OT: RIP President George HW Bush
December 1st, 2018 at 12:02 AM ^
Decorated pilot shot down during WWII
UN Ambassador
CIA Director
Vice President
President
Father of a President
A legendary American. I hope that he's with Barbara now, and that his family can find peace in this time.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:05 AM ^
Skydiver in his 80's. Awesome.
December 1st, 2018 at 6:42 AM ^
Didn’t he dive on his 90th?
December 1st, 2018 at 6:58 AM ^
Sad news to wake up to --- but he lived an incredible 94 laps around the sun. He got his money's worth. RIP and Godspeed,
December 1st, 2018 at 7:05 AM ^
Add Congressional Representative, Ambassador to the UN and Envoy to China - he had a pretty impressive resume for sure.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:04 AM ^
I don’t care what side of the aisle you are on, he was a great American. RIP.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:12 PM ^
I'm firmly on the other side of the aisle and I agree completely. In addition, he was the rarest of all political creatures: decent.
December 1st, 2018 at 8:38 PM ^
Yes, so decent that he manufactured a drug deal to get support for the incarceration of thousands, took money out of HIV/AIDS treatment during the height of the epidemic, and allowed the murder and torture of the Kurds in Iraq.
Let's not sugarcoat his legacy just because the man died.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:05 AM ^
His WWII story is one for the ages. Making it to the Oval Office pales in comparison. God Bless.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:09 AM ^
Highly recommend Flyboys: A True Story of Courage.
December 1st, 2018 at 8:21 AM ^
Great book and he was so lucky to survive WWII.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:06 AM ^
One more adult has left the room.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:47 AM ^
Agreed. My grandfather slept nearly 6 decades under the dress dagger of the commandant of Dachau, and when he wrote 41 in appreciation of 41 taking his family on a tour of the allied operations in the Mediterranean and Euripe, 41 took the time to write a very personal note back.
Regardless of politics or positions that any of us may or may not have agreed with, 41 was a class act. God Bless and Godspeed!!!
December 1st, 2018 at 1:17 AM ^
Couldn’t agree more. Go look at 1989-1993. It was the last time adults were in charge. His foreign policy was absolutely amazing and he had nothing but pros running it.
December 1st, 2018 at 9:56 AM ^
Dick Cheney says hello
December 2nd, 2018 at 5:41 AM ^
James Baker says right back atcha
December 1st, 2018 at 10:03 AM ^
Uh you like support for Salvadoran death squads and Nicaraguan contrast? Invasion of Panama? Refusing to apologize for shooting down flight 655?
December 1st, 2018 at 12:08 AM ^
He played in the first ever College Baseball World Series at Hyames Field on the Campus of Western Michigan in 1947.
I figured it wouldn't be long after Barbara went. I worked in the funeral industry for seven years. Couples who have spent most of their long life together almost always go close together.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:14 AM ^
This always fascinates me and is morbidly romantic and poetic. There's some science to dying of heartbreak, no?
December 1st, 2018 at 12:16 AM ^
I believe so. The will to live has a definite bearing on overall health to say the least.
December 1st, 2018 at 8:53 AM ^
My grandparents were together for over 60 years when my grandfather died. We all thought grandma would go shortly after, but she held on for almost another 15 years. Alzheimers robbed her of all memory, or she'd have never lasted on her own. He took care of her until he was physically unable, and she was so far gone that she regularly called the police because a strange man was in her bedroom.
I'm a firm believer that memory has a say in the will to live.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:10 AM ^
Absolutely an iconic American.
RIP GHWB
December 1st, 2018 at 12:16 AM ^
December 1st, 2018 at 2:55 AM ^
I can assert with 100% certainty OP is not George Will.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:17 AM ^
A class act and a sneaky funny man as well. Thoughts and prayers to the Bush family.
