US Politics

[Solomon2]

More questions than answers in too many Trump stories
BY SHARYL ATTKISSON, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 11/25/18 08:00 AM EST 835
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

Something strange has happened to the news. We’ve largely suspended our normal ethical practices and standards when it comes to covering President Trump.

Maybe it doesn’t seem strange to the usual crowd: the Washington and New York-centric media, political figures, insiders and pundits. They act like it’s not happening. Or maybe they don’t even notice. But to a lot of fair-minded, ordinary Americans, it’s just odd.

A good example is the recent rash of stories about President Trump reportedly wanting the Justice Department to investigate two of his political nemeses: former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey.

I’m not as smart as a lot of people, but my initial reaction was a big “So what?” First, it’s unsurprising that Trump would have wanted his Justice Department to investigate two officials widely accused of wrongdoing. Second, even Trump’s critics acknowledge his right to ask for such investigations. Third, the investigations were never ordered.

Yet the story, reported by The New York Times — and therefore guaranteed to be copied by news outlets internationally — portrayed the big “news” as if it were proof of politically motivated interference of the worst kind.

I’m not arguing that the allegations, if deemed credible, aren’t worthy of examination. And Trump’s critics have every right to have their views heard on the national news. But the fairness that once was routinely expected in news stories is notably absent.

Here are four ways the story falls short of upholding routine journalistic standards.

1. The story relies on anonymous sources. Risky to begin with, creating international headlines on the basis of nameless, faceless people becomes even more perilous considering how many leaked stories by anonymous sources have proven factually incorrect.
2. The story lacks appropriate context. When the only way to tell a story is through anonymous sources, their self-interests and identities must be described with as much specificity as possible so viewers can weight the allegations. Do the sources oppose Trump? Do they work in the White House? Were they fired? Disgruntled? Could they be trying to cover up their own wrongdoing? How are they in position to know what they claim to know? None of this information was provided. Likewise, the story failed to include the context that the main subject, former White House counsel Donald McGahn, had repeatedly clashed with Trump and was ultimately forced out of his job.
3. There are numerous instances of missing attribution. If a reporter didn’t personally witness an event, he generally should not present allegations or facts as if true and verified; they should be attributed to their source. Here’s one paragraph full of examples of missing attribution:

“The lawyer, Donald F. McGahn II, rebuffed the president, saying that he had no authority to order a prosecution. Mr. McGahn said that while he could request an investigation, that too could prompt accusations of abuse of power. To underscore his point, Mr. McGahn had White House lawyers write a memo for Mr. Trump warning that if he asked law enforcement to investigate his rivals, he could face a range of consequences, including possible impeachment.”​

4. In a news piece, the reporters’ opinions shouldn’t be reported as facts. But in this story, after accepting one-sided, leaked information as true, the writers add their own opinions. Here’s one example:

“The encounter was one of the most blatant examples yet of how Mr. Trump views the typically independent Justice Department as a tool to be wielded against his political enemies.”​

Unasked and unanswered questions

It seems to me, smart and fair reporting wouldn’t only report the allegations against Trump, but also would examine competing questions.

Are all the figures who have warded off Trump from being involved in his own Justice Department really trying to keep him away so that he doesn’t uncover facts related to allegedly politically motivated acts, surveillance and wrongdoing by some officials over the years?

Is the strategy to accuse Trump of “obstruction” every time he interacts with his Justice Department part of the “insurance policy” discussed by multiple Trump opponents — including two FBI officials and a Comey associate?

Does the press risk being used as a propaganda tool by reporting a series of what appear to be orchestrated, anonymous leaks of unverified, derogatory information against Trump?

In the end, journalistic standards aren’t designed for us to follow only when we write stories about people we like. They’re to hold us to a level of professionalism when we’re reporting on political figures we don’t like — even ones we may hate or who attack us personally. If we can’t maintain our standards under the most challenging circumstances, then we shouldn’t pretend to have them to begin with.

Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) is an Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist, author of The New York Times best-sellers “The Smear” and “Stonewalled,” and host of Sinclair’s Sunday TV program, “Full Measure.”

 

[Nilgiri]

More questions than answers in too many Trump stories
BY SHARYL ATTKISSON, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 11/25/18 08:00 AM EST 835
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

Something strange has happened to the news. We’ve largely suspended our normal ethical practices and standards when it comes to covering President Trump.

