out into the street and approach a hot dog vendor to inform him that she was a former First Lady and coax him into giving her a free hot dog.
5
I pray she's having fun as if she was at a spa.
Mrs. Bush deserves every blessing at this time, and Godspeed. Her decision to seek comfort care is a final example of wisdom and class. Too many of us, whether by choice or happenstance, end on a path of torture for ourselves and our families, and expense for everyone.
13
Never been a big Bush clan fan, although the 41s served with dignity and class. Sad that she is so ill, I hope and will pray her last days on earth are spent exactly as she would like. God's speed, M'am.
11
Her racist and tone-deaf statements about the stranded black people during hurricane Katrina showed quite the opposite of “dignity and class”
6
Always was impressed by Mrs. Bush - I saw her as an intelligent gracious First Lady and First Mother through the Bush years.
She went through some very tough experiences in her life, and always seemed so composed, despite these.
She is a warm, giving and caring person, it is plain to see, evidenced by a life of good works that made a difference to those she helped.
Despite my leanings being not those of her husband and her son, Mrs. Bush, in my opinion, is top notch and brought so much integrity to the history of The Whitehouse, as First Lady, as well as in her life, before and after that time.
Really missing all of the dignity and decorum of those days... Wishing her remaining time with her family to be happy and without pain and discomfort.
15
What is "comfort care?" Is it palliative, or hospice care?
1
Good hospice care is palliative, meaning that the caregivers assist the patient to be comfortable, not prolonging life.
1
As usual the NY Times misses the mark with healthcare reporting. The headline alone is false! Comfort care is medical treatment. The branch of medical science that provides this is called Palliative Care. The federal medicare benefit that one can get with a diagnosis of less than six months to live is called Hospice Benefit. Hospice can also refer to a place, and a philosophy of care. Mrs Bush's treatment has shifted from disease-modifying treatment to symptom-based treatment. "Comfort care" will treat her symptoms that her diseases are causing her. If she experiences pain, then medicine will be given to treat pain, if shortness of breath then medicines and repositioning will be used to help relieve it; if nausea, the same.... I am continually appalled at the lack of knowledge the NYT has with regard to medical reporting. Do you not have a doctor, nurse, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant on staff who can assist with these basic issues. This is medicine 101 my friends and you consistently miss the mark. All of the accolades you have received lately belie the poorly written and poor understanding that this article brings to a very sensitive, and national, issue. One source you might look to is the Center to Advance Palliative Care. There are many sources but try CAPC. Perhaps a follow up article on the meaning of comfort care versus hospice versus palliative care and the nuanced venn diagram that these ideas represent is in order.
23
Perhaps you have a chip on your shoulder where the NY Times is concerned and you are looking for a reason to criticize but you are not totally correct. My 90.5 year old mother died just last months; she was under the care of a hospice group. Opting to transition at home, it was mostly me and my sister during my mother's final days with RNs coming in from time to time. I can argue semantics with you but for the last week of her life, she received comfort care from us: hand holding, giving her a last drink of ginger ale, wiping her face with wet/cold cloths to ease her raised temperature, moistening her lips, etc. True, she started receiving morphine under her tongue from me and my sister 24 hours before she died and I suppose you can call if "medical treatment" but I just wanted her not to be in pain as she died. Medicine or not, we did what felt would ease her transition from this ife to the next. NO ONE knows what this kind of care is like until they've provided it for someone. Dying at home is very different from dying in a hospital where you are surrounded by medical staff. I've been a part of both kinds of dying.
5
I am 100% correct.
Sorry you are so "appalled". The report of "comfort care" was from a statement issued by George Bush's office, according to the article. The article was not a medical article. It was an article about Barbara Bush and that decision, and a bit of the usual reminiscing about her and her family. In addition, you don't seem to contradict that she will be receiving "comfort care" (are you?), but merely complaining about the Times not explaining what that might be, vs. for example palliative care.
