George H. W. Bush, R.I.P.

After a long and full life, one filled with accomplishment,
adventure, excitement, breathtaking peaks and deep, dark
valleys, George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United
States, passed away after several years of declining health
at the grand age of 91.

Born to a prominent political family in Milton, Massachusetts,
his father being U.S. Sen. Prescott Bush, George Bush lived a
life of service. The future president postponed his university
academics to enlist in the U.S. Navy on his eighteenth birth-
day and became one of the youngest aviators in the navy during
WWII, having flown 58 missions.  Having been shot down over
the Pacific Ocean, George cheated death by evading sharks, an
island populated by cannibals, and more Japanese airmen. He was
rescued by the crew of a U.S. Navy submarine and was awarded
the Distinguished Flying Cross for his meritorious service.

After returning to his studies, upon graduation Bush went to the
Texas oil fields to forge a business career, in which he became
wealthy in his own right, becoming a millionaire in 1964 at the
age of 40. The young New England Republican next entered
politics, running unsuccessfully as a candidate for the U.S. Senate
that year (he would again run for the Senate with the same result),
but would taste victory running for the House of Representatives
twice consecutively. President Richard Nixon was so impressed
with the young dynamo that he appointed Bush to be Ambassador
to the United Nations, followed by stints as Chairman of the
Republican National Committee, Chief of the Liasion Office
in China, and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA).

The patrician Bush would make his first try for the biggest prize
in U.S. politics, the presidency in 1980, vying for the Republican
Party nomination, but couldn't withstand the Reagan juggernaut.
But in seeking party unity, California Gov. Ronald Reagan would
offer Bush the Vice Presidential spot on the GOP ticket, which
he accepted. They were elected in a landslide over incumbent
President Jimmy Carter and his Vice President Walter Mondale,
and would be re-elected in a bigger landslide four years later on
the strength of a strong, improved economy spurred by tax rate
reductions along with a strengthened military and accompanying
resolve in the face of our principal Cold War enemy, the Soviet
Union, finally bringing the decades-long standoff to a victorious
conclusion over a favorable arms control treaty with Moscow,
with the Strategic Defense Initiative (nicknamed "Star Wars" by
Reagan's detractors) as the ace in the hole. Bush would run to
succeed Reagan as president in 1988, handily defeating Democrat
Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis. After waging a short and
victorious war in the Middle East and garnering lofty approval
numbers in polls, Bush punctured the balloon by agreeing to a
budget deal with Congressional Democrats who proposed that
Bush go back on his promise not to raise taxes in exchange for
spending reductions, only to be burned by the dishonest, welshing
Dems resulting in the economy spinning into a recession which
sent Bush's ratings plummeting and his presidency crashing, losing
his re-election bid in 1992 to Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.

Throughout his life, Bush remained true to his personal creed of
a life of service; he even teamed with the man who defeated him
for the presidency for charitable causes, including a golf
tournament which they played in together. Bush could easily have
immersed himself in his monumentally successful business interests
and his considerable money, but he remained a man of service to
his church, his community, his state, and his country.
A model husband and father, Bush's sons George W. and Jeb
involved themselves in politics as the elder Bush had, with "W"
winning the governorship of Texas followed by election to the
presidency, thereby making George H. W. and George W.
Bush just the second father and son presidential pair in U.S.
history after John Adams and son John Quincy Adams. Warm
and avuncular, a contrast to the typical stern and stuffy patrician
image of prominent New Englanders, Bush left a legacy
of love to his family, friendship to his friends and political rivals,
and consistent service to community and country. He now is
enjoying our Lord's hospitality, along with the company of his
wife of over 70 years Barbara Pierce Bush and their daughter
Robin, who unlike her parents was denied a long life by cancer
at the tender age of three. Rest well, Mr. President.


MEM