Exclusive: George H.W. Bush: More than Meets the Eye

FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS ^ | June 13, 2008 | KT McFarland

[anymouse]

Last week my husband and I were fortunate enough to spend some time with former President George H. W. Bush and Mrs. Bush in Kennebunkport, ME.

The first evening, a group of us gathered at Walker's Point, the Bush family compound that sits on a rocky outcrop on the Maine coast. As former President Bush showed us around, I was struck by how many times this man had contributed to the nation, in position after position, crisis after crisis. Yet many, even those in his own party, have tended to overlook his extraordinary accomplishments.

After drinks at the Bush home, we headed to the President's favorite restaurant for lobster dinner. One of our group, a successful businessman and banker from Connecticut, got up to offer a toast.He said he had just gotten off the plane from the Persian Gulf, where he had to cut short meetings with Kuwaiti and other Persian Gulf officials. When the businessman made his excuses to leave early, the Kuwaiti leaders were more than a little ruffled.When the businessman explained why, the senior Kuwaiti leader solemnly nodded, and asked to be remembered to former President Bush. In 1990, he said, while the rest of the world stood by, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and seized their oil fields. It was former President Bush who pledged "this will not stand," assembled an international coalition and sent in forces to reverse Saddam Hussein's occupation. The Kuwaiti leader said that he and his fellow countrymen literally owed theirlives to the former president.

The next morning, at breakfast, Presidential historian Michael Beschloss gave an informal talk to our small group. He discussed presidential leadership, and gave examples throughout the years of American presidents who put the country's interests before their own interests.He said some paid dearly, losing reelection as a result. It was only with the hindsight of history, Beschloss claimed, that their decisions were reevaluated and their reputations restored.

Most of Beschloss' examples were from the early years of the Republic, so someone asked for a more modern day instance of such presidential courage. With former President Bush and Mrs. Bush sitting just a few feet away, Beschloss discussed the end of the Cold War.He said that while Reagan got the lion's share of credit, it was President Bush who played a role in determining how and when the Cold War ended.

In the late 1980s it was clear the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe was in revolt, and the Soviet Union was crumbling from within. It was the moment American presidents of both parties had been waiting for since the 1950s. But former President Bush realized that the Soviet Union was a proud country, and their leaders were divided about whether to let Eastern Europe go without a fight.If the Soviet Union was forced to deal with their shame and humiliation publicly, they might have responded differently.

President Bush made it known to Soviet president Gorbachev (both through personal diplomacy during their summit meetings and through private channels) that the United States would remain quiet as long as the Soviet Union responded peaceably to the unraveling of events. When Gorbachev allowed the Berlin Wall to come down, President Bush did not rush to Berlin to echo Reagan's dare to "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

It could have been a unique moment of political triumph for Bush, not only as an American President presiding over the demise of our long time arch enemy, but also personally. George H.W. Bush had spent a lifetime fighting Communism throughout his career in Congress, as CIA director, Ambassador to China, at the United Nations, Vice President and ultimately President.

But Bush resisted the all too human temptation to gloat, and by staying silent helped ensure a smooth landing for the Eastern bloc in a potentially dangerous state of collapse.When the Berlin Wall came down, the 400,000 Soviets troops occupying East Germany did nothing to stop it.

But despite his role in winning the cold war andhis astounding victory in the First Gulf War, President H.W. Bush was defeated in his bid for reelection in 1992. He never received the credit he deserved for the two great foreign policy successes of a generation. It's a pity.But in a few years time, when historians take that inevitable second look, George Herbert Walker Bush could well be considered one of our greater presidents.

KT McFarland is a former top Pentagon official in the Reagan Administration and a frequent commentator on national security issues and foreign affairs.

[anymouse]

Interesting look back at Bush 41 and his accomplishments. Sometimes recent history gets forgotten, especially when academia prefers to paint Republicans in bad light when they write modern history books.

[BamaDi]

I’ve met 41 several times and he’s always been more than kind and gracious. In my entryway are three framed items: a letter from the WH when I retired in 05, a signed photo of 41 on my retirement and the most personal, warm letter from 41....they are my prized possessions.....I took my parents to meet him at his office in Houston several years ago and the first words out of his mouth once they were introduced were “let’s get a camera out and take some pictures”....needless to say my parents adored him!

