Coming days. We understand the family the bush family will be congregating here. In the next couple days. There will be a private service held at st. Martin church. The church they attended for many years. Here together the same church barbaras life was remembered a couple blocks behind us here. And then President Bush will be flown to dc. Theres men before him of his stature have been. The public will be able to view him. Hell lie in state. And a Funeral Service at the national cathedral. Before he is again returned home here to texas. Then we will see the largers service the at st. Martin church. Which we can expect i would think to be something similar to what we saw for barbara bush. Of course on another scale. And then his body will be taken by motorcade to the president ial
hi library. In ledge station. An hour and a half from here. He will be laid to rest along barbara and their daughter. Who passed many years ago. You get the sense as neighbors here come out of their homes and look across the street to the relatable and beloved neighbors they once knew. To recognize that era has come to an end. With his passing. Folks are up late into the night with the sad news. Some will wake up to it tomorrow. Thank you for that. Im don lemon. Heres the breaking news. 41st president of the United States. George Herbert Walker bush. Died at age 94. Heres a statement coming in from the bush family. After 94 years, our dear dad has
died. George h. W. Bush was a man of the highest character. And the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire bush family is deeply Grateful For 41s life and love for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for dad. And for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens. Cnn Anderson Cooper with The Life And Times of the 41st president of the United States. George h. W. Bush. Born in massachusetts on june 12, 1924. The son of a future u. S. Senator. He married barbara pierce. They had six children. Two follow his footsteps into public life. In 2001 his eldest son Texas Governor George Walker bush became the 43rd president. Following his father into the white house. His second son jeb served two terms as florida governor. And 2016 unsuccessfully ran for the republican president ial nomination. After earning a degree at yale the elder bush moved to texas. Where he made a fortune in the oil business. There his budding interest in republican politics blossomed. That one fact helped bush become elected to two terms as a congressman. He was defeated in two bids for the u. S. Senate. His disappointment didnt last long. We view this as a seriously we consider a possible Turning Point in the history of the United Nations. Reporter his political profile was highest enough he was appointed u. S. Ambassador no the United Nations and chairman of the national committee. Ford sent him to china. As part of the new initiative in relations. 1975 he came home to become director of the cia. A job he truly loved. He left that job when jimmy carter became a president and a player in National Republican politics. Running against Ronald Reagan in the 1980 primary. Winning some but withdrawing when it became clear he wont be the nominee. Reagan believed he could help him win the Party Moderates and named him running mate. Vice President Bush spent time on the road. He was reagans air apparent in 1988. I was a kinder and gentler nation. Like a thousand Points Of Light in a broad and peaceful sky. Reporter he made a Campaign Promise that would come back to haunt him. Read my lips. No new taxes. Reporter selection of a running mate surprised many. My choice for the Vice President. Is senator dan quail of indiana. Voters supported the ticket. The nations 41st President Bush
focus turns to international affairs. He previrgsided over the colla. And the cold war. He ordered troops into latin america to capture. Dictator. The responsibility for sending someones son and daughter. Into harms way rests on the shoulders of the president. It is the most difficult decision. Reporter he order u. S. Troops into combat again with other countries to free kuwait from saddam hussein. The gulf war didnt last long. In less than six weeks the iraqs were booted from kuwait. Hue sane remained in power and held a grudge. If you have to have security. If i have to have it with the secret service. I have the best there is. And we will continue to be careful. Reporter United States retaliated with a missile
attack. Against the intelligence he headquarters. The man behind the plot wouldnt be captured for another decade. And ordered a u. S. Invasion of iraq. Ladies and gentlemen, we got him. At home President Bush was hammered by critics for compromising with congress on tax increases and breaking his no new taxes promise. It was a mistake to go along with the democratic tax increase. I admit it. Reporter in a three way battle with clinton and ross. He lost. He lived long enough to see his son accomplish what he didnt. Win a second term in the white house. The son request he also briefly reentered the public spotlight. In the after math of the devastating tsunami. Reporter he joined with clinton to raise money for