4
I applaud Barbara Bush for choosing comfort care, and thank the Bush family for letting the public know about it. I hope I will have that courage when my time comes.
11
Never a supporter of either president, HW or W, I will never say a bad word about Mrs Bush.
26
Thank you for your always gracious manner and as an example to young women. Your Grand daughters are certainly a tribute to you and Papa Bush.
9
As a retired hospice chaplain, I applaud her decision for her grace and for her being a role model. There comes a time when "enough is enough." There comes a time when living longer means more of what will be a futile struggle. I hope more people will face their mortality with such composure when their final days come. Thank you Barbara Bush for being an example of dying well.
38
Barbara, You are a strong beautiful woman in every way. Your love of family and your country is clearly evident. God is with you and will always be. When it is time HE will wrap His arms around you and welcome you into His Kingdom, one world that is free of all the struggles you have endured. Bless you!
11
May happiness continue to follow you home to be with your family. You have captured the essence of America in all that you say and do. God Bless.
11
Forget that her husband was president and that she was a First Lady. They have loved one another deeply for 72 years in marriage, and that is example enough to illustrate and honor personal commitment.
I am saddened that Barbara's journey on this planet will end soon, and fear that her husband will follow shortly thereafter, as happens frequently for couples who have been together as long as they have.
In spite of mixed feelings about the privilege this couple possesses, I wish them both comfort and peace.
35
I am sad.
12
Mrs. Bush is an admirable role model, modelling for us how to have the courage and confidence to face one's mortality straightforwardly. I suggest that she has not "forsworn further interventions", but has shifted the focus of healthcare interventions to emphasize quality versus onerous and likely futile interventions aimed at longevity.
14
Godspeed Mrs. Bush.
18
Dear Mrs. Bush,
Do you remember the day when you arrived in Grosse Pointe, Michigan on some kind of mission, only to find that my ragged band of teenage supporters and I had misspelled your name on every poster that said, “WELCOME BABARA BUSH.” So embarrassing! But funny to recall.
Now every child in our country knows how to spell your name properly, and for people like me there is spell check! For “Babara Bush” it suggests “great American,” “tower of strength” and “mother of Presidents.”
I keep you in my thoughts and prayers,
Suzanne Stroh
15
We are all with you, Mrs. Bush.
13
A classic GOP matriarch who never helped anyone in her life. Her comments about Iraq and Katrina exposed her shallowness.
36
Barbara Bush will not so much cast a long shadow on history, as get credit for creating the bright light the Bush men cast shadows from.
3
No offence to George Bush 41.
I think that If Barbara had been running for president in 1992 she would have won. She and her husband are both class acts. Their like seems to be disappearing from politics nowadays.
12
What a great lady! I fully understand her decision but I'm sure it is very hard for her family to accept that they won't have her much longer. She is the rock in that family, and it's a good family, whether or not one likes their politics.
Barbara Bush is a wonderful example of how to age with grace and dignity, not Botox, plastic surgery and Spanx. She is one of my heroes. It breaks my heart that this wonderful long marriage is now in it's end stages, just as is the one of the Queen and Prince Philip. Both couples have led lives of dedication to their country and their ideals. Both have led lives guided by faith, and by a commitment to their marriage vows made so long ago.
I will pray for her and for her family. May they find peace and acceptance of God's will.
19
Barbara Bush was a gracious and wise First Lady. I wish she had been the first Woman President.She was tough and no nonsense and totally focused on important issues.I am not a Republican but she is my image of what an effective First Lady would be.She was the wife of a president and the mother of a president- what a shame she was not president!
17
Barbara Bush is a role model for all political spouses. Her openness and frankness made her the most admired of the Bushes, and I dare say with little fear of contradiction, that if she had run against Clinton, she would have been the first Female President in 1996.
But it was her political acumen in an apolitical role that will be her legacy. Walter Cronkite is perhaps the only person who was more trusted.
As a Democrat, I will always be in awe of how much I loved to hear, and hear about her, while simultaneously violently reject the men around her.
