CONTRIBUTOR FOR NBC NEWS AND MSNBC PEGGY NOONAN IS WITH US.
>> DAN, YOU TWEETED SOMETHING
THIS WEEKEND THAT MANY OTHERS
DID, AND YOUR TWEET CAUGHT ME
OFF GUARD AS DID THE TWEET FROM
MANY OTHERS WHO SAID THAT THE
GEORGE H.W. BUSH WAS THE BEST
PRESIDENT OF THEIR LIFETIME, AND
YOUR TWEET SAID THIS.
REST IN PEACE TO GEORGE H.W.
BUSH, THE GREATEST PRESIDENT OF
MY LIFETIME.
MY LIFETIME. YEAH, I SAID IT.
WHAT MADE YOU SAY THAT AND WHAT
MADE LIFE LONG DEMOCRATS LIKE
BRZEZINSKI VOTE FOR ONE
REPUBLICAN IN THEIR LIFETIME AND
THAT REPUBLICAN WAS GEORGE H.W.
BUSH?
BUSH? >> I THINK THERE’S A COUPLE OF
REASONS.
REASONS. THE MOST OBVIOUS IS YOU CAN
ARGUE THAT GEORGE H.W. BUSH WAS
THE GREATEST FOREIGN POLICY
PRESIDENT WE HAD POTENTIALLY IN
THE POST-WAR ERA, AT LEAST SINCE
EISENHOWER.
EISENHOWER. AS YOU SHOWED IN THE TAPE
SEGMENT YOU HAD, IT WAS FAR FROM
GUARANTEED THAT THE COLD WAR
WOULD END AS PEACEFULLY AS DID
IT.
IT. IT WAS FAR FROM GUARANTEED THAT
SADDAM HUSSEIN WOULD BE REPULSED
FROM KUWAIT.
FROM KUWAIT. THERE ARE HUNDRED OTHER SMALLER
AREAS RANGING FROM TRADE POLICY
TO THE KOREAN PENINSULA TO THE
GREATER MIDDLE EAST WHERE THE
BUSH ADMINISTRATION TOOK STEPS
HAT SUCCESSIVE ADMINISTRATIONS
WERE ABLE TO BUILD ON.
ACTUALLY THE MOST TELLING THING
ABOUT BUSH AS A LEADER WAS THE
DEGREE TO WHICH PEOPLE IN HIS
ADMINISTRATION DID EXTREMELY
WELL THAT WHEN THEY THEN SERVED
UNDER HIS SON DEVELOPED
REPUTATIONS THAT WERE SOMEWHAT
LESS SAVORY.
LESS SAVORY. CHI OF DICK CHENEY OR-- THINK OF
COLIN POWELL.
COLIN POWELL. HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAVE BEEN
UNDERRATED BECAUSE HE ONLY
SERVED ONE TERM.
YOU COULD ARGUE THE 1990
COMPROMISE WITH DEMOCRATS ON THE
BUDGET WAS ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT STEPS TOWARDS FISCAL
RECTITUDE AND HE PAID THE
POLITICAL PRICE FOR THAT.
THEN FINALLY JUST THE SORT OF
GRACIOUSNESS WHICH BUSH
DEMONSTRATED ALWAYS IN HIS
PERSONAL LIFE, AND I THINK THAT
WAS SORT OF E-ELMFOF EXEMPLIFIED
CLINTON.
CLINTON. >> JOHN MEACHAM, WE WERE
FORTUNATE ENOUGH AS A NATION TO
BE BOOK ENDED IN THE COLD WAR
WITH TWO ONE TERM PRESIDENTS WHO
LEFT OFFICE WITH CLOUDS OVER
THEIR HEADS BUT ENDED UP BEING
REASSESSED.
REASSESSED. HARRY TRUMAN, IT TOOK ABOUT 20
YEARS BEING REASSESSED AS A NEAR
GREAT OR GREAT PRESIDENT FOR
WHAT HE DID FROM 1947 TO 1952.
OF COURSE, HE BECAME PRESIDENT
IN ’45.
IN ’45. HIS GREAT CHALLENGES WITH THE
SOVIET UNION STARTED IN EARNEST
IN ’47.
