In a similar vein, Bush had tried to secure a strong education safety net for all young people, working closely with Senator Ted Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat, to pass federal legislation requiring that states establish standards and accountability to ensure that no child would be left behind or subject to “the soft bigotry of low expectations.” Since taking office, Trump and his minions have been seeking to virtually eliminate any federal role in education. On and on it goes.
After 9/11, Bush tried, among other things, to expand democracy overseas, with limited success. Trump, in contrast, appears to be currying favor with autocrats while limiting democratic freedoms here at home. In addition, Bush labored mightily to fight authoritarianism abroad by supporting nonmilitary broadcast operations overseas, such as Voice of America, which for decades had used radio and television outlets to spread messages of freedom. He appointed me to VOA’s governing board. Trump has begun dismantling the whole enterprise.
Perhaps Bush’s most enduring legacy is his PEPFAR program, which helps provide assistance to people around the world with HIV/AIDS. By the government’s estimate, that program has helped save 26 million lives. Trump has frozen the initiative.
None of this was lost on most of the reunion attendees. Conversations and remarks were laced longingly with words like honor, integrity, decency, character.
In his remarks before the assembled, Bush campaign chairman Don Evans, who became a Cabinet secretary in the administration, asserted: “The president’s core beliefs formed our ‘compassionate conservative’ agenda—a message that resonated with voters looking for a leader who would bring honor, dignity, respect, and a moral compass to the Oval Office…. I can’t tell you how many reporters told me how they admired our team for being respectful, kind, hardworking, and professional.”
Members of George W. Bush’s campaign in Kennebunkport, Maine, 2000.Courtesy of Laura Crawford.