Dearest Barbara, we wish you pain-free comfort and happiness in your final travel on this earth knowing that you were loved by all.
17
Here is how I will remember her.
From the NY Times, 9-07-05
"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality." "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway," she said, "so this is working very well for them." Mrs. Bush toured the Astrodome complex with her husband, former President George Bush ..."
A clueless plutocrat, really.
56
One of my fondest memories of Mrs. Bush was when she commented at some length about how Hurricane Katrina refugees were lucky to be living in refugee support centers because they were underprivleged, and how she was fretting that they would stay in Texas.
She perhaps also deserves some credit for attaching herself to a man who was able to keep her comfortable, so that she didn't have to confront the realities of being underprivleged... or having a job.
She deserves plaudits, as well, for channeling that energy and free time into doing such a solid job raising George W. Bush to be the towering intellect and icon of good governance that we all came to know and love.
I hope there are bootstraps where she's going, that she may pull herself up by them.
29
Come on, Cristobal. She's an elderly woman, and she's dying. Those comments 13 years ago in New Orleans were neither sensitive nor appropriate, but I would think that the good people of New Orleans could summon their better angels and forgive the woman who made them now that she is in the final stages of her life. Besides, she wasn't and isn't a horrible woman: she wasn't and isn't some fading dictator or hateful person or cruel and untoward individual whose lifetime actions were so heinous that not even the specter of death can permit us to forgive if not forget them.
As for George W. Bush, she may have raised him, but once he reached adulthood he was responsible for his own actions, behaviors, and exercising of intellect. The fact that he was one of the White House's less intellectual residents is not Mrs. Bush's fault, but if we are going to blame the parents, why not foist some blame on the very elderly President Bush? He's the father of W., after all. A mother is not solely responsible for her children, and to cast blame on a dying old lady because you didn't like her son's politics is a cheap shot in the extreme. I hope there's some compassion to be found on your block of NYC, because you are sorely in need of it. Hopefully one day when you're old and frail, surrounded by loved ones, someone will extend some compassion to you for things you may have said and done when you were old and foolish, or young and full of yourself.
36
If that's all you've got as far as puttling Barbara Bush down, give up. She is a human being who did not get things right EVERY TIME, but still lived life with grace. And she always reminded me of my mother. I like her.
15
I do not wish her ill; in fact, I greatly admire her example in sharing her decision about comfort care - most likely her greatest public service ever. But, let's not gloss over facts in false hagiography - Barbara Bush was NO friend of the poor, non-white inner-city residents of this great nation; irrespective of the "little brown ones" in her own family. To those with great privilege - MUCH more is and was expected. She failed mightily in that regard (think Jackie Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Michelle Obama); and was perceived as harsh and indifferent in my corner of the USA.
6
I admire the Bush Family for publicly stating that Mrs. Bush has decided on comfort care.
This is a break-through for better care at the end-of-life! Because of the Bushes public statement choosing comfort care, this will help engender a cultural shift from futile, often harmful, medical interventions that are inflicted on the unsuspecting in the throes of dying.
Comfort care allows a natural death.
Thank you to the Bush Family!
20
This woman was an accomplice to two men who did incredible amounts of damage to the United States and its reputation. She and her husband are evidence that the evil do not die young. Her greatest achievement has been living to an old age.
33
Even at 92 and in failing health, Barbara Bush looks better, tougher and more gracious than most folks I know. . . at any age. My I look half as good and wonderful as she does in my vintage years.
11
A wonderful person.
7
Rest in piece Barbara Bush. A classy lady determined to end her life with dignity. I am glad she is at home with her family.
6
I was always impressed that after that bitter 1992 campaign, she still welcomed Hillary Clinton for the customary visit to the White House of the incoming First Lady with real class, courtesy, and a sense that this is the way things are done. Similar to Michelle Obama's visit with Melania Trump after the 2016 election.
14
She has taken control of some of the most important days of her life. A real example to us all.
18
A great lady leading by example.
