[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 11] [Senate] [Pages 15497-15502] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]PRESIDENT BUSH'S 75TH BIRTHDAY Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, it would be remarkable for any American to celebrate his or her 75th birthday by sky-diving, but it is even more remarkable when that person is the former President of the United States. I would expect no less however, of former president George Bush. From the South Pacific to China to the White House, he has been as brave and bold in honorably serving his country as he has been in his private life. His leadership in holding together the international coalition during the Gulf War seems even more remarkable in recent years, as other attempts to hold together a Persian Gulf alliance have failed. Mr. President, I am pleased to join the Senator from Connecticut, Mr. Lieberman, in bringing attention to a wonderful story by the indefatigable White House Correspondent, Trude Feldman. Few people could provide such insight in profiling President George Bush on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of Senator Lugar and myself to note the passing of another milestone for former President George Bush, a man the State of Connecticut considers a native son. President Bush recently celebrated his 75th birthday in his typically exuberant fashion, by jumping out of an airplane, just as he did on his 70th birthday. After such a long and distinguished career of public service--which started in the South Pacific, where he put his life on the line for the cause of freedom, and which culminated in the Persian Gulf, where he put his Presidency on the line to stand up to the brutal aggression of Saddam Hussein--it's hard for some to believe that President Bush would have the interest, let alone the energy, to pursue his sky-diving habit as a septuagenarian. But no one has ever accused the man who assembled and led the Gulf War coalition to victory of taking the easy way out. And today, much as we have grown to appreciate the fortitude and unobtrusive dignity he brought to the Presidency, so too can we admire the vitality and vigor he has brought to his life outside the Oval Office. He has shown himself to be a man for all seasons, not to mention all altitudes. Those estimable characteristics were vividly captured in a profile recently penned by White House correspondent Trude B. Feldman to commemorate President's Bush's birthday. To pay tribute to President Bush on the passing of this important milestone, and in the spirit of bipartisanship, I would join with Senator Lugar in asking unanimous consent to print the full text of Ms. Feldman's article in the Record. There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in the Record as follows: [From the Los Angeles Times International] George Bush at 75 (By Trude B. Feldman) George Bush, the former President of the United States, just turned 75 years old, and says, ``It doesn't hurt a bit.'' In an interview to mark the milestone, he adds: ``I am blessed with good health--very good health. Oh, one hip might need replacing and the other might need a little shot of something, but I still fast-walk--13 minutes per mile--enough to get the aerobic effect going, yet not enough to pound the old joints into agony.'' Nonetheless, prior to his birthday, he took another parachute jump on the grounds of his presidential library at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas. The next day, he participated in a fund-raising event for his Number One cause--the fight against cancer--that will highlight the role the Houston-based M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has played in that fight. (It was leukemia that took the life of the Bushes' daughter, Robin, in 1953 before her 4th birthday. George Bush's father, Prescott S. Bush, a U.S. senator from Connecticut (1953-62), also died of cancer--of the lung--on Oct. 8, 1972, at age 77.) The father of five children--two of whom are the governors of America's second and fourth largest states--George Bush told me: ``Last November, when George W. was reelected governor of Texas and Jeb (John Ellis Bush) was elected governor of Florida, I was happier than when I was elected President of the United States 10 years before.'' After his Inauguration as the 41st President on Jan. 20, 1989, George Bush went to the Oval Office in the White House. In the top drawer of the presidential desk, he found a handwritten note from President Ronald Reagan. On stationery headed ``Don't Let the Turkeys Get You Down,'' the note read ``Dear George, You will have moments when you want to use this stationery. Well, go to it. I treasure the memories we share and wish you the very best. You will be in my prayers. God bless you and Barbara. I will miss our Thursday lunches . . . Ron.'' As President and Vice President (from 1981 to 1989), the two men ate lunch together every Thursday in the Oval Office and shared each others' views on domestic issues and foreign affairs as well as personal sentiments. To this day, neither one has revealed those conversations. Despite their fierce competition in the presidential primaries in 1980, Mr. Bush had been genuinely loyal to Mr. Reagan in eight years as Vice President. Five years ago, while preparing a feature for George Bush's 70th birthday, I asked Ronald Reagan about those private lunches. While not disclosing much of the substance of their sessions, he did tell me that Mr. Bush was much more than a silent partner and that his solid advice was always valued. ``From those luncheons and from our constant interaction, I got to know him well,'' Ronald Reagan told me. ``He was always informed, understanding and decent. He was also wise, honest and capable.'' Mr. Reagan added: ``No American Vice President should sit on the sidelines, waiting; he should be like an executive vice president of a corporation--active--and George was all that. He was a part of all we did--during times of crises and times of historic triumphs and achievements.'' In our interview, Mr. Reagan also recalled: ``As Vice President, George led the task force to cut away excess regulation, saving Americans 600 million man-hours of paperwork a year and making possible millions of new jobs. He also worked with our allies to strengthen NATO; and he helped make possible the new INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty. I'd say he helped to make our world much safer.'' Ronald Reagan noted that Mr. Bush also had launched a successful major offensive against drug smuggling that succeeded in blocking a record 70 tons of cocaine from ever reaching our communities. ``In addition, he handled our Task Force on Terrorism that advised me on policy,'' Mr. Reagan said. ``He was the architect of the plans we put into effect.'' In defending Mr. Bush's role in the Iran-Contra affair--the crisis that engulfed and [[Page 15498]] threatened his presidency--Mr. Reagan emphasized: ``George had been completely honest. He was supportive of our policy-- to establish communication with the pragmatic leadership in Iran with the goal of eventually renewing U.S.