For the past several days, the nation and world have been remembering [1] the life and presidency of the late George H.W. Bush, whose funeral [2] is being celebrated today in Washington, D.C., after lying in state [3] at the U.S. Capitol, and who will be laid to rest tomorrow in College Station, Texas.
Remembrances have taken the form of encomiums as well as critiques [4] but occasions like this — the passing of a major political figures, in particular a head of state — offer opportunities to reflect on history, judge successes and failures, and compare and contrast the recent past with the present.
Coming up this weekend on The Score, I have a conversation with Barbara Perry [5], director of presidential studies at the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Dr. Perry was previously a guest on The Score at the time of the death of former First Lady Barbara Bush [6], and later to look back on the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy [7], fifty years ago this past June.
In this brief excerpt from our interview, Dr. Perry answers my question about what role Ronald Reagan wanted George Bush to play as his vice president from 1981 to 1989.
http://bearingdrift.com/wp-content/uploads/Perry-excerpt_Dec04-2018.wav [8]In our interview, Perry — co-editor (with Michael Nelson) of 41: Inside the Presidency of George H. W. Bush [9] and author of Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch [10] (2013) and Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier [11] (2018) — notes that she met former President Bush about a year ago, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the opening of his presidential library at Texas A&M University, and responds to my question of whether “prudence” was Bush’s characteristic virtue.
You can follow Barbara Perry on Twitter at @BarbaraPerryUVA [12].
Tune in Saturday morning to hear the rest of this conversation with Dr. Perry as well as other news, reviews, and interviews featured on The Score.