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BREAKING NEWS George H.W. Bush is dead at 94.

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  perrie-halpern  •  6 years ago  •  69 comments

 BREAKING NEWS George H.W. Bush is dead at 94.
His one-term presidency during the turbulent era at the end of the Cold War capped four decades in public service.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



Mr. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, who steered the nation through a tumultuous period in world affairs but was denied a second term after support for his presidency collapsed under the weight of an economic downturn and his seeming inattention to domestic affairs, died on Friday. He was 94.

His death, which was announced by his office, came less than eight months after that of his wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush.

Bush bristled at the term "dynasty" but in fact his family defined the term. He was the son of a senator, Prescott Bush of Connecticut, and the father of Jeb Bush, the two-term governor of Florida, and George W. Bush, the two-term governor of Texas who went on to win two terms as president. Only the founding Adams family, John and John Quincy, can also claim both father and son as presidents. 

The elder Bush entered the Oval Office with the longest political resume of any president in modern times: Congressman. United Nations ambassador. Republican national chairman. U.S. liaison to China. Director of the CIA. When he lost the GOP presidential nomination in 1980 to Ronald Reagan, the former California governor and primary foe offered him the vice presidency, a role he filled for eight years before winning the top job himself in 1988 over Democrat Michael Dukakis.

But Bush's bid for a second term in 1992 was rebuffed by voters who weren't convinced he understood the economic anxieties in their lives, choosing Bill Clinton instead.

George Bush moved home to Houston, where he and his wife, Bar, became familiar figures at Astros games, local restaurants and fundraising galas for cancer research, literacy and other favored causes. He oversaw the building of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the grounds of Texas A&M, in College Station. And he determinedly rejected efforts to analyze his role in history, declining even to write the sort of memoir that has become the lucrative last word for past presidents.

"I don't want anyone to pay attention to me," he said in an interview with USA TODAY in 1997, a few days after he parachuted out of an airplane, just to prove that at age 73 he could. "I'm confident that historians from one perspective or another are going to write and say what they think and then there'll be a merge of a judgment of our administration."

He added with a smile: "I think history's going to be relatively kind."

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss agreed. "Especially after his presidency, Bush came to be seen as a real human being and, instinctively, Americans felt good about him," he says.

The coarsening of the American political debate and the fierce polarization of Washington in recent years has created among some a nostalgia for the Bush era. His presidential campaigns were hard-fought and sometimes negative, but it was still a time when bipartisanship wasn't seen as a distant memory. In recent years, the rise of Donald Trump tested Bush's lifelong allegiance to the Republican Party: In 2016, he cast his presidential ballot for Hillary Clinton.

MAN IN A HURRY 


Bush was born in Milton, Mass., on June 12, 1924, into a family of entitlement, energy and public service. His mother, Dorothy Walker Bush, was a particular force throughout his life. Barbara Bush once called her mother-in-law the most competitive person she had ever met, albeit one who warned her brood against bragging about themselves.

On the day he turned 18 years old, Bush both graduated from Phillips Academy Andover and enlisted in the Navy, little more than six months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Less than a year later, when he was still 18, he received his wings and officer's commission, believed to be the Navy's youngest pilot.

For the next two years, with World War II at its peak, Bush flew torpedo bombers off the USS San Jacinto. On Sept. 2, 1944, his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire while he was on a bombing run in the Pacific. Bush bailed and was rescued by a submarine, but his two crewmembers were killed. Bush would later say he thought of them every day. 

After the war, Bush was a man in a hurry. He married Barbara Pierce in 1945 and graduated in 1948 with a degree in economics from Yale, where he was also captain of the baseball team. He and Bar and Georgie, then a toddler, moved to the Oil Patch in Odessa, Texas, to seek his fortune. He started as a salesman of oil field equipment for a company owned by a friend of his father, then ultimately founded an oil company of his own.

They would have six children in all: George, Robin, Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Doro. Robin died at age 3 of leukemia, a loss that would reverberate through their lives. Decades later, her portrait was still hanging in a corner of her parents' living room. Barbara Bush died at their Houston home on April 17 after a long battle with congestive heart failure. Her husband of 73 years, the longest presidential marriage in history, was holding her hand.

