It is a bit unsettling that these two men who occupied the oval office were unable to consult easily and productively. This is especially the case given that consultation and negotiation are so fundamental to the role of a president.
What's the difference between a Christian and an atheist.....and the difference between separation of church and state? Understand that all men are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. However, there is only one correct way to view right from wrong, moral from immoral, and decent from indecent, and that has nothing to do whether you are a republican or a democrat.
Blessed be those that believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
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I often disagreed w/ him. His time as head of CIA is ignored in the eulogies: Skull & Bones, Bay of Pigs, assassination attempts against Castro. CIA, in anti-Commie zeal, murdered democratically elected S. American Presidents like Salvador Allende of Chile, with lasting consequences. He knew more than he said re "arms for hostages" deal. Bush family had long-time ties w/the Saudis, w/horrendous consequences. Altho better than Reagan, who refused to publicly acknowledge AIDS crisis, could have done more to publicize it/devote more CDC research funds.
OTOH, often ridiculed as "out of touch" w/common person, esp. his awe at a new cash register scanner. Today's NYT article explains he was smeared for expressing fascination at new technology. He was famously gentle, generous, kind, and polite. Kind of man who wrote thank-you notes (see Maureen Dowd's hilarious "Poppy & the Reportertte.")
But a vicious campaigner. The "Willy Horton" ad was a racist smear against Dukakis, & a sign of what the Republican Party would become.
But while I deplore many of his policy choices, I weep his heroism in WWII. His plane in flames, he refused to parachute before the other 2 crewmen. Gave his service revolver to the carrier that rescued him. Told GWB that every day he mourned the loss of fellow crewmen who didn't make it.
Last President who served in WWII. Last time when parties weren't in screaming warfare. Wept when saw picture of his service dog by his casket.
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It must be hard, at any age, to carry the weight of your father's last words. I hope the words themselves lessened that burden.
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GW would have been wise to listen to his father's advice-- not because it was his father, but because he was a moderate Republican with incredible experience (ambassador, President, VP, CIA chief) who had already gone to war against Hussein. But he listened to Rumsfeld and Cheney instead, even ignoring Colin Powell at crucial times. That was his biggest mistake, for which we all have paid.
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The son called for war which the Dad could not do. Not something to be celebrated, in life or in death. This country is still reeling from that failed war and the WMD which were never found. A cunning way to get rid of Saddam when it was none of our business, to try to implement democracy when it was known for a fact that the task was ultimately the duty of the citizens of that sovereign nation.
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The story of 41 and 43 should be the poster child of why inherited wealth and privilege are not just unfair, but potentially disastrous.
That one picture of the two of them with Jeb on election night 2000 shows one of the greatest tragedies in American history, if not THE greatest.
Thanks to Jeb's being governor of Florida at the time, he was able to help the normal Republican election cheating (who remembers Kathleen Harris?).
If it weren't for their entrenched power in Florida, and the SCOTUS decision supporting it, we would have President Al Gore from 2000-2008.
That's when the U.S. swerved off the road and landed in a ditch...and it may be taking much of the world down with it. Imagine if V-P Gore, who had been searching for Bin Laden, became President. He would not have ignored all the warnings. We could have averted 9-11, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The war on climate change would be 18 years old now, and far more advanced.
Last anecdote: remember HW Bush was also from a rich political family, and had all the breaks handed to him. He was a mediocre intellect, said to be bored with details as President.
Houstonians think he was a nice guy, but the country was run by Baker.
Also: W went to K-8 with Molly Ivans. But she got into the best private high school in Houston, which rejected W. That's why he had to go to private boarding school in New England, where class and money still prevailed over intelligence and ability. We all suffered.
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Time may heal all wounds, and death may be the great equalizer, but when comparisons are inevitably made between GHWB and GWB, the son’s two-term presidency pales in the shadow of his father’s one term in office.
(Of course, when compared to the current occupant in the Oval Office GWB’s presidency glows.)
But the elder Bush was a true statesman, a hero, a leader. GWB gained the presidency by a political fluke and he happily “starved the beast” as he liked to say by redistributing the surplus Bill Clinton left him in generous tax cuts to his wealthy base. He was a terrible president.
