REMEMBERING GEORGE H.W. BUSH IN THE TRUMP ERA

By Ronald T. Fox

I have fond memories of George H.W. Bush. This may sound surprising coming from a die-hard progressive who has had few good things to say about Republicans. I say “fond” not because I approved of the decisions he made and policies he advanced in his long career in public service, many of which were anathema to progressives, but because of features of his character and personality, features that I’ve grown to appreciate more in the era of Donald Trump. Our Cretan in the White House has set the character bar so low that all our former presidents look good in comparison. My fondness for 41 has grown in direct proportion to the rise of Trump.

Nearly everyone is singing praise of Bush 41 as a man of honor, integrity, decency and humanity. Canonization of a deceased major public figure is a familiar theme in America. This can be nauseating, especially when you know better, but in the case of George Bush his virtues that are being voiced ring true, endorsed even by many of his rivals and critics. From a personal encounter I had with Bush two decades ago, I can attest to his personality virtues now being extolled.

I didn’t much care for George Bush during his long era of public service. After all, he was a Republican and a patrician at that. I remember him as the man who voted against the landmark Civil Right Act of 1964 that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, and later, as president, vetoed the 1990 Civil Rights Act that if enacted would have made it easier for litigants in race or sex discrimination cases to win. I found his use of racist Willie Horton ads and numerous other below-the-belt attacks against Michael Dukakis during the 1988 presidential campaign despicable. Bush’s comments about AIDS being a “behavioral problem” made me cringe. Worse of all, in my mind, was his replacing of civil rights titan Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court with Clarence Thomas—perhaps the worst trade in history.

This was a man who oversaw a major extension of the national security state and as CIA head approved an array of questionable overt and covert capers in Southeast Asia and Latin America, including the invasion of Panama, Iran-Contra affair, and the 1973 Phoenix program that facilitated the coup and assassination of Salvador Allende in Chile, to name just the better known. I was disappointed when, as president, Bush offered only a timid response to the events in Tiananmen Square—shocking from someone who had been “our man in China.”

Bush still receives praise for launching the Gulf War that liberated Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation, but his hasty resort to force established a dangerous precedent and had an unsettling impact on the Middle East region. U.S. airstrikes that massacred thousands of Iraqis retreating from Kuwait City filled me with horror and shame that my country would commit such an atrocity. I can still see images of burned out vehicles and dead bodies littering the road to Iraq.

I was pleased, though, that Bush didn’t press the invasion forward to Baghdad in order to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein, as was being urged by hawks within his administration. It would be left to his son to commit this monumental blunder.

Bush 41 does rightly deserve the kudos he’s been getting for the role he played in transitioning the end of the Cold War and in advancing U.S.-Soviet strategic arms reductions. These were enormously significant accomplishments. Unfortunately, subsequent presidents have not been as committed to advancing these causes. The current president seems hell bent on reversing them.

In my assessment, George Bush’s legacy as a public servant is a mixed one, featuring both good and bad deeds. In its totality, historians generally rate him as an average president, probably somewhere in the middle of the pack.

It is not his record of successes and failures, however, that will be most remembered about George H.W. Bush. What is distinguishing, and will no doubt mark his legacy, is the fundamental decency and humanity he brought to every public service job he held. Bush was an honorable man. He was modest, personable, and possessed a marvelous sense of humor. He was open to compromise. Many observers cite his calm tone and temperament as not only admirable attributes, but necessary for a president governing in the nuclear age. Bush’s coolness under fire has been much celebrated. Never have such traits appeared so important than now as we struggle to navigate through the Trump era.

I got a glimpse of the famous Bush personality when I met 41 on the Big Island of Hawaii in January of 1998. I was working with long-time friend Tom Nettles of the Golf Channel, who was covering the MasterCard Senior PGA Tour Tournament of Champions (TOC) and the Senior Skins Game, a made-for-TV event which that year involved Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd and Hale Irwin (my “work” involved carrying the tripod for the cameraman).

After covering the TOC, won by Gil Morgan, we had a week to hang out on the Big Island before the upcoming Skins Game. We used our free time to play golf and enjoy Big Island nightlife. Early Wednesday morning while Tom and I were sleeping off a night of far too much libation, the phone rang. It was the Golf Channel telling us that Larry Gilbert, who had won the 1997 Senior U.S. Open, had unexpectedly died. They wanted Tom to head to the Mauna Lani golf course, which was hosting the Skins Game, to get on-camera comments from the four participants.

When we arrived, Arnold had just finished warming up on the driving range and was heading to the first tee for a practice round. He stopped to express his sadness for Gilbert’s passing and send his thoughts and prayers to his family.