-Iranian relations. Yes, he had some reservations, but that often happened with other issues. For example, when we discussed and debated any policy at our Cabinet meetings--some Cabinet members still had reservations after I made a decision. But once the decision was made, they supported it. That's what George did--he supported my decision.'' According to George Bush, who visited with Ronald Reagan two years ago, it was President Reagan who had set the stage for the world to change. ``President Reagan contributed by building a foundation of principles that is solid,'' Mr. Bush remembers, ``and I was proud to build upon that.'' Born in June 1924, in Milton, Mass., George Herbert Walker Bush was named for his mother's father. George Bush's mother, Dorothy, died of a stroke at age 91. ``Even at 90 she was the moral leader of our family and the idol of our children and grandchildren,'' he recalls. ``I often think of her advice on the fundamentals--to be tolerant, to turn the other cheek, to stand against discrimination and for fair play.'' He credits her with instilling in him a respect for principles and values that motivate him to this day. ``She was the personification of everything that is good, everything that is for our family--the Christian ethic,'' he adds. ``She set examples. She would discipline us, then put her arms around us and love us.'' The Rev. Billy Graham, who first met George Bush through his relationship with the senior Bushes, describes Dorothy Bush as a ``woman of God, a wonderful Bible student, who constantly emphasized spirituality, honesty and integrity.'' In an interview, Rev. Graham also told me that George Bush is ``one of the best and most loyal friends I ever had. I admire him for the way he loves his family and friends; for the way he handled his near-death experience in World War II when his plane was shot down; and for his courageous speeches on controversial issues.'' Describing George Bush as ``one of America's greatest presidents who provided excellent leadership and brought to the office close family ties and strong religious faith,'' Rev. Graham adds that Mr. Bush had also put the presidency on a high level and maintained the dignity of the office that Ronald Reagan bequeathed to him. Rev. Graham led the prayers at George Bush's Inauguration for President in 1989 as well as for the swearing-in ceremonies for Gov. George W. Bush in 1995 and Gov. Jeb Bush in 1999. While George Bush was the leader of the Free World, his five children knew him as their loving, attentive father--a constant, guiding influence on their lives. They, in turn, have proven to be loving children who did their part to give him a lasting place in history as well as to sustain his pride in them. In addition to the two governor sons--there are Marvin and Neil, both businessmen, and Dorothy (Doro), still the apple of her father's eye. At the time of Doro's birth, in August 1959, in Houston, Texas, her father was in the offshore oil-drilling business. Since then, he has been a two-term congressman from Texas (1967-71); U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (1971-73); chairman of the Republican National Committee (1973-74); chief of the U.S. Liaison office in Beijing (1974); director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1976); Vice President of the United States (1981-89), and President of the United States (1989-93). Rather than complain about the demands on her peripatetic father's time over the years, Doro expresses pride in his achievements and reflects on their relationship. She says her father has given her a strong sense of security and has enhanced her life. ``No matter how hard he worked in his various jobs, he took time for family, friends and small kindnesses, which really meant so much,'' she adds. ``I'm now the mother of four children, and I try to instill my dad's teachings in them.'' She says that his high positions did not change him as a father--that he has always had a gentle, personal touch and, to this day, continues to care about the details in each of his children's lives. ``He still writes us special notes,'' she says, ``and his sense of humor and optimistic outlook haven't changed. And now, even on his 75th birthday, he isn't comfortable focusing attention on himself.'' George Bush says that he has allowed his children to do their own thing. ``Barbara and I decided that they were strong enough to chart their own course, to lead their own lives,'' he says. ``They do not often need fine-tuning advice from their parents.'' As for Marvin, Neil and Doro, he says, they are good children and happy out of politics. ``George and Jeb, in spite of the ugliness of the times, have decided to get into politics,'' he told me. ``Having two sons as governors is a blessing that I cannot describe. I am proud of them and I don't want to see them hurt in what, unfortunately, has become a mean, intrusive political climate. They are honest and honorable men with wonderful families of their own and with nothing to be ashamed of. But some in the press have literally gone well beyond the bounds of just plain common decency. And, as you know, I have disdain for the policies of destruction.'' Why, then, I asked, in view of today's destructive atmosphere, does George Bush want his two sons in the political arena? ``Because,'' he responds, ``I believe if good and competent people are unwilling to get involved, our whole system of democracy is diminished.'' When contemplating his legacy, does he think in terms of his two governor sons as being an extension of him? ``Regarding George W. and Jeb, I do not think in terms of legacy,'' he replies. ``I just take great pride in two extraordinarily able and strong men