Maybe it doesn’t seem strange to the usual crowd: the Washington and New York-centric media, political figures, insiders and pundits. They act like it’s not happening. Or maybe they don’t even notice. But to a lot of fair-minded, ordinary Americans, it’s just odd.

A good example is the recent rash of stories about President Trump reportedly wanting the Justice Department to investigate two of his political nemeses: former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey.

I’m not as smart as a lot of people, but my initial reaction was a big “So what?” First, it’s unsurprising that Trump would have wanted his Justice Department to investigate two officials widely accused of wrongdoing. Second, even Trump’s critics acknowledge his right to ask for such investigations. Third, the investigations were never ordered.

Yet the story, reported by The New York Times — and therefore guaranteed to be copied by news outlets internationally — portrayed the big “news” as if it were proof of politically motivated interference of the worst kind.

I’m not arguing that the allegations, if deemed credible, aren’t worthy of examination. And Trump’s critics have every right to have their views heard on the national news. But the fairness that once was routinely expected in news stories is notably absent.

Here are four ways the story falls short of upholding routine journalistic standards.

1. The story relies on anonymous sources. Risky to begin with, creating international headlines on the basis of nameless, faceless people becomes even more perilous considering how many leaked stories by anonymous sources have proven factually incorrect.
2. The story lacks appropriate context. When the only way to tell a story is through anonymous sources, their self-interests and identities must be described with as much specificity as possible so viewers can weight the allegations. Do the sources oppose Trump? Do they work in the White House? Were they fired? Disgruntled? Could they be trying to cover up their own wrongdoing? How are they in position to know what they claim to know? None of this information was provided. Likewise, the story failed to include the context that the main subject, former White House counsel Donald McGahn, had repeatedly clashed with Trump and was ultimately forced out of his job.
3. There are numerous instances of missing attribution. If a reporter didn’t personally witness an event, he generally should not present allegations or facts as if true and verified; they should be attributed to their source. Here’s one paragraph full of examples of missing attribution:

“The lawyer, Donald F. McGahn II, rebuffed the president, saying that he had no authority to order a prosecution. Mr. McGahn said that while he could request an investigation, that too could prompt accusations of abuse of power. To underscore his point, Mr. McGahn had White House lawyers write a memo for Mr. Trump warning that if he asked law enforcement to investigate his rivals, he could face a range of consequences, including possible impeachment.”​

4. In a news piece, the reporters’ opinions shouldn’t be reported as facts. But in this story, after accepting one-sided, leaked information as true, the writers add their own opinions. Here’s one example:

“The encounter was one of the most blatant examples yet of how Mr. Trump views the typically independent Justice Department as a tool to be wielded against his political enemies.”​

Unasked and unanswered questions

It seems to me, smart and fair reporting wouldn’t only report the allegations against Trump, but also would examine competing questions.

Are all the figures who have warded off Trump from being involved in his own Justice Department really trying to keep him away so that he doesn’t uncover facts related to allegedly politically motivated acts, surveillance and wrongdoing by some officials over the years?

Is the strategy to accuse Trump of “obstruction” every time he interacts with his Justice Department part of the “insurance policy” discussed by multiple Trump opponents — including two FBI officials and a Comey associate?

Does the press risk being used as a propaganda tool by reporting a series of what appear to be orchestrated, anonymous leaks of unverified, derogatory information against Trump?

In the end, journalistic standards aren’t designed for us to follow only when we write stories about people we like. They’re to hold us to a level of professionalism when we’re reporting on political figures we don’t like — even ones we may hate or who attack us personally. If we can’t maintain our standards under the most challenging circumstances, then we shouldn’t pretend to have them to begin with.

Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) is an Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist, author of The New York Times best-sellers “The Smear” and “Stonewalled,” and host of Sinclair’s Sunday TV program, “Full Measure.”

Only Fox News deigned to even broach this topic when it surfaced.

Its crazy how far dbl standards have goose step marched in the media world in recent years.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Since Democrat congressman-elect Harley Rouda (I donated almost 3 times to his campaign and I’m glad I did) won election against Republican Rohrabacher (Putin’s favorite congressman) I have received two emails from him, I think are worth sharing:

Kaira (She is his wife) and I have spent last few days in Washington, D.C. for new member orientation.

