Recorded on December 5, 2018.
As the country mourns the passing of President George H. W. Bush, C. Boyden Gray and Haley Barbour join Peter Robinson to discuss fond memories of his leadership, friendship, humility, and legacy. They discuss the 41st president’s involvement in the Clean Air Act, the reputational teeter-totter the public had with him and Reagan, and his foreign policy decisions.
They talk about Kuwait and the first Persian Gulf War and speculate that if President Bush had decided to go after Saddam Hussein at that time, then the Iraq war in the 2000s could have been avoided. They argue that President Bush took foreign policy in a good direction for the United States in the wake of the Cold War. They go into detailed analysis about President Bush, the issues he faced, how he worked for peaceful negotiations, and how he exemplified grace under fire.
President George H. W. Bush was a gentleman of a past generation, Robinson says. They discuss whether being a gentleman is still something to aspire to in politics and in the office of the president.
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Haley Barbour
C. Boyden Gray
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