Original George H W Bush sidetracked trainwreck thread
 

An amazing patriot and family man.

Coming from a very influential family, he easily could have landed a cushy assignment in WWII. He flew bombers in the Pacific instead.

Wrote famous love letters to his 'darling Bar' back home.

More should know what he did at Chi Chi Jima. His squadron was assigned to bomb a very vital Japanese radio tower. His plane was scheduled to bomb last in the formation. Each of the planes ahead of him in the pattern, were obliterated by anti aircraft fire as they approached the target. He saw his, must have assumed he was about to meet the same fate, and attacked it anyway. His plane was shot down, he piloted the aircraft long enough for the crew to jump out, then he jumped out.

As he was in the water, Japanese boats came for him, but American pilots strafed those boats, keeping them back until he was rescued. Other American pilots who were captured alive by the Japanese at Chi Chi Jim were tortured to death, and then eaten. It's in the book 'Flyboys', written by the same guy who wrote Flags Of Our Fathers.

He also lost a daughter at age 3 to cancer, he always said that he hoped that she would be the first person to welcome him to heaven. I pray that worked out as he hoped.

Would have been easy for him to spend his life at the beach and at the country club, enjoying the wealth he inherited. But he dedicated his life to service. And he never seemed attracted to service out of a desire for power or fame or women.

This is going to make for some uncomfortable moments with Trump, who as the sitting president is expected to eulogize him, but Trump was horrible to this family. Trump absolutely deserves whatever lumps he takes, over this matter.

Let’s not make this about Trump at all...
what a life lived for this patriot
#respect
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Also the youngest pilot in WW2
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Rip
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Great man, dedicated servant to our country, and arguably our last great Statesman President.

Kind of a cool story here, a kid we know has been working as part of the grounds keeping crew for HW at his Kennebunk house. Really good kid who has been working the past three summers there. Straight A student, one of the top football players in the state, just a solid kid top to bottom. There is absolutely nothing you can say bad about this kid.

Well last summer the Bush's head of staff asked him to go to lunch with him. While they were at lunch, the HoS tells him that the Bush's feel that the place for him is Annapolis. The president drafted a letter of recommendation for this kid, as well as one from W, to attend Annapolis. 17 years old and this kid is set for life.

Barbara loved him too, just such a good kid.
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that’s pretty cool. Lots of stories like this about the man, who always said humility was the most important trait in a man.
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Wow. That is Fantastic

They filmed it. Check it out

https://youtu.be/LQMr9DvXXF8
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A good kid does good work, gets noticed and a family of influence provides a pathway for that kid to better himself and honorably serve the country, and Eben Noonans it.

Hehehe
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A decent man who had a strong moral compass....

I have reflected on this since I heard it.


If only current officials could find some of this in their own constitution. (note I said officials, not leaders....for they are not)

hey, Newsweek called Bush a wimp on their cover, and donna brazile ( yes, that donna brazile) pushed a lie that he had a mistress.
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And a yuge % of the Repub. party believed the lie about Obama's birth and religion - and then they rewarded the biggest mouthpiece for those lies w/the Presidency.

Not sure you can blame republicans for Trumps election Paul. Think harder...
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not a lot of mainstream republicans were burthers, not a lot claimed he was a muslim. that was the fringe, which sadly exists in both sides.

you want to convince us Trump is a weasel, im on your side. i completely agree. Obama was jobstranger to throwing elbows when it suited him, he played the race card a few times with McCain.

I’m not sure that Newsweek calling Bush a wimp, and the New York Times saying he had a mistress, is the same as Trump being the jerk he is. Because many republicans like me, many of us, know that trump has no credibility when it comes to character or morality - none. I like his policies, but i have zero interest in listening to him bash other people. But Newsweek and the New York Times have not been widely abandoned by much of the left for their lies and tactics. They are still
considered legitimate news sources. Very few Republicans feel Trump has any moral or intellectual authority.
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most of them fail to see that they played a huge role in his election.
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HW is the only former President I've ever seen live. He spoke here at the Naval War College in June (15th) 2001. I still have my invitation to the event. I wrote the following notes at the time:

"Former President George Bush was the guest speaker at the graduation. Over 3000 were in attendance. Weather was partly sunny with patchy fog. Security was very tight. Also in attendance were Senator Claiborne Pell, Governor Lincoln Almond, Senator Chafee. Subject of Bush address was Operation Desert Storm."