What an energizing experience. Our 116th Congress boasts an unprecedented number of women, diverse perspectives, and experience.

At home, our campaign has culminated in a historic victory. We couldn't have done any of this without you. You had my back, and I am honored and eager to represent our community.

Your grassroots support has fueled my campaign from the beginning. By the time we got to Election Day, we had over 5,000 volunteers.

After 30 years, Rohrabacher is out. But the real work is only just beginning.

We are overdue for action on climate change, a commitment to clean energy, and plans to improve infrastructure.

We need forward-thinking economic policies. That means a thriving, innovative, and balanced economy that is focused on creating the jobs of tomorrow. For California to continue being a global economic leader, we must provide high-quality education to our kids.

We need to work towards health care as a right, not a privilege.

We need common sense gun reform.

And as the list keeps going — we need you. It's time to come together for a better Orange County.

I'm in, are you?

Harley

Second email:

This is what democracy looks like


I want to share a few updates from Week 2 of New Member Orientation.

I started the week catching up with Greta Brawner of CSPAN to discuss my background, climate change, infrastructure, and homelessness.

Yesterday, I attended a briefing on the Democracy Reform Agenda to discuss how we can get the corrupting influence of money out of our elections. I look forward to working with Congressman Sarbanes and other leaders on this important work.

This morning, we attended a "bi-partisan breakfast." That trend continued this afternoon.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Congressman Rohrabacher in his Washington, D.C. office. I thanked him for his 30 years of service and listened as he shared some of the lessons he's learned over his career.

Congressman Rohrabacher (Left) and congressman-elect Harley Rouda

I am grateful that the Congressman and his staff have offered to be helpful in this transition.

This is how Democracy is supposed to work. We can and will have a difference of ideas. But we can all come together to work for the common good.

More soon,

Harley

 

[RabzonKhan]

Interesting developments, Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen pleads guilty, says he lied about Trump’s knowledge of Moscow project. Trump’s misconduct piling up.

In addition to lurid stories, the Steele dossier makes claims about Michael Cohen being a key figure in secret connections with the Kremlin. Stephanie Ruhle breaks down how the dossier ties into the allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

 

[RabzonKhan]

R.I.P

George H.W. Bush, 41st president of the United States, dies at 94

Karen Tumulty 2 hrs ago

George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, was a steadfast force on the international stage for decades, from his stint as an envoy to Beijing to his eight years as vice president and his one term as commander in chief from 1989 to 1993.

The last veteran of World War II to serve as president, he was a consummate public servant and a statesman who helped guide the nation and the world out of a four-decade Cold War that had carried the threat of nuclear annihilation.

His death, at 94 on Nov. 30, also marked the passing of an era.

Although Mr. Bush served as president three decades ago, his values and ethic seem centuries removed from today’s acrid political culture. His currency of personal connection was the handwritten letter — not the social media blast.

He had a competitive nature and considerable ambition that were not easy to discern under the sheen of his New England politesse and his earnest generosity. He was capable of running hard-edge political campaigns, and took the nation to war. But his principal achievements were produced at negotiating tables.

“When the word moderation becomes a dirty word, we have some soul searching to do,” he wrote a friend in 1964, after losing his first bid for elective office.

Despite his grace, Mr. Bush was an easy subject for caricature. He was an honors graduate of Yale University who was often at a loss for words in public, especially when it came to talking about himself. Though he was tested in combat when he was barely out of adolescence, he was branded “a wimp” by those who doubted whether he had essential convictions.

This paradox in the public image of Mr. Bush dogged him, as did domestic events. His lack of sure-footedness in the face of a faltering economy produced a nosedive in the soaring popularity he enjoyed after the triumph of the Persian Gulf War. In 1992, he lost his bid for a second term as president.

“It’s a mixed achievement,” said presidential historian Robert Dallek. “Circumstances and his ability to manage them did not stand up to what the electorate wanted.”

His death was announced in a tweet by Jim McGrath, his spokesman. The cause of his death was not immediately available. In 2012, he announced that he had vascular Parkinsonism, a condition that limited his mobility. His wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush, died on April 17.

The afternoon before his wife’s service, the frail, wheelchair-bound former president summoned the strength to sit for 20 minutes before her flower-laden coffin and accept condolences from some of the 6,000 people who lined up to pay their respects at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston.

