![]() 10/20/2016 at 13:06 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
I’ve long been an admirer of HW. Even more so after reading this.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 13:11 |
|
Meanwhile W’s letter to Obama was a turd left in the middle of the desk from Miss Beazley.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 13:16 |
|
Pretty sure you’re describing W’s whole term.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 13:47 |
|
I have always had a deep respect for HW, even though I didn’t vote for him. Regardless of his politics, he remains a class act. Plus he was a pilot, so he’s got that going for him.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 14:07 |
|
And then Bill took all the Ws off the White house keyboards when W moved in.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 14:12 |
|
Dear me, he looks so young there. When one thinks of what his generation went through...
Also: that was an extremely elegant way of leaving office. As in
Presidential
with an upper-case “p”.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 14:23 |
|
No, he left a cigar.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 14:40 |
|
A GOP president who was a somewhat old school statesman. Hard to imagine in 2016.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 15:04 |
|
HW was 18 or 19 in this photograph.
After Bush’s promotion to Lieutenant (junior grade) on August 1, 1944, the San Jacinto commenced operations against the Japanese in the Bonin Islands . Bush piloted one of four Grumman TBM Avenger aircraft from VT-51 that attacked the Japanese installations on Chichijima . His crew for the mission, which occurred on September 2, 1944, included Radioman Second Class John Delaney and Lieutenant Junior Grade William White. During their attack, the Avengers encountered intense anti-aircraft fire; Bush’s aircraft was hit by flak and his engine caught on fire. Despite his plane being on fire, Bush completed his attack and released bombs over his target, scoring several damaging hits. With his engine ablaze, Bush flew several miles from the island, where he and one other crew member on the TBM Avenger bailed out of the aircraft; the other man’s parachute did not open. Bush waited for four hours in an inflated raft, while several fighters circled protectively overhead until he was rescued by the lifeguard submarine USS Finback . For the next month he remained on the Finback , and participated in the rescue of other pilots. Several of those shot down during the attack were executed and eaten by their captors. (Wiki)
![]() 10/20/2016 at 15:05 |
|
Hard Impossible to imagine in 2016.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 15:07 |
|
Bill didn’t, some of his staffers did. Still a shitty thing to do, though.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 15:17 |
|
Yup, I recently found out about what happened to the rest of his unit. Unbelievable.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 15:23 |
|
That close to changing history. Same with JFK and his experience commanding a PT boat.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 15:41 |
|
Quite off-topic, but as a “last letter by a head of government” it reminded me somehow (?) of the following:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_of_last_resort
For those interested in this kind of “continuity of Government” topic I would suggest visiting too the links mentioned there as “See also”, “References· and “External”.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 16:04 |
|
Just being a statesman. Not particularly old school, I’d say; statesmanship has always been a rather rare commodity.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 16:08 |
|
I think I saw the film on the PT-109 before knowing who JFK was. I was a kid and happened to have a toy torpedo boat! I wonder if it truly depicted a PT or just a similar craft.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 16:18 |
|
What a PT Boat might look like. Very similar to the German E-boat and British Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB). I had a toy PT boat too. The toy boats most likely became popular during JFK’s presidency.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 16:28 |
|
Statesmanship is old school today. Maybe in 1988 he wasn’t, but today, it’s like something from the distant past. Then again, Nixon was an honorable gentleman compared to the trash of today.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 16:41 |
|
You have a point. When I wrote that sentence I was not thinking in broader terms, not just about American politics.
On the other hand, TV, spin doctors, “opinion leaders” and the like have turned politics everywhere into something akin to effing showbiz. Soundbites, good hair and a flashy smile seem to have become more important than policy.
So yeah, statemanship has been in grave decline in the last 30 years.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 17:18 |
|
Yeah, statesmanship isn’t a common thing anywhere. Same garbage in Europe as in the US.
Everything is adversarial today, as people compete for any advantage. Policy? What’s that? Of course, as we delve deeper into oligocracy, it might not matter much.
![]() 10/20/2016 at 19:36 |
|
Agree - smarter and more realistic than Reagan, but just not as “likable.” One of the last fairly moderate republican leaders. He probably couldn’t be elected today...
![]() 10/20/2016 at 22:26 |
|
Reagan would be hung today for fraternizing with the enemy.