All the Best
March 14, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
2009 marks the tenth anniversary of the remarkably personal publication of a highly public figure’s thoughts, opinions, and realizations.
All the Best by President George H. W. Bush displays a collection of letters to friends, family, and colleagues. The missives span 1942 to 1998.
All the Best also contains memoranda to superiors and subordinates, letters to journalists and world leaders, and entries in Mr. Bush’s personal journal.
Absent a memoir from the 41st President of the United States, All the Best reveals the pressures, joys, and costs associated with public service, but mostly hidden from the public view. The human factor.
Published in 1999, All the Best is an excellent reminder of the power of the personal touch. The writings comment on the importance of friendship, the bonds of family, and the challenges of political competition. They do more than simply recount recollections. They unveil the emotions experienced in real time.
Three examples stand out.
First, sincerity.
A bomb explosion in the American embassy in Beirut killed 46 people on April 18, 1983. Then Vice President Bush received a letter from a family member who felt he was insincere at a memorial service. Mr. Bush takes full accountability to clarify, calm, and empathize. Part of the Vice President’s responsive letter of June 13, 1983 reads:
I received many expressions of appreciation from others for coming there; but that matters not. If I seemed casual and unconcerned and thus insensitive to your feelings – that is what matters. I came there to help not to hurt; obviously in your case I failed miserably when I told your Grandmother “I wouldn’t have missed it” – that did not mean I was enjoying some festivity. It meant the least I could do was to be there to express the sincere condolences of a grateful country. It wasn’t easy for anyone – I know that. One of my good friends lay dead.
I know my own emotions – I know my own convictions – that you don’t though, is clearly not your fault but mine.
Clearly the letter is written from the heart, as it should have been.
Second, playfulness.
In a letter dated March 30, 1982 to Katharine Hepburn upon her winning the Oscar for Best Actress in On Golden Pond, Vice President Bush writes,
We so enjoyed our meeting – too brief of course; but for Barbara and me, a highlight not soon forgotten. We respect you so – and I guess as a little kid I thought you were the meowest of the cat’s meows –Anyway now we’ve met. But this is about last night’s Oscar too. Hooray for you – 3 cheers for excellence and style and class and honor and warmth. 3 cheers for your decency –
Affectionate regards from yet another Hepburn fan –
Third, humor.
In the 1984 presidential election, George Bush’s Democratic opponent for Vice President was Geraldine Ferraro. A true gentleman, Mr. Bush welcomed Ms. Ferraro to the battle with a letter on July 12, 1984.
It is a good job.
Congratulations on your selection. Good luck – up to a point.
Additionally, All the Best has stellar examples of writing for the reader.
One in particular seems appropriate to recall as baseball’s Opening Day approaches.
In a December 11, 1990 letter to sports writer turned author Dan Jenkins, President Bush injects his love of baseball into a metaphor-ridden letter.
Hope you have a great Christmas. We will, cause even though the economy is batting .199 and the Gulf is hitting .178, life is treating the Bush family with a WILLIAMS like .401.
From 18-year-old pilot in World War II to President to grandfather several times over, George H. W. Bush shows great thought, emotion, and clarity of message in his writings.
In the Preface to All the Best, Mr. Bush indicates the common thread that runs through his writings in his massively diverse roles in public and private life.
It’s all about heartbeat.
david@davidkrell.com
2009 marks the tenth anniversary of the remarkably personal publication of a highly public figure’s thoughts, opinions, and realizations.
All the Best by President George H. W. Bush displays a collection of letters to friends, family, and colleagues. The missives span 1942 to 1998.
All the Best also contains memoranda to superiors and subordinates, letters to journalists and world leaders, and entries in Mr. Bush’s personal journal.
Absent a memoir from the 41st President of the United States, All the Best reveals the pressures, joys, and costs associated with public service, but mostly hidden from the public view. The human factor.
Published in 1999, All the Best is an excellent reminder of the power of the personal touch. The writings comment on the importance of friendship, the bonds of family, and the challenges of political competition. They do more than simply recount recollections. They unveil the emotions experienced in real time.
Three examples stand out.
First, sincerity.
A bomb explosion in the American embassy in Beirut killed 46 people on April 18, 1983. Then Vice President Bush received a letter from a family member who felt he was insincere at a memorial service. Mr. Bush takes full accountability to clarify, calm, and empathize. Part of the Vice President’s responsive letter of June 13, 1983 reads:
I received many expressions of appreciation from others for coming there; but that matters not. If I seemed casual and unconcerned and thus insensitive to your feelings – that is what matters. I came there to help not to hurt; obviously in your case I failed miserably when I told your Grandmother “I wouldn’t have missed it” – that did not mean I was enjoying some festivity. It meant the least I could do was to be there to express the sincere condolences of a grateful country. It wasn’t easy for anyone – I know that. One of my good friends lay dead.
I know my own emotions – I know my own convictions – that you don’t though, is clearly not your fault but mine.
Clearly the letter is written from the heart, as it should have been.
Second, playfulness.
In a letter dated March 30, 1982 to Katharine Hepburn upon her winning the Oscar for Best Actress in On Golden Pond, Vice President Bush writes,
We so enjoyed our meeting – too brief of course; but for Barbara and me, a highlight not soon forgotten. We respect you so – and I guess as a little kid I thought you were the meowest of the cat’s meows –Anyway now we’ve met. But this is about last night’s Oscar too. Hooray for you – 3 cheers for excellence and style and class and honor and warmth. 3 cheers for your decency –
Affectionate regards from yet another Hepburn fan –
Third, humor.
In the 1984 presidential election, George Bush’s Democratic opponent for Vice President was Geraldine Ferraro. A true gentleman, Mr. Bush welcomed Ms. Ferraro to the battle with a letter on July 12, 1984.
It is a good job.
Congratulations on your selection. Good luck – up to a point.
Additionally, All the Best has stellar examples of writing for the reader.
One in particular seems appropriate to recall as baseball’s Opening Day approaches.
In a December 11, 1990 letter to sports writer turned author Dan Jenkins, President Bush injects his love of baseball into a metaphor-ridden letter.
Hope you have a great Christmas. We will, cause even though the economy is batting .199 and the Gulf is hitting .178, life is treating the Bush family with a WILLIAMS like .401.
From 18-year-old pilot in World War II to President to grandfather several times over, George H. W. Bush shows great thought, emotion, and clarity of message in his writings.
In the Preface to All the Best, Mr. Bush indicates the common thread that runs through his writings in his massively diverse roles in public and private life.
It’s all about heartbeat.