He was a good and decent man who faithfully served his country in a wide variety of capacities. The news last night showed footage of him being pulled out of the water after his plane was shot down during WWII. Truly a life well lived.
Bush was distant cousin. I am actually of the same generation - though born much later. I remember Bush for the time I sat next to him during his campaign for vice-president. I was the highest ranking Republican present. On another occasion, my mother recounted when she had a long luncheon next to Dorothy Bush and spoke about their families. An irony is that during a prior luncheon the same year I sat with George H. W. Bush I had passed a note to Ronald Reagam (being prior to the Republican convention) suggesting he pick the brother a neighbor, Sen. James Buckley, for VP.
Out of the last few presidents, he deserved a 2nd term. He truly did what he could to work WITH Congress. He was a skilled Congressman and a smart/behind the scenes CIA director. The media did not do him justice, then or now..
He was respected in the intelligence community. I heard from several intelligence officers HW Bush was a very competent administrator and the buck stopped with him. The man was in charge and didn't have someone else's stick up his butt.
HW Bush and James Baker made one hell of a team in the White House. It was a tight ship with no leaks. Compare the man to what followed and he looks pretty good in hindsight.