I just read this post on George H.W. Bush:
The Bush Legacy: The Business is Personal
U.S. News & world report
by Jamie Stiehm, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Colleague Mary Kate Cary sent a black and white bouquet of words George Herbert Walker Bush’s way this week, praising President Obama for speaking at the former president’s library to honor his charitable initiative, A Thousand Points of Light, and salute his public service. She said she had worked for the elder Bush and loved him very much.
The personal element is what caught my eye, as that lies at the heart of the Bush way of doing business. Everything is personal if your name is George Bush, father or son. The loyalty gene runs deep in this American dynasty, which has cost our country dearly.
Sure, there are millions of Americans who love or like the 41st president very much. The Connecticut Yankee was born and bred to be genial, to write thank you notes, to join the secret elite club at Yale, to captain the baseball team, to get the girl from Greenwich, and to become a true war hero. All that was prelude.
As the elder Bush, nicknamed Poppy, made a fortune in Texas, he also put a foot in the political ring and won election to Congress. He never did get elected to the Senate, his father Prescott’s former province.
But that turned out not to matter much, as Bush hopskotched from one appointment to another to build a brilliant political resume: ambassador to China, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and more. Tapped on the shoulder time after time, he rose high in party politics without having his upper-crust ways vetted by voters. But he amassed more than a thousand points of light in personal friends and supporters. …
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/Jamie-Stiehm/2009/10/23/the-bush-legacy-the-business-is-personal.html
George H.W. Bush helped America. During his Administration, America did not show a need to take to the streets in an attempt to help him manage the Gulf War. He did just fine, thank you.
But as a kid, he had a problem. His problem was:
BROCCOLI:
…I do not like broccoli. I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli….
— George H.W. Bush in 1990
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/apr/27/1c27food20114/
Of course, those whose business was broccoli knew instantly what the problem was. The President needed to sample some of their broccoli. So, they sent him some – and they sent him some more – and they …
Before long, President Bush had enough broccoli to re-evaluate his childhood decision. And recently there was a published article that said broccoli was an excellent food – especially for males. Mom was right all along.
VOODOO ECONOMICS:
- …It just isn’t going to work, and it’s very interesting that the man who invested this type of what I call a voodoo economic policy…
- Speech at Carnegie Mellon University (10 April 1980), allegedly referring to Ronald Reagan…
The Gulf War:
…Bush also organized an unprecedented global alliance against Iraq during the Persian Gulf War of 1991…
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571000/george_h_w_bush.html
The Internet Bloggers Affair:
During the administration of George W. Bush, America, to a significant extent, lost faith in the domestic and international guidance of the George W. Bush administration. And though America has been said to both walk and speak softly while carrying a BIG STICK – America did not walk nor speak softly during President George W. Bush’s plan for Iraq. That plan appeared to betray all that America stood for – in the international arena.
America publically displayed its concern for the direction America was headed in. And for their efforts, they were called “fascist sympathizers” by a member of President Bush’s cabinet.
A war was being “forced” upon America for a reason known only to a few. And bloggers blogged. And Mr. George H. W. Bush, perhaps, saw the intensity of blogger’s concern somewhat disturbing. Mr. George H.W. Bush commented on the bloggers:
BLOGGERS:
11/14/2006
Think Progress
Former President Bush Blames ‘Bloggers’ for ‘Ugly’ Political Climate
Last night on Fox News, former President George H.W. Bush said the current political climate has “gotten so adversarial that it’s ugly.” Asked to offer an explanation for why there is this “incivility,” Bush pinned the blame on bloggers. “It’s probably a little worse now given electronic media and the bloggers and all these kinds of things,” he said. …
Perhaps George H.W. Bush, America’s elder statesman, was trying to explain why his son was having such a difficult problem. If that was the case, then America could likely understand the concern of a father for his son. That’s how fathers are.
|
*** |
Tags: voodoo economics, broccoli, george h.w.bush, love or like the 41st president, the gulf war, the internet bloggers affair