Hale Irwin arrived at the driving range. After expressing his remorse about Larry Gilbert’s passing, he took out a golf club and began to loosen up. Since Jack and Raymond had not yet arrived, we had some time to kill. To ease the boredom of waiting, the cameraman and I started pitching golf balls to a range bucket about 30-feet away. We “invented” a horseshoe-like game, scoring three points for balls in the bucket and one for those that ended within a foot of it. We were playing for a while when Hale came over and said:

“Horseshoes, huh. I’ve got a friend coming who’s pretty good at it. We’ll take you on.”

A few minutes later a golf cart rolled up with two passengers: George and Barbara Bush. Hale introduced Tom and I to the president. Bush, an avid golfer and Golf Channel watcher, was familiar with Tom’s work. He had no idea who I was. After a handshake and the usual “nice-to-meet-you” salutation, he asked me what I did. When I said I was a college political science professor, he got a grin on his face and said, “Oh, one of those. You fellas haven’t been very kind to me.” I responded, “you know, that’s our business, Mr. President, we’ve been hard on Bill Clinton as well.” Bush said, “I know; presidents have to have thick skin.”

When briefed on the rules of our “golfshoes” game, the president said, “OK. Let’s get it on. I’m rarin’ to go.”

So here we were, Tom Nettles and I pitching golf balls against the formidable team of Hale Irwin and George Bush. At play the president was competitive, yet engaging and humorous. He announced every toss like he was a TV commentator, coping a Nick Faldo brand of dry humor. Although we had practiced the newly created game, presumably giving us an advantage, the formidable duo of Bush and Irwin took two out of three games. While Tom and I talked strategy and even walked the 30 feet to survey balls around the bucket, the president played quickly as he was known to do on the golf course.

I can’t overstate how much fun we had laughing and trash-talking with the president. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like playing with a different president, Well, maybe it would have been fun with Obama or Reagan, and even George W. Bush, but with Donald Trump, no way. I suspect the elitist Trump wouldn’t even think about hanging out with the masses, let alone playing a childish game for fun. Bush 41 had no such qualms; he came across as a “regular guy.” He made us feel comfortable. It came natural to him.

From the horseshoe golf “court,” we moved on to the driving range. In Bush’s golf bag were three brand new Adams metal fairway woods, which hadn’t yet been introduced onto the market (one of those presidential perks, I guess--presumably not an emolument). We preceded to try out the new metals. Bush hit shots, Hale and his wife Sally hit shots, Tom and I took our turn, and even Barbara, who was coming off a recent hip replacement, blasted a few. While 41 was hitting, I stood next to Barbara and noted that she was wearing different colored tennis shoes: one chartreuse and one hot pink. Her husband joked, “She has dozens of shoes. You’d think she could wear a pair that matched.”

While Tom and I were waiting our turn to hit a few shots with Bush’s new clubs, we came up with an idea. Tom had been working on a segment for the Golf Channel to be called “Misadventures in Hawaii.” We had set up and filmed a number of “misadventures”: getting tossed out of a luau, being refused entrance into a Rolling Stones concert (along with President Bush and Margaret Thatcher, Pepsico had brought the Stones to the Big Island to help celebrate the company’s 100^th anniversary), turned down trying to rent a motor scooter, and having an ATM machine refuse Tom’s debit card. We needed a big finish to our series of misadventures.  A plan was hatched.

Tom would complain to Hale Irwin that he was short of cash and his ATM card didn’t work and ask if he could caddy for him. Hale was supposed to simply say “no,” but he overplayed his hand. He bent over, coughed and guffawed for about 30-seconds, then said: “No, Tom.”

So, Tom goes on saying, “I’ve got to find a loop somewhere.” He turns to President Bush and says, “maybe this guy.”

The next scene picked up on camera shows Tom carrying Bush’s bag and walking toward the first tee, saying, “this way, Mr. President.”

The camera then pans back to Bush, who says:

“To the Tee. Lady with the different-colored shoes, stay on the other side of the ropes, please.” The camera then follows Bush and Tom as they head to the course.

I turned to Mrs. Bush and told her how different the private Bush was from my public image garnered from the media and from liberal critics. She looked at me wistfully and said: “Tell me about it.”

The five-minute segment on our misadventures including the Bush piece, which Tom topped off with a Hawaiian singer belting out a soulful Hawaiian song as the sun set, was shown that night on the Golf Channel.

Arnold Palmer, Hale Irwin,
George H.W. Bush

My short time with George Bush resonates well with all the glowing praise we’re now hearing as people talk about his life and career in public service. It doesn’t sanitize the issues I had with some of his political actions, but it elevates him as a person in my esteem. I found him personable, engaging, humble, and very fun to be around. He made me feel comfortable. Upon reflection, he stands out to me as the complete anti-thesis of Donald Trump. Let me count the ways.
                                     