who, on their own-- without their father's help--have already gone a long way.'' He adds that marrying the mother of his five kids was the best decision he made in his personal life. ``That was 54\1/ 2\ years ago,'' George Bush reminisces. ``I first met Barbara Pierce at a Christmas party, just after Pearl Harbor was attacked. I was 17 and she was 16. The U.S. was at war, so ours was a wartime romance. Ever since, to me, it has been a classic love story. ``We found we had much in common, even our sense of humor. When I graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy (a preparatory school in Andover, Mass., on June 4, 1942), I took Barbara to the senior prom.'' Eight days, later, his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Seaman Second Class. In 1943, he earned his wings and was commissioned as the youngest naval aviator, assigned to USS San Jacinto in the Pacific. At the time of his marriage, on Jan. 6, 1945, a man under 21 years of age needed parental consent to marry; a woman over 18 did not. Mr. Bush's brother, Prescott, remembers that 19\1/2\-year-old Barbara was ``really ticked'' that her 20\1/ 2\-year-old fiance--a war hero with a Distinguished Flying Cross--had to get his parents' permission to marry. And despite teasing suggestions that two Geminis are usually not compatible--the ``warnings'' still amuse the Bushes. (Mrs. Bush was also born in June--on the 8th.) She recalls that the timing of their wedding was determined by world events, because had it not been for the war, she believes neither family would have consented to their marrying at that young age. Today, Mr. Bush admits to many disappointments--personally and in politics, even in the Oval Office--``but none that have shaken our happy marriage.'' As a boy, George Bush often went to Yankee Stadium (in New York) with his father and had youthful hopes of one day playing first base there. Years later, when baseball great Babe Ruth came to Yale University to present his papers at a ceremony at the stadium, George Bush, as captain of the baseball team, was chosen to receive the papers in behalf of the university. (Mr. Bush graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in economics from Yale in 1948--the year Babe Ruth died.) ``Meeting Babe Ruth,'' he recalls, ``was one of the most memorable days of my young life.'' While George Bush did not go on to a career in baseball, he is, today, one senior citizen who is the personification of the premise that there is life after 40--even after 75. He is in great demand the world over for speaking engagements on all subjects and issues. Since leaving the White House, he has visited some 55 foreign countries. Last week, he was in Korea and Thailand, as well as in Hong Kong, where he spoke at The International Bank of Asia. On the lecture circuit, he recently addressed organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American Hotel & Motel Association. To what does he attribute his long, happy and healthy life? ``Possibly because I was so active,'' he says. ``And I've always been involved in competitive sports.'' He still revels in fresh-air sports--fishing, swimming, high-speed boating, camping, golf and horseshoes. His passion for pitching horseshoes was once so strong that he built a horseshoe court with two pits on the grounds of the White House when he was its occupant. ``Physically, I'm still in good shape and feel young at heart,'' he says, ``but there are things I cannot do anymore, like jogging and tennis (he has played with tennis champs Billie Jean King and Chris Evert). I travel a lot and have tons of energy. Oh, once in a while, I get really tired, but I'm lucky with my physical condition.'' Does aging bother him? ``Not in the least,'' he says. ``I haven't lost interest in events, nor have my body and health deserted me. The only thing about aging that does bother me is that I want to be here on Earth long enough to see my grandkids--all 14 of them--grow up and be happily married, raising their own kids. That would be the best things that could happen to me after a full and happy and lucky life.'' He says he worries about the decline and disintegration of today's American family. ``I'm convinced that this decline leads to the many social and cultural problems facing our nation,'' he adds. ``Thank God, we have [[Page 15499]] mentors and `other points of light' willing to help the neglected kids, to read to them, to love them. But so many slip through the cracks. When the parents go AWOL, the kids are hurt and our society suffers.'' Turning to his years in the White House, Mr. Bush says that, as President, one of his best decisions was selecting Colin L. Powell as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (During his years in the highest military position in the Department of Defense, Gen. Powell oversaw 28 crises, including Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.) ``Another important decision, once it became clear we had to fight in Desert Storm, was to put full confidence in the military and not try to second-guess them or change the mission,'' Mr. Bush told me. ``My team and I did the diplomacy, and then, when we had to go to war, we let the military, under the leadership of Gen. Powell; Dick Cheney (Secretary of Defense) and Norman Schwarzkopf (commanding general of the U.S. forces in the Gulf) and others, fight and win.'' Gen. Powell, also a National Security Advisor in the Reagan White House and now chairman of ``America's Promises--The Alliance for Youth,'' told me: ``I considered George Bush a tremendous Commander in Chief. And as President of the U.S., he brought class, character and dignity to the office.'' George Bush emphasizes that the decision to commit troops to battles is the most onerous a Chief Executive can make. His most difficult moment in the Oval Office, he recalls, was when he had to decide whether or not to send someone's son or daughter to war. ``To commit one to fight--to put one in harms' way,'' he stresses, ``is the toughest of all calls.'' I did this in Panama, in the Gulf and Somalia, but I did it knowing we were going to give them full support--to enable them to complete their mission, to win and come home. ``This we did. I regret that the mission in Somalia changed after I left the White House. I do not like mission creep (an evolution of the mission away from its originally stated purpose). I was proud of our military in all three