A very full, and very consequential, life has come to an end, as America lost its forty-first president on November 30.
You know, I wasn’t going to talk about this topic on the program, but the more I was reading about the life and legacy of George Herbert Walker Bush, the forty-first president of the United States, who died on November 30 at age 94, the more I thought this was our country at its finest. George H. W. Bush, as he was known, was honored really for an entire week, and most people put the daily political soap opera on hold. All four living ex-presidents and the current president were at the funeral, which was in the National Cathedral, which was beautiful. His son, a former president himself, gave a moving eulogy. It was just a nice way to honor someone whose life was so rich and full of service to his country and community, so I hope you’ll indulge me a bit for a purely American topic today.
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George H. W. Bush, America’s 41st president, dies at 94
He was a Navy fighter pilot, then an oil man in Texas; after turning to politics, he was a Congressman, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA, ambassador to the United Nations, envoy to China, vice president for eight years, and finally president from 1989 to 1993. George H. W. Bush led a long and full life of public service, and he died at age 94 on November 30.
He was the last American president to have served in World War II and he embodied the values of many men who served in that war. He rarely spoke about his service, preferring to shoulder the memories of wartime on his own, rather than to burden others. He shared credit in victory, but didn’t blame others for his defeats. He didn’t seek the spotlight. As president, he engaged his political foes, forged hard compromises, and was willing to go against his party’s official position when he thought it was good for the country. He had no patience for the kind of self-absorption that he thought was common in younger generations.
He much preferred a small gesture to a public show. He’d much rather send a kind note, or place a thoughtful phone call, than draw attention to himself. He carried note cards and a felt-tipped pen with him almost everywhere he went, so he could send hand-written notes to people he encountered. One famous one is the note he left to his successor, Bill Clinton, in the drawer of the White House desk, on his last day in office.
George H. W. Bush was born to a prominent family. His father had been a Wall Street executive and later Senator from Connecticut; other family members had also been successful in business and in public service. He could have coasted on a relatively easy path in life, but that was not his way. Instead of going to college at age 18, he enlisted in the Navy and became a fighter pilot. He flew 58 missions in the Pacific, his girlfriend Barbara’s name written on the outside of the plane. On one of those missions, he was shot down. His dramatic rescue from a submarine was captured on a grainy video.
When he came back from the war, he married Barbara—a marriage that would last 73 years. Most people don’t live to be 73; he was married for 73 years. After graduating from Yale University, he could have used his family ties to get a job on Wall Street. It would have been an easy start to a lucrative career, but it was not his way. So he moved from the comfortable surroundings of Connecticut to Midland, Texas, to start his own career in the oil business.
Later in life, he turned to public service. He lost his first election, for Senate, but later served two terms in Congress. When he lost yet another bid for the Senate, he was named ambassador to the United Nations. Later, he was director of the CIA and represented the United States in China. He ran for president in 1980, but it wasn’t his time; the charismatic Ronald Reagan instead won that, but picked Bush to be his vice-president. After eight years as the number-two man, he became president in his own right in 1989.
He fit a lot of work into his one-term presidency. He signed the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, which guaranteed access to public accommodations to people with disabilities and prohibited discrimination against them in the workplace. It is the reason why so many public spaces have elevators and wheelchair ramps today. He signed legislation to improve air quality. He loosened immigration rules. Given his past, though, it’s no surprise that his passion was for foreign policy and the world beyond America’s shores. He was the president who oversaw the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. When he became president, the world faced the very real possibility of a nuclear war between two superpowers; by the time he left office, nuclear war was barely an afterthought. He presided over the first Gulf War, which ended with a victory in 100 days. The American troops’ actions were swift and successful in defending the territory of tiny Kuwait. He negotiated the free trade agreement that would become NAFTA, which was signed by his successor, Bill Clinton.
Despite these successes, though, he was seen as aloof and out-of-touch as the American economy dipped into recession. In a debate during his campaign for re-election, he was seen looking at his watch, as if he were bored. In the end, the American people were ready for a new generation of leaders, and they chose the young governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton, as their president, ending Bush’s presidency after just one term.
He kept a low profile after leaving office; he was devastated by the defeat. But though he was denied a second term, his presidency has aged well. His public approval grew after he left office, and people now look back on his as one of the most successful one-term presidencies in history. He also developed an unlikely friendship with Bill Clinton, after both had left office. He was able to see his son, George W. Bush, become president in 2000; they are only the second father-son pair in history to both serve in the nation’s highest office.
The man knew how to have fun, too, well into old age. The elder President Bush was famous for taking his speedboat out into the Atlantic Ocean near his family’s vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine—with the US Secret Service struggling to keep pace in their own boats behind him. He celebrated his ninetieth birthday by jumping out of an airplane. He loved playing golf, but didn’t have time for the leisurely pace of the gentleman’s game—so he made up his own version, called speed golf, so he could get through eighteen holes faster.
Ninety years old, and he jumped out of an airplane. Can you believe that?
Well, listen, I know that may not have been a top-of-mind story for some of you outside the United States, but thanks for indulging me in that story.
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We’re already a bit long on this episode, so let’s jump right to the English phrase I want to share with you today, and that is to keep a low profile.
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