Seems some people can’t comprehend this.

And they’ll be the same people saying trump has no class
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Explain to me how someone other than the Repulicans voted for Trump when they had 12 other potentials?

So is the fringe on Repub. side like 40% bc that was about the % who belived Obama was no born here.

If there are fringe on both sides (which I agree with) why muddy up a thread praising Bush with a discussion about the fringe?

if it was 40% who believed he wasn’t born here, after he showed the shirt form birth certificate, that would make me sad to know there are that many idiots in my side. i hope it wasn’t that high.

I brought up the fringe, because you brought up birthers. i live how it’s ok when one of the liberal brings something up, and when i respond, i get accused of going off track or changing the subject.

Back to Bush, he had a service dog, a beautiful yellow on named Sully. that’s so fitting for the way i picture him.
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NM

Just found out he has also been invited to the funeral.

He’s going to have to miss a day of school for that though :hee:
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i brought up someone who directly and unfairly attacked the man this thread is about. you tacked immediately to birthers. not sure what birthers have to do with Bush, but you brought it up, and i responded.
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that is very cool, and consistent with everything we know about the man.
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Very simple explanation Paul,his opponent was Hillary who was so terrible that dems flipped and undecideds made their decisions accordingly.
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What a turn this thread about a great American took... RIP GHWB.

But, to Paul's point Dangles, Trump getting through the primary didn't have anything to due with HRC. Your assessment of the general may be right, but I think it was more Dem's staying home than Dems flipping to trump that elected Trump in the general.

And I showed you that both sides do it. Your comment had nothing to do w/the thread other than it was a change to try to criticize someone/something you view as left leaning and has helped derail the thread.

in the last moments of his life, an irish tenor who bush really liked. Bush asked him to sing Silent Night.

i thought i liked this guy before i learned everything i learned this weekend. Politics aside, what a decent person.
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Not a problem, the Navy takes care of their own.

He's still in High School, Senior year :hee:

When I speak of the presidential election I am talking about Trump vs. Hillary. If you would like to change the narrative that is a different discussion. We got what the nation felt was needed regardless. But to blame Trump on republicans is shortsighted. More blame falls at the feet of the party of deceit.
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Quoting this for Chris, since this started the discussion on this tangent. I didn't change the narrative.
Paul's point was that Trump had to get through a primary, ergo, Republicans supported him over more than a dozen other candidates. If they had rejected him as a con-artist back then, it would not have been Trump v. HRC in the general.

Why do you bother?

a big reason why Trump won the primary, was a belief among republicans, that he was the only one who had a chance of successfully fighting back against the smear attacks that have become common on the left, which McCain and Romney were too gentle to defend themselves against. we wanted someone who could fight fire with fire. and as mush as i despise Trump, i am certain there is some validity to that thought. it’s sad, but valid.
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At least the Dems. haven't turned to lying about someone's birth or religion- sleazy, sleazy, sleazy. And with this Republican party, that gets you elected President.

right, becuse lying about John McCain having an affair, and accusing George HW Bush if leaving his crew to burn to death in the pacific, is less sleazy?

if we could talk honestly about the issues and stop the tabloid attacks, i swear to you, Trump would not be president. democrats don’t like talking about the issues, it’s much easier to call all republicans racist and deplorable. but that’s preferable to admitting that the policies you honestly stand for, tend to be counterproductive and weird.
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you are 100 percent correct that trump is sleazy. republicans saw that baseless personal attacks worked for the democrats in 2008 ( mccain was a senile old racist) and in 2012 ( Romney was a heartless plutocrat who hated women). that kind of sleaze worked for the democrats in 2008 and 2012, so sadly, my side felt it necessary to embrace the sleaze in 2016. and to take it to the next level, as far as the candidate is concerned. not as far as commentators are concerned.

the chronological order of things is relevant. my side embraced the sleaze that worked for the democrats in 08 and 12. trumps language is way more boorish and profane than obamas was. that’s just style. the substance of what trump says, isn’t that much different.

michelle obama was on tv this weekend, saying that racism is why conservatives want a secure southern border. do conservatives advicate letting white illegals in? not that i know of. it never stops on either side.
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Ahh, thought he was at Canoe U.


^^^ There is some truth there. The Right has not gotten a fair shake from the Press for some time. As a result a lot of people said Suckit