Bush 41 was modest and humble, he rarely talked about his heroism in World War II and even refused to write his own memoirs, leaving it to others to interpret his life. Trump is a self-centered, self-promoting, braggart who constantly embellishes and often outright makes up accomplishments.

Bush Rescued At Sea

Bush was gracious in victory (for instance the end of the Cold War) and defeat (his 1992 loss to Bill Clinton). Trump gloats over his “wins” and relishes ridiculing defeated opponents and even former loyalists who lose his favor.

Bush was atypically honest for a politician and at times could be self-critical. Trump disrespects truth, cares little about facts, and is totally incapable of accepting personal responsibility when bad things happen; it’s always someone else’s fault.

Bush was honorable and acted ethically, Trump has no moral compass. While Bush was kind and humane in his treatment of others, Trump has a mean streak and is often extremely cruel to others. He cares little about whom he hurts with his slights and insults.

Bush was calm and even-tempered by nature, Trump is filled with hate and is quick to anger. Bush understood that criticism and fierce opposition came with the job and were protected by the Constitution. Trump lashes out at critics, opponents and anyone he considers disloyal. He only respects free speech if he agrees with it or it flatters him.

Bush had a well-documented sense of humor, a reflection, I believe, of his humanity. It helped him put people at ease. Trump is not only unfunny, he's anti-funny.  He puts people on edge, which seems to please him.  He uses humor, such as it is, most often to ridicule someone. His anti-humor reflects his joyless personality.

Bush governed respectively, often in a bipartisan manner; he welcomed compromise. Trump is hyper-partisan, or better said, hyper-Trumpist, often putting his own politics above his party. Bush sought to uphold the honor and dignity of the presidency, Trump has tarnished it in many ways, perhaps irrevocably.

In international relations, Bush was a multilateralist, inclined toward diplomacy and coalition-building, Trump is a hyper-nationalist whose inclination is to go it alone. Bush sought to negotiate mutually beneficial deals. Trump’s world is zero-sum. He bullies and threatens in pursuit of his dubious “victories.” He seems oblivious to the broader consequences of his actions. Bush believed in the rule of law, Trump believes he’s above the law. His law is the law according to Trump.

The Bush Administration was scandal-free, an accomplishment that can’t be said of presidents before and after him, and especially not of the lying, deceitful, law-breaking, notoriously corrupt Trump team of crooks.  Bush fell in love and remained devotedly married to Barbara Pierce for 73 years.  Trump?  well . . .

Love Birds

The death of a major public figure can be unifying, an occasion for bitter adversaries to put aside their differences and come together to celebrate a well-lived political life. In such times, partisanship is often put on hold, at least for the time being. The symbolic significance of five living presidents sitting together in the National Cathedral during Bush’s funeral was inspiring. I must say, though, that Donald Trump didn’t look very comfortable. Sitting next to past presidents and opponents he falsely accused and ridiculed, while listening to virtues of the genial Bush personality being extolled, must have grated on him. I wonder what he was thinking.

It’s sad that such moments of political harmony don’t endure for very long. Wouldn’t it be nice if the current focus on Bush 41’s humanity and willingness to compromise would spur some introspection throughout America that there’s a better way to do our politics, that we can dispense with the hate and rancor that has come to define our national discourse and find common ground? Wouldn’t it be something if this would become the legacy of George H.W. Bush?

Sorry to say, this is wishful thinking, a malady that afflicts many on the left who can’t seem to make sense of the seeming irrationality of Trump’s base and Republican fealty to the dysfunctional president. Many of my liberal friends think disaffected white working-class voters will eventually wake up to Trump’s lies and deceptions and turn away from Trumpism. I remain highly skeptical. Most in Trump’s base believed in white nationalism and harbored racist and nativist inclinations well before Trump arrived on the scene. The attraction to Trump is not based primarily on class. Besides, the Democrat Party hasn’t proven itself as a reasonable alternative for working Americans.

Just as the bipartisanship friendliness put on display at John McCain’s funeral proved fleeting, we can expect the same outcome from George Bush’s. As long as Trump and his fellow Republicans remain determined to manipulate public fear and insecurities in pursuing their exclusive brand of politics, and as long as millions of Americans remain receptive to their white America first rhetoric, our country will remain divided, hate-filled and rancorous.

While it is possible some Republicans could find a kernel of humanity and turn to a more inclusive America, not so for Donald Trump. It’s not in his nature.