victims of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in asia. They reunited in 2005 to help the victims of katrina. As a young navy pilot he was shot down and had to bail out over the pacific. He would jump from planes again. To celebrate his 80th 85th and 90th birthday. It feels good. Exhilaration. It sends a message. Around the globe that just because youre an old guy you dont have so sit around drooling in the corner. Get out and enjoy life. Reporter it was a life that brought george h. W. Bush back to the white house in 2011. To receive the nations highest civilian honor. President ial medal of freedom. This is a gentleman. Inspiring citizens to become Points Of Light. In service to others. His life is a testament that Public Service noble calling. Reporter his wives funeral he posed for a photograph with other surviving former
president s. The years had taken a toll on his body. His dignity and resolve shine through. Graceful act in a life of Public Service. I do not fear what is ahead. For our problems are large. Our heart is larger. Our challenges are great. But our will is greater. George h. W. Bush dead at age 94. Lets bring in now cnn day na bash. And wolf blitz. What a night. Everyone. And you jamie i want to go to you first. You knew the president well. You are friends with the family. Before i get you fo respond i want to play something here. This is during the final days in office. When he left a note for bill clinton. Watch this. January 1993, his final days
in office. President bush was thinking of someone else. His successor. Im sitting here now. Alone. The desk clear. The pictures gone. Im dreading the next few minutes walking over and saying goodbye to the staff. I leave the note on the desk for bill clinton. It looks lonely sitting there. Reporter president clinton still has the letter. Dear bill, when i walked into the office just now, i felt the same sense of wonder and respect that i felt four years ago. There will be tough times. Made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. Im not a very good one to give advice but dont let them discourage you or push you of course. Im rooting for you. Good luck, george. Howd you feel the first time
you read that . I was moved by it. He revealed his true self. He made us feel at home. As much as he could. Total class. Jamie, it says so much about the man he was. He had respect for the office. Respect for his successor. Right. As bill clinton just said when he talked about the letter, total class. This was after a bitter loss that President Bush himself said he felt that he had lost to the lesser man. Yet, he rose to the occasion. And whats even more i think remarkable than his leaving that letter because that was something that he felt was part of the office. And important to do. Was the relationship that he
built with bill clinton years later. When his son had them come together to do tsunami relief. It started off for a cause. It really did develop into a very close relationship. President george w. Bush used to joke that bill clinton had become his brother from another mother. But it really spoke to the man that he could look beyond what was undoubtedly other than the loss of his daughter robin to leukemia. When she was a baby. This was the most painful loss certainly of his political career. Yet, he did the right thing. Total class. Were looking at live picture from the white house. The flag at half staff. The flag at the white house. And they will be around the
country. Another question. You have been in touch with the family. How do you prepare for this . I dont. He has had health challenges. For a while. Hes 94 years old. And i think at a certain point, they all felt i felt you know what, hes got more than nine lives. He fooled us over and over again. I want to share one thing that was not public tonight. And that was there was a code word that was used tonight to tell family and friends that he had passed. That code word was cavu. And for anyone who has been a pilot. It is familiar. For those who arent it stands
for ceiling and visibility unlimited. And he had a plaque in his office. That said that. He always said that he felt that it represented his life. The sky was the limit he had had everything. And it was a great and fitting tribute to him. That that was in effect the way his passing his send off. Was the notified to everybody. Wolf, after serving our country with honor for so long, he didnt want to talk about it. For decade he didnt want to talk about his Military Service. It was too painful. He kept it to himself. That was part of the world war ii generation. That they really didnt want to talk a lot of the men and women. They didnt want to talk about the experience. And very often those experiences were painful in losing a friends
close friends. In the service of the war. The service of the country. It was difficult only later in subsequent years did he open up to a certain degree. It was never all that easy for him to do it. He didnt want to brag about it. Didnt want to talk about being the military hero. He wanted to get on and move on with his family and do what was right for his country. And took specific challenges and did them well. It was really a remarkable experience. That he had. And he shared it and people are going to be remembering in the coming hours and days and weeks. They will be remembering the jamie just did telling us stories that we werent that familiar with. Theyll be sharing certain moments that will be very powerful for all of us. Wolf, when you look at his resume and how he served. The captain of the Yale