Death of G. H. Bush
When George H. Bush he was hailed by many for leaving behind a legacy of kindness: it was a quality not often associated with the president during his lifetime but in Trump Presidency it seemed to stand out to many by way of contrast with the bombast and bullying tactics of the current president. Even Al Gore, who lost the 2000 election to Bush’s son W., had a touching anecdote to tell about George H. Bush. Gore said, “I remember when I gave my second and final concession speech in 2000, I was in the Secret Service car going back to the vice president's residence, and it was President George H.W. Bush calling me on the telephone and he was overcome with emotion and he said the kindest things. It was really a touching call” (Tatum, 2018). Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all had positive and touching things to say about George H. Bush. It was as though all were united in affirming what a good president looked like
What makes people respect a leader after death, regardless of partisanship, is usually their legacy. The legacy of George H. Bush was determined more by contrast than anything else, too. George H. Bush, for example, invaded the Middle East for but a brief time to drive Hussein out of Kuwait. George W. Bush and Obama both waged unending campaigns in the Middle East that made George H. Bush look tame by comparison. However, at the same time, much of the political establishment is opposed to Trump because he tends to go against the established political order and doctrines—so the representatives of the political establishment will take any and every opportunity to call out his weaknesses (i.e., lack of diplomacy, niceness, kindness) whenever possible—and the death of George H. Bush allowed for a perfect contrast to be made between a presidential president (Bush) and a non-presidential president (Trump).
Trump misses the mark on being canonized so to speak because he does not mind being gruff, blunt, and bullying. He relishes pumping his own ego and never admits to making mistakes. He routinely claims that his Administration is the best ever and that his Administration has accomplished more in two years than any other Administration in history. Trump’s followers also proclaim as much and approve generally of how he has...
However, those who are not of his base and do not count as supporters have not shown the same love for Trump as has been shown George H. Bush upon his passing. Bush lost to Clinton and Gore in 1992—and yet both had nothing but good things to say about Bush when he died. Gore told the anecdote about how kind Bush had been to call him when Gore lost to Bush’s son in 2000. There were no hard feelings. There was only empathy and respect.
It is hard to imagine that Trump will command the same kind of empathy and respect from his political opponents when he passes. It is unlikely that Hillary Clinton will sing Trump’s praises or that Bill Clinton will honor him with a eulogy. After all, Trump essentially...…Bush’s death, Meacham (Bush’ biographer) described Bush as a war hero—one who had fought in WWII and who had actually been shot down out of the skies and yet had survived. In other words, he was a survivor—one who had been out in the thick of it and knew what combat was. Meacham stated that Bush “governed with virtues that most closely resemble those of Washington and of Adams, of TR and of FDR, of Truman and of Eisenhower, of men who believed in causes larger than themselves” (Foussianes, 2018). It was an indirect swipe of Trump, who is often criticized for only caring about himself and how good he looks. By saying that Bush never thought about such things , Meacham was saying that Bush was better than Trump.
Yet was he really better? Bush was involved in pardoning those involved in the Iran Contra scandal. He raised taxes when he said he would not. He represented the political establishment in many ways more than he represented the ordinary people. Trump’s claim—his legacy—will be, if anything, that he was a populist—one who represented the ordinary people of middle America, all 60-some million who voted for him at least. For the most part, Trump has kept his word to them, and there are still two years to go. So history will be the judge. However, when one dies, others typically think about the good things that person did, regardless of how that person can be used politically. It is very likely that Trump, for all his polarizing ways, will be thought of fondly by some in the future.…