9
Good for her. There comes a point when there is no quality of life. Better to go on your terms surrounded by loved ones. I wish the Bush the family the best.
7
Barbara Bush is a role model on living an authentic life full of love, family, self-respect and steady. Love that woman. I remember when she was raising her children, out of the limelight, and she said she had twenty years to get this child-rearing job right, then after that she would do something else.
4
I have the greatest respect for Barbara Bush - She is, and will always be, a wonderful tribute to her husband, children and the American people.
6
Time, and the current comparison, has mellowed my feelings about President Bush, whom I once disliked intensely. I never disliked Barbara Bush, and as she faces this challenging end-of-life stage, I wish her and her family peace and comfort. She is a brave, steadfast woman who in many ways embodies, as does her generation, much of what truly once made America great.
6
I am proud of Barbara Bush. She is embracing the main principle of Death with Dignity by choosing the way she wishes to die. This is consistent with the organization Compassion and Choices and should be an example to anyone who finds themselves in a similar health situation. I hope that older Americans who find themselves with incurable conditions are aware of this option as well as their close families. I wish her an easy passage and hope that she goes gently.
5
Barbara Bush was devoted to her family and served them all well. That and her campaign for literacy were basically her achievements as First Lady. In fact that is not a very distinguished record compared to other First Ladies such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Hilary Clinton, Abigail Adams and others. Not to fault her for not having a more active role in US history, she was a First Lady more on par with Bess Truman-who had no particular love for Washington or politics. Another in this category may be Melania Trump. Mrs. Bush is a loyal supporter of her family members' ambitions, with few of her own. That too is perfectly fine as an example of what a First Lady's role can be. She well represents the alternative of First Ladies who prefer staying in the wings and not in the limelight.
4
She isn't dead yet, The details of her biography don't need to be published now. I foresee that the former president will soon follow. What a pity.
2
Nobody gets out alive. And there's no cure for being 92, or any old age. Glad Mrs Bush is setting this example!
4
Ms Bush is a model for all of us,including me. I hope I shall be able to live and die the way s he shown me.
3
Always a classy act, Mrs. Bush's decision is a brave one and typical of a woman who has always been noteworthy for her good common sense.
The old monied WASP aristocracy that she has been a part of is mostly gone now.
I miss them.
They had manners, were staunch patriots and set a moral tone for this country that has made important contributions to our national life and politics.
The Republican donors and fundraisers who have attempted to replace them are pale imitations and sad reminders of what has been lost.
15
Oh, how true!
I officially fell in love with Barbara when she said of Trump, "I don't know how women can vote for him." I hope her remaining days are filled with peace and love, and without pain.
15
There is still a misconception about comfort care. Barbara Bush did not suspend medical treatment. She decided on the medical treatment of comfort care. That is not an abandonment of medical treatment. Often it is a realization that at the quality of life, that a person is experiencing, it is perhaps more natural to pass away when God comes to get you rather than pushing back at God and being kept alive a little longer by more aggressive medical care.
Often senior citizens do have a crystal ball to the future. If you look back at the quality of life of the last months or a year or two, you can often tell what the future holds for you short of a miracle. Often when a patient decides for comfort medical care there is such relief, once freed from the burden of aggressive medical care, that the patient can get on with living the rest of her life.
2
I wasn’t a political fan of Mrs Bush’s husband or son. Nonetheless, the Bushes are a family for whom I have deep respect and affection. They are certainly the antithesis of the current First Family. I wish Mrs Bush the peace of the righteous.
6
Has trump even sent a well-wisher to the Bushes?
3
You need to ask? Of course he hasn't.
1
The ever-stalwart Mrs. Bush has enjoyed a long, honorable life, and as she nears the end, is doing the public one last good turn by demonstrating the right way to leave the stage.
7
I applaud her choosing to not employ extreme measures to extend life for a very short duration.
3
Someone posted: I wonder why it's not called hospice, because that's what it sounds like.
Maybe the industry is rebranding itself. Comfort care sounds much better than hospice.