Not to be confused with his father.
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""When the journalist Bob Woodward asked about his father’s counsel, the son said, “There is a higher father that I appeal to.”"
I remember Tim Russert asking him that same question in a TV interview, and immediately upon hearing that answer I got sick to my stomach.
8 years later, my stomach upset proved to be quite prescient.
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Pfft. Just the same ol', same ol' son culture.
The genuflection to *firstborn son* culture.
Thus, the junior just without the Herbert.
Nothing unique.
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Whenever W got himself into a jam, either personally or financially, his father bailed him out, leaving others holding the bag. He pushed his son to the top of the waiting list to join the Texas Air National Guard. When one of W's companies was about to go under, his father and his friends would kite the stock so that W could cash out quickly and other investors would be stiffed. When W "got a woman in trouble," his father took care of it for him.
In terms of getting thousands of innocent people killed for no reason whatsoever, W remains the worst president in history, and his father got him into the Oval Office by flooding Florida with ruthless lawyers in 2000.
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I will read "The Last Republicans" with interest.
We read elsewhere, "George W. Bush eulogizes that father who taught him 'failure is part of living a full life.'" Oh, the irony. . . .
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Don't care much for the Bush Dynasty.
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George Bush Sr is enjoying the same brand of revisionist history as Ronald Reagan our first 'Beer President". He did indulge in the same dog whistle politics initiated by Reagan by touting the Welfare Queen and his uncaring attitude towards the Aids epidemy. Bush did have a better grasp of policy than Reagan who was just acting the part as a petticoat president. As a one term President Bush could not become the modern standard bearer that the Republican Party was yearning for since Abraham Lincoln.
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Watching George W deliver a beautifully heartfelt eulogy and then watching the cameras pan to the row of ex-presidents and the current one, I could only think how Trump is so out of place there. George HW and George W were imperfect presidents. But I never doubted their allegiance to our country. I cannot say the same for Trump.
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I was not a fan of George W. Bush as President.
.
Just now, however, in a eulogy of his father, George W. Bush gave one of the best, most touching, speeches he has ever given.
.
What a gracious, beautiful, loving tribute to his father.
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Guess he learned to read since leaving the presidency, Blaine.
I do not mean to dismiss the grief one feels when a parent dies but it happens to people all the time. We just don't get airtime for it.
All the people who have lost loved ones in the middle east since George, Jr. decided to invade Iraq have mourned their parents, childrens and other loved ones and have barely had time to grieve - they are too busy trying to stay alive.
So please forgive my lack of sympathy for the Bush family.
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The path forward cannot be to celebrate nepotism in politics, or transfer of power between generations of the elite. America does not need Jeb! Bush, Chelsea Clinton or Jared Kushner running for president; these modern political dynasties should be left to join the history books, alongside the Adamses, Roosevelts and Kennedys.
Our next generation of leaders must, instead, be motivated by a desire to create positive change and an understanding of what life is really like in America -- not the entitlement and comfort with power that come with political pedigree and Ivy League degrees courtesy of legacy admissions. This is of special importance given the rising income inequality in the United States today.
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@Otto K. George P. Bush is waiting in the wings in Texas before he runs for the White House some time with in the next 20-25 years.
@Otto K.
No more sons of sons and entertainers. A daughter as president actually would be unique - but let's make it a daughter of someone who has not been president or who served in Congress or who is a Big Banking Wall St. mogul. The greased path nepotism and patronage since WWII is how we ended up where we air, stuck in a stifling narrow closet of entitled lame brains with tentacle relatives coursing through all branches of government.
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@Otto K. Nepotism is when you hire your relative or you get your relative a job. Every Bush in public service was elected to office there is a huge difference between nepotism and electing someone to office.
All the Bush boys wanted to do was go down in HIStory.
At any cost.
They would have loved good old Jeb to be elected because that would be a "first" in American HIStory - three Bush men as president.
Do they think they are "kings"? We do not have kings or queens in America and WE THE PEOPLE do not want them.
