A Conversation with GWB
Last night East-West Ministries (E-W), for which my husband works, held a fancy schmancy fund-raising dinner near Houston at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott. The speaker for the evening was George W. Bush, who delivered remarks for ten minutes to a crowd of about eight hundred, followed by interview questions from DTS grad Kurt Nelson, president of E-W.
Our daughter is not that into politics, but she once wrote President Bush a letter, to which she received a reply, so she was particularly keen to hear him. For this reason, we made it a priority to take off Friday (after Dr. Zuck's funeral) and drive her down for the three of us to volunteer for the event.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I have concerns about mixing religion and politics—deep concerns that I know many of you, my readers, share. These convictions became further solidified some years back when I received a newsletter for copyeditors in which one of the "changing words" listed was "Christian," which received this expanded definition: "member of a right-wing political party." Ew-w-w! For this reason, to be honest I was reluctant to participate. But I'm still glad we did.
The former president used his cred with this crowd to offer some correctives that I believe only he could have said with such deep impact.
He emphasized that being pro-life must include focusing on far more than the abortion issue to include fighting all attacks on human dignity. This was, he said, his reasoning behind the widely acclaimed Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which included a commitment of $15 billion over five years (2003–2008) from the United States to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.
He also talked of the need to respect the office of president. This is part of why we don't see him offering armchair commentary on the actions and policies of the current administration. If we undermine the current president, he reminded listeners, we undermine what the presidency stands for. So he urged the crowd to pray, and not some sort of "gotcha" prayer, but true and heartfelt supplication for wisdom and guidance desperately needed by anyone occupying the oval office.
He also said he thought one Bible verse in particular was fitting for politicians: the one about removing the plank from your own eye before taking out the speck in someone else's.
I found the president's comments about Egypt of particular interest. He said the Egyptian people, tired of oppression, really had only two choices—the tyrant they had or the Muslim Brotherhood. Bush urged people to be patient with the cause of freedom and democracy, reminding the audience that Egyptian young people did not grow up involved in local politics and law. It will take time for freedom to take hold, but he is confident of its inevitability. (What I heard: Don't view the Brotherhood's dominance as evidence of some sort of anti-American, anti-Christian stance on the part of President Obama.)
He told this story about why he initially had a good relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin. But he went on to tell how relations changed, illustrating with an off-the-record story about Putin's bravado in dissing Barney the (late) dog. (You can find that story here.)
Our biggest surprise: the man was, in my daughter's, word, "hilarious." He could have been a stand-up comic. Seriously.
What now? Since GWB left office, he has taken up painting. He talked about how he was inspired by Winston Churchill's descriptions of his life as a painting hobbyist, and how important it is always to take risks at any age. So "43" has hired a painting instructor, and he now spends hours honing his craft. In a comment typical of his self-effacing humor all night, he expressed certainty that the signature on his works is worth more than the works themselves.
Also, he's been involved with the George W. Bush Presidential Center, which will be dedicated at SMU on April 25, 2013. The Bush Institute, associated with the Center, will focus particularly on developing educational leadership, educating women and girls (especially in Afghanistan), natural gas development, and the use of technology by cyber-dissidents to promote democracy. But he seemed most excited about the 9/11 exhibit, which he raved about.
He is also "finally" going to become a grandfather. He spoke of his father's recent illness, and how he and his daughters thought they said their goodbyes to him in ICU last year, with GHW Bush referring to the life in the womb of his granddaughter and his own imminent death. But then 43's mother