University baseball team. He was he ran for the senate. Unsuccessfully. But became the ambassador of United Nations and chairman of the committee. And president of the United States. And a father to a president of the United States. Who has a resume like that anymore . Or ever. He was the cia director. Drive around cia head kwafrters in northern virginia. Its the george h. W. Bush cia headquarters named after him. A lot of the things he was doing during his years as the director were well probably not know the extent of the details for many years. They are remain highly classified. He was deeply appreciated by the community. Who worked with him and for him. And the used that experience to develop a an krindable opportunity when he ran for president of the United States. And all of a sudden sue dam hue sane stunned the world in august of 1990. By invading kuwait. And there was a question was the u. S. Going to respond or not. He put together the coalition that included half a million u. S. Troops. Who were deploed to the region to liberate kuwait. We have been talking about what a family man he was. We would be remiss if we didnt talk about the woman who gave him that family. And that is the love of his life. Barbara bush. Thats right. Im looking at my phone, you made me smile thinking of a text i got from somebody who has known the bush family for a ver. Worked closely with them saying he lived a great life. And loved every day. Hes where he wanted to be. With barbara. And on the plane ride down here was rereading some of the book that he wrote. With the letters that he had written throughout his life. And its almost too much to wrap your mind around the way he
would wrote as such a young man. After he got into the navy in when he was 18. On his 18th Birthday. But he already met barbara pierce. At a dance. And he was submiten. And he would write to his mother and siblings. And her. All about that. And the fact that that lasted that love that deep deep love. Lasted for almost eight decades. Is remarkable. Yeah, it was what six months ago he lost that love of his life. The soul mate in the true true sense of the word. And the love story is something that is almost unparallel in todays time. You cant help but get a little choked up. Im looking at a picture from twitter. You should check out Kate Ben Net Twitter account. She covers the first lady of the United States. Its a picture of barbara bush sitting on the south steps with her two dogs and this is her sitting on the steps at the white house waiting for george bush to return from trips. I thought of this picture tonight and how happy she must be that hes coming home to her. Again. There it is. Up on the screen. Absolutely. Look, its not just she was an incredible partner for him. She believed and both of them believe in the same thing. Which was and is service. And that is what they imparted on their children and grandchildren. Their big family. Both here and texas and of course spread out around the country. And the way that george h. W. Bush loved his wife, was an
example. To his children. To his sons. Clearly. And to his daughters as well. His daughter. So that to the country. And that is another example of something that was a snapshot in time. That people are longing for. Those moments of reverence for family. As well as deep, deep love affairs. Jamie i mentioned to you earlier. How does anybody prepare for this. Can you tell us anything about the services . What were understanding is its not publicly announced yet. The family will gather together in houston. The the former president will be brought to washington d. C. To the capitol where he will lie in state. There will be a service at the national cathedral. I dont think it has been
announced who the ewology is yet. I have been told that his son former president george w. Bush will be one of the eulogists there. And after that, he will go back to houston. And there will be a service there. And he will finally be buried and lie where barbara bush is. Hell go up to his president ial library. Where barbara bush is buried. And where robin their two yearold daughter who died of leukemia is also buried. I just want to if we have a moment go back to the cia. That you mention. Because george bush loved to tell people that his favorite job was not president of the United States. He loved it. But being director of the cia. And i will tell you you did not want to play poker with george h. W. Bush. He really did come what was also important about it was when he got that appointment, the feeling was that it was a dead end. The cia was in trouble. This was a way to not become president. Of the United States. Some day. So the fact that he really turned around that organization. Theres a reason the building is named after him. Was very very important. At the time. And then to the rest of the career. And the people at the agency adore him. Well said. Wolf, i want to if we can get back to the former first lady. And we all of our hearts broke back in april when she passed and we watched the funeral. We covered it. We watched this President Sit in
