Accidental Blogger

Whatever I may think of presidential father George H.W. Bush’s politics, I always found the senior Bush’s ability and willingness to shed tears in public, rather endearing. I have seen him cry at least  half a dozen times, mostly while talking about his family, including the tragic loss of a daughter to childhood leukemia . Poppy Bush also tears up when speaking about the "honor" of his "boys", two of whom are successful politicians. This particular emotional display I always find strange. But he is a loving father and I, a partisan critic, so naturally we don’t see eye to eye on this matter. Father Bush too is given to "Bushism," quite distinct from his son’s but intriguing nonetheless. When he was president, I heard Bush Sr. say some pretty weird, quaint things  (Dana Carvey used to do a hilarious impersonation on Saturday Night Live) which left one puzzling over what he had really meant to say. I remember one particularly peculiar Evita moment during a campaign stop in 1992 when George H.W. thoroughly confounded his audience with the following parting shot : "… So don’t feel sorry for — don’t cry for me, Argentina. Message: I care."

In light of his enigmatic speech (and thought?) pattern, I began to wonder when I watched  Bush Sr. cry again – this time reminiscing about his son Jeb Bush’s ability to handle defeat with grace. The defeat he was referring to, was Jeb’s unsuccessful 1994 gubernatorial bid in Florida – twelve years ago! Jeb has been a successful governor since 1998. So why was Daddy feeling sad for an event in the distant past? Could it be that the tears were really for the more recent political fortunes of his other son, Jeb’s older brother, George W.?  And also for what that son has done to the country? The tearful episode took place one day before the Iraq Study Group’s report was to be released. Senior Bush had to know what his good friend Jim Baker was about to make public regarding his older son’s performance as president.  Surely that is enough to make any parent burst into tears. Or am I just being unnecessarily cynical and suspicious?

"Former President George H.W. Bush broke down in tears as he cited his son, Gov. Jeb Bush, as an example of leadership. He said he was proud of how his son handled losing the 1994 governor’s race to popular incumbent Democrat Lawton Chiles, and vaguely referred to dirty tricks in the campaign.

"He didn’t whine about it. He didn’t complain," the former president said before choking up. As he tried to continue, he let out a sob and put a handkerchief to his face. When he spoke again, his words were broken up by pauses as he tried to regain composure.

"A true measure of a man is how you handle victory and how you handle defeat, so in ’94 Floridians chose to rehire the governor. They took note of his worthy opponent, who showed with not only words but with actions what decency he had," Bush said before again sobbing."

Note: The title of the post is borrowed from Alan Paton’s famous book.  And here is a link to Senior Bush’s version of Bushism.