actions.'' He adds, ``You know, I miss dealing with our military because I believe in `duty, honor, country.' My own military experience in WW II well equipped me to wrestle with the problems of military action. That also instilled in me a respect for those who do their duty for our country. I was proud to wear our uniform in WW II, and when I was Commander in Chief I took pride in my support of the military.'' Two years ago, when George Bush jumped from an altitude of 12,5000 feet and opened his parachute canopy at 4,000 feet above the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, he called that feat a great thrill. ``I was alone, at peace,'' he recalls. ``I was floating into the tranquil sands of Yuma.'' That jump was in keeping with a personal vow to ``some day, do it right'' (jumping from a plane) he made after Sept. 2, 1944, when he bailed out of his flaming torpedo bomber near Japanese-held Chichi Jima Island, some 150 miles from Iwo Jima. After five hours in the water, he was rescued by a submarine. I asked George Bush if the pilot--recently downed over Serbia in the former Republic of Yugoslavia--brought back memories of when he was shot down as a Navy pilot 55 years ago. ``To some degree, yes, it did, because, like this pilot, I was shot down near the enemy,'' he remembers. ``I wasn't sure that I would be rescued. Neither was this pilot sure he would be found. I knew the Navy would go all out to find me. This pilot felt sure his comrades in arms would go the extra mile to rescue him. He prayed, and so did I--so, yes, there are some similarities.'' If George Bush could have had his life to live again, what would he have done differently? ``I would not do anything differently,'' he answers with an air of finality. ``My life has been a good one--satisfying and rewarding. I did not set a grand design for my career. I just tried to do well in each of my jobs and lead a meaningful life. ``I also tried to make a difference in the lives of others. I have always cared about the welfare of others.'' Attesting to Mr. Bush's self-assessment, former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh told me that throughout his presidency, George Bush exhibited an extraordinary sensitivity to questions of law and justice and the protection of the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans. ``Nowhere,'' Mr. Thornburgh states, ``was this more evident than in President Bush's support for the Americans With Disabilities Act--which he signed into law on July 26, 1990.'' Mr. Thornburgh, a former governor of Pennsylvania, adds, ``This important civil rights legislation--strongly championed by the President during its considerations by Congress--provides a significant vehicle to secure access to the mainstream of American society for those 54 million Americans with physical, mental and sensory disabilities. (Thornburgh's son, Peter, now 39, was the victim of a car accident in 1960 when he was 4 months old. He suffered serious brain injuries, causing mental retardation.) ``In this, as in other endeavors, George Bush's compassion and commitment to justice for all was an inspiration to those of us privileged to serve in his administration.'' Manifesting his concern for human rights, Mr. Bush visited the infamous Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz in Poland in 1987 when he was Vice President of the United States. He then told me that that visit made him determined not just to remember the Holocaust, but, more important, to strengthen his resolve to renew America's commitment to human rights the world over. He quoted Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor who this week is in Macedonia, visiting refugees from Kosovo: ``In extreme situations, when human lives and dignity are at stake, neutrality is a sin.'' Elie Wiesel, now a professor at Boston University, spoke at a recent Millennium Evening at the White House on ``The Perils of Indifference: Lessons Learned From a Violent Century.'' He later told me that in the years he has know George Bush, he always found him to be sensitive to issues related to human rights. ``As Vice President, he directed the rescue mission that brought the surviving remnant of Ethiopian Jews to Israel,'' he adds, ``and he was instrumental in enabling a group of Nobel laureates to go to Poland, still under the dictatorship of Gen. Jaruzelski.'' If he had his presidency to live over, what would George Bush have done differently? ``I would like to have been a better communicator so I could have convinced the American people in 1992 that we were not in a depression, that the economy had recovered,'' he says. ``We handed the Clinton Administration a fast-growing economy, but I could not convince the people or the media that this was so.'' He describes as ``wonderful'' his 12 years in the White House as Vice President and President, but he continues to feel a sense of ``sadness'' that he was not given another four years ``to finish what I had begun.'' In Rev. Graham's view, George Bush lost that election ``mainly because his campaign people did not work hard enough, and some of his advisors gave him wrong advice. There was also an element of over-confidence due to the favorable polls.'' Gen. Brent Scowcroft, Mr. Bush's National Security Advisor, still considers it a ``tragedy'' that George Bush lost the 1992 election and did not have four more years ``to build the sense of closeness with other foreign leaders--which could have done so much to promote a closer world community.'' For his part, Mr. Bush continues, that if he had had his way, he would have won the election ``because I would have done a better job of getting out the facts and the benefit of our programs, and I would have gotten more legislation through Congress. ``For instance, the economy was better than it had been reported,'' he recalls, ``but the media pounded me on how bad things were. When I said we were not in recession, the press ridiculed me. It turned out that the recession ended in the spring of 1991.'' If he could turn back the clock, what decisions would he have changed? ``Given the way history worked out, raising taxes was not good because it got at my word,'' he recalls. ``People said that I broke my word, and that is a regret. Raising taxes was my worst desision. I lost the election because of the economy. Yet, what I was saying--at the time--about the economy was true.'' On other decisions, Mr. Bush