I returned to the White House today for the presentation of the portraits of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. The event included remarks by the current and former presidents, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Mrs. Bush. The spirit of the event was quite nice; the president was congenial, while Mrs. Obama was warm and charitable. But this moment belonged to America’s 43rd president and his wife. President Bush’s words were moving (particularly when speaking about his father), humorous, and gracious.
Having served in the White House for almost the entire two terms of the Bush presidency, returning to the White House activated memories that had begun to fade just a bit – from the events of 9/11, to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, to Bush’s re-election, to the worst days of the Iraq war. Some of these events felt like they happened a time long ago and far away; and yet sitting in the East Room also felt familiar, almost as if the White House years had never ended. On a personal level, it was a joy to renew friendships with former colleagues, among whom can be counted some of the finest public servants imaginable.
As for President Bush, I am the first to admit I am not an entirely objective observer of the man. But I did have the benefit of having seen him up close during challenging and consequential times, and in ways that not many other Americans could ever really know. Virtually every person who worked for him or got to know him can testify to his enormous personal decency and integrity. He was one of the gutsiest politicians of our lifetime. (Consider among other things his commitment to the surge in Iraq when almost everyone else had given up on the war.) And he showed great mercy in helping the people of Africa and a ferocious commitment to pursuing his main duty, protecting our country.
George W. Bush was hardly flawless, and certainly neither were those of us who worked under him. Yet having faced crises of considerable dimensions, President Bush served his nation exceedingly well and with honor.
“We cannot live our dreams,” Oliver Wendell Holmes said in summing up his years on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. “We are lucky enough if we can give a sample of our best, and if in our hearts we can feel that it has been nobly done.”
President Bush gave his best; and in his heart, he can take some comfort that it was nobly done.
When the Leftist media is done with their juvenile mockfest and honest historians start to write, 43 will be largely vindicated. The reverse will be true for 44.
Nicely put. n nI will always remember George W. and Laura Bush as two of the classiest people ever to represent the United States. n nI did not always agree with him. But, I always respected him, and will always think of him with great affection. n nCaptain USN ret
While he and his administration undoubtedly made mistakes, there can be no question but that George W. Bush believed that the exercise of American power and influence is on balance a good thing, a healthy thing, a positive thing for the world. In those days, "leading from behind" was unthinkable.
I presume you must have been pleased to rekindle old relationships with former colleagues within the confine of the WH. History will judge Prez Bush (W) as being a very good president who always put the good of the country ahead of politics (unlike his successor). He was a strong leader. However, I am still puzzled by some of his decisions. E.g., his decision to leave Libby on the battlefield
nThank you for that tribute! n I often disliked (and occasionally abhorred) Bush's policies, but I always liked the man. nIn time I came to admire him very much.
He was an awful president. He was asleep at the switch for 9/11, launched us into the disasterous iraq war, passed medicare part d, a massive unfunded liability, and put us into extreme debt and inflated the currency to the hilt. His speaking was just as much a disaster and inspired no confidence, only embarassment.