When George H.W. Bush came to Storm Lake

FILLERS

BY JOHN CULLEN

The late President George H.W. Bush, who was laid to rest this week, wasn’t a stranger to Storm Lake. He visited here three times. The first was in 1980, during his unsuccessful Republican primary run for president. Although he won Iowa and six other states, he lost the other 44 to the eventual GOP nominee, Ronald Reagan.

I wasn’t in Storm Lake in 1980, but I met Bush in his next two visits, at Buena Vista University, in 1987 and in 1999.

I was working in the public relations department for Buena Vista when Bush, then Vice President to Reagan, visited on Nov. 20, 1987, during his second campaign for President. The campus was on lock-down for his visit. On that Friday morning Bush’s big black Cadillac limousine drove down the sidewalk and pulled right up to the south side of the Forum. All of the dormitory rooms on the east side of Pierce Hall, whose windows faced the Forum, were evacuated. Security was tight.

I was assigned to take photos of the visit. After Bush spoke to the crowd in Dows Grand Ballroom, he was ushered to a side room where I photographed him with the dignitaries who were on hand. BV President Keith Briscoe was in his element.

Bush returned to Storm Lake and Buena Vista on Oct. 9, 1999 to deliver the William Siebens American Heritage Lecture. He read from his book, All the Best, a collection of correspondence that the prolific letter-writer sent to family and friends over decades. Mary and I attended the Saturday dinner and reception afterwards.

I liked Bush. He was an effective but under-appreciated president from 1989-93 who lost his campaign for reelection because he did what was best for the country — raise taxes and cut spending to reduce the deficit. He was abandoned by many in his Republican party for this transgression.

More important to his legacy was his basic decency. He was always a gentleman and didn’t hold grudges when people criticized him. He knew it was part of the job. “Nobody forced me to take this job,” he said regarding criticism of his presidency. In fact, he enjoyed the fun that Saturday Night Live made of him and became good friends with comedian Dana Carvey, his impersonator. Other good friends: Maureen Dowd of The New York Times who frequently skewered him in her columns, and Bill Clinton, who defeated him for President but became close friends later — they referred to themselves as “brothers from another mother.” It’s impossible to imagine that collegial spirit today.

And, of course, he was father to the 43rd president, George W. Bush.

The federal government, including the Postal Service, was shut down on Wednesday as a national day of mourning in honor of Bush’s funeral. It was a grand gesture, but was it necessary? It certainly wasn’t cost-effective. It cost several hundred millions of dollars to give all federal employees the day off. Bush was a frugal and self-effacing man. He probably wouldn’t have liked all the fuss about him. His mother taught him to be humble.

Bush is one of five presidents I’ve met. The others are Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. I saw Ford in Sioux City; the others were here in Storm Lake. That’s one advantage of living in Iowa. No place has better access to would-be presidents than Iowa before the caucuses.