The passage of time often serves to change how history views a leader.
It has been a quarter-century since the late George H. W. Bush served as president. He was denied a second term largely because he did not honor his pledge to enact “no new taxes”. Though many disapproved of him failing to honor a promise, what he did was an act of bipartisanship that would be difficult to envision in today’s hyper-partisan era.
The “kinder, gentler nation” laudably envisioned by President Bush has degenerated into the development of a more mean-spirited, coarser country in which name-calling and profanity are shrugged off. The noble philosophy of “a thousand points of light” is today cast aside as many embrace leadership that relies upon fear and suspicion of those who are different from us.
Like all U. S. presidents, “Bush 41” had flaws and foibles, but he has rightly come to be heralded for the good and decent man that he was, one of morals, character, and principle, a refined and dignified gentleman, a man who dearly loved his country and his large and close-knit family. How he shines in an era in which what he stood for and represented has been replaced by self-interest and bluster.
The nation mourns and shall fondly remember a man whose diverse and extensive life of public service brought out the best in us.
OREN SPIEGLER
South Strabane
First Published: December 4, 2018, 5:00 a.m.