December 1st, 2018 at 7:08 AM ^
Dana Carvey has done a pretty well known impression of GHWB - and that ended up with Carvey meeting the President. According to Carvey, while they were meeting GHWB had Carvey do his impersonation to summon the secret service into the room (door open/around the corner kind of thing) to see if it could fool them. Carvey did it, and the secret service did in fact come in the room which GHWB thought was the funniest thing in the world.
December 1st, 2018 at 7:38 AM ^
The Carvy GHWB dynamic was great. I also enjoyed when Bush had the guest appearance on Simpsons years ago - he seemed to enjoy the humor, even when directed at himself.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:26 AM ^
Last of the presidents who served in WW2. Liked to parachute on his birthday into his 80's. That's pretty awesome in my book. R.I.P. Mr. Bush
December 1st, 2018 at 12:28 AM ^
Regardless of your politics he was mostly bipartisan and a truly patriotIc gentleman. Something to be missed.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:44 AM ^
I met him on the campaign trail as a child in the 90's RIP H.W.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:45 AM ^
He served the country with dignity. RIP.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:55 AM ^
Oh No! Another Hero gone. Just... .damn. Damn!
Go Navy! You were something, GW. Thank you for inspiring me to be better.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:57 AM ^
R.I.P.
December 1st, 2018 at 1:06 AM ^
He was a great man. He was the youngest naval pilot in WWII and immediately went back into service upon being rescued. Go read the letter he left for President Clinton in the Oval Ofice and that will tell you everything you need to know about his character. He will be greatly missed.
December 1st, 2018 at 1:39 AM ^
The GREATEST generation - I was privileged to be a child of those who lived through the Great Depression and WWII before they had a chance to graduate from college.
BRAVO to all who are grateful descendants of this generation!
December 1st, 2018 at 3:06 AM ^
Thoughts.
/I don't pray.
Shall take a look more into his earlier life as some have suggested above and learn more about him than I already did.
December 1st, 2018 at 3:58 AM ^
Inspiring life story of service to one's country, regardless of political affiliation. Thoughts and prayers for him and his lived ones. He will be missed.
December 1st, 2018 at 4:30 AM ^
Thanks to GHWB for a lifetime of faithful service and an inspiring legacy.
December 1st, 2018 at 6:47 AM ^
Absolutely the only American citizen of a certain age that "can't remember" where he was when Kennedy was killed.
The world is a better place.
December 1st, 2018 at 6:54 AM ^
Maybe I'm just off since it's early, but did you actually suggest that the world is a better for George HW Bush being gone? That would be a heartless statement to make.
December 1st, 2018 at 7:25 AM ^
Sometimes this blog makes it really easy to find the idiots hidden in plain sight. Me thinks the world would be significantly better without them.
December 1st, 2018 at 10:14 AM ^
To be fair, most of us here are idiots, some more than others.
December 1st, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^
I'd counter that deification of Bush here by some betrays a very particular world view that is just as myopic and idiotic as the sentiment you are decrying here. Bush was a consumate statesman and cared about his country deeply; he was also a deeply flawed and complex human being. I'm not going to crap on his life, but I also find these threads a little weird because, especially for Presidents and other individuals in power, they aren't ever purely great or bad.
December 1st, 2018 at 2:38 PM ^
All humans are complex and deeply flawed.
December 1st, 2018 at 2:36 PM ^
If I am reading this correctly and you are suggesting that you are happy that he died, you should be booted from the board.
December 1st, 2018 at 8:11 AM ^
My first Presidential election vote back in 1992 was placed for George H. W. Bush. RIP to a man whom had a great life.
December 1st, 2018 at 8:15 AM ^
A patriot who loved and served his country ... good travels President Bush
December 1st, 2018 at 8:29 AM ^
I'll always remember him for his dignity and class.
December 1st, 2018 at 10:51 AM ^
Oh yeah. Winning an election by playing the bigotry card with the most racist campaign in recent history (hello, Willy Horton) was really classy. He also leaked lies that his opponent was mentally ill. He was a fear monger.