Mr. Bush came to the Oval Office under the towering, sharply defined shadow of Ronald Reagan, a onetime rival for whom he had served as vice president.

No president before had arrived with his breadth of experience: decorated Navy pilot, successful oil executive, congressman, United Nations delegate, Republican Party chairman, envoy to Beijing, director of Central Intelligence.

Over the course of a single term that began on Jan. 20, 1989, Mr. Bush found himself at the helm of the world’s only remaining superpower. The Berlin Wall fell; the Soviet Union ceased to exist; the communist bloc in Eastern Europe broke up; the Cold War ended.

His firm, restrained diplomatic sense helped assure the harmony and peace with which these world-shaking events played out, one after the other.

In 1990, Mr. Bush went so far as to proclaim a “new world order” that would be “free from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice and more secure in the quest for peace — a world in which nations recognize the shared responsibility for freedom and justice. A world where the strong respect the rights of the weak.”

Mr. Bush’s presidency was not all plowshares. He ordered an attack on Panama in 1989 to overthrow strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega. After Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in the summer of 1990, Mr. Bush put together a 30-nation coalition — backed by a U.N. mandate and including the Soviet Union and several Arab countries — that routed the Iraqi forces with unexpected ease in a ground war that lasted only 100 hours.

However, Mr. Bush decided to leave Hussein in power, setting up the worst and most fateful decision of his son’s presidency a dozen years later.

In the wake of that 1991 victory, Mr. Bush’s approval at home approached 90 percent. It seemed the country had finally achieved the catharsis it needed after Vietnam. A year-and-a-half later, only 29 percent of those polled gave Mr. Bush a favorable rating, and just 16 percent thought the country was headed in the right direction.

The conservative wing of his party would not forgive him for breaking an ill-advised and cocky pledge: “Read my lips: No new taxes.” What cost him among voters at large, however, was his inability to express a connection to and engagement with the struggles of ordinary Americans or a strategy for turning the economy around.

That he was perceived as lacking in grit was another irony in the life of Mr. Bush. His was a character that had been forged by trial. He was an exemplary story of a generation whose youth was cut short by the Great Depression and World War II.

The early years

George Herbert Walker Bush was born in Milton, Mass., on June 12, 1924. He grew up in tony Greenwich, Conn., the second of five children of Prescott Bush and the former Dorothy Walker.

His father was an Ohio native and business executive who became a Wall Street banker and a senator from Connecticut, setting a course for the next two generations of Bush men to follow. His mother, a Maine native, was the daughter of a wealthy investment banker.

Mr. Bush’s early years were hard ones for the country, although his family — which had a cook, a maid and a chauffeur — felt none of it. He attended the private Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. The close-knit Bushes spent summers at the family house at Walker’s Point, Maine, and Christmases at his grandfather’s shooting lodge in South Carolina.

At a prep school party during the 1941 Christmas season, he spotted a girl in a red-and-green dress. He asked another boy to introduce him to Barbara Pierce, whose father was head of the McCall’s publishing empire.

“I thought he was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on. I couldn’t even breathe when he was in the room,” Barbara Bush would later say, adding, “I married the first man I ever kissed.”

Prescott Bush wanted his son to go right to Yale upon graduation from Andover. But Mr. Bush said his father had also insisted that privilege carried a responsibility to “put something back in, do something, help others.”

His own time to serve came on his 18th birthday, when he enlisted in the Navy; within a year, he received his wings and became one of the youngest pilots in the service.

Sent to the Pacific, he flew torpedo bombers off the aircraft carrier San Jacinto. On Sept. 2, 1944, his plane was hit by Japanese ground fire during a bombing run on Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands in the western Pacific. He pressed his attack even though his plane was aflame.

Mr. Bush bailed out over the ocean and was rescued by a submarine. His two crewmen were killed. The future president was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After the war, he went to Yale, where he was a member of Skull and Bones, the university’s storied secret society, and captain of the baseball team. Barbara took their baby son, George W., to the games. Read more

=============================================


His handwritten letter to Bill Clinton who had defeated him in the election shows his character.


'Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you': Read the heartfelt letter George H.W. Bush left for Bill Clinton after the 1992 election

Sarah Gray 1 hr ago

After losing the 1992 presidential election, former President H.W. Bush - following in a long-standing tradition - left a heartfelt note to his successor, and the man who defeated him for the presidency, then-President Bill Clinton.

