George Herbert Walker Bush Breaks Down in Tears
Bush 41 broke down in tears while delivering a speech about the leadership of his son Jeb, Governor of Florida and more specifically about how he dealt with both victories and defeats. In short, as a man.
He then broke down in tears mentioning his son, Gov. Jeb Bush, as an example of leadership and the way he handled losing the 1994 governor’s race to popular incumbent Democrat Lawton Chiles. He vaguely referred to dirty tricks in the campaign.“He didn’t whine about it. He didn’t complain,” the former president said before choking up in front of lawmakers, Gov. Bush’s top administrators and state workers gathered in the House chamber for the last of the governor’s leadership forums.
As he tried to continue, he let out a sob and put a handkerchief to his face. When he spoke again, his words were broken up by pauses as he tried to regain composure.
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“A true measure of a man is how you handle victory and how you handle defeat, so in ’94 Floridians chose to rehire the governor. They took note of a his worthy opponent, who showed with not only words but with actions what decency he had,” Bush said before again sobbing.
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“The moral of the story is to serve with honor and your governor has served with honor,” the former president said.“I’m the emotional one,” Bush said later. “I don’t enjoy breaking up, but when you talk about somebody you love, when you get older, you do it more.”
You can watch it for yourself:
(h/t to Hot Air)
Thomas de Zengotita argues that this speech was not really about Jeb, but about George W. The Iowa Voice doesn’t quite agree, attacks de Zengotita and emphasises the fact that people tend to get more emotional when they get older.
My view? I have some ‘feelings’ about this matter, but since I am not a psychotherapist my ‘feelings’ are about as credible as those of my dog. I cannot possibly read Bush 41′s mind (nor can anyone else for that matter). So whether or not I think there is more behind it, is quite irrelevant. What is relevant, however, is that Bush 41 proves himself to be an emotional, loving father. A father who is extremely proud of his son Jeb and who is more than willing to show how he feels (although, of course, most likely not as publicly as this time around).
11 Responses to “George Herbert Walker Bush Breaks Down in Tears”
oh hell. i’m no psych prof either, but i’ll take a stab. my guess is he is proud of both of them. jeb and gwb. he broke down during the part about not whining. my guess is he is pretty miffed at the way gwb has been treated, lied about, mischaracterized, and mailgned unfairly. and he’s proud of how gwb just brushes it off. wehere he might come out swinging, he sees the grace and dignity in the way gwb handles it, and is extremely proud of how he handles the unfair adversity, with honor. and no whining. which is a stark contrast to juuuuuust about every dem politican i’ve seen in the last say 30 years. thats my guess. and watching it, thinking about my grown son (and 2 little ones) i got kinda misty too. geez, 41, thanks a lot.
Most fathers love their sons, and will often defend them even from almost indefensible things. A criminals father won’t want him in jail, even if they recognize that their son did something wrong. Many fathers will try to justify, rationalize or simply deny wrongdoing by their children. Usually people don’t hold it against the parent, they are hardly expected to be objective on the matter.
My point is twofold:
1- When a politician is seen to clearly love his offspring, this does not convert them into this extraordinary person. When an auto mechanic or an office worker shows love for his sons or daughters, be they children or adults, no one goes out of their way much to say “Wow, Bob actually loves his son!” Of course he does. Fatherly love seems to be some extra trait, while motherly love is considered standard, no woman is getting extra props for loving her children.
2- That a GB loves his sons does not neccesarily make the sons better. GWB isn’t a better president because his father loves him. jeb isn’t a better governer because his father loves him. Jeb hijacked one families personal drama (Shiavo) and turned it into a government crusade, and a walking advertisment for small government. Whether you thought Terri was alive or not, should be unplugged or not, or whether her parents or husband should make the decision, I’m betting you thought it was a FAMILY issue, and that Jeb Bush, and Congress, should get the hell out of other people’s bussiness.
Shakespeare would be having a field day over this family. . .the MacBeths pale next to this Bush clan.
Regardless of why he did cry–old age? alcohol? personal humiliation? anger and sorrow over his children’s pain?, the speculation is fascinating.
If this were a manufactured piece of fiction or drama, Bush 41 would be crying in fury, frustration and irony about how destructive his unleashing and enabling of GWB (43′s pre-presidential resume was hardly stellar, and Consigliere Baker helped the Bushes steal the 2000 election for their baby boy) has been for the world, the nation and 41′s own good name–not-to-mention the Bush family name.
We’re still in denial over just how appalling this era has been. Forget about the leaks. . .wait till the rest of the story comes out. We’ll be grappling with collective guilt for letting Bush get reelected in ’04 and for not fixing the voting machines and other local glitches in the system. This has not been America’s finest hour.
Just imagine what emotional state he would be in if one or both of his sons were off fighting a war.
It’s tough watching an old man cry but the these Billionaire Bush’s have made out alright , there are many,many,many people more deserving of my sympathies.
I’ve always thought a lot of 41, not much of 43, so this was tough to watch. I’d chalk it up to mixed emotions- pride at what his sons have accomplished, anguish at what 43 has wrought in the ME and in America, pride again at how both have handled their difficulties, anguish at the reaction worldwide to 43.
he is pretty miffed at the way gwb has been treated, lied about, mischaracterized, and mailgned unfairly. and he’s proud of how gwb just brushes it off. wehere he might come out swinging, he sees the grace and dignity
Fred- I’m no psychologist either, but it is fair to say that “gwb” has done his share of lying, mischaracterizing and maligning unfairly. Politics has reached a new low under his guru-for-life and policy advisor Karl Rove, who gwb allowed to guide him through three divisive, mischaracterizing elections. The last one, Americans finally woke up.
There has been plenty of misinformation willingly circulated by this administration and its minions, most seriously about Iraq. Yesterday’s hearings in the Senate were one of the few moments of candor we have had from anyone in the Bush White House. 43 has failed to live up to 41′s standards of fairness, honesty and moderation. Maybe that’s what George H. W. Bush was really crying about.
41 has publicly stated many times that it is difficult for him to see his sons being criticized, and I remember him saying that back in the 2000 campaign before things got as heated as they are now(he often states that it is much harder to deal with this as a father than it ever was for him to handle being personally criticized when he was a public official). And recently I saw him and his daughter Doro on Larry King and apparently it is a family joke that these two provide the waterworks at family gatherings: they both cry easily. So I see nothing new here, just a dad who is proud of his sons but also feels defensive of them when they are open to public criticism.
I am moved by his love for his Son.
As someone who is prone to waterworks, I sympathize with the man. Hey, we’re all human.
However, it doesn’t soften my view of his sons as political disasters.
He may have been crying because it is the end of Jeb’s political career, with his future outlook marred by his brother’s unpopularity. Jeb is the most competent at governing of the Bush’s and is extremely popular in Florida.
Crap, Crap, Crap
All of it crap. The Bush Dynasty has marred the United States for years. It is time that he cried instead of the millions of oppressed at their heels.
The Bush Dynasty has marred the United States for years. It is time that he cried instead of the millions of oppressed at their heels.