2
A wonderful woman, sadly her money saved the bankrupt Bush's family and they continued to give us their elitist leadership to the ruin of the country.
7
I can only hope that I can face the end of my days with 1/2 as much grace and dignity. May the Lord bless her last days with peace and love.
17
I clearly recall Barbara Bush's bright personality, about this time of year, back at the 1990 Wellesley graduation of my sister. The graduation speakers that year were Mrs. Bush and ... Mrs. Gorbachev.
Their speeches perfectly captured the essence of America and the (soon-to-collapse) Soviet Union. Mrs. Gorbachev's speech sounded like the officially approved all-purpose generic Soviet speech, devoid of personality and chock full of NewSpeak. Not exactly a crowd pleaser. In beautiful contrast, Mrs. Bush spoke with charm, and cleverness, and a kind of sharp love that brought down the house. It almost foreshadowed the end of the Cold War. And it made me so proud to be an American.
So, thank you, Barbara Bush, for carrying that spirit of optimism and goodwill and grace. In our fractious times, so full of angry tweets and crude mud slinging, you are a beacon of light, an exemplar of our better selves, a reminder of how to behave, and a promise of better times ahead.
31
I kept a copy of Barbara's Wellesley commencement speech on my refrigerator for many years. Her honesty, wit, wisdom and compassion were inspiring.
4
My prayers and thoughts to the entire Bush family. Thank you for sharing with us such a gracious lady. Even in the face of personal adversity, she personifies grace and dignity. God Bless you, First Lady.
14
She served our Country well. My sincere best wishes to her and the entire Family. Peace.
13
I wish Mrs. Bush peace and comfort. It's a challenging decision and I have been through it with my Mom.
My thoughts are with the Bush family as well. It may well be harder for them, always difficult to watch a loved one slip away. I hope the passes well and with love.
12
The first two paragraphs of this NYT article report Barbara Bush's situation with succinct and welcome accuracy. I have been dismayed by the wording of some reporting on her medical status. At least two different television networks reported that she is refusing further "medical treatment" when the proper way of putting it is that she has decided that "her only ongoing medical treatment will be paliative care". Why is this important? Too many Americans are not fully aware that foregoing aggressive medical interventions does not equate to refusing all "medical treatment" and so are unreasonably frightened of that prospect for themselves or a relative of being cast aside without pain control, supplementary oxygen, proper wound care, etc.
I am probably a bit prickly about this because I had to make similar decisions for my late mother according to her prior explicit instructions and with my late husband. Both received exemplary palliative (aka comfort) medical care after our decisions until their deaths. I like to believe that one reason the Bush family is being public about this is to set an example of opting for one choice of medical intervention that can be desirable in some circumstances. For that I thank them.
134
I wonder why it's not called hospice, because that's what it sounds like. Hospice is a wonderful service that both eases the individual and their family toward the next chapter and provides all necessary medical care for comfort. Too many people wait too long to avail themselves, which is unfortunate.
24
Kim D,
The short answer is that comfort care "focus groups" much better.
The longer answer is that hospice is now a legally defined subset of palliative/comfort care. Utilizing something labelled that by the provider puts one over 65 in a separate Medicare protocol with its own requirements and sometimes worthwhile financial benefits. My mother got Medicare furnished hospice care as an adunct to her skilled nursing facility care. My husband's several months of comfort care was hospital, home and then special purpose hospital based but never from a hospice provider per se.
5
My Mother-In-Law was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer in 2016, and died ten months later. She put up such a remarkable fight and went through so many grueling and painful procedures that I often wonder if it would’ve been better had she had gone into hospice earlier. She went into a wonderful nonprofit hospice facility, but spent only two days there before she died. I think that, had the family been more willing to think about quality of life over long-term survival, my MIL would’ve been able to have had a more comfortable passing.
End of life issues and decisions relating to them are critically important, and should be considered by all people, young and old, so that when a crisis happens people aren’t taken by surprise. Death is still a taboo topic here in the United States, and the more people talk about it, the better we are all able as both a society and as individuals to be able to prepare for it.
