Character Matters, and Other Life Lessons from George H.W. Bush
by Jean Becker
Character Matters, and Other Life Lessons from George H.W. Bush, by Jean Becker. New York: Twelve, 2024.
Reviewed by Ed Lengel
In an era of bitter political partisanship, one thing on which many can agree, is the dearth of character in public life. Negative talk is ubiquitous, and positive positions are sporadic. Inevitably, it is tempting to look to the past for a golden age, when leaders were good and true. Such a time may never have existed, but bygone days can offer examples of leaders who were imbued with integrity; ironically, virtue is usually revealed retroactively.
George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st President of the United States from 1989-1993, was certainly an ethical man. After serving honorably—indeed, with exemplary courage—in the U.S. Navy in World War II, he was elected to Congress in 1966 as a Texas Republican, became an ambassador to China–and then–Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
After a failed bid for the presidency in 1980, Ronald Reagan selected him as his running mate; he performed ably if obscurely for two terms; then in 1988, Bush defeated Michael Dukakis for the presidency. During Bush’s single term, he led the country through Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-1991, but lost to Bill Clinton in 1992. In the years that followed–until his 2018 death–Bush came to be recognized as a statesman and a man of exceptional character.
Jean Becker, who was Bush’s Chief of Staff for the last twenty-five years of his life, probably knew him better than anybody outside of his immediate family. Her “Character Matters…and Other Life Lessons from George H.W. Bush,” (Twelve, 2024), details his post-White House years. She zeroes in on the qualities which he believed were most conducive to effective leadership: Courage, Decisiveness, Loyalty, Heart, Wisdom, and Faith.
Becker begins each chapter with personal reminiscences about the former president, and excerpts from his correspondence and speeches. For example, on July 23, 1974, Bush wrote a long letter to his four sons about then-president Richard Nixon and the Watergate crisis, just a couple of weeks before its bitter conclusion with the president’s resignation. Writing respectfully, but honestly about Nixon, Bush urged his children to learn character lessons from his—and the country’s—predicament. “Don’t be afraid not to join the mob,” he said, “if you feel inside it’s wrong.” Also, “Don’t confuse being ‘soft’ with seeing the other guy’s point of view;” and “Avoid self-righteously turning on a friend, but have your friendship mean enough that you would be willing to share with your friend your judgment.” And finally, “Don’t assign away your judgment to achieve power.”
About a third of the way through, Bush’s writings and sayings give way to a series anecdotes from the politicians, staffers, volunteers, veterans, international leaders, family members, journalists, historians and celebrities–all of whom speak warmly about him. There are no tremendous insights here, but the reader will emerge feeling an “intimacy” with Bush.
This collected chorus of ex post facto praise–from a wide variety of observers and friends–has an implicit irony. Before and during his vice-presidency, Bush was never regarded as an outstanding leader. The media largely derided him as a lightweight, especially compared to President Reagan. He achieved victory over Dukakis in 1988—in part—because of a ruthless and polarizing campaign strategy engineered by Lee Atwater, which embittered Democrats; they viewed it as a return to Nixon-era politics. And, although Bush’s leadership during the First Gulf War earned widespread praise, he was lambasted—cruelly–by vindictive political opponents and journalists as wishy-washy; a “wimp,” even as some of Bush’s political allies despised his alleged lack of aggressiveness or ideological purity. Few on either side of the aisle expressed any regret for his 1993 departure from the White House—or his loss of political influence.
In the thirty years since Bush’s retirement, he has been re-evaluated by former opponents—turned—advocates. And, while his outstanding personal qualities now seem indisputable, observers might be forgiven for considering George H.W. Bush’s primary political legacy to be one of defeat. His political successors are far from being his heirs—and indeed, they are likely to view the praise that he now receives from the political left to be indicative—not of excellence in the art of compromise—but of weakness. In the end, virtue may indeed have to suffice as its own reward.
Ed Lengel is an author, a speaker, and a storyteller.
