Bush 41's Letter to Bill Clinton Shows Everything That's Wrong with This Election

Jack Holmes
Updated

From Esquire

We were treated to another of Donald Trump's imitations of a banana-republic dictator last night. Having pledged in the second debate to throw his political opponent in jail if elected, this time he refused to guarantee he would respect the outcome of next month's election. In effect, he left the door open to undermining some of the most basic principles of our democracy, chief among them the peaceful transfer of power between presidents.

This morning, a stunning counterexample resurfaced. This letter from outgoing president George H.W. Bush to a newly inaugurated Bill Clinton in 1993 is a lesson in grace, class, and humility in the face of the overwhelming gravity of the presidency. When you add in that Clinton had just beaten Bush in a contentious election, thereby leaving Bush a legacy as a one-term president, Bush's earnest and kind words for Clinton and his family are all the more remarkable:

The full text of the letter:

Jan 20, 1993

Dear Bill,

When I walked into this office just now I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know you will feel that, too.

I wish you great happiness here. I never felt the loneliness some President's have described.

There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I'm not a very good one to give advice; but just don't let the critics discourage you or push you off course.

You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well.

You success now is our country's success. I am rooting hard for you.

Good Luck - George.

Whatever you might think of Bush 41's term in office, he leaves no doubt here that he's aware of greater things beyond himself-like, say, the good of the country. The "our president" line is particularly striking from a Republican, a faction of whose party has since maintained that the nation's first black president was not even an American. The leader of that faction is the same man now threatening to disgrace a legacy of peaceful democratic governance.

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