12
Mrs. Bush's decision must have been both a tremendously difficult one to make and one that, given her age and health conditions, was also the most logical for her. She is 92 years old and when you reach that age and are in poor health you may just have to make the decision to stop treatment, particularly if that treatment is not going to give you a good quality of life anyway. I firmly believe that, particularly in one's last years, it's the quality of life that is most important, and we need to honor our loved ones who elect to live whatever time they have left without medical treatment if that's what they want. Let them be at peace and enjoy the company of friends, family, beloved objects and pets, for whatever time that they have left in this world. I saw that with my own grandmother who, at nearly 90, declined all treatments and opted for comfort care only after she seriously deteriorated following years of poor health that were exacerbated by a broken hip. She left on her terms, not on anyone else's, and that was what was most important, both to her and to us.
I wish Mrs. Bush much peace in this final stage of her life, and hope that she is surrounded by love and compassion. May her family be a source of strength and comfort for her in what I hope are peaceful and happy last days. I wish her a life that closes gently and with grace.
49
We are all hard wired to live no matter what our faith or lack of it. The battle ends for all of us. If we are of sound mind our decision of when we decide to give up the good fight is ours alone. I applaud her for her decision and I respect those who continue to battle on often in pain and despair. These are very tough personal decisions and I hope they remain that way.
I wish her and her family peace during this very tough time in their lives.
27
Her decision, while difficult, is one that should be be emulated more in our country, where we spend vast sums of money in the last few months of life to little if any purpose. Comfort care should be the goal in almost all cases like this, while aggressive treatments, often to placate family members, are wasteful, rob the dying of their last bits of dignity, and inflict even more pain and discomfort on the dying. Our attitude in general to dying needs to change and be more accepting that, at some point, it's going to happen no matter what.
117
Barbara, I wish you and George God's Peace.
20
I will remember her for her reply to Nancy Regan who said "I wear a size 4" to which Mrs. Bush replied, "My thigh is a size 4."
149
Thanks for the great reminder of Mrs. Bush's smart and clever humor.
4
If that is all you recall about this remarkable woman then you are to be inducted in the Shallow Hall Of Fame.
Congratulations!
1
Oh, knock it off, Jonathan! I know what Roxanne meant: she was highlighting, as Marge pointed out, an example of Mrs. Bush’s humorous side. If anyone deserved to be relegated to the “Shallow Hall of Fame” it was Nancy Reagan, for making that inane and ridiculous comment in the first place.
2
Thank yu for the news report. However, it reads like a news story that would follow someone's passing, not a decision about that person's health care.
9
An extremely dignified lady who was and always will be recognized as a great representative and role model for our country. She and everything that she represents stands in sharp contrast to the disgraceful narcissist that currently occupies the White House.
54
I was thinking the same thing. To say "Barbara Bush," "Melania Trump" and "First Lady" in the same sentence strikes me as cruelly absurd!
Paryers and best wishes to Barbara.
1
On the other hand, Melania has had to face having Trump as a husband, and she is doing an excellent job: She says nothing. She does nothing. She doesn't "support" her husband publicly. In these circumstances, that is actually the best and "classiest" thing she can do.
4
Godspeed Barbara...
10
A throwback to when First Ladies had class.
77
Michelle Obama also had class, and still has, along with Mrs. Bush.
6
Michelle Obama had class. So did Laura Bush, Hilary Clinton, Rosalyn Carter, Lady Bird Johnson. On the other hand Melania has exceptional beauty and the desire to survive.
6
A throwback to when First ladies had class? We've had first ladies with class since then.
8
What a wonderful woman Barbara Bush is. I am so sad that she has heart failure. My father had the same thing and passed away at the age of 97. I don't blame her for not wanting to seek medical attention. All they do is give you pills and probably even oxygen, but it won't cure you. I hope and pray that she lives for as long as possible. Most of all that she doesn't suffer. I also pray that God gives her and her family strength and comfort during this difficult time. May God watch over the Bush family.