"Your success now is our country's success," Bush wrote in closing. "I am rooting hard for you."

That letter was being shared on social media Friday night, as people remembered the 41st president, who died at age 94 on November 30.

https://twitter.com/x/status/904390445278617600

Read the full letter is below:

Jan. 20, 1993

Dear Bill,

When I walked into this office just now I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know you will feel that, too.

I wish you great happiness here. I never felt the loneliness some Presidents have described.

There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I'm not a very good one to give advice; but just don't let the critics discourage you or push you off course.

You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well.

Your success now is our country's success. I am rooting hard for you.

Good Luck - George

==================================================


Touching cartoon reunites George H.W. Bush with wife Barbara and daughter Robin

Kirk A. Bado, USA TODAY

On Friday, George H.W. Bush took his final flight, reuniting with his wife of 73 years, Barbara, and 3-year-old daughter, Robin.

Clarion Ledger cartoonist Marshall Ramsey shows Bush flying his TBM Avenger, the same plane he flew in the Navy during World War II, up into the clouds to join his wife who passed away in April and their young daughter who died from leukemia at age 3 in 1953.

Ramsey's latest cartoon is a follow-up to his viral cartoon depicting Barbara reuniting with her daughter after decades apart.

"I received a very kind note from President George H.W. Bush's Chief of Staff for the Barbara Bush cartoon. President Bush was unable to write due to his Parkinson's, but it was his sentiments. And it was very humble and gracious," Ramsey said.

When thinking about how to commemorate George H.W. Bush, Ramsey thought of a striking scene from Barbara's memorial service.

"One moment from Barbara Bush's passing that struck me was that he greeted every mourner (almost 6000) who came to her casket. He sat his wheelchair and showed remarkable strength. It was a powerful and frail moment," Ramsey said.

 

[Nilgiri]

R.I.P

George H.W. Bush, 41st president of the United States, dies at 94

View attachment 523939
Karen Tumulty 2 hrs ago

View attachment 523941

George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, was a steadfast force on the international stage for decades, from his stint as an envoy to Beijing to his eight years as vice president and his one term as commander in chief from 1989 to 1993.

The last veteran of World War II to serve as president, he was a consummate public servant and a statesman who helped guide the nation and the world out of a four-decade Cold War that had carried the threat of nuclear annihilation.

His death, at 94 on Nov. 30, also marked the passing of an era.

Although Mr. Bush served as president three decades ago, his values and ethic seem centuries removed from today’s acrid political culture. His currency of personal connection was the handwritten letter — not the social media blast.

He had a competitive nature and considerable ambition that were not easy to discern under the sheen of his New England politesse and his earnest generosity. He was capable of running hard-edge political campaigns, and took the nation to war. But his principal achievements were produced at negotiating tables.

“When the word moderation becomes a dirty word, we have some soul searching to do,” he wrote a friend in 1964, after losing his first bid for elective office.

Despite his grace, Mr. Bush was an easy subject for caricature. He was an honors graduate of Yale University who was often at a loss for words in public, especially when it came to talking about himself. Though he was tested in combat when he was barely out of adolescence, he was branded “a wimp” by those who doubted whether he had essential convictions.

This paradox in the public image of Mr. Bush dogged him, as did domestic events. His lack of sure-footedness in the face of a faltering economy produced a nosedive in the soaring popularity he enjoyed after the triumph of the Persian Gulf War. In 1992, he lost his bid for a second term as president.

“It’s a mixed achievement,” said presidential historian Robert Dallek. “Circumstances and his ability to manage them did not stand up to what the electorate wanted.”

His death was announced in a tweet by Jim McGrath, his spokesman. The cause of his death was not immediately available. In 2012, he announced that he had vascular Parkinsonism, a condition that limited his mobility. His wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush, died on April 17.

The afternoon before his wife’s service, the frail, wheelchair-bound former president summoned the strength to sit for 20 minutes before her flower-laden coffin and accept condolences from some of the 6,000 people who lined up to pay their respects at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston.

Mr. Bush came to the Oval Office under the towering, sharply defined shadow of Ronald Reagan, a onetime rival for whom he had served as vice president.

No president before had arrived with his breadth of experience: decorated Navy pilot, successful oil executive, congressman, United Nations delegate, Republican Party chairman, envoy to Beijing, director of Central Intelligence.