IN ’47. NOW WE HAVE GEORGE H.W. BUSH
ANOTHER ONE TERM PRESIDENT WHO
HELPED END THE COLD WAR, LANDED
THAT PLANE AS BARACK OBAMA SAID,
AND I WANT TO QUOTE ANOTHER
FOREIGN POLICY EXPERT WHO IS NOT
KNOWN TO ALWAYS SAY KIND THINGS
ABOUT REPUBLICANS AND DAVID SAID
AS A HISTORIAN OF THE WHITE
HOUSE AND IN PARTICULAR OF
NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN
POLICY MAKING IN THE WHITE
HOUSE, IT VERY EARLY ON BECAME
APPARENT TO ME IN THOSE AREAS
THAT THE GEORGE H.W. BUSH WHITE
HOUSE SET THE HIGH WATERMARK
AMONG ALL THOSE OF THE
POST-WORLD WAR II ERA.
EXTRAORDINARY WORDS FROM, AGAIN,
SO MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT
PARTISAN REPUBLICANS.
PARTISAN REPUBLICANS. >> HENRY KISSINGER ONCE TOLD ME
THAT HE THOUGHT GEORGE H.W. BUSH
HAD THE MOST MOMENTOUS FOREIGN
POLICY PRESIDENCY SINCE HARRY
TRUMAN WHICH WAS REMARKABLE FOR
KISSINGER SINCE HE WASN’T
INVOLVED SO YOU KNOW THAT MUST
BE TRUE.
BE TRUE. ANYWAY, IT HAS THE VIRTUE OF
BEING TRUE.
BEING TRUE. I THINK THAT’S A GREAT POINT.
TRUMAN POPS UP IN PRESIDENT
BUSH’S DIARY.
BUSH’S DIARY. HE WAS STUNNED BY THE LEVEL OF
POPULARITY THAT UNFOLD IN THE
SPRING OF 1991.
HE SAID, YOU KNOW, 89%, 91% AND
BUSH SAID THERE’S NOTHING LIKE
IT SINCE TRUMAN.
HERE’S THE REALIST IN HIM.
HE KNEW IT WAS SOFT SUPPORT.
HE FORESAW ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
AHEAD.
AHEAD. HE KNEW THAT AMERICANS MOVED ON
VERY QUICKLY.
VERY QUICKLY. THAT THEY DIDN’T VOTE ABOUT THE
PAST.
PAST. THEY VOTED ABOUT THE FUTURE.
HE WAS A MUCH MORE ASTUTE
POLITICIAN THAN HE GETS CREDIT
FOR, FOR BEING.
THE OTHER GREAT THING, EVERYBODY
SAYS HOW HE WAS A TERRIBLE
CAMPAIGNER.
CAMPAIGNER. FROM THE VERY BEGINNING IT DROVE
HIM CRAZY TO BE TOLD THAT.
THERE’S A WONDERFUL STORY ABOUT
WHEN HE WAS RUNNING FOR THE
SENATE IN TEXAS THE SECOND TIME
IN 1970 HE GOES INTO A
FUNDRAISER AND GIVES A TALK AND
NOT WILDLY SUCCESSFUL AND HE’S
COMING OUT AND THE CAMPAIGN
VOLUNTEER WITH HIM SAYS YOU NEED
WORK ON THESE SPEECHES.
AND HE SAID YOU’RE DRIVING ME.
SO THERE WAS A COMPETITIVE
STREAK IN HIM TOO.
I THINK THE FOREIGN POLICY
LEGACY AS BEEN STRIKING TO ME
THAT’S WHAT PEOPLE FOCUSED ON.
IT DOESN’T SURPRISE ME.
BUT THE STEADY HAND.
THAT’S WHAT HE OFFERED.
I ALSO THINK AND JOE, YOU WOULD
AGREE, WE WERE INCREDIBLY
FORTUNATE AS A COUNTRY TO HAVE
THE 12 YEARS OF RONALD REAGAN
AND GEORGE BUSH AT THAT
PARTICULAR MOMENT.
PARTICULAR MOMENT. REAGAN DID THINGS THAT GEORGE
BUSH COULDN’T DO AND GEORGE BUSH
DID THINGS THAT REAGAN COULDN’T
DO.
DO. HE LOVED US FROM 1981 TO 1993 IN
THESE MOMENTOUS TIMES.
>> MIKA, I READ SOMETHING FROM
CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY WHO WORKED
WITH GEORGE H.W. BUSH THAT
ACTUALLY TALKS ABOUT AND WE’RE
GOING TO GET TO PEGGY IN ONE
MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT THIS.
BUT THE INCREDIBLE GRACE THAT
BOSTON THESE MEN HAD.
WE’VE HEARD ABOUT GEORGE H.W.
BUSH’S GRACE.
BUSH’S GRACE. BUT CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY
RECOUNTED A STORY THAT BUSH HAD
TOLD HIM ABOUT RONALD REAGAN
WHERE HE WENT IN AFTER REAGAN
WAS SHOT IN THE HOSPITAL.