believes that his wisest was having ``mobilized the world to stand up against aggression'' in the Persian Gulf. He describes the start of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait as ``a critical moment in world history.'' On that night--Jan. 16, 1991--he invited Rev. Billy Graham to the White House for private prayers. The next morning, Rev. Graham conducted a prayer service for the Bush Cabinet, congressional leaders and Marines at a chapel in Ft. Myer, a military compound in Virginia. ``Our prayers were for a short war,'' Rev. Graham says, ``and one that would be followed by a long period of peace in the Mideast.'' He also told me that George Bush will be remembered in history for having put together a coalition of nations in the Gulf War, and that much of that was due to his own relationship with world leaders. ``He got along well with them,'' he adds, ``and that means a great deal during crises.'' For his accomplishments, Mr. Bush cites his housing initiatives, his education program--America 2000--and his national energy strategy. He says he was more successful when he was able to work with state governors on issues such as his welfare reform programs, his crime-prevention initiative and the Americans With Disabilities Act. ``MY Administration deserved credit for those initiatives,'' he recalls, ``and we received none.'' In foreign affairs, Mr. Bush considers among his most significant achievements the START II Treaty, which he signed in Moscow (Jan. 3, 1993) during his last foreign trip as President. He also singles out Desert Storm, the U.N. coalition in 1991 to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi domination. [[Page 15500]] He says he was satisfied with START II, and, in terms of history Desert Storm led to many things, like people talking peace in the Midwest and the U.S. being the sole country to which people turn to solidify their democracies. He notes that his secretary of State, James A. Baker III, initiated the Mideast peace process that began with multilateral talks in Madrid in October 1991. ``We made dramatic strides, which history will record,'' he states. ``You would never believe that Arabs and Israelis would be talking to each other. No one thought we could get that done. Well, at least we got it started, and that happened largely because of Desert Storm.'' Mr. Bush recalls that he learned much from the courage of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, when, in August 1991, he climbed on a tank to talk to the crowd supporting him against the hard-line Communists. ``I was appreciative of what Mr. Yeltsin said about me being his first and most stalwart supporter.'' With all of his accomplishments, what continues to trouble George Bush and his associates is the perception that he was a ``wimp.'' In retrospect, how does he view that image? ``I never convinced the Washington press corps of what my real heartbeat was about,'' he says. ``I don't think I came through as a caring person, and one with a sense of humor. And the press felt I was posturing to get away from my Ivy League background when I played horseshoes or listened to country music. Some, like Newsweek (in 1988), had me down as `wimp.' Some said I wasn't tough enough. I believe my record in life entitled me to a better assessment than that, but I couldn't get around their misperceptions.'' According to Rev. Billy Graham, George Bush is ``anything but a wimp--look how he handled the Gulf War. Everyone has faults, but he has fewer than almost any leader I have known.'' Gen. Scowcroft--co-author with Mr. Bush of ``A World Transformed'' (Knopf, 1998)--puts it this way. ``One misperception is what became known as the `wimp factor.' That was the view that he was unwilling to make tough decisions or stand up for his beliefs. That was a total misperception because he fully demonstrated his decisive manner in the way he, as President, conducted the foreign and military policy of the United States. By the time he became President, he was not only a true foreign policy professional but he knew the leaders of virtually every country. That enabled him to establish a personal diplomacy that I believe is without parallel in the presidency. He communicated directly with an enormous number of foreign leaders. He listened to their problems, explained his views, discussed what U.S. policy was, or should be, thus adding a new and invaluable dimension to America's ability to act and be received as the leader of the world. ``Another misperception is that he is a patrician or a blue blood with an aristocratic approach. But that's not so. He is warm, friendly and outgoing. I never saw him, even as President, put on airs or any kind of imperial manner.'' Further describing George Bush, the man, Gen. Scowcroft says that in the years he has known him, he has ``developed and become broad and deeper, because he is wiling and eager to learn. He was, and is, a patient listener and has a good way of eliciting the views of others on all issues.'' He adds that, as President, George Bush's judgment was basically instinctive rather than analytical, but that it was based on extensive probing discussions with principal advisors before he made decisions. Today, George Bush--looking younger than his age--presents a picture of a man full of vitality and brimming with confidence. He still possesses an innate sense of decency but is a complex personality. He is as tenacious as he is unassuming. He singles out two of many turning points in his life: joining the Navy in 1942 and moving from the East Coast to Texas after graduating from Yale. ``These two moves really changed my life in many ways,'' he recalls. ``My move to Texas changed my life because I learned a lot about entrepreneurship and risk-taking.'' His first job was as a clerk in an oil-equipment company in Odessa, Texas, and he soon rose to become co-founder and president of an oil-drilling company. Twenty years ago, as a Republican Presidential candidate, George Bush appeared on the NBC news program `MEET THE PRESS' to explain why he should be elected President of the United States; and how he would make a difference in American life-- from the Oval Office. ``I believe a man can make a difference,'' he pointed out. ``I'd like to re-awaken our sense of pride in ourselves as it applies to our relationships abroad.'' People abroad are wondering, `Does the United States want to lead the free world