George H. W. Bush has died. From USA Today:
HOUSTON — George Herbert Walker Bush, the president who managed the end of the Cold War and forged a global coalition to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait, has died at age 94. In a political career that spanned three decades, he lost his bid for re-election and lived to see his son win the Oval Office.
The death of Bush — nicknamed “41” to distinguish himself from son George W. Bush, “43” — was announced in a statement released late Friday.
“Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died,” his son, former President George W. Bush, said in a statement released by family spokesman Jim McGrath. “George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41’s life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens.”
I don’t have a great deal to say about the late President Bush. I voted for him in 1992 because I believe that foreign policy, the military, and the administration of the federal government are the primary responsibilities of the president, Mr. Bush was well-qualified for those tasks, and his opponents were neither qualified in the areas of primary presidential responsibility nor men of good character.
I didn’t vote for him without reservations. I thought the Gulf War was an error. That we continued to bomb Iraq over the period of the next 11 years supported that view. Leaving Saddam Hussein in power was the price that Mr. Bush paid for his coalition, a devil’s bargain.
I hope it is not lost on the editors of the New York Times and Washington Post, presently heaping encomiums on the late President Bush, that their endorsements of Bill Clinton in 1992 contributed materially to Donald Trump’s election in 2016. If you value character, you should reward it.
And he would have been re-elected anyway if not for Ross Perot peeling off conservative votes.
As to the gulf war, I’ve never understood why we have to protect borders as the British drew them, as they are, for all time.
There are many things we consider bad, but are actually none of our business.