Pulitzer Prize winning author Jon Meacham has written a phenomenal biography of the 41st President of the United States in Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush. The book traces Bush’s life through its beginnings in New England, through his service in World War II, in the oil fields of west Texas, and throughout his political career. The final section of the biography focuses on Bush’s life post-presidency and gives special attention to his relationships with his sons George W. and Jeb.
I found the account insightful and humorous. I loved how notations from President Bush’s personal diary were scattered throughout the entire work, bringing a sense of understanding and intimacy to the discussion. I was especially moved by the depiction of George H.W. Bush’s special relationship with his mother. The account of his final visit with Dorothy Bush before her death in the final days of his tenure as President was especially moving.
Mrs. Bush was breathing with difficulty, and Bush and his daughter [Doro] wept by her bedside. The president reached over and leafed through his mother’s “frayed Bible.” In its pages were notes that he had written her from Andover and a birthday card he had mailed her from the navy.
He held her hand, thinking of all the times she had lovingly rubbed his through the years. After a few hours he and Doro left for Washington. To Bush, the sight of his mother struggling to breathe put the rest of life in proper perspective. “I don’t know that Mum knows I’m President of the United States,” he told his diary, but “I do know that is not important anymore.” (p. 527)
As I realized that I was reaching the end of the biography, I began to wonder how I would adequately sum up the importance of this work. Bush 41 seems to be such an underrated, under appreciated leader by many. How could I possibly convey my feelings to my audience of readers? It seems as though Meacham recognized that his readers would need help in finding the right words to express the importance of George H.W. Bush. To help, he provided the following moment from an interview the author conducted with President Barack Obama reflecting upon his attitude toward the legacy of Bush 41.
. . .Bush, Obama thought, was “one of our most underrated Presidents,” and, in the middle of a late winter afternoon a quarter century after Bush left Washington, the incumbent president made the case for the Bush legacy.
“I would argue that he helped usher in the post-Cold War era in a way that gave the world its best opportunity for stability and peace and openness,” Obama said in the telephone interview from the White House. “The template he laid in a peaceful and unified Europe and in what for at least twenty-five years was a constructive relationship with Russia and the former Soviet satellites, and the trajectory away from nuclear brinksmanship at a time when things were still up in the air, was an extraordinary legacy.” As challenging as the world remained, “the one thing that we don’t have right now is any serious prospect of a great power war anywhere in the world,” Obama said. “Part of the reason for that is that I think George H.W. Bush did a really good job in managing that post-Cold War transition.” At home, Obama cited the Americans with Disabilities Act — something, Obama said, “that it’s hard to imagine a current Republican president initiating. . .So although President Bush was sometimes mocked for talking about ‘a thousand points of light,’ the fact is, even in his policies, there was a genuine conservative compassion there that manifested itself in working with Republicans and Democrats on the Hill to get some big things done.” (pp.599-600)
I highly recommend this biography for every American who is interested in the history and the challenges of the Office of the President. The men who have served and lead our nation from the Oval Office have shouldered immense burden as they attempted to make the lives of America’s citizens better. They all have had faults. Most have experienced success of some degree while in office. They all should be honored, respected, and thanked for their service — regardless of our political leanings.