anymore?' He also told the Christian Science Monitor's Godfrey Sperling: ``I want to demonstrate, and help Americans demonstrate--given our strengths--that we can cope and solve problems, particularly our domestic economy. Once we solve these problems, I believe we can offer a better life to everybody in America. So I am motivated by that. ``I also want to re-awaken a sense of pride by putting stars in the eyes of our children.'' How has his philosophy changed over the years? ``I am not sure there has been a fundamental change,'' he told me. ``I hope I have become more tolerant of the different opinions of others. I feel even more convinced that the United States of America must stay involved in the world and be the leader. ``You know, there was a time during the Cold War days when I had only disdain for Russia and China. That has changed a lot. We must stay engaged with both nations. We must look at the big picture and work closely with both of these powers-- not doing it their way, but not always bashing them, either.'' I asked George Bush for his views on the current crisis in Kosovo. His response: ``I will not criticize President Clinton and, thus, will say nothing more.'' Concerning the revelations of surreptitious Chinese espionage allegedly involving four American administrations, Gen. Scowcroft, speaking for the Bush Administration, told me: ``In the four years as President Bush's National Security Advisor, I do not recall an issue of Chinese espionage at the nuclear labs being brought to my attention.'' Dr. Condoleezza Rice, director of Soviet and East European Affairs, national Security Council in the Bush Administration (1989-91), told me that there is no one who is more deserving of the title `public servant' than George Bush. ``I most appreciated his integrity and his devotion to America,'' She adds. ``And I'm especially grateful to him for the way that he handled the end of the Cold War.'' Dr. Rice, now provost at Stanford University, notes that in the former president's book, ``A World Transformed,'' Mr. Bush describes his final phone conversation with Mikhail Gorbachev only moments before the Soviet president resigned and brought to an end 75 years of Soviet communism. ``Mr. Gorbachev was clearly looking for affirmation that this fateful decision would be good for the word.'' Dr. Rice points out. ``Why, might you ask, would the Soviet president call the President of the U.S. at that moment? It speaks volumes about how President Bush had managed difficult issues. He was tough, vigorously pursuing America's interests and skillful in his diplomacy. ``His leadership was quite and persistent. But he was also compassionate and humane. He found a way to treat this great, defeated, but still dangerous adversary with respect and dignity. That, more than anything, allowed the Soviet Union to slip quietly into the night--to collapse with a whimper, not a bang. We all owe President Bush a great debt for that.'' As George Bush's secretary of State, James A. Baker III traveled to 90 foreign countries as the U.S. confronted the unprecedented challenges and opportunities of the post-Cold War era. ``I think history will treat George Bush very, very well,'' Mr. Baker told me. ``He was president at a time of remarkable global changes. The world, as he and I had known it all our adult lives, changed fundamentally with the collapse of communism, the end of the Cold War and the implosion of the Soviet Union. ``In addition, during his presidency, America successfully fought the Gulf War and Panama. Through his leadership, Germany was reunified as a member of NATO and Israel and all of her Arab neighbors negotiated face to face for the first time at the Madrid peace conference. ``President Bush managed all of this with skill and dexterity. As a result, America was respected by our allies and feared by our adversaries--the way it should be.'' Secretary Baker adds: ``Another accomplishment was to make the national security apparatus of our nation work the way it should--without the usual rivalries, backbiting and counterproductive leaking to the press. That enabled us to manage properly the historic changes that occurred around the world from 1989 to 1992.'' Baker, an intimate Bush friend of 40 years, also served in 1997 as the personal envoy of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to mediate direct talks between the parties to the dispute over Western Sahara. ``Friendships mean a lot to George,'' Jim Baker writes in his book ``The Politics of Diplomacy'' (Putman, 1995). ``Indeed, his loyalty to friends is one of his defining personal strengths. Yet some have suggested it became one of his greatest political weaknesses and that out of concern for their friendship, he stayed loyal for too long to people who hurt his presidency.'' Gen Scowcroft concurs: ``If I observed any faults, it was perhaps that George Bush was too loyal in that he would support colleagues and associates even after it had become apparent that they were not adequately suited to the jobs they held or were about to hold.'' In 1974, when Mr. Bush was head of the liaison office in China, it was a restricted period as far as contact with the Chinese leaders was concerned. Nonetheless, he set out to learn about the people and the country. He even studied Chinese. He and Mr. Bush bicycled around Beijing, asked questions, invited the people to their home and developed a real feel for them and their culture. In 1976, when Mr. Bush was appointed by President Ford to be director of the Central [[Page 15501]] Intelligence Agency, Gen. Scowcroft was his (Ford's) National Security Advisor. ``I saw how George Bush was learning more and more about foreign policy,'' Gen. Scowcroft says. ``It was not so much his foreign policy expertise, although he was well versed as a result of his U.N. and China positions, but what he did in restoring the morale and self- respect of the CIA. The morale at CIA was at rock bottom after the congressional investigations of the Pike and Church committees. Even today, Mr. Bush is considered to be the agency's most revered CIA director.'' One birthday gift George Bush considers especially significant is the 258-acre complex named after him in the Central Intelligence Agency's headquarters in Langley, Va.-- the first Washington, D.C.