Allow me to join in that great chorus of voices that is praising the honorable service and accomplished life of former President George H.W. Bush, who died yesterday. I was always a big fan of his. For many years, in fact, there was a life-sized cardboard cutout of President Bush that adorned my room. Granted, Bush was a moderate, and in 1992 I was sorely tempted to support the insurgent candidacy of Pat Buchanan (for all the obvious reasons), but I never lost respect for Bush the man. He was a patriot, a gentleman, and a consummate public servant. It is to the everlasting shame of this country, if you ask me, that we replaced Bush with...Bill Clinton, of all people, in 1992. We traded a war hero for a peacenik draft-dodger. What a deal! That's water under the bridge, though, and Bush himself never bore a grudge. Can you imagine an officeholder graciously accepting defeat, in our present climate? Well, times have changed, and not always for the better. Mark my words: you'll see a lot of news stories in the next few days to the effect that the real lesson of Bush's life is...that Trump sucks. I respectfully disagree, although I understand why the Bushes find Trump's style so odious. They're entitled to their opinion. I'm also entitled to mine: I think George H.W. Bush was a fine man and an excellent President. By all appearances, he was a great family man too. He will be missed.
Dr. Waddy: I agree with everything you said in praise of President Bush. It took visceral courage to take off from a carrier (and worse, to return to it) on a WWII combat mission when misfortune might well have put one in the trackless sea or at the mercy of the barbarian WWII Japanese military. He had to bail out at one point and anyone doubting the terror of that ought to try even a managed parachute ride. He was a bonafide and deservedly exalted member of the Greatest Generation.
ReplyDeleteHe was a superb war leader, harboring trust in his wisely chosen military commanders and supervising a brilliant and relatively humane victory and resolutely protecting our fighting forces from the onslaught of an ever hostile and America hating press. In doing so he turned back the leftist try for another Vietnam injustice.
I regret that the honorable occasional apparent uneasiness he showed at prosecuting conservative remedies to leftist presumptuousness may have enabled the replacement of him and his wonderful wife by the most disgraceful couple ever to sully our White House. It certainly was not his purpose. I'm glad he knew he had a carrier named after him. Unlike his successor, his memory will always be one of undoubted honor.
Well said, Jack! You'll see that my radio broadcast tomorrow will talk more about 41's legacy, and I especially praise his artful management of the Cold War's denouement. We take the peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union too much for granted, I think. Can you imagine if communism had unraveled on Carter's watch???
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: The Soviets, like all animal predators, could smell weakness and knew it defined Carter (in saying that I do not mean to minimize his commendable ability to thrive under Admiral Hyman Rickover's derisive tutelage as a naval officer in the pioneering nuclear field). "Inordinate fear of communism" indeed. Say that to the zillions savaged by those monsters! And the monsters themselves recognized the naivete of it.
ReplyDeleteNo it took men and women of resolution to face down the at one time apparently irresistable Communist onslaught. Saint John Paul, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and George Bush stepped to the fore and saved the world ( and it was the second time for President Bush).
A steady hand at the tiller goes a long way! Not all Democratic Presidents were pushovers in the Cold War, but I will say this: I'm ever so relieved that the Cold War was OVER by the time Slick Willy took charge...
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: Ditto to the max.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I forgot to include Lech Walesa among the stalwarts who delivered us. He is one hell of a man.
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