the wheelchair and shake every single hand. And greeted every single person. Theres the video. We will be watching again. Our hearts will be breaking again. Not as much as the family that you see behind him. Yes, such a wonderful family. Beautiful family. A loving family. Well see that under scored in the coming days as well as the family gets together and pay their respects. And show love for the extraordinary man. 94 years old. And 94 and if you spoke with him then back in april when barbara bush passed, if you spoke with him in recent years he was sharp. He was there. He had stories to tell. And people emerge from those opportunities. With george h. W. Bush. So impressed that he was so
devoted and so on top of things he was watching everything. And its a sad moment in American History right now. This Great American president has left us. But we will remember him not just for the next nfor days. For a long time. For everything he accomplished. Not just as president. For ambassador. And what he did after leaving office. During the bill Clinton Administration and the administration of his son. During the obama two terms. What he did then on behalf of the American People was so incredible raising funds for such critically important causes. He really was an out standing person. Wolf, jamie, standby. George h. W. Bush was president when the soviet union collapsed. We have the story of the end of the cold war. Reporter the biggest thing that happened in the world in my
life. In our life. Is this. By the grace of god, america won the cold war. Many americas associate Ronald Reagan with the fall of communism. Tear down this wall. Reporter when the berlin wall came down, the nation of Eastern Europe renounced communism and the soviet union fell apart. George h. W. Bush was president of the United States. The cold war didnt have to end peacefully. It could have ended with a bang. He made sure that it ended peacefully and took a lot of heat in the process. For not being willing to more about winning the cold war. Reporter only months into his term, chinas government brutally crashed a prodemocracy uprising. In beijing. The president who had been the top u. S. Diplomat in china under
president ford. Condemned the bloody repression. But refused to slam the door on the u. S. Chinese relationship. The process of the democracy of the communist society will not be a smooth one. And we must react to set backs in the way which stimulate rather than stifles Progress Toward Open and represented system. Reporter hoping to stimulate progress, bush funneled u. S. Support to nations where Communist Leader chose to negotiate with reformers. He visited poland and hungry in july of 1989. Receiving large and enthusiastic welcomes. As reform in the Eastern Europe sped up the president stayed cautious. And deliberate. Supporters were astonished as his low key response when the berlin wall fell in november 1989. Im pleased with this development. You dont seem elated. I am. We know that in reality, he
was elated. As well as intensely worried that the peaceful transition would fall apart. If he gloated. Dance on the ruins of the berlin wall. He said im not going to do it. He knew gloating wouldnt help us. As he reunified germany. I think it was brilliant. The way he handled the end of the cold war and the transition to a europe free and at peace. The soviet union broke up peacefully and resigned. On Christmas Day 1991. He called President Bush. To tell him when he was going to do. And he said to President Bush, history will judge us well. Yes, we did the right thing. Didnt we . Good evening. Reporter that same night, President Bush addressed the nation. From the oval office. Eastern europe is free. The soviet union itself is no more. This is a victory for democracy and freedom. Able to manage the process and easy to come across as sort of taking advantage of the collapse of the soviet union. The pound your chest. And turn it into a political event. To his advantage. But certainly not in terms of how the thing unfolded. It was managed very smoothly. Lets bring in president ial adviser david gergen. He was really a cold war here roy through and through. As Vice President and president of the United States. He was. And he came by his views honestly we had so many people that take shortcuts and dont study the issues. He took the International Foreign policy and United States
very seriously. And he wanted to make sure he got the best people and he surrounded himself the white house when he was president there. He had the State Department which was highly successful. And dick cheney. Very strong. Afwr agreed with baker. And at the national you can go through the list. Of people in rice for example is extremely helpful to him. And the european german question. One thing i think that needs to be said again and again. How there was something in the dna of the bush family. That spoke to service. It was his father really prescott bush. Who was the lion. That gave birth to all of this. And prescott was a financier on
