A Real Character With Real Character...

[Lord Jim]

Former First Lady Barbara Bush Dies At 92

Former first lady Barbara Bush died Tuesday at the age of 92, according to a family spokesman.

A statement issued on Sunday by the office of former President George H.W. Bush said that Bush had elected to receive "comfort care" over additional medical treatment after a series of hospitalizations.

President Trump and Melania Trump called her an advocate for the American family, with great achievements in the cause of literacy. The president ordered that U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House, federal buildings, U.S. embassies and military posts in Barbara Bush's honor.

Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama said they were grateful for her generosity to them and said the way she lived her life was a testament to public service as an important and noble calling, that she was an example of humility and decency.

Bush will go down in history as one of just two women to be both the wife of a U.S. president and also the mother of one. She was as famous for her undyed hair and fake pearls as she was for her self-deprecating humor, and she made it clear — from the moment she moved into the White House — that she was going to be a different kind of first lady from her very glamorous predecessor, Nancy Reagan.

"Barbara Bush certainly wasn't afraid to laugh at herself," said first lady biographer Myra Gutin. "She worked very hard to show that she was just a real person."

Gutin says Bush was popular in part because she was a throwback to old-fashioned values and because she pushed back against popular conventions of beauty.

When she was about to become first lady, she quipped, "My mail tells me that a lot of fat, white-haired, wrinkled ladies are tickled pink."

"That's vintage Barbara Bush," says Gutin.

More on her life here:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way ... dies-at-92

One of the many things that Barbara Bush showed by example is that it is indeed possible to be a blunt speaking public figure without being a mean-spirited, coarse vulgarian...

She was blessed with a great run, but she will be missed...

[Econoline]

[Bicycle Bill]

Trump should count his blessings.

If they were to ever queue up all the people who want to 'take a slap at him' ...... well, there's your real "Hands Across America".

-"BB"-

[Big RR]

I've always had a grudging respect for her, especially her commitment to literacy. She could get her point across, and important things done, without having to be the center of attention or making herself a story and, as Jim said, she could talk bluntly without being an ass. And I had to love her sense of humor, or at least the part of it she shared with us. Rest in peace.

[RayThom]

I liked her Quaker Oatmeal character. She was the best of all of them.

[Scooter]

She is probably one of the most underestimated and underappreciated First Ladies in history, probably in large part due to her own wisdom in not wanting to appear, as her two immediate predecessors had, as the power behind the throne, whispering in the President's ear. And yet she managed to influence public policy more than any First Lady except Elinor Roosevelt and Lady Bird Johnson. In contrast to Nancy Reagan's approach to drugs, she took on literacy as her mission understanding that it was rooted in many complex problems that would not be solved by telling kids to "just read a book". And while not appearing to be driving Bush Sr.'s education agenda, her work certainly had a hand in creating such broad support for it. Hillary Clinton should have taken a page out of her book, and you might have had a major health care reform 20 years earlier than when you got it.

Because she was smart enough to avoid taking the bait and making pronouncements on the policy controversies of the day, there was precious little to criticize her about, so critics descended into the absurd, like commenting on her refusal to dye her hair. Or those fools at Wellesley who didn't want her to give their commencement address because being the wife of a famous person didn't make her "their kind" of role model. (I remember thinking at the time, at 21 or 22 you think you know enough to believe that this woman has nothing worthwhile to teach you? Get over yourselves.)

And her response to criticism was also telling about her character - she almost always chose self-deprecation and a willingness to understand the other person's point of view over defensiveness and stooping to their level. The current occupant of the Oval Office could learn from her example.

[Big RR]

not wanting to appear, as her two immediate predecessors had, as the power behind the throne, whispering in the President's ear.

Maybe I'm misremembering, but while I can see that with Nancy Reagan, I never noticed it with Rosalyn Carter. Indeed, I got the feeling Jimmy really didn't listen to anyone, preferring to do everything himself.

[Burning Petard]

"she almost always chose self-deprecation and a willingness to understand the other person's point of view over defensiveness and stooping to their level"

According to my personal dictionary, that is one of the defining characteristics of a true liberal.

snailgate

[BoSoxGal]

George H.W. now in ICU with sepsis; possibly his immune system was knackered by grief. I’d guess that he might not last the year - I can’t imagine how hard it is to lose one’s beloved after 73 years together.

[RayThom]

George H.W. now in ICU with sepsis; possibly his immune system was knackered by grief. I’d guess that he might not last the year - I can’t imagine how hard it is to lose one’s beloved after 73 years together.

It was hard not to see that coming. They had a symbiotic relationship for almost 73 years so I kind of expected GW was going to fade quickly. I doubt if he'll last the week... unless he's on life support and I can't see that as an option at such an advanced age.

[Lord Jim]

I kind of expected GW was going to fade quickly.

When word came out that Barbara would be passing soon, I thought the same thing. It's very common in relationships like this for one partner to follow the other into death pretty quickly...

[Crackpot]

Happened with my material grandparents. Though I wonder if it would update have been different if my grandmother went first (hard to say she kept him eating right but she was also the primary source of stress in his life.)

[Lord Jim]

41 appears to be rallying:

Former President George H.W. Bush 'Appears to Be Recovering' After Hospitalization

Former President George H.W. Bush was reportedly hospitalized in an intensive care unit on Sunday in Houston, one day after the funeral offormer first lady Barbara Bush, his wife of 73 years.

TMZ reports Bush contracted an infection that spread to his blood and led to sepsis, which can be life-threatening.

"President Bush was admitted to the Houston Methodist Hospital yesterday morning after contracting an infection that spread to his blood. He is responding to treatments and appears to be recovering. We will issue additional updates as events warrant," spokesman Jim McGrath said Monday in a statement.

At 93, the former President has suffered a number of health complications in recent years, including vascular parkinsonism and a recent case of pneumonia.

A source with CNN said Bush was in critical condition at the time he was admitted and that there was serious concerns about his well-being after his blood pressure dropped multiple times, but he is reportedly responding to treatments and appears to be recovering.

http://popculture.com/celebrity/2018/04 ... nch-waist/

[Burning Petard]

I just got my copy of the American Legion magazine for June. it has a brief tribute for Barbara Bush. I never had much respect for Bush 41 as president, but my respect for his wife is growing. I love the quote.

Barbara Bush, in a commencement speech at Wellesley College in 1990. "And who knows? Somewhere out there in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the president's spouse. I wish him well."

snailgate.

[Big RR]