-area tribute to him. Last October, President Clinton signed legislation authorizing the designation of the George Bush Center for Intelligence, and, in a letter, read by CIA Director George Tenet at the recent dedication ceremony, Mr. Clinton noted that when George Bush assumed his duties as director of the CIA (1976), the Vietnam War had just ended, the Watergate scandal was still an unhealed national wound, and government investigations had exposed abuses of power in connection with intelligence activities. ``Many Americans had lost faith in government and asked whether the CIA should continue to exist,'' President Clinton noted. ``George Bush restored morale and discipline to the Agency while publicly emphasizing the value of intelligence to the nation's security, and he also restored America's trust in the CIA and the rest of the intelligence community. ``I have been well served by the talented and dedicated men and women who make up the intelligence community that George Bush did so much to preserve and strengthen.'' The ceremony was attended by former CIA Directors Richard Helms, James Schlessinger, Robert Gates and William Webster. Mr. Tenet hailed George Bush--the only director to have become President of the United States--as a war hero and said that every component of the Agency ``feels indebted to him in some way--because his belief in the fundamental importance of its work never faltered. ``He was a staunch defender of the need for human intelligence--for espionage--at a tough time when it really counted.'' Mr. Tenet also pointed out that each day, the men and women of the CIA provide the President of the United States and other decision-makers the critical intelligence they need to protect American lives and advance American interests around the globe. ``Thanks in great measure to George Bush's leadership, the U.S. no longer confronts the worldwide threat from a rival superpower that we did during the Cold War,'' he stated. ``But, as the 21st century approaches, we must contend with a host of other dangerous challenges--challenges of unprecedented complexity and scope. ``The U.S. remains the indispensable country in this uncertain and chaotic world. And time and again, the CIA has proven itself to be the indispensable intelligence organization, helping America build a more secure world for people everywhere.'' Accepting a model of the sign bearing the name of the compound, George Bush--in his remarks--observed: ``My stay here had a major impact on me. The CIA became part of my heartbeat some 22 years ago, and it has never gone away. I hope it will be said that in my time here, and in the White House, I kept the trust and treated my office with respect.'' And to the assembled CIA employees, Mr. Bush added: ``Your mission is different now from what it was in my time. The Soviet Union is no more. Some people think, `What do we need intelligence for?' ``My answer is that plenty of enemies abound . . . unpredictable leaders willing to export instability or to commit crimes against humanity. Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, narco-trafficking, people killing each other, fundamentalists killing one another in the name of God, and many more. ``To combat them, we need more intelligence, not less. We need more human intelligence and more protection for the methods we use to gather intelligence and more protection for our sources, particularly our human sources who risk their lives for their country.'' Mr. Bush went on to say that even though he is now a ``tranquil guy,'' he has ``contempt and anger for those who betray the trust'' be exposing the names of our (intelligence) sources. ``They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors,'' he asserted. ``George Tenet is exactly right when it comes to the mission of the CIA and the intelligence community. `Give the President and the policy-makers the best possible intelligence product and stay out of the policymaking or policy implementing--except as specifically decreed in the law.'' George Bush has always been hesitant to talk about himself--even as to how he made a difference as President. ``You ask others,'' he tells me, ``I am not good at talking about myself. That is part of my make-up. Some people say it is lack of character, but I can't blow my own horn. My mother taught me not to brag and she is still watching me.'' Respecting his penchant for modesty, I did ask others-- including former American presidents, as well as the current one--for their reflections and comments on George Bush's milestone. Former President Gerald R. Ford said: ``President Bush, at 75, has earned the highest compliments for his strong and effective military and diplomatic leadership in the Gulf War with Iraq.'' Former President Jimmy Carter says: ``From one septuagenarian to another, I, of course, wish George Bush a wonderful birthday and many more years of good health and much happiness. ``He is a man of integrity who served America with honor. We had a very good relationship while he was in the White House, and even though we did not agree on every issue, he treated me with respect and kindness. ``I always shared my invitations to foreign countries with him or with Secretary of State James Baker, and they were supportive of our work at the Carter Center (in Atlanta, Ga).'' Jimmy Carter adds that he and his wife, Rosalynn ``thoroughly enjoyed'' attending the opening of the Bush Presidential Library. (On Nov. 6, 1997, the library and museum, together with the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, were opened.) President William Jefferson Clinton recalls with gratitude his wide-ranging conversations with George Bush four months ago as they flew on Air Force One to and from Jordan for King Hussein's funeral. (Former Presidents Ford and Carter were also aboard.) ``George Bush embodies the spirit of public service,'' Mr. Clinton told me. ``For me, he has also been a trusted advisor. While there are many who advise me, at times the greatest counsel comes from one who has shared the pressures and unique experience of serving in the Oval Office--one who knows exactly what you're up against and one who will tell you the truth. ``George has often done that, and while I have been the immediate beneficiary of his counsel, people here and abroad have ultimately benefited most of all.'' Richard Fairbanks, President of the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), advised Mr. Bush on policy during his 1980 presidential bid. Later, as chief U.S. negotiator for the Mideast peace process, he