wall street. He filled a vacancy in the u. S. Senate in the 1950s. Eisenhower loved him. They played goff together. And i thought about replacing nixon as Vice President. In 56. When he ran for reelection. And replaced him with prescott bush. That didnt happen. George h. W. Bush grew up in that kind of environment. Where service was right at the top of the list. And so when he was in finishing high school when pearl harbor broke out. And at the end of the senior year. 18 yearold. He signed up for the navy. To fly combat missions. And the folklore is he was the not just the youngest pilot in combat missions. He was in the youngest pilot shot down in the pacific and film clips from that. That show just how heroic he was and rescued at sea. A lot of similarities what happened to jfk when his destroyer was cut in two. And he nearly died too. When george h. W. Bush was inaugurated, he had a replica of the avenger aircraft he was in that he was shot down in. He had it in the parade. Because hepted to send a signal he remembered and remembered what war was like. I think one of the things that distinguished the world war ii president. They have seen so much blood and gore. Lost so many friends, they really were very reluctant to put u. S. Troops in harms way. If you have been in the military and seen bloodshed and know how horrible it is. You are much more restrained. Thats what he was all about. I do think in this time of tu
multi. Its really worthwhile to have the in the next generation know the story of george bush. What leapted. The kind of leadership that was at that time. And yes, he came from an elite family. Yes. There was a dynasty quality. Yes. But it was in the name of the serving the people of the United States. He was humble about that. Truly the e pit me of the greatest generation. Standby. Lets talk about more about him. And david mentioned the inauguration of the george h. W. Bush. How about the inauguration of george w. Bush. Here you are with him speaking ability his father at the inauguration. Watch this. Hes not the kind of guy to sit down and say lets discuss
how i feel. Today. You can tell that he was very proud. And as was i. I decided i was going to see what it was like to be in the oval office as president. I was in there taking in the moment. Dad walks in i said welcome mr. President. He said thank you mr. President. Did he give you any advice . No. No. And he was very guarded about giving me add visz unless i asked for it. Was it hard to live up to him . No. Because . Of unconditional love. The message from george bush i love you no matter what you do. Can you imagine that. How proud a father would be to say congratulations mr. President. And then respond thank you mr. President. It was no question. And extraordinary moment in general. And certainly extraordinary moment for the two of them. Both President Bush 41 and 43 have said to me countless times, dont ask me about our relationship. They were not into psycho babble. But of course this is end lets fascination about it. They were very close. They talked a lot. As President Bush 43 said, his father didnt give it advice. Unless 43 asked for it. And there is a moment its not in the section but people may remember. After 9 11 when president george w. Bush gave the speech. And he came down and his parents were sitting there and his father leaned over and touched his hand. And patted him. And he said of all of his moments as president , he told me
that was the most meaningful. Because there was his father publicly saying you did well. It was always important. You know, just listening to the stories of that this president could share. Considering his experience in world war ii and beyond. I talk about his resume. Who has one like that . Now. If ever. I want you to listen to this. This is george h. W. Bush talking about heaven. Theres people in heaven you want to see. Definitely. I cant quite sort out in my mind how well find them. Who do you want to see first. If barbara predeceases me. Probably her. My mom. And my father. Maybe robin. Our little girl that died. Oh my gosh. Imagine. And his granddaughter. Doing the interview. Go on. Absolutely. And look. Thats kind of where we started this conversation. Which is the fact that it was impossible to think of george h. W. Bush living without barbara bush. And vice versa. That was what people, jamie knows this better than us. People around them were worried after she passed in april it would be quick. He lasted a bit more than six months. Almost seven months. But he certainly did so with from all accounts the same humor. The same joy. The same love of life. Love of fun. And as much as he could. That he had em bodied his entire life. Yeah. You know what we talk about the greatest generation. And i can only imagine what men and women who serve this country especially folks in the navy. How theyre feeling about this hero. This war hero who became president of the United States. As we were talking as we have been broadcasting tonight. I got a text from mark kelly. Who is well known as an astronaut. Hes of course husband of gabby gifrd. He was a naval aviator. Like george h. W. Bush. Like john mccain. The world and his family laid to rest a few months ago. He said with the passing of john mccain and george h. W. Bush the navy lost the last of the most iconic naval aviators. Naval guys like me will really