Over the course of a single term that began on Jan. 20, 1989, Mr. Bush found himself at the helm of the world’s only remaining superpower. The Berlin Wall fell; the Soviet Union ceased to exist; the communist bloc in Eastern Europe broke up; the Cold War ended.

His firm, restrained diplomatic sense helped assure the harmony and peace with which these world-shaking events played out, one after the other.

In 1990, Mr. Bush went so far as to proclaim a “new world order” that would be “free from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice and more secure in the quest for peace — a world in which nations recognize the shared responsibility for freedom and justice. A world where the strong respect the rights of the weak.”

Mr. Bush’s presidency was not all plowshares. He ordered an attack on Panama in 1989 to overthrow strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega. After Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in the summer of 1990, Mr. Bush put together a 30-nation coalition — backed by a U.N. mandate and including the Soviet Union and several Arab countries — that routed the Iraqi forces with unexpected ease in a ground war that lasted only 100 hours.

However, Mr. Bush decided to leave Hussein in power, setting up the worst and most fateful decision of his son’s presidency a dozen years later.

In the wake of that 1991 victory, Mr. Bush’s approval at home approached 90 percent. It seemed the country had finally achieved the catharsis it needed after Vietnam. A year-and-a-half later, only 29 percent of those polled gave Mr. Bush a favorable rating, and just 16 percent thought the country was headed in the right direction.

The conservative wing of his party would not forgive him for breaking an ill-advised and cocky pledge: “Read my lips: No new taxes.” What cost him among voters at large, however, was his inability to express a connection to and engagement with the struggles of ordinary Americans or a strategy for turning the economy around.

That he was perceived as lacking in grit was another irony in the life of Mr. Bush. His was a character that had been forged by trial. He was an exemplary story of a generation whose youth was cut short by the Great Depression and World War II.

The early years

George Herbert Walker Bush was born in Milton, Mass., on June 12, 1924. He grew up in tony Greenwich, Conn., the second of five children of Prescott Bush and the former Dorothy Walker.

His father was an Ohio native and business executive who became a Wall Street banker and a senator from Connecticut, setting a course for the next two generations of Bush men to follow. His mother, a Maine native, was the daughter of a wealthy investment banker.

Mr. Bush’s early years were hard ones for the country, although his family — which had a cook, a maid and a chauffeur — felt none of it. He attended the private Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. The close-knit Bushes spent summers at the family house at Walker’s Point, Maine, and Christmases at his grandfather’s shooting lodge in South Carolina.

At a prep school party during the 1941 Christmas season, he spotted a girl in a red-and-green dress. He asked another boy to introduce him to Barbara Pierce, whose father was head of the McCall’s publishing empire.

“I thought he was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on. I couldn’t even breathe when he was in the room,” Barbara Bush would later say, adding, “I married the first man I ever kissed.”

Prescott Bush wanted his son to go right to Yale upon graduation from Andover. But Mr. Bush said his father had also insisted that privilege carried a responsibility to “put something back in, do something, help others.”

His own time to serve came on his 18th birthday, when he enlisted in the Navy; within a year, he received his wings and became one of the youngest pilots in the service.

Sent to the Pacific, he flew torpedo bombers off the aircraft carrier San Jacinto. On Sept. 2, 1944, his plane was hit by Japanese ground fire during a bombing run on Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands in the western Pacific. He pressed his attack even though his plane was aflame.

Mr. Bush bailed out over the ocean and was rescued by a submarine. His two crewmen were killed. The future president was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After the war, he went to Yale, where he was a member of Skull and Bones, the university’s storied secret society, and captain of the baseball team. Barbara took their baby son, George W., to the games. Read more

=============================================


His handwritten letter to Bill Clinton who had defeated him in the election shows his character.


'Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you': Read the heartfelt letter George H.W. Bush left for Bill Clinton after the 1992 election

Sarah Gray 1 hr ago

View attachment 523956

After losing the 1992 presidential election, former President H.W. Bush - following in a long-standing tradition - left a heartfelt note to his successor, and the man who defeated him for the presidency, then-President Bill Clinton.

"Your success now is our country's success," Bush wrote in closing. "I am rooting hard for you."