Nothing to celebrate. They dramatically helped in the attempts to destroy democracy in OUR United States of America and the attempts to whitewash their legacy of destruction will not work.
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@njglea They were all elected to office, so WE THE PEOPLE wanted them as President for 3 terms thats 12 years and governor of Florida for who knows how long. Kings are not elected.
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@njglea WE THE PEOPLE elected GHWB and GWB. Then, WE THE PEOPLE chose to elect neither JEB nor HRC. This is not HIStory. It is OUR history.
As a lifelong Democrat, I never had warm feelings towards President George H.W. Bush or his wife, Barbara. GHWB got ahead on the strength of opportunities he never would have gotten had he been born in ordinary circumstances. Already rich through inherited money, he became very rich through his Yale SandB brothers who handed him his connections in the Texas oil business. A cipher in politics until he made himself useful to the Republican party just at the time when Texas was switching from Democratic to Republican in the 1960s (i.e. the Civil Rights era), he was promoted and promoted until finally he was Reagan's Vice President. A stronger Democratic candidate should have beaten him in the '88 Presidential, but cue Lee Atwater and the "Willie Horton" ads. That was bad enough, but add Dan Quayle and Clarence Thomas, laughably advertised by Bush as the best candidates for their jobs and you begin to see how thin the veneer of gentility and rectitude was. The thing I find most unforgivable about GHWB was his active promotion of his eldest son, a dim bulb who into his 40s drifted along on family connections while indulging his tastes for alcohol and reportedly cocaine and not showing up for military obligations. HW and Barbara knew better than anybody that "Junior" was a train wreck, yet they promoted him and backed him to the hilt resulting in the disastrous George W. Bush presidency. Shakespeare should have had the Bushes for material.
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I am a democrat too, Bush 41 and 43 presidency were very different level in terms of history.
Bush 41 what ever the average 6 pack joe American thought about him, was a golden crown coronated presidency.
Bush 43 was a failure simple and clear.
Average people never understand and appreciate their long term interest, that is why we got G.W.Bush and worse of all D.J.Trump.
Fair and objective , G.H. Bush didn't failed this nation,contrary he exalted.
But repeatedly American voters particularly Republicans failed our nation.
They never understand what G.H.Bush type of minds great wisdom. For them Regan and Clinton was glittery and exuberant.
@TimG, for all the talk of today's lack of decorum and presidential manners, the Bushes with theirs inbred proved they are merely good for nothing more than cheap wallpaper when it comes to covering up what's really behind it. Peeling it off to reveal what's really there does far more damage to the wall than if it had never been put on in the first place, but it's the only way to fix the wall right.
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People tend to highlight the story of the individual accomplishments at the time of their death, because there's little left you can take from them now. However, it's sad to see so many journalists waiting until a person's death to have the epiphany that they were somewhat wrong when they lambasted that same individual earlier.
It's sad not only for whomever their agendized words maimed at the time, but sad because it simply furthers the realization that their bias is there all along.
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@Constance Underfoot
And some here wonder why President Trump's "fake news" resonates.
It happens with everyone, not just politicians, and focusing on they positive for a period doesn't mean the negative didn't happen.
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Mention of the Iraq war leaves out the influence of the Neo-
Cons who regarded 9/11 the perfect excuse to do what they had planned all along - a catastrophe that is still with us. a huge war crime!
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How easy some people forget. Dubbya might be a nice guy now, but he was a disastrous president. And his father wasn't much better.
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@James Murphy, I think the reason I don’t have the same energy to hate Trump as much as my friends do is because I used it all up on Dubbya. Now there was someone that it was absolute torture to hear and see speak, even without flaming orange hair.
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Never want relatives to follow relatives into office just because they're relatives. Any party, any time. EVER. The fact Jeb! was trying to make it no.3 was a disgrace. It suggests a very selfish agenda.
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@Walter McCarthy
except that Jeb had the credentials of being a very successful governor of one of the larger states. Not selfish, selfless.
41 would be considered a good president. The best republican president since Ike. 43 the worst president ever until he was blown of the water by our deranged 45!