miss him. It speaks to what you were talking about with david gergen about the fact that he was so eager at 18 to go and serve. Which was keeping with the culture at the time. After he was waiting to turn 18 after pearl harbor. He was dedicated to service. He loved the navy. Just like the mccain family did. The two families actually intersected. Because mccains father was the admiral in the navy. At a time when george h. W. Bush had enlisted. It kind of comes together. It speaks to the greatest generation. Love of country. Loving country more than anything. And that is a way to describe this man who we just lost. As it is to describe so many in his generation. And in the military and in fact the navy. I want you to standby. I want to get to argentina now. Where the current president is. Jeff zeleny is traveling with the president. And reporting on him there. At the g 20. Earlier we read the statement of the former president obama balm. And current president. You read that statement. Theres a statement from the former president bill clinton. As well as former Secretary Of State clinton. And ill sum it up. Saying hilary and i mourn the passing of president george h. W. Bush. And give thanks for his great long life of service. Love and friendship. I will let you continue it. You have this very same statement. We do. Its extraordinary. Lets go through it. We mourn the passing of george h. W. Bush. And give thax for his life of love, friendship and. Ill be forever grateful for the
friendship we formed. As a young governor. I was struck by the kindness he showed to chelsea. By his devotion to barbara and his children. Americans have been or will ever been able to match President Bushes record of service to the United States and the joy he took every day from it. From the Military Service in world war ii to the work in congress. The United Nations, china and Central Intelligence agency. Vice president and the presidency. He worked to move post cold war toward fwraeter unity peace and freedom. He never stopped serving. I saw it up close working with him on tsunami relief. After hurricane cat k katrina. Im grateful for every moment i spent with him and always hold my friendship as lifes greatest
gifts. This is more than a statement from a former president. To another former president. Think of this in our current political time. It is nearly impossible to fa thon what happened a quarter century ago when a young governor from alabama defeated a sitting president. Who had been a Vice President for eight years and a legend. And this young democrat beat him. They went onto become friend. This was a bitter rivalry in 1992. Of course ross in that race. Which complicated things for President Bush at the time. Approval ratings in some by some eight in ten americans approved of his service after the gulf war. And bill clinton beat him. After that of course they became friends. The bushs saw clinton as
another one of their sons. Largely over their Public Service work. After they left office. Through hurricane ka trina. We celebrate the life and legacy of george h. W. Bush. That this is a telling legacy. He embraced bill clinton. He embraced the man who defeated him. Take a listen to this interview. From george h. W. Bush. In 2009. What he had to say about bill clinton. President clinton beat me like a drum in 1992. Then we became friends. And some of his friends look at him and say have you lost it with this crazy guy . Some of mine look at it and say its the same thing. What are you doing . And just because you run against someone doesnt mean you have to be enemies. Politics is not have to be mean
and ugly. So that of course is speech in new orleans back in 2009. George h. W. Bush said he beat me like a drum. And indeed clinton did. But went onto become such close friends. This is something the passing of the torch of president s. We over the next coming days mark every chapter and moment of the life and service of george h. W. Bush. It is a passing of the time for american president s. There will never be another american president of course who served in world wa 2. May never be another american president who had as much as Military Service as he did. This was something that was within him. Of course. That allowed him to not only be friend but work and alongside clinton. This is something we talked earlier. Barack obama became close to the family. Three days ago he was in houston
at an event. He stopped and visited george h. W. Bush. Were told they had a warm and brief conversation. Of course and declining health. The former president was. This is something that americans do. When an american president. Hes the longest living president in our country. Celebrating his life and legacy. A time to take stock of how things maybe used to be in politics. Certainly how they are today. Jeff zeleny reporting from argentina. Standby. Back to jamie. Essentially what jeff is talking about is the president club. And george h. W. Bush really set the tone for this president s club. One in which maybe one doesnt fit in at this moment. As much as the others. Just being honest. No. No question. Lets remember that one of the things as bitter as his loss was to bill clinton, george h. W. Bush said i will not criticize him. And he kept that promise. He felt he had his time on the stage. And now it was bill clintons time. And he was not, he was setting an example for the appropriate way to he felt act after he was president. And his son did the same. And barack obama has done the same. Absolutely he set the tone. Of civility. A world we dont use a lot these days. I also just thought maybe we could go back to his relationship with barbara bush. Because not only were they married for 73 years. And not only did they meet at a
