Many millennials will look at this week of national mourning trying to figure out how to relate to a man they really did not know as president.
While I did not know or work with former President George H.W. Bush directly, like I do his son and daughter-in-law who I worked for as a White House staffer, I still felt like I did and hopefully others in my generation will too reflect on his legacy as a public servant, and his love for family, and his friends.
I am blessed to have been in his presence several times, notably listening to him as I sat in front of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., at the State Funeral of former President Gerald Ford. I only met him once, when we were both on stage for his son’s 2004 acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in New York City. He was kind and gracious.
President George H.W. Bush was arguably the most prepared to be commander in chief if you look at the breadth and depth of his service to the country. Veteran, small business owner, county GOP chairman, congressman, ambassador, Republican National Committee chairman, CIA director, and vice president for eight years. His life was about using his skills and talents to make a better place out of the country that had given him and his family so much. The lesson for us is this: Know your strengths and find a way to be a servant leader.
Bush loved his family and instilled in them the lessons he learned from his own parents. While he may be someone that seemed out of reach, he leaves behind a related legacy that is very present in his family, who continue to be leaders – young people like Jenna Bush Hager on the “Today” show, Pierce Bush at Big Brothers Big Sisters Lonestar, George P. Bush as Texas land commissioner, Barbara Bush with Global Health Corps, Lauren Bush with FEED Projects. We have an opportunity to watch the next generation of Bushes and join them in achieving success and serving.
Loyalty is not a bad thing, it is a good thing when you are loyal for the right reasons to the right people. George H. W. Bush was a loyal friend. Just look at the last months of his life and you saw true friendship in Secretary James Baker.
What do you do when you are 94 years old, wheelchair-bound, and recently lost your wife of 73 years and it’s the midterm election? You call James Baker and you go vote. Just a month later it was Baker who was at his side, rubbing his hands and feet talking to his friend about going to heaven.
People like his longtime chief of staff Jean Becker, there in the room, and even people miles away in Arizona like Lisa and Gordon James, would drop everything at a moment’s notice to help them execute an event anywhere and anytime long after leaving the White House. The countless friends from Washington, D.C., Maine, and Texas were his friends for life – because to him, real friendship matters and his friends were loyal.
I asked one of my friends that worked as White House butler who his favorite first family was. He gave me the customary “I love them all” – but as they all said in a whisper, “But I loved old man Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush, he’s family.”
What can we all glean from this 94-year-old man? Live life to the fullest. He jumped out of a plane to celebrate his milestone birthdays, his last being at 90 years old. He loved the outdoors and was active in sports and fishing and boating and even horseshoes.
Bush valued and loved his family, and he told them with the countless notes and letters he would personally write to them. He spent time with his entire family and made sure they knew he loved them, especially “Bar,” as he called his devoted wife of 73 years.
We can look at this veteran’s life and ask yourself, “What can I do to be like a thousand points of light in my world, what can I do to keep America great, how can I lead in business, as an entrepreneur or in public service?” And then do it.
Bush shows us that it is okay to take risks and believe in yourself, looking at how he stepped out on faith to become an oilman, even moving and living in Compton, Calif., for work. The risks he took in life were worth the reward because he had faith and was willing to work hard.
In today’s bitterly divided country, look at how classy he was, even unto death. He worked as vice president to former President Ronald Reagan, who was very much his political rival for the presidency but put politics aside to be a patriot and serve as vice president. He became very close to former President Bill Clinton, who beat him for re-election. In death, he didn’t hold a grudge or move to settle a score, or be vindictive – he wanted President Trump, someone that had been critical of his sons, to attend his funeral with Mrs. Trump.
In the end, George Herbert Walker Bush knew that gesture was good for his family, his friends, his party, the presidency, and his country he loved so much. His last words on earth spoken to his son, George W. Bush were, “I love you too.”
Maybe we did not know him, meet him, or remember him. But we can learn from George H.W. Bush and tell those we love that we love them, and show that love through our interactions with our friends, family, and neighbors no matter their color, or party affiliation.
Paris Dennard (@parisdennard) is a GOP political commentator and communications strategist. He served as the associate director for coalitions at the Republican National Committee from 2009-11 and worked in the President George W. Bush White House from 2005-2009. In 2017, President Trump appointed him to the President’s Commission on White House Fellows.