That letter was being shared on social media Friday night, as people remembered the 41st president, who died at age 94 on November 30.

https://twitter.com/x/status/904390445278617600

Read the full letter is below:

Jan. 20, 1993

Dear Bill,

When I walked into this office just now I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know you will feel that, too.

I wish you great happiness here. I never felt the loneliness some Presidents have described.

There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I'm not a very good one to give advice; but just don't let the critics discourage you or push you off course.

You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well.

Your success now is our country's success. I am rooting hard for you.

Good Luck - George


View attachment 523959

==================================================


Touching cartoon reunites George H.W. Bush with wife Barbara and daughter Robin

Kirk A. Bado, USA TODAY

On Friday, George H.W. Bush took his final flight, reuniting with his wife of 73 years, Barbara, and 3-year-old daughter, Robin.

Clarion Ledger cartoonist Marshall Ramsey shows Bush flying his TBM Avenger, the same plane he flew in the Navy during World War II, up into the clouds to join his wife who passed away in April and their young daughter who died from leukemia at age 3 in 1953.

Ramsey's latest cartoon is a follow-up to his viral cartoon depicting Barbara reuniting with her daughter after decades apart.

View attachment 523962

"I received a very kind note from President George H.W. Bush's Chief of Staff for the Barbara Bush cartoon. President Bush was unable to write due to his Parkinson's, but it was his sentiments. And it was very humble and gracious," Ramsey said.

When thinking about how to commemorate George H.W. Bush, Ramsey thought of a striking scene from Barbara's memorial service.

View attachment 523963

"One moment from Barbara Bush's passing that struck me was that he greeted every mourner (almost 6000) who came to her casket. He sat his wheelchair and showed remarkable strength. It was a powerful and frail moment," Ramsey said.

First POTUS I remember...will hold special place.

 

[Nilgiri]

Rest in Peace Bush Sr.

@RabzonKhan @VCheng @Hamartia Antidote an acquaintance just told me now, while in office he normally stuck around DC Thanksgiving and Christmas Days, so his Secret Service and Staff could spend the day with their families.

 

[VCheng]

Rest in Peace Bush Sr.

@RabzonKhan @VCheng @Hamartia Antidote an acquaintance just told me now, while in office he normally stuck around DC Thanksgiving and Christmas Days, so his Secret Service and Staff could spend the day with their families.

He was the quintessential American President. One of his speech writers is a professor here and there are so many similar good stories about him. His quote about "Faith, Family and Friends" was not just words, but his motto that he lived by.

Rest in Peace, Mr President!

 

[RabzonKhan]

Rest in Peace Bush Sr.

@RabzonKhan @VCheng @Hamartia Antidote an acquaintance just told me now, while in office he normally stuck around DC Thanksgiving and Christmas Days, so his Secret Service and Staff could spend the day with their families.

He was the quintessential American President. One of his speech writers is a professor here and there are so many similar good stories about him. His quote about "Faith, Family and Friends" was not just words, but his motto that he lived by.

Rest in Peace, Mr President!

He was the kind of person, the more you know him, the more you like him. Truly a gentleman!

 

[VCheng]

He was the kind of person, the more you know him, the more you like him. Truly a gentleman!

Of course @Dubious might differ strongly with that assessment. Even react virulently, in fact.

 

[Dubious]

Of course @Dubious might differ strongly with that assessment. Even react virulently, in fact.

Everyone has their own opinions

 

[VCheng]

Everyone has their own opinions

Of course!

I hope you watched part of the ceremonies in the Capitol to have some idea of the respect accorded to him.

 

[Dubious]

Of course!

I hope you watched part of the ceremonies in the Capitol to have some idea of the respect accorded to him.

Naahh...like I said everyone has their own opinions...Some can love him and shock me...and other like me point out what he really was...they wont agree with me and I wont with them so why waste time on a dead man's ceremony [esp 1 who has innocent blood on his hands both directly and indirectly]?

 

[VCheng]

Naahh...like I said everyone has their own opinions...Some can love him and shock me...and other like me point out what he really was...they wont agree with me and I wont with them so why waste time on a dead man's ceremony [esp 1 who has innocent blood on his hands both directly and indirectly]?

Well, the ceremonies do give some idea of who he really was.

 

[Dubious]

Well, the ceremonies do give some idea of who he really was.

Depends....with so much coverage and so much at stake...many are probably lying through their teeth then again to each their own opinion about the dead! RIP!