Bush had first gotten involved in politics as chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, in Houston. He lost his first political campaign, for a Senate seat in 1964, but he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1966. He was re-elected two years later and then lost a second campaign for the Senate in 1970.

President Nixon appointed Bush ambassador to the United Nations and then drafted him to chair the Republican National Committee during the Watergate scandal, a mostly thankless task. After Nixon resigned from office, president Gerald Ford named Bush chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in China and then director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1980, with some reluctance after a tough primary campaign, Ronald Reagan selected Bush to be his running mate. After eight years as vice president, he won job he had long wanted. 

Bush was not Reagan, not when it came to public affection and communications skills. But his background in national security and his relationships with foreign leaders — forged during his tenure at the UN and the CIA and in China — prepared him for dealing with a world that was teetering on the precipice of dramatic change. A year after he was elected, on Nov. 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Then the Soviet Union unraveled and its former satellites embraced democratic revolutions. 

"He'll be admired for ending the Cold War on terms that Americans never could have dreamt possible for the 45 years of the Cold War," Beschloss says. "It would not have happened if George Bush hadn't been there....He formed a relationship with (Soviet leader Mikhail) Gorbachev of trust that encouraged Gorbachev to give up a lot of concessions."

There would be other foreign crises: a famine in Somalia, the seizure of Panama's corrupt leader Manuel Noriega and the Gulf War. The ultimate test of Bush's foreign-policy leadership came after Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990. Three days later, returning from Camp David, Bush told reporters waiting for him on the South Lawn: "This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait."

Bush agonized over his decision to send American troops into combat. "I shall say a few more prayers, mainly for our kids in the Gulf, and I shall do what must be done," he wrote in a letter to his children on Dec. 30, 1990.

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Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.    6 years ago

No matter how you felt about his politics, the man was a class act. Rest in peace HW. 

 
 
 
Raven Wing
Professor Guide
1.1  Raven Wing  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @1    6 years ago

Agreed.

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
2  PJ    6 years ago

So sad.  A gentlemen, a patriot, an honorable President.  R.I.P.

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
3  Texan1211    6 years ago

RIP, Mr. President.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Guide
4  epistte    6 years ago

RIP Sir. You were an honorable man who understood public service. History will remember you well. 

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Expert
5  MrFrost    6 years ago

RIP Sir. Thanks for your service. 

H.W. and Barbara were absolute class acts. They will be missed. 

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
6  arkpdx    6 years ago

Brave,  honest and honorable man.

Rest in peace sir! 

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Expert
7  MrFrost    6 years ago

I was in the first gulf war, desert storm. Our objective was passed down to us from G. H.W. Bush. He absolutely nailed it. We achieved our goal and we left. George got a lot of flack for not pushing into Iraq and "getting rid of" Saddam. George knew that removing Saddam from power would turn the ME into a breeding ground for terrorists. As much as we all hated Saddam, he kept the region, (for the most part), stable. Brilliant strategy by Bush, it was text book flawless. 

He made mistakes, but all presidents do. In my eyes? H.W. was a good president, honorable man and by all accounts? A good husband. 

The USA lost a hero. Sad. 

 
 
 
Paula Bartholomew
Professor Participates
7.1  Paula Bartholomew  replied to  MrFrost @7    6 years ago

I also served in ODS.  Your comment is spot on.  RIP Mr. President.

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
8  lennylynx    6 years ago

Bush Sr. and Barbara are the perfect embodiment of American family values.

 
 
 
Galen Marvin Ross
Sophomore Participates
9  Galen Marvin Ross    6 years ago

George H. W. Bush, wasn't my ideal president but, he was a good statesman, he served his country all of his life and, he was an excellent president in many ways, most of them in foreign affairs but, I think that was his strong point. Barbara was the heart of the family and, the brains of the marriage but, George was the strength in the mix, IMO. In spite of the differences I had with President Bush politically he was and, will remain one of my favorites in the White House over the many years I have watched these men work in the White House. May the gods bless his family and, watch over his transition from this world into the next. RIP Sir.