[1rudeboy]

Problem is, Gorbo did not react “peaceably” to the break-up of the Soviet Union, and Bush 41 left the impression that he was more interested in maintaining the status quo than allowing self-determination.

[what's up]

I remember when Pres. Bush Sr. left office NO ONE was talking about the "mistakes" he made in not invading Iraq. It was considered general wisdom that that would have been a mistake at the time.

I also remember clearly when Clinton and his cronies got in the WH and started picking away at that idea. They got away with their historical revisionism and now Pres. Bush is faulted almost across the board.

The thought of the Clintons still to this day make me want to take a shower.

[maine-iac7]

But Bush resisted the all too human temptation to gloat,

And they taught their son the same quality.

I remember years ago, being invited to a private luncheon with Barbara Bush, in a home in Booth Bay.

There were only 18 of us, including the hostess and Mrs. Bush.

I had been a staunch Reaganite and didn't have much of an impression of GHWB at that time, knowing little about him - mainly because he was not a horn blower.

After meeting Barbara B., whom I found to not only be highly intelligent and witty, but genuinely down to earth. Even though she had born with the silver spoon in her mouth, she was perfectly at home with a wooden spoon, stirring the home made soup.

I decided that I would have to take a closer look at GHWB, if he had been smart enough to have married this LADY.

[pogo101]

Bush 41 is a mensch. But he bears responsibility for much of his own diminishment (in historians’ eyes) because he broke his most famous promise — the result of which (breaking it) was not only his own defeat but eight years of Clinton. (Or at least it’s my view that, but for the broken tax pledge, Perot wouldn’t have run, and 41 would have won a 2d term.)

[wbill]

You can tell an awful lot about a man from the woman he marries.

Also, anyone that thinks a man's wife exerts no influence in his decisions, has never been married. Or at least, happily married.

I've heard anecdotes similar to yours.

[mkjessup]

After drinks at the Bush home, we headed to the President's favorite restaurant for lobster dinner. One of our group, a successful businessman and banker from Connecticut, got up to offer a toast.He said he had just gotten off the plane from the Persian Gulf, where he had to cut short meetings with Kuwaiti and other Persian Gulf officials. When the businessman made his excuses to leave early, the Kuwaiti leaders were more than a little ruffled.When the businessman explained why, the senior Kuwaiti leader solemnly nodded, and asked to be remembered to former President Bush. In 1990, he said, while the rest of the world stood by, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and seized their oil fields. It was former President Bush who pledged "this will not stand," assembled an international coalition and sent in forces to reverse Saddam Hussein's occupation. The Kuwaiti leader said that he and his fellow countrymen literally owed their lives to the former president.

A shame that GHWB didn't finish the job by taking out Saddam when he had him on the ropes. Likewise, it would have been nice to have had that same courageous conviction about the fate of the Kurds in northern Iraq.

Most of Beschloss' examples were from the early years of the Republic, so someone asked for a more modern day instance of such presidential courage. With former President Bush and Mrs. Bush sitting just a few feet away, Beschloss discussed the end of the Cold War.He said that while Reagan got the lion's share of credit, it was President Bush who played a role in determining how and when the Cold War ended.

Typical revisionism. Were it not for Ronald Reagan allowing GHWB on the ticket in 1980, Bush Senior would have been writing op-ed articles for the Wall Street Journal. I hope they didn't have to call the paramedics to extract Beschloss' nose from GHWB's ASS.

President Bush made it known to Soviet president Gorbachev (both through personal diplomacy during their summit meetings and through private channels) that the United States would remain quiet as long as the Soviet Union responded peaceably to the unraveling of events. When Gorbachev allowed the Berlin Wall to come down, President Bush did not rush to Berlin to echo Reagan's dare to "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

Reagan's declaration gave the career diplomats and the little-pinky-extended-while-sipping-tea crowd fits.

It could have been a unique moment of political triumph for Bush, not only as an American President presiding over the demise of our long time arch enemy, but also personally.

The only thing GHWB presided over was the success spawned by the courage of Ronald Reagan. GHWB got his shot at the Presidency in '88, he won what was widely considered 'Reagan's Third Term', and then he blew it late in the game with his 'read my lips' claptrap, running a lackluster re-election campaign in '92, and refusing to go for the jugular against Bill Clinton when it could have saved America from eight years of treason, corruption and lies.

George H.W. Bush had spent a lifetime fighting Communism throughout his career in Congress, as CIA director, Ambassador to China, at the United Nations, Vice President and ultimately President.

