Do they make Republicans so patriotic and thoughtful any more?
1992’s election was unnecessarily nasty, I thought. Incumbent George H. W. Bush had fallen from record approval ratings after Gulf War I, due to economic problems. GOP campaigning targeted Bill Clinton’s failings in personal life, and imaginary policies — much of what were real issues were ignored, I thought.
Transition was relatively smooth. GOP continued the tactic’s they’d adopted in 1977 against Jimmy Carter, constant harping on small issues, some refusal to cooperate.
George H. W. Bush is always gracious. In his last hours in office, he penned a personal letter to the man who had defeated him, Bill Clinton. He left the letter on the President’s Desk in the Oval Office, one of the first things Clinton would see after the ceremonies, and as the weight of his new job began dragging him into reality.
Bush’s grace, then, shines now as an example of a lost time, when despite deep divisions, Washington politicians understood the nation needed to run, and were willing to compromise to make the laws and appointments necessary to help America.
Bush wrote:
Letter from President George H. W. Bush to President Bill Clinton, January 20, 1993. Image via NBC News.
Bush wrote to Clinton:
You will be our president when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well.
Your success is now our country’s success. I am rooting for you. Good Luck.
Are there any such Republicans left in the party? Does anyone make Republicans like that now?
We need that grace, and resolve to make America a better and happier place, back again. Send a thank-you letter to someone you know today.
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