 
 
 
Mark in Wyoming
Professor Silent
10  Mark in Wyoming     6 years ago

My LAST commander in chief and the LAST man I will ever take an order from . may you have been in heaven , an hour before the devil realizes you were gone , . raises toast , and hand SALUTE.

 
 
 
Mark in Wyoming
Professor Silent
10.1  Mark in Wyoming   replied to  Mark in Wyoming @10    6 years ago

 If anyone wonders why I stated the above , during my time in service , I had the honor and privilege to guard both AF 1 and AF 2  during his terms , and had the honor of meeting the man personally , the only other man that could have given me orders was my father , now both are gone . 

 
 
 
Galen Marvin Ross
Sophomore Participates
10.1.1  Galen Marvin Ross  replied to  Mark in Wyoming @10.1    6 years ago

Truly an honor sir.

 
 
 
Mark in Wyoming
Professor Silent
10.1.2  Mark in Wyoming   replied to  Galen Marvin Ross @10.1.1    6 years ago

just dug out old glory , haven't flown it over my property for the last 10 years , it is now flying as required at half staff , illuminated, the last time I shall do this .

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
10.1.3  PJ  replied to  Mark in Wyoming @10.1    6 years ago

Mark - most of us will never have the experience or privilege of personally knowing someone who served as President.  I am sure it's especially hard for those like you who did know the man and saw his honor and decency up personally. 

He was a great Statesmen and served our country proud in the field and in the White House.   

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
10.1.4  lennylynx  replied to  PJ @10.1.3    6 years ago

Umm, I don't think we can consider meeting someone who served as President to be a guaranteed privilege anymore! jrSmiley_2_smiley_image.png

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
10.1.5  PJ  replied to  lennylynx @10.1.4    6 years ago

I'm trying to bite my tongue.  I don't want to derail the seed and take away from the man being honored.  (but I agree)

 
 
 
Mark in Wyoming
Professor Silent
10.1.6  Mark in Wyoming   replied to  PJ @10.1.3    6 years ago

Thank you PJ for the kind words and understanding , yes it did come as a kick in the gut when I heard about it after a night on the town , but it wasn't unexpected after he lost his wife. it was and is a rather double kick to the gut to me , not because I served under him in the capacity I did and saw and met him with his wife , the second kick in the gut for me is that he was the last person I have voted for that actually won the presidency . none of the last 4 presidents attained the office with my vote.

strange I know , but it is one of the metrics I use to help decide IF I will vote for a candidate , would I accept and follow the order to go to war from the person running, if the answer is no , then I most likely should not be voting for them.

When my kids all came of voting age , they all asked me who I thought they should vote for , My answer was I couldn't and wouldn't tell them how to or who to vote for , I rattled off a list of things I felt were important that they should take into consideration and figure out what THEY wanted and the direction THEY thought should be taken, the only difference was when my son asked me , I added my metric of  would I accept an order to go to war .and explained to him why. unless they tell me who they will vote for I don't ask and don't know , and I refuse to tell them who I am voting for., so as not to influence them.

To me Mr Bush was the LAST president to sit that actually had an idea what he was asking those in the military to do , because he had done it himself , up to and including being shot at, not safe in the rear or with some deferment, but actually to have been on the front lines , risking exactly what he was asking others to do. to me , that counts for a lot.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
11  Buzz of the Orient    6 years ago

In the documentary book "Flyboys" it told of his plane being shot down and he was lucky to have been retrieved by a sub from the ocean next to an island that was occupied by the Japanese who were reputed to have cannibalized American prisoners and eaten their livers. The story also clearly indicated how much lifetime pain it caused him to have lost his crew - the man had a heart.  By the way, I recently read an article that indicated that he lost out being the youngest pilot by only a few days.  I think he made the expression "Read my lips" famous. 

 
 
 
Galen Marvin Ross
Sophomore Participates
11.1  Galen Marvin Ross  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @11    6 years ago
I think he made the expression "Read my lips" famous. 