Bullshit. George H.W. Bush made a career out of 'peaceful coexistence', supporting the cowardly and failed policy of 'detente', and was just as mentally and politically prepared to continue the competition of the Cold War even into the 21st Century, had it not been for Ronald Reagan who dared to change U.S. policy from one of endless stalemate, to one of victory. Were it not for Reagan, the Soviets might well still be in power today, and George H.W. Bush would think that was a dandy way to maintain 'world stability'.

But Bush resisted the all too human temptation to gloat, and by staying silent helped ensure a smooth landing for the Eastern bloc in a potentially dangerous state of collapse.When the Berlin Wall came down, the 400,000 Soviets troops occupying East Germany did nothing to stop it.

More revisionism. Those 400,000 Soviet troops wanted out too. Some of them made it, some of them didn't.

But despite his role in winning the cold war

"There they go again" - it was Reagan and Thatcher who had the stones to win the Cold War, and they did. And it was Margaret Thatcher who had to remind GHWB "not to go wobbly", in case anyone forgot about that.

...and his astounding victory in the First Gulf War,

Which left Saddam Hussein in power, the Kurds massacred by the bushel, and too much unfinished business.

President H.W. Bush was defeated in his bid for reelection in 1992.

And that was because GHWB screwed the pooch by running such an abysmal campaign against an inexperienced and venal scumbag from Arkansas that should NEVER have been allowed anywhere near the Oval Office except perhaps on a Sunday afternoon tour.

He never received the credit he deserved for the two great foreign policy successes of a generation.

Translation: these eggheads are hoping that some day, Reagan will be all but erased from the history books, and the elitist snobs and Ivy League types will receive the credit for what they had little to do with.

It's a pity.But in a few years time, when historians take that inevitable second look, George Herbert Walker Bush could well be considered one of our greater presidents.

Uh huh. And the hearts of RINOs everywhere went a'flutterin'.

[PISANO]

....because he broke his most famous promise...

Which IMHO proves that REACTIONARY voters, i.e. ones who get burned by their party's President over a SINGLE issue, and feel betrayed enough to sit out the next election or vote 3rd Party are the REAL CULPRITS deserving blame..........say for 8 years of Clinton and possibly 8 years of OBAMA.

[RoadTest]

“You can tell an awful lot about a man from the woman he marries.”

If that’s the case, George W. Bush is a GREAT man!

[pogo101]

I concur. I feel “burned” by McCain on a lot more than one issue, but Obama could do two generations of damage or more to the nation’s judiciary and its military/safety. McCain wouldn’t be nearly as bad.

[mkjessup]

It was a pack of ‘reactionary’ types that dumped the tea in Boston Harbour.

If Presidents and other elected officials were to stop and think about the impact that broken promises, compromised values, and making deals with our adversaries both foreign *and* domestic, they might not have to worry about those ‘reactionary voters’.

Our professional politicians ought to know how to play the game, they’ve made a career of it, if they p*ss off those reactionary types, they (and you) have nobody to blame for that but themselves.

GHWB screwed the pooch and that is why he ended up as a one term President.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

“GHWB screwed the pooch and that is why he ended up as a one term President.”

Not true.

It was Ross Perot who screwed the conservatives and the Republican party.

But you probably were not born then, or you would have remembered.

[Ax]

My Belgian-born mother-in-law was a professional portrait artist. In the 1950s, she painted a portrait of the Bush’s daughter, shortly before the daughter died. That portrait hangs in the Bush’s living room in Houston today. Recently, a friend of the Bush’s ran into my mother-in-law at the assisted living center where she currently resides. This friend reported to the Bushes upon returning to Houston that the artist was still with us. Barbara Bush wrote a very nice personal letter, along with photos of the living room with the portait. Both Bushes signed the letter. BTW, mother-in-law turns 98 on Independence Day.

[Terry Mross]

Polls showed Perot took just as many votes from Clinton as he did from Bush. But, a lot of people, for some reason, just can’t accept that.

[DWC]

Incorrect

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Which IMHO proves that REACTIONARY voters, i.e. ones who get burned by their party's President over a SINGLE issue

Bush had one of the highest popularity ratings after the Gulf War, and this was after he broke his "No New Taxes" pledge. All of his enemies (Gephardt, Metzenbaum, etc) were running for cover.