HE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL.
WENT IN AND THE ROOM WAS EMPTY.
THE PRESIDENT WASN’T THERE.
AND HE ACTUALLY SAW THE
PRESIDENT ON HIS HANDS AND
KNEES, PRESIDENT REAGAN AFTER
BEING SHOT, WIPING UP WATER FROM
THE FLOOR.
THE FLOOR. AND HE RAN AND SAID, MR.
PRESIDENT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
HE SAID I WAS TRYING TO GET A
DRINK OF WATER, I SPILLED IT ON
THE FLOOR AND I DON’T WANT SOME
NURSE TO COME IN HERE CLEAN UP
AFTER ME I MADE THE MESS, I NEED
TO CLEAN IT UP.
YOU JUST SEE THAT SERVANT
LEADERSHIP THAT WE READ ABOUT IN
THE BIBLE.
THE BIBLE. JESUS TALKS ABOUT SERVANT
LEADERSHIP AND WHETHER IT WAS
RONALD REAGAN OR GEORGE H.W.
BUSH, WE SAW A PICTURE THERE OF
JIMMY CARTER.
JIMMY CARTER. THAT’S WHAT MADE GEORGE H.W.
BUSH SO GREAT.
HE UNDERSTOOD HE WAS SERVING THE
PEOPLE, NOT VICE VERSA.
>> PEGGY NOONAN, I’LL LET YOU
EXPOUND UPON THAT.
THAT GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT AND
THAT GOODNESS, I THINK REVOLVED
AROUND LOVE OF COUNTRY AND
SPIRIT AND PATRIOTISM.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. YOU KNOW, THE WRITER IN
WASHINGTON NOTED IN A NEWSLETTER
LAST NIGHT, HE WAS THINKING
ABOUT GEORGE H.W. BUSH AND HE
SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT’S
REMARKABLE?
REMARKABLE? AFTER THE FALL OF THE SOVIET
UNION, DURING THE GREAT EFFORTS
TO REUNIFY GERMANY, GEORGE H.W.
BUSH GAVE A STATE OF THE UNION
ADDRESS IN 1992 AND SAID THESE
WORDS.
WORDS. BY THE GRACE OF GOD AMERICA WON
THE COLD WAR.
HE DIDN’T SAY MY ADMINISTRATION
WON THE COLD WAR.
HE DIDN’T SAY REPUBLICANS FOUGHT
AND PHILOSOPHY WON THE COLD WAR.
HE SAID THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WON
THE COLD WAR.
IT WAS AN EXAMPLE, I THINK, OF
OLD STYLE AND OLD SCHOOL
APPROACHES ABOUT WHO DOES THE
WORK HERE AND WHO DESERVES THE
CREDIT.
CREDIT. IT WAS A SERIOUS NOD TO THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO FOR MORE
THAN 50 YEARS HAD PUT FORWARD
THE BLOOD AND TREASURE TO MAKE
THIS THING BE HANDABLE AND MAKE
THE SOVIETS FINALLY GO DOWN AND
IT WAS SUCH -- IF YOU GO BACK
AND READ IT AS I DID LAST NIGHT,
IT WAS SUCH A DEPARTURE FROM THE
SORT OF PRESIDENTIAL NARCISSISM
THAT WE SEE NOW AND IT’S SEEN IN
FAIRNESS FOR A LONG TIME.
IN THE PAST 25 YEARS WE’VE LOST
THAT KINDS OF PRESIDENTIAL
MODESTY IN WHICH THEY SAY
THERE’S BEEN A GREAT GAIN AND
YOU DID IT.
>> PEGGY, YOU WERE THERE AT THE
REVOLUTION.
REVOLUTION. YOU WERE ALSO THERE WHEN RONALD
REAGAN LEFT ON JANUARY THE 20th,
1989.
1989. I WANT PEOPLE BEING TOO YOUNG TO
REMEMBER THAT TIME AND HEARING
THE ACCOLADES THAT GEORGE H.W.
BUSH IS RECEIVING NOW.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH IS ONE OF THE
GREAT PRESIDENTS OF THE POST-WAR
ERA.
ERA. COULD YOU JUST EXPLAIN HOW
DIFFICULT IT WAS FOR GEORGE H.W.
BUSH TO ESCAPE RONALD REAGAN’S
SHADOW?
SHADOW? WE REMEMBER THE "NEWSWEEK" COVER
TALKING ABOUT THE WIN FACTOR.