19
Best wishes to a woman who was loved by her family. She was, as a younger woman, way too acerbic for my tastes, but having a serial philanderer for a husband may have contributed to that aspect of her personality.
8
I think you mean "IS loved by her family. She IS..." She is still alive, let's not rush her.
1
George Bush Sr. was a serial philanderer? Seriously?
2
Prayers and peace for this strong, smart, and lovely woman.
22
Barbara Bush s the antithesis of the botoxed, dyed-hair fashionista political wives who dominate the air waves.
She is a natural beauty, unafraid to age and show it. She makes it all look good, the white hair, the laugh lines and that smile all increasing with age.
No matter what your politics are or were one has to admire her fearless acquiescence to the aging process. I applaud her and wish her and her family the best. A truly beautiful woman.
117
From one Smithie to another, God bless you Mrs. Bush. I did not agree with much of the politics of your family but you comported yourself with dignity and grace. Something many of us never gave much thought to until now. Thank you.
p.s. And thank you to your husband for signing the ADA.
77
“I am still old and still in love with the man I married 72 years ago.” That's lovely. So is the decision to refuse further treatments, the futile endless proddings, bright sterile lights and distracting indignities of modern medicine. End of life is a very special time she is embracing it on her terms.
78
I did not always care for her husband's politics, but always thought she was a class act and added real pizazz to the title of The First Lady. She was simply elegant. Terribly sadden by the news of her failing health. Her husband will be lost without her. Loving and kind thoughts to Mrs. Bush and her entire family.
52
“I am still old and still in love with the man I married 72 years ago.”
Delightful humor and honesty still after all these years. They just don't make 'em like that any more. I just love Mrs. Bush.
54
Always admired Barbara Bush, a woman of character and a moral compass. She is real and genuine and will go down in history as a great First Lady, a great mom and wife. I love that she is calling the shots even to the end of the race. You go Mrs. Bush!
15
How nice that she can be at home...I mean that sincerely. Meanwhile, my sisters and I scramble to figure out how on earth we're going to pay for the $450/day facility our mother (also with congestive heart failure) has been confined to.
I'm not bitter at the Bushes...I'm bitter at our crazy, unfair system.
153
I wish your mother peace, Jeffrey, and you and your sisters as well. I know it isn't much coming from a stranger and it certainly doesn't pay the bills, but sometimes a wish for peace is all we can give each other in this world. May your mother have dignity today, tomorrow, and into eternity.
3
I don't think it's bitter at all. I think the resources to die at home on one's own terms is something we should all have if we want.....but not everyone can afford private care at home thanks to our inhumane insurance system.
3
She is a grand lady, a real lady. I wish there were more like her in the public eye. She is a true role model and inspiration. She will be missed. I wish her peace now and forever.
10
A profile in courage and empathy for family members.
12
I wish her and her family the best. She has had a wonderful life and deserves a peaceful rest.
63
I think Barbara Bush is one of the most underrated people in history. She is arguably the most important person in the lives of two presidents, a governor, and whatever else may come of the Bush political dynasty. Barbara is a loving and politically sound leader and caretaker who is an inspiration to every American today. I find it tragic that Barbara's life may be nearing the end, but I pray that we as a nation honor her in the most appropriate way possible.
102
While I extend my sympathy to the Bush family, I can't help noticing that the comment by Mr. Berg contradicts itself. He implies that the most important woman for the 41st president is is wife, and that the most important woman for the 43rd president is not his wife.
3
The photo of Mr and Mrs Bush is taken at Congregation Beth Israel, Houston, when the President was given the Mensch Award by Mensch International. A mensch is a very fine and distinguished human being who reflects the very qualities of the 41st president. Mr and Mrs Bush are wonderful people who live by their values and model for us how to be great Americans. May Mrs Bush enjoy comfort in these days.
21
Trump will do it with a Tweet.