The
funeral for Barbara Bush reminded me of my one personal experience with the
politeness and decency of the George H.W. Bushes. I was deputy director of the State Department
office dealing with "green" environmental issues -- animals, plants,
and health -- while George H.W. Bush was President. Somehow, I got word that President Bush
wanted to encourage tree planting; one of Bush's personal secretaries in the
White House asked me to take care of it.
The
difference between dealing with Bush's personal staff and the National Security
Council was like night and day. In my
previous job working on missile proliferation, I had frequently dealt with the
NSC, and I always had trouble with them.
They would never take my calls, would never keep me informed about where
decisions stood, etc. President Bush's
personal secretary could not have been nicer.
At their
request, I drafted a cable to all the embassies in the world, asking them to do
a public tree planting with an official of the host government, at the request
of President Bush. As usual, some
embassies ignored it, but some took it to heart and the ambassador planted a
tree with a high official of the host government, the foreign minister or the
president. President Bush was apparently
pleased with the result, and I ended up getting a White House Christmas card,
probably the lowest, most impersonal type, but still the only one I ever
got.
It was my
personal experience with the decency and kindness of the Bush family. I wish them the best. I was particularly impressed with Barbara
Bush's funeral service because of its upbeat tone, and lack of feeling sorry
for themselves. It was an example of the
old British "stiff upper lip" that saw them through the Blitz and
World War II. The American news media
today love weepy, sorrowful victims feeling sorry for themselves and sobbing on
TV. Cowardness sells ads, and then the
anchors call it heroism, because they have no idea what true heroism is. The Bushes know. Barbara taught them.
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