George H.W. Bush is dead.

[_MeDotOrg]

H.W. had a resume that of public service that is virtually unmatched in American history. HIs Presidency straddled the fall of the Soviet Union and the first Iraq War. With James Baker he crafted a coalition in the Gulf War that was a masterpiece of diplomacy.

At the time of his Presidency my opinion of his was diminished by the 1992 GOP convention, where, to keep the peace within his own party, he let a lot of conservative animus come out. There is a line between Pat Buchanan's speech in 1992 and Trump's 'America First' foreign policy.

But while there is some daylight between us on politics, I never doubted the motivation of the man. He was a mensch.

[_honorentheos]

But while there is some daylight between us on politics, I never doubted the motivation of the man. He was a mensch.

I go this direction as well. He was before my time when it comes to political awareness, and it's difficult for me to politically separate him from his son's politics. At best I have caricatures of him as a president which I recognize are only that.

But my impressions have to give way to what I observed as an alleged adult of him as a former President and I was regularly impressed. Seeing him stand side-by-side with Bill Clinton his political rival to champion relief efforts after multiple disasters in the early 2000's, how their political differences seemed to be less important to both than their ability to influence for good, and their general regard for one another speaks volumes about his recognition that politics don't define us more than our character, shared humanity, and common belief in the American experiment.

He was the last Veteran President we've had, volunteering for military service during a time of war compelled by the attack on Pearl Harbor despite being an heir to immense wealth. Setting aside his son's time in the Texas Air National Guard he is the last president we've had with any military experience at all. Most of his adult life was spent in various public service roles and if the caricature of his Presidency has any semblance of truth to it, his apparent behavior as President was as the first public servant rather than being enamored with the office making him the First American. It's hard to imagine a 21st Century US President taking on that role again.

That said, there are many younger politicians and public servants who volunteered due to 9/11 or otherwise reflect more of the model Bush Sr. gave us over our increasingly cult-of-personality model of American President. And it takes a certain kind of person to want to be president of the US. There will alway be some sense of innate greatness that must compel a person to do so. But the question is, will we ever see a President who feels destined to serve rather than entitled to glory? I don't know.

[_EAllusion]

I have asked for a list of all Republican Politicians and have it pointed out on that list which ones are the RINOs and which ones are the true Republicans. But I never got that list.

The list is constantly shrinking because they're getting voted out of office. They've fallen into disfavor with both the left and the right.

Classic movement conservatism was basically a three-legged stool between Northeastern and Orange County country club Republicans like George H.W. Bush, moral majority types, and globalist, anti-communist foreign policy hawks.

The RINO's you are celebrating getting kicked out of the party are, like, most of what movement conservatism was. Conservatives made a deal with the devil to get people like you to vote for Republicans, so they're mostly to blame for this, but it's still ironic as hell.

[_EAllusion]

H.W. Bush and Carter are probably the two best presidents of the past 50 years, and also the only two to not win reelection.

[_Maksutov]

We'll be learning the truth about this Bush for a while. I see a lot of shadows and questions around him, for whatever good there was in him.

[_Jersey Girl]

God damn it Shades.

Yes but...

The CIA was drug trafficking under Harvey Weinstein's leadership. I don't see anything decent about that.

Harvey Weinstein is a serial sexual offender who used a pattern of intimidation to cover that up along with a string of sexual harassment. George H.W. Bush likely groped women when he was elderly. This is a common side effect of cognitive impairment associated with aging, which may or may not have affected him. In any case, it's not appropriate to equate the two.

Look now nicely you played the hand that was dealt to you.

;-)

[_honorentheos]

We'll be learning the truth about this Bush for a while. I see a lot of shadows and questions around him, for whatever good there was in him.

This reminds me of the quote from The Dark Knight Rises, "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

I always viewed the quote as a reference to public sentiment so I was surprised to see it's common interpretation and use is that the once-pure hero will inevitably get corrupted and become a villain. Granted, it was said as foreshadowing of an actual conversion to villainy so taken literally in the context of the movie...

Personally, I think it makes much more sense to realize the supposed hero was not pure to begin with because reality, but people think in binary terms so if you live long enough inevitably people will start looking more closely at the reality and see it as evidence of villainy because, again, binary thinking. My personal list of heroes and models include both recognized mythologized versions of imperfect people as well as absolutely flawed persons because I don't think there are any other kind of people from which to chose one's heroes. And yes, I believe it's fundamental to be able to have exemplars to look to or one becomes much more broken than just flawed oneself.

[_MeDotOrg]

The CIA was drug trafficking under Harvey Weinstein's leadership. I don't see anything decent about that.

Shades, if you really want to have fun, autocorrect BC to Bill Cosby.

[_ajax18]

The RINO's you are celebrating getting kicked out of the party are.

People with my views aren't enough in number to get the establishment kicked out of office. The left never liked much less supported them either. It's really odd to see this board of liberals and the mainstream media swooning over the man they viciously mocked and belittled before making him a one term president.

[_EAllusion]

The RINO's you are celebrating getting kicked out of the party are.

People with my views aren't enough in number to get the establishment kicked out of office. The left never liked much less supported them either.

You just celebrated "RINO's" no longer holding office. The Republicans that are no longer viable are coastal office holders that were once the core of movement conservatism. Think William F. Buckley. I agree that the Republican party has shifted significantly. George H.W. Bush was president while this transformation was in full swing and some of the poses he struck was based on trying to appeal to and keep this transitional coalition together.

You just use the word RINO to communicate "a Republican who has policies I don't like" rather than anything essential about Republican ideology, though.

It's really odd to see this board of liberals and the mainstream media swooning over the man they viciously mocked and belittled before making him a one term president.

1) I was 12 when he last was president.

2) I have long praised GHWB. If this board's search engine didn't suck, I'd like you a thread I started several years ago arguing he's the best president of my lifetime. Don't get me wrong. I can offer a very long list of very serious criticisms of him. I mean, Lee Atwater was his campaign manager. It's not all sunshine. But unfortunately, there hasn't been a president without really serious flaws.