So please spare me the old Perot whine. If Bush couldn't motivate conservatives and independents to vote for him, who's fault is that?

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Terry and mkjessup

Thank your for your input and my sincere apologies to mkjessup.

Since I don’t live in the U.S., the only contact I have for U.S. news is the Internet. And at that time, when all that was happening, the Internet did not exist for most of us.

Thank you again.

Best regards.

[Ole Okie]

It was Ross’s polls that showed that. I don’t think anyone else doubts what Perot’s effect was.

Evidently he had some feud with George H.W. When it appeared Clinton was in the lead, Perot dropped out of the race. Then as Pres. Bush closed in on Clinton, Perot got back in the race.

I just shook my head.

[okie01]

Evidently he had some feud with George H.W.

The feud related to Viet Nam POWs and went back to the seventies, when George H.W. was head of the CIA.

Ross was one to hold grudges.

[mkjessup]

“GHWB screwed the pooch and that is why he ended up as a one term President.”
Not true.

Sez who? You? A President who is elected and is unable to achieve re-election screwed up somewhere. But like the blind squirrel finding a nut, you're actually on the right track:

It was Ross Perot who screwed the conservatives and the Republican party.

Uhhh, try 'it was George H.W. Bush who screwed the conservatives and the Republican party with his 'read my lips' nonsense, adopting that whole 'kinder and gentler' crap (translation: Bush I was implying that Ronald Reagan was not 'kind' nor 'gentle', get it?), and unfortunately the Texas mad man Ross Perot had enough of an economically conservative message complete with nifty colored charts, that it appealed to some conservatives who indeed, voted for Perot instead of Bush.

But you probably were not born then, or you would have remembered.

Now you're just showing your ignorance. I've voted for Ronald Reagan three times in my lifetime, now do some basic math and explore the possibilities if you're really curious about when I was born. And Reagan wasn't the first presidential candidate I've voted for.

The unfortunate fact is, Bush I had everything one could ask for in the '88 election cycle, he was viewed as the heir to the Reagan legacy, he made all sorts of assurances that he would be true to the cause, he got himself elected in no small part because America wanted a continuation of Reagan's policies, and then despite partial success in the Gulf War, Bush I p*ssed it all away and lost the election of '92 to a stumble bum from Arkansas who SHOULD have been smashed in a Reaganesque landslide, had Bush I ramped it up the way he should have. He was perceived as not having enough fire in the belly as the saying goes, voters picked up on it, and that's why many of them went flocking off with Perot.

But the fault begins, and ends with Bush I. The election was his to lose, and he lost it.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

mkjessupp,

You did not read my personal apologies to you which was on post #18.

_____________________

Terry and mkjessup

Thank your for your input and my sincere apologies to mkjessup.

Since I don’t live in the U.S., the only contact I have for U.S. news is the Internet. And at that time, when all that was happening, the Internet did not exist for most of us.

Thank you again.

Best regards.
_____________

Again, I apologize to you.

[rlmorel]

Very classy.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I tried my best.

Thank you.

[mkjessup]

No apology necessary FRiend. None whatsoever.

Peace be with you.

MKJ

[mkjessup]

PS, after noting your location in Panama, I’m sure that we can agree that President George H.W. Bush made the right decision in going after that joker Noriega, did he not?

I give credit where credit is due, and GHWB hit the bullseye at least on that occasion.

Best,

MKJ

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Thank you.

I do feel (a little) better now.

Please take care.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

“…Bush made the right decision in going after that joker Noriega, did he not?…”

Absolutely he made the correct choice.

I lived through those years. It was both a tad scary but more exciting than anything else (because I am kind of an A personality). I always carried an extra change of cloths in my car. I worked at Fort Clayton and never knew if I was going to make it home in the evening to Panama City.

I was always in the protest marches (I would take off from work) to help raise hell. I was shot at (luckily they were poor shooters) and gassed. Talk about fun as nuts as it sounds. But that is my personality.

My big question has always been: President Reagan left the WH and left this to President Bush when he should have done it himself. This went on for too long.

From what I saw on TV prior to this in a couple of speeches President Reagan gave somewhere in Europe in garden settings, he lost track of his thoughts and Nancy lowered her head and whispered some key words where he picked it up again.

When it was announced he had Alzheimer, I realized (and this is my opinion) he was having a problem before he left the WH, and that is why President Bush had to do the clean up, and a wonderful clean up he did; and I love him for that.