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@antiquelt
you obviously have a very short memory. The 42nd President lied about a sexual relationship with a young female intern that would have resulted in the firing of any corporate executive. The 44th President implemented national policy by fiat several times giving more power to the current President to undo his work.
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The Bush hagiographies never end.
Like broken clocks, of course these men were right a few times a day and had decent 'manners'.
But their contributions to the well-being of the nation were dubious - if not outright deleterious - aside from George Sr.'s admirable World War II military service.
It's nice that Daddy loved his son and the son loved his Daddy, but the electioneering ethics of both of them caused America to get political cancer.
The three more famous sons of George Sr. - Neil, Jeb and Junior - were deeply unethical and arguably criminal - Neil with the Silverado Savings and Loan scandal that cost taxpayers $1 billion, Jeb illegally purging the Florida central voter file in 1999 and helping to rig the 2000 Florida vote for his brother, and Dubya and his GOP hijackers and the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court happily rejecting democracy in 2000 so Grand Old Power could drive America over a tax-cut cliff, the Iraq cliff and the GOP-Bush-Cheney Depression cliff.
And Lee Atwater, Willie Horton and the last minute Iran-Contra Bush Sr. pardons were Poppy's real 'shining points of light'.
Not nice people....although people love to pretend they are.
Cognitive distance: the poisonous breakfast of incoherent Americans.
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@Socrates
Save it for next week. You have the rest of your live to settle your scores.
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@Howard Eddy I just scroll past 90% of his comments anyway.
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@Socrates Nice summary, Socrates. Well said. And that doesn't even get into the shenanigans of Granddaddy Bush.
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Any discussion of the relationship of Bush Jr. to his father brings to mind the human toll wrought by his presidency. From the weapons of mass destruction, the invasion, the deaths of thousands of our troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, the millions of refugees unleashed and oh yes the protection of the Saudi monsters immediately after 9/11 I suppose we should let it go for one day, but I'm afraid I can't.
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Including a photo of GW in his military uniform should engender many interesting posts
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@D
Most of America which suffers from long term memory loss is caught up in the "Bush Fable." Including The New York Times.
2
How is it that the older son, GWB, is suddenly seen as a statesman - as if somehow his blumbling, ineptness, and deficit-driven agenda is magically forgotten because he just happens to be the son of one of most well qualified presidents ever? I continue to find it astonishing that GHWB never took his son to task for the atrocities and war crimes for the bull-headed and criminally-wrong invasion of Iraq (for which he and his crew of Cheney, Wolfowitz, et. al. walked away scott-free) . . . I can never forgive this - nor can the tens of thousands of murdered and forever maimed . . .
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A previous Father and Son Presidential duo "John Adams and John Quincy Adams", the good old days
2
In 1974 I spent a weekend at a house owned by George H. W. and Barbara Bush in Kennebunkport, not the photogenic compound with its ocean views, but an ordinary house in town. There were six of us - five business school classmates of George W. and myself, a law student. On Saturday we were all in the living room. The five business students were playing backgammon. I had my nose in law books. George W. - he has the polished manners his father was known for - soon realized I must feel uncomfortable. He motioned to me to follow him and bring my books. Climbing the stairs to the top, he opened a door: "This is my father's study." The four walls were entirely covered with photographs of George H. W.'s career, from childhood to his current position as special envoy to Beijing. George W. spoke about some of the pictures, then said, "But my mother's really the one. I hoped you can get some studying done."
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@Laura Holtz
Beautiful memory, thank you. Other posts reflect deep wounds of decisions that continue to linger, and I share many of their emotions, but in death we remember our own mortality and leave judgment up to perfect sight and wisdom. We lost a president, and his family and friends and country now grieve. Thanks for remembering a simple human encounter that said much about courtesy and grace.
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A son that chased his father's shadow as far and as high as he could. As desperate for W's relative normality as we are these days, he was poorly suited to the role of being the world's most visible and important statesman. Doesn't mean that he isn't a good man though. RIP H.W., and your service to the country in many different capacities is greatly appreciated and remembered.
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