I think you're right.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
12  Kavika     6 years ago

Although I didn't always agree with his policies I never doubted his courage, commitment to America, love of America and the class that he displayed. 

RIP Mr. President.

 
 
 
Galen Marvin Ross
Sophomore Participates
12.1  Galen Marvin Ross  replied to  Kavika @12    6 years ago

Well said, he was truly a class act.

 
 
 
devangelical
Professor Principal
12.2  devangelical  replied to  Kavika @12    6 years ago

night and day between GHWB then and the current fuck up now

 
 
 
Rmando
Sophomore Silent
12.2.1  Rmando  replied to  devangelical @12.2    6 years ago

Just couldn't resist attacking Trump, could you?

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
12.2.2  lennylynx  replied to  Rmando @12.2.1    6 years ago

I couldn't either, Armando, see comment 20. jrSmiley_2_smiley_image.png

 
 
 
TTGA
Professor Silent
12.2.3  TTGA  replied to  lennylynx @12.2.2    6 years ago
I couldn't either, Armando,

We noticed and, to quote Queen Elizabeth when she encountered a lowlife who told a tasteless joke, "We are not amused".

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
12.2.4  lennylynx  replied to  TTGA @12.2.3    6 years ago

The really sad part is that it would be totally in character for President Scumbag to say exactly that.  Talk about a lowlife...

 
 
 
TTGA
Professor Silent
12.2.5  TTGA  replied to  lennylynx @12.2.4    6 years ago
The really sad part is that it would be totally in character for President Scumbag to say exactly that.  Talk about a lowlife...

Unlike some people around here (I'm sure you could name most of them), the behavior of President Trump in this situation has been both classy and that of a gentleman.  Studying the correct behavior in this type of situation, under his tutelage, might just turn them into classy ladies and gentlemen.  I doubt it though; no basic decency material to work with.

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
12.2.6  lennylynx  replied to  TTGA @12.2.5    6 years ago

I have no idea what Trump said about this, nor do I care.  If the piece of fucking shit said anything normal or respectful, it would be because he was told to and he decided to listen because the shit is about to hit the fan about what a total scumbag he is.  Fuck Trump and anyone who enables him.

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
12.2.8  lennylynx  replied to  Release The Kraken @12.2.7    6 years ago

Sorry Fishy, the fake nose and glasses stay on until the fake president is removed from office...

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
12.2.9  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Release The Kraken @12.2.7    6 years ago

OK enough with the Trump. This is about HW. 

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
12.2.10  lennylynx  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @12.2.9    6 years ago

Yes ma'am!

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
13  Vic Eldred    6 years ago

As the article mentions, he was more of a foreign policy President than one equally involved with a domestic agenda. IMHO he personified the old establishment type Republican.

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
16  Jasper2529    6 years ago

47206174_10217319504969177_2710108150274457600_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=42ed8bdcf5577df515b5447b6d5cd32e&oe=5C6AB424

Rest peacefully.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
16.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Jasper2529 @16    6 years ago

Very touching, Jasper. 

 
 
 
Rmando
Sophomore Silent
19  Rmando    6 years ago

RIP Mr President

You deserve the credit for one of the last foreign interventions to actually be thought out and carefully planned ahead of time. The recession that cost you your second term wasn't your fault.

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
20  lennylynx    6 years ago

When asked to say a few words, current President Donald Trump opined that pilots who get shot down are losers, and that his inauguration crowd was much bigger than HW's.

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
21  PJ    6 years ago

I feel as though we are losing something significant like decency, honor, and country first with the passing of our previous Presidents.  We have closed the door on civility and respectability.    

 
 
 
321steve - realistically thinkin or Duu
Sophomore Guide
21.1  321steve - realistically thinkin or Duu   replied to  PJ @21    6 years ago
we are losing something significant like decency, honor, and country first

True and many people still want the division and even encourage us as a country to have more of it. 

One land trying to be fully governed by two opposing forces. Both wanting total control. 

Good luck

 
 

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