dance when they were 16. But, i think we have some tape here. They were the first people that each kissed. Show the tape. Well talk about it. This one was december of 43. My darling barb. Word should come easily and in short it should be simple to tell you how happy i was to open the paper and see the announcement of our engagement. Somehow i cant say all in a letter. I should like to. I love you precious with all my heart and to know you love me means my life. How often i thought about the joy that will be ours some day. How lucky our children will be to have a mother like you. Good night my beautiful. Youll have to accept it. I hope i get thursday after. Theres a chance. All my love. Who writes letters. Its just such a great love affair. And to have someone write a love letter. That letter came president s write autobiographies. Guess what . George h. W. Bush did not. The way most people do. He simply published his letters in a book. Its called all the best. I highly recommend it. Because it really did show his soul and what was going on. That letter is just one example of it. He didnt write the autobiography because of this term. That we used a couple times tonight. Brag. He was his fathers son. He was very much his mothers son and she always said to him, george, dont be brag. Dont brag about yourself. Writing an autobiography would have been in effect doing that. He felt that this was the way he could show his har. He knew when he was in the white house people some people thought he was out of touch. They didnt have a sense of hip. They thought he was a patrician from connecticut. Letters like that show his heart. Wow. Its the love between the two is amazing. People used to talk about the way that the former first Lady Nancy Reagan would look at the president reagan. But barbara would look at her husband and quite the same way. And would sit on the steps. Look at that. We dont before i get to the tweet. What a handsome couple. We were showing i remember when
barbara bush pazed and we were showing the pictures on cnn of them as younger folks. People said he was so handsome. She was so gorgeous. They were a really handsome couple. We frgt they were young at one point. I want to tell you, i actually was the pool reporter. Look at that. Oh my gosh. There he is. On his 18th Birthday he went and signed up there she. That looks like and over. He was born at yale. Good looking man. Ill tell you a story about barbara. Pull up that tweet from she used to sit on the steps of the white house waiting for george to return from trips. I thought of this tonight and how happy she must be hes coming home. To her again. So i once was with her before he arrived home. And she heard his car at motorcade pulling up on the gravel of the driveway. And im telling you she was in her 70s. At the time. They had been married a long time. And she ran over to there was a mirror in the front hall. And ill show you what she did. She looked in the mirror and pinched her cheeks. To get them all rosy. Because at 70 whatever this was the love of her life. And she wanted to make sure she looked good. When he walked in. That is love, don lemon. Jamie. Yeah. Its a hard day. It is. But you know what, i love when we talk about class and dignity. With these two. I love that
i miss seeing the dogs, getting aboard marine one. They would leave and come back, and they would leave the dogs behind and greet them on the lawn. And her sitting there on the portico steps with the dogs. It was the picture of a family, right . Her with her dogs there. But it was a picture of a family. The dogs were included, the kids, the grandkids, and then they were there as well. Its such an american story. No question. I dont know if we have it, but maybe people will remember. One of their favorite photos was taken by white house photographer dave valdez, but it was not in the white house. It was at their home in kennebunkport, and it was in bed. And there they were, hair tossled, reading the newspapers with a dozen grandkids all over them, walking in. It says so much about who they
are as a family, but it also said that, you know that. Let him in there to capture that moment, to take that picture. And i think it also is important to remember what these two people did after the white house. They didnt sit around and feel sorry for themselves. They went out and kept doing Public Service. In this case, they raised money. These two people together helped raise more than 1 billion, with a b, dollars for charity. After they left the white house. After they left the white house. And they would never turn anything down. And if that meant reading to children or if that meant standing there and shaking hands and having their picture taken, they really felt it was their responsibility to give back. Stand by. Thank you for that, jamie. I want you to stand by and get back to dana bash. Dana joins us from houston. And dana, as we know, houston was such an important place for this family. Actually, the Family Residence is there in houston. Yes. This is where the congressman george h. W. Bush served. You mentioned earlier he ran for senate a couple of times and lost, but he was in the house before he started the or as he started the storied career. You think about the fact that his time in the u. S. House was so small compared to the other things he did at the u. N. , in china, at the cia, and then of course the Vice Presidency and the presidency and beyond as you and jamie were just talking about. One of the things that was