I REMEMBER PEOPLE SAYING GEORGE
H.W. BUSH REMINDS EVERY WOMAN OF
HER FIRST HUSBAND.
THE INSULTS BECAME SO BAD THAT
SOMEBODY HAD TO ACTUALLY WRITE
AN OP-ED THAT I STILL REMEMBER,
MY GOD 40 YEARS, 30 YEARS LATER
CALLED THE GEORGE BUSH THAT I
KNOW.
KNOW. TELLING THE STORY OF HOW BUSH
ALONE WITH A WEST TEXAS
CONTRIBUTOR WHO MADE A RACIAL
SLUR WHEN NOBODY ELSE WAS
WATCHING AND HE DESPERATELY
NEEDED THE MAN’S MONEY TO WIN
THE 1970 SENATE CAMPAIGN
IMMEDIATELY GOT UP AND HE SAID
THIS MEET IS OVER, WALKED OUT
AND DROVE BACK HOME.
OR, OF COURSE, WHAT HE DID IN
THE WAR, THAT THIS WAS NO WIMP,
THIS WAS A STRONG MAN.
BUT THAT SHADOW OF REAGAN HUNG
OVER HIM NOT JUST IN 1989 BUT
REALLY FOR MANY THROUGHOUT HIS
ENTIRE PRESIDENCY.
ENTIRE PRESIDENCY. >> YEAH, THAT’S SO TRUE.
I THINK IT WAS A BIT OF A
HARASSMENT TO HIM AND HE HAD
THIS FUNNY CHAFING FEELING WHERE
PERSONALLY HE LIKED REAGAN SO
MUCH.
MUCH. HE AND REAGAN HAD WORKED
TOGETHER FOR EIGHT YEARS AND
SEEN EACH OTHER AT VERY REGULAR
LUNCHES AND WORKED OUT A REALLY
NICE RELATIONSHIP THAT BECAME A
FRIENDSHIP, MOREOVER RONALD
REAGAN HAD PICKED GEORGE H.W.
BUSH FROM, IT WOULD BE
OVERSTATING IT TO SAY RELATIVE
OBSCURITY BUT REAGAN DIDN’T HAVE
TO PICK GEORGE H.W. BUSH TO BE
HIS VICE PRESIDENT IN 1980.
SO BUSH WAS SO GRATEFUL TO
REAGAN.
REAGAN. AT THE SAME TIME, REAGAN WAS A,
IN HIS TIME, A GIANT FIGURE.
HE WAS THE LEADER OF AN
IDEOLOGICAL MOVEMENT THAT WAS ON
THE ASCENDENCY.
THE ASCENDENCY. HE WAS THE GUY THAT CHANGED THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY BETWEEN 1979
AND THE DAY BUSH WALKED IN AS
PRESIDENT FROM A MODERATE
LIBERAL MODERATE PARTY TO A
FULLY ACKNOWLEDGED FULLY
CONFESSED CONSERVATIVE PARTY.
ON TOP OF THAT, REAGAN’S WAY,
PART OF REAGAN’S WAY OF
GOVERNING HAD TO DO WITH GOING
FORWARD AND SPEAK WHAT HE
THOUGHT WERE CLEAR BLUNT TRUTHS
THAT NEEDED DIPLOMATICALLY TO BE
SAID AND MAKING A GREAT
IMPRESSION IN THAT WAY.
SO THAT WAS HARD FOR BUSH.
BUSH LOVED HIM AND AT THE SAME
TIME COULDN’T HELP BUT FEELING
HEY I’M PRETTY GOOD TOO.
YOU’RE SORT OF GETTING ALL THE
ATTENTION OR ALL OF THE
ADMIRATION.
ADMIRATION. IT WAS HARD FOR HIM.
ALSO ANOTHER THING THAT WAS
HARD, REAGAN BY THE END OF HIS
WHITE HOUSE, OF HIS TWO
ADMINISTRATIONS WAS BELOVED BY
THE REPUBLICAN BASE, AND REALLY
LIKED BY MOST OF THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. FOR VARIOUS REASONS, FROM
PERSONAL ONES LIKE HOW HE
REACTED WHEN HE WAS SHOT TO HOW
THINGS TURNED OUT DIPLOMATICALLY
AND ECONOMICALLY.
AND ECONOMICALLY. SO THEY REALLY LIKED HIM.
BUSH DIDN’T WALK INTO THE
PRESIDENCY WITH THAT GREAT
WHOOSH OF LOVE AND AFFECTION
BEHIND HIM.
BEHIND HIM. HE HAD TO EARN IT IN HIS WAY.