worked closely with Vice President Bush. Ambassador Fairbanks recalls that George Bush was seen as a pragmatic problem-solver rather than a conceptualizer, ``which is one of the reasons he encountered trouble with his famous statement that he was not comfortable with `the vision thing.' '' Mr. Fairbanks, a member of the Council of American Ambassadors, adds that George Bush is a natural leader with real intellectual depth, but he is also a private man, who is ``not comfortable flaunting his thought processes in a public forum.'' Edwin Meese, counselor to President Reagan (1981-85) and U.S. Attorney General (1985-88), who is now The Ronald Reagan Fellow in Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation, says that he ``thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to work with George Bush as Vice President because he was an invaluable asset to President Reagan and to all of us in the Cabinet.'' In his 12 years as Vice President and President, George Bush witnessed a number of scandals, including Watergate, Irangate, Iran-Contra and the Savings and Loan bust. On his last day in the Oval Office as president I asked him how he would advise incoming President Bill Clinton to prevent similar scandals. ``If Governor Clinton asks me, I would tell him to be very conscious of how he works with his staff; and to be sure there are no loose cannons running around the White House,'' Mr. Bush told me during that interview. ``People around a President or Vice President or any high official can make or break his image. So we each need to surround ourselves with competent and caring individuals--men and women of integrity who respect the presidency and live their own lives accordingly.'' He adds: ``There is a need for revival of ethical behavior, and exemplary conduct must come from officials and leaders. It cannot be legislated. ``What mattered to me most in the White House was integrity and responsibility. Public service has been damaged by people who don't have the judgment to place the public's business above their own self interest, and unethical conduct should not be tolerated at any level of government.'' Mr. Bush went on to say that he was determined--at all times--to treat the office of the presidency with respect and not do anything that would cheapen or diminish it. ``I still take pride in the fact that my administration was clean and free of scandal,'' he says. ``We had not been hounded by people using government jobs for personal gain. We came to the White House with high ethical standards and we left with heads high in that regard.'' And what did George Bush learn from his years in the White House that has made a lasting impact on him? [[Page 15502]] ``I learned that the power to get things done is less than some people believe,'' he remembers. ``Yes, the presidency is magnified out of proportion. You can get some things done, but you can't wave a wand to have everything work the way you want it. The presidency is too complicated. ``I also learned that the White House is surrounded by history, and I left there with even more respect for America's principles, more respect for the institution of the presidency, and more respect for the civil servants, including the staff of the executive residence and the uniformed Secret Service officers, who make that magnificent museum of a place into a real home for whoever is President of the U.S. as well as for his family and guests.'' And since he departed the White House, in 1993, how, in his view, has the presidency evolved? ``Like many Americans, I have worried about the recent happenings in and around the White House,'' George Bush told me. ``But the presidency is a vital and strong and resilient institution. Just as (former President) Jerry Ford instantly restored honor to the Executive Mansion--after Watergate--so will whoever is elected President in the year 2000. ``Respect for the office is important and character and behavior in that office do count. The office is not too big for any individual, provided he or she can make tough decisions and give credit to bright and experienced people who should surround the Chief Executive.'' If George Bush could leave but one legacy, he wants it to be a return to the moral compass that must guide America through the next century. ``And,'' he adds, ``I hope historians will say that I and my Administration left the world a little more peaceful by the way we handled the unification of Germany, the liberation of Eastern Europe and the Baltics, as well as the way we worked with the Soviet leaders to bring about change there, and to get their support when we had to fight the Gulf War.'' ``I also hope my legacy will include the Madrid peace conference (1992); our key role in NAFTA, the Brady Plan (plan for debt relief for Latin America), and the way we handled China after Tiananmen Square 10 years ago. ``On a personal level, I hope my legacy will be that `George Bush did his best and served America with honor.' '' If he could have one wish on this birthday, what would it be? ``I am not sentimental,'' he says, ``but, yes, there is a certain special quality to this milestone. For myself, I have no wishes for my birthday. I have everything a man could want. But, for the world, I would wish more peace; and for America, I wish for stronger families and better values.'' And George Bush's vision for the next century? ``I am optimistic about the 21st century,'' he told me. ``With no superpower confrontation on the horizon, I believe the next century can be one of peace--though there will always be regional conflicts. But I, for one, am still hopeful.'' And to share that hope, he likes to recount the time that his wife, Barbara, was planting a flowering bush. She was instructed to dig a deep bed, fill it with fertilizer and firmly plant the bush by covering it with water and soil. ``We were told that the plant would not bloom right away, but that it would, after a year or so, and then for a long time to come,'' he mused. ``Soon, we realized that she was planting that flowering bush for our kids and grandkids and great-grandkids. ``So despite the vicissitudes we face now, and will face in the future, I believe that that planting was not in vain. Sure, we have problems in the U.S. and overseas, and the world has the weapons to blow itself up. Yet my inner self tells me that our great-grandkids will be around to enjoy those flowers.'' ____________________