noteworthy for someone like george h. W. Bush who only served one term and as you can imagine, was not very happy about that, that he didnt get that second term, one of the questions for him was what are his regrets. I think we have some tape of him answering that question. I did my job as president. I just didnt expose my inner feelings. And i think people like me. I think people were disappointed. I think people wanted change. I think when i said the economy has recovered, look at this guy. He is out of touch. A whole rationale of reasons why i did not get reelected. But maybe if i had been a little more emotional or more revealing of the person, why made it would help, but it never occurred to me then. I no regrets then . No regrets about anything. No regrets about one single
thing in my life than i can think of. I mean, ive made mistakes, but they dont measure up to regrets now. A very humble man talking about his experiences as president of the United States. Lets talk about his legacy and the history of george h. W. Bush now and the appropriate person to talk to is douglas brinkley, president ial historian. Douglas, hello to you. Thank you for joining us here. We talked about what he will be remembered as, and mostly as president of his Foreign Policy jobs, but also as a family man, as a great father and a great grandfather and a great, great grandfather. All of that. And i think also he is going to be remembered for the things he didnt do, like for example, don, he didnt brag when the berlin wall camereunifying. He said were not going to brag the United States won the cold war. Were going to work in europe. And he worked very hard to make sure loose Nuclear Weapons were contained. It was a detailed amount of work, and the amount of diplomacy, a word we dont hear enough anymore. When you hear of bush 41, its all about a life of diplomacy. And, you know, he was so did not want to brag about himself. When he left office, he wrote a memoir that he cowrote with Brent Scowcroft. Were talking a lot about james baker. Baker and bush 41 is the closest relationship in American History between a Secretary Of State and a president. Harry dean atkinson and others. But Brent Scowcroft was an Air Force Officer and became head of the National Security council under bush. They really devised a way for the soviet union to clasp in a
way that would not shake the worlds economic markets, that would keep people calm. And so they cowrote a book today, scowcroft and book wrote A World Transformed and they explained why they didnt brag about when the berlin wall came in, when they did not go into baghdad. Its important to know that scowcroft, baker and bush understood the limits of american intervention. They understood soft power and hard power. They knew the high cost of war and how many what dead soldiers really means. And they were able to build this incredible coalition, a model American History when we went into iraq in 1991 on how to bring nato along to the United Nations, bring everybody in it with us. So he is going to be study, bush 41 is how a commander in chief
should behave in limited wars, how to alliancebuild and how to effect the art of diplomacy will be taught for a long time. And this coming week, everybody is going to be going to the bush library in College Station. Again, he could have done a glitzy president ial library in Downtown Houston where he lives, but he went to College Station to be with the aggies. He decided they could use the president ial library there, and its going to just have thousands of visitors coming to remember him and leave flowers there this coming week. Texas an important place for the bush family. President ial historian douglas brinkley. Douglas, thank you very much. I want to get back now to dana bash and jamie gangel. Dana is joining us from houston, texas. The bush residence is there. And i believe we have pictures, at least we had pictures of the residence in there, was a Memorial Being put together there. And im sure it will grow over the coming hours. Also in washington, d. C. Tonight, flags are at halfstaff at the white house. And there it is right there, at other government facility, and they will be around the country as we mourn the loss of the 41st president of the United States. Dana, you first from houston. The home of the bush residence. Give me some thoughts on this president and what weve lost. Lost a patriot, a war hero, somebody whose global leadership, as doug was just talking about, helped the peaceful transition out of an incredibly remarkable period in time, the cold war, which it was not a sure thing. If there was another president , it might not have happened this way, and lost somebody who was a
father and a grandfather, who not only was the father of a president and a governor and so many grandchildren who just loved him as their grandfather and not as the former president of the United States. Jamie, we keep talking about it. I asked dana, what weve lost, what the world has lost, we must remember that this bush family gave so much to the country and the world, really. And they sort of gave their family members, their father, their grandfather to the world. They had to share them with the world. Right. As george h. W. Bush liked to say, and you see on the library, a life without service was not a life that he wanted to live, and his family knew that, and he spent a great part of his time in Public Service. There are a couple of other words that weve heard used
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