Barbara Bush, who was the wife of one president and the mother of another and whose embrace of her image as America’s warmhearted grandmother belied her influence and mettle, died April 17. She was 92.
The office of her husband, former president George H.W. Bush, issued a statement Tuesday evening announcing her death but did not disclose the cause. Mrs. Bush was reportedly battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure. Her family announced two days earlier that she had “decided not to seek additional medical treatment” after recent hospitalizations amid her “failing health.”
As the matriarch of one of America’s political dynasties, Mrs. Bush spent a half century in the public eye. She was portrayed as the consummate wife and homemaker as her husband rose from Texas oilman to commander in chief. They had six children, the eldest of whom, George W. Bush, became president. Their eldest daughter, Robin, died at age 3 of leukemia, a tragedy that had a profound impact on the family.
Her husband served two terms as vice president under Ronald Reagan and then one as president, from 1989 to 1993. On his watch, the Cold War ended, and the nation and its allies achieved a swift and crushing victory over Iraq in the Persian Gulf War — before a faltering economy largely doomed his reelection prospects.
George W. Bush, a former governor of Texas, was president from 2001 to 2009, and after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he led the country into long-lasting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the rumblings of the Great Recession.
“Barbara Bush was a fabulous First Lady and a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love, and literacy to millions,” her eldest son said in a statement. “To us, she was so much more. Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end.”
Only Abigail Adams, whose husband, John Adams, and son John Quincy Adams served as the second and sixth presidents, respectively, of the United States, shared Mrs. Bush’s distinction of being the wife and mother of commanders in chief.
Another Bush son, Jeb, served two terms as Florida governor before unsuccessfully seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2016.
Mrs. Bush was proud of her family’s achievements but expressed reservations — especially as Jeb Bush mounted his White House bid — about whether it was healthy in a democracy for one family to accumulate so much power.
In a “Today” show interview, she called Jeb Bush “by far the best-qualified man.” But “there are a lot of great families, and it’s not just four families or whatever. There are other people out there that are very qualified,” she remarked, adding — with her characteristic bluntness — that “we’ve had enough Bushes.”
But once her son entered the race, she was 100 percent in — and she did not mince words about her distaste for his primary opponent, businessman Donald Trump. In a joint interview with Jeb before the New Hampshire primary, she unflinchingly stated that it was “incomprehensible” to her that anyone would vote for Trump, particularly women, in light of his abusive comments about them.
In her final years, Barbara Bush lived in the home she and her husband built in Houston and largely stayed out of the spotlight. In 2009, she sat for an interview with Fox News on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Tex.
“Well, it was a wonderful life that he’s had and I’ve shared,” Mrs. Bush said wistfully, recalling her time with her husband in Washington and China and even the car that first took them to West Texas. “We’ve had a great life.”
I will always remember Barbara Bush for inspiring one of the greatest Simpsons episodes of all time.
The Bushes started a feud with The Simpsons after Barbara called it the worst thing she had ever seen (she later apologised) and George, in a campaign speech, said he wanted American families to be more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons.
A few years later the Simpson's writers decided to re-ignite the feud and created the classic episode Two Bad Neighbors. This was a homage to Dennis the Menace with Bart as Dennis and the Bushes as the Wilsons.
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Barbara Bush did famously say the following prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003:
Quote:
Why should we hear about body bags and death? I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?
Agreed it's probably unfair for Iraqis to target Barbara Bush but her son did destroy their country. I can certainly understand how frustrated they must be that the American public is allowing Dubya's legacy to be rehabilitated only because he doesn't seem so bad compared to Trump.
Barbara Bush Has Died
