George and Ted's detente; War views aside, former president hails Kennedy for public service

Dallas Morning News ^ | 11-07-03

[Brian S]

George and Ted's detente War views aside, former president hails Kennedy for public service

08:34 PM CST on Friday, November 7, 2003

By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Former President George Bush and U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy tiptoed around the subject of the war in Iraq – on which they disagree strongly – during an improbable political cease-fire and love feast in Aggieland Friday night.

The occasion was the awarding of the third annual George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service to Mr. Kennedy, D-Mass.

As he introduced Mr. Kennedy to an audience of 2,500 people at Rudder Auditorium, the elder Bush joked about criticisms the senator had hurled his way, including a few made on the eve of the first Persian Gulf War in early 1991. As he spoke, Mr. Kennedy stood up from his chair and pretended he was leaving the stage – the crowd loved it.

However, Mr. Bush grew somber as he briefly referred to Mr. Kennedy's Sept. 18 accusation that his son, the incumbent president, was "bribing" other nations to commit troops and other resources to help rebuild war-torn Iraq.

"As a father, let me say attacks upset me a great deal more today than they did when I was myself in the crosshairs," he said. "It hurts more when it's your kid."

But the former president said "tough criticism goes with the territory."

He recalled that he had "lobbed more than my fair share of attacks at the senator. ... When you want to fire up a Republican crowd, give them a little red meat, you know. Nothing works quite like jumping on Ted Kennedy."

A few people booed when Mr. Kennedy was introduced. One man heckled him as he began his lecture, shouting, "You're hurting America."

But the senator ignored him and plunged into his 30-minute address, fully a third of which was devoted to praising the Bush family for public service.

Mr. Kennedy appeared to charm the crowd with several self-deprecating jokes about how unpopular he is in Texas.

On a more serious note, he said Americans should tolerate dissenting views about how to conduct the war on terror – both from fellow citizens and other nations.

"Vigorous public debate is the only path to progress and the surest route to reconciling the differences that divide us," Mr. Kennedy said.

The war on terror is still in its infancy, he said.

"A new world order is still being born. We did not have all the answers at the start of the Cold War, either. ... Those successful policies emerged from a state of profound confusion."

Mr. Bush, who personally selected the senator for the award, said he was a worthy political adversary who in 41 years in the Senate "has waged a purposeful battle to improve the human condition."

"There were times when we were at each other's political throats," Mr. Bush recalled. "But at the end of the day, we are Americans who love our country and want the very best for it."

Mr. Kennedy responded, "on the fundamental values that unite us as Americans, Houston and Boston are not so far apart."

Several young people held "Viva Kennedy" placards outside the auditorium. About 50 people, including a man dressed up to look like the senator, staged a protest of his campus appearance. It was organized by the A&M chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas.

Before his lecture, Mr. Kennedy toured the Bush Presidential Library with his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, and her parents; some of his children; his niece Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg and her husband; three of his sisters, former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy, Pat Lawford and Eunice Shriver; and his sister-in-law, Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert Kennedy.

Former first lady Barbara Bush, who had chided Mr. Kennedy a few days ago for speaking out "rather indiscriminately" about her son's handling of Iraq, joined her husband in welcoming him to the library.

The elder Bushes were the only members of their family to attend the events honoring Mr. Kennedy.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, who served as national security adviser to former Presidents Bush and Gerald Ford, read the award's citation at a dinner attended by about 225 people.

The citation said Mr. Kennedy, 71, "has earned widespread respect from political friend and foe alike as a tenacious and eloquent voice for furthering his beliefs."

It singled out for praise, however, only two of the Democrat's pet projects – "his work to encourage more young Americans to enter public service" and his collaboration with the elder Bush in passing the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Previous recipients of the award were former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Mr. Kennedy will return to Texas on Dec. 12 – appearing before a more like-minded audience: He will be the keynote speaker for the Texas Civil Rights Project's annual banquet in Austin.

E-mail rtgarrett@dallasnews.com.

[Humidston]

I LOVE IT!!!

[Torie]

Does the wise sage with more than a tad of curmudgeon in him have an opinion on this? This one seems up your alley.

[RLK]

Excuse me, but Bush 41 is out of politics.

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He's not out of politics. He's campaigning for Kennedy.

[Brian S]

I'm getting the distinct impression that all these Washington types consider themselves the **Ruling Elite.** We are the pawns, they are the kingmakers

Actually...I think you are very close to the "facts on the ground", at least from this "keyboard commando's" vantage point.

Fear not however, in the end...we will out man them and overwhelm with our mass! :)

[NYC Republican]

This may be a good thing! It may cause Kennedy to view the Bush family in a different light, and be more courteous and respectful of them. It may foster an environment of love, not hostility. Friendship and cooperation, not name calling and empty rhetoric. It may creat....

Nah, look who we're talking about. A murderous slime Kennedy.

[ikka]

Were Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, and Henry Hyde all not available that night?

[ETERNAL WARMING]

Public service? Don't make me laugh. He's done more to bring the US under Socialism thereby destroying our Constitution than any other Senator alive. Why he is being honored speaks volumes about Republicans today.

[Southack]

"If Bush had any class he wouldn't even appear on the same stage with the Kennedys."

I understand what you are saying, but dissing every non-right-winger would leave us stuck with 31% of the vote, a poor strategy for gaining enough power to advance our agenda.

Don't look now, but we just banned Partial Birth Abortion. We're building our national anti-missile defense systems this very moment in California and Alaska. We've killed the International Criminal Court, neutered the UN, and deep-sixed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty.

Our right-wing agenda is sailing through, and we're gaining in the voter registration rolls every day. Next week starts the 24/7 filibusters (with a first try 30 hour test) to ram our judicial nominees through the Senate approval process. We've fully funded our Iraq, Afghanistan, and Liberia missions and rebuilding. We've given our military two pay raises in a row. We've passed at least two major income tax cuts and jump-started our economy.

We've won the House, the Senate, the Presidency, most state legislatures, and 29 out of 50 governorships (including the 4 most populous states of New York, California, Texas, and Florida). We've got private school choice vouchers and faith-based charity funding up on the agenda for next year, too. Our energy Bill may even pass through oil drilling in the ANWR.

Sheesh man, look around! We are destroying the Dems, and yet we are doing it so masterfully that they can't even call us bullies in their own left-wing press.

Hey, anybody want to spend another $9 million to make an anti-Reagan film?! I don't think so! Anyone want to try to roll back our state Concealed Carry Weapon laws?! Go ahead, make our day!

It's a thing of beauty when you stop to watch it in all of its glory. We've got Bush 1 giving Teddy Kennedy a civic award, for crying out loud! How can the liberal media fault that?? We are the compassionate Party. What can the Dems point to in the way of their efforts to show class back to us?! They've got Jack s#!+.

We've gone from being dead even in the voter registration rolls in Florida back in 2000 to up by 6% this year. Americans like what they are seeing from us. They like our leadership, our ideas, and our compassion.

[RLK]

This may be a good thing! It may cause Kennedy to view the Bush family in a different light, and be more courteous and respectful of them. It may foster an environment of love, not hostility.

-------------------------

Being even marginally cordial to Kennedy and other leftists is like not swatting a mosquito. It doesn't fly off in gratitude. It just digs in deeper ans sucks more blood.

[Consort]

Teddy may be a killer, yet he keeps getting elected by his Liberal base. Bush is a war hero, a honorable public servant, a good family man, a good VP to Reagan, etc. yet he was stabbed in the back by his "base" in favor of Bill Clinton. Pathetic.

[Bonaparte]

"He had the light touch."

Just ask Anita.

[RLK]

Bush is a war hero, a honorable public servant, a good family man, a good VP to Reagan, etc. yet he was stabbed in the back by his "base" in favor of Bill Clinton.

-----------------------------

Bush never had a base. The only thing he ever had was riding Reagan's coat tails. He blew that away.

[freedumb2003]

Teddy may be a killer, yet he keeps getting elected by his Liberal base. Bush is a war hero, a honorable public servant, a good family man, a good VP to Reagan, etc. yet he was stabbed in the back by his "base" in favor of Bill Clinton.

Quite simple -- conservatives have scruples and values. GB went back on the most solemn value conservatives hold dear -- taxes.

Liberals have no value system -- they just want to "feel good." Absent that, they want to block the conservatives since values are something a leftist cannot condone. Thus the Teddy and Clintoon re-election phenomena.

This does NOT mean I agree with the way conservatives turned on Bush Sr. But at least we have consistency.

[Consort]

You are well known as a Bush Hater, so you ain't qualified to say. And, if you didn't vote to reelect him, then you are part of the problem.

[GeekDejure]

Calling Sen Kennedy a public servant who "has waged a purposeful battle to improve the human condition." is like describing a pedophile as someone who "likes children".

Close, but no cigar. Pedophiles DO like children !!!

Calling Sen Kennedy a public servant who "has waged a purposeful battle to improve the human condition." is like describing a "pedophile" as someone who "pedals a bicycle on a single file line"!!! ;-))

.

[deport]

Dang....... Teddy is really in town......

11/07/2003
Man Exposes Himself On A&M Campus
Five different victims at various locations on the Texas A&M campus report an encounter with a motorist who is exposing his genitals to people.

[blam]

Screw the worthless Kennedy's!!

[Consort]

Quite simple -- conservatives have scruples and values.

Everybody has scruples and values. Just ask them.

GB went back on the most solemn value conservatives hold dear -- taxes.

That is no excuse for 8 years of the Clintons....so far. If you think so, then you have no scruples and values.

Liberals have no value system...

Not important.

This does NOT mean I agree with the way conservatives turned on Bush Sr.

They stabbed all of us in the back.

But at least we have consistency.

Tooth paste has consistency.

[mass55th]

"Mr. Kennedy appeared to charm the crowd with several self-deprecating jokes about how unpopular he is in Texas."

Not as unpopular as his brother unfortunately.

[smoothsailing]

George and Ted should go skydiving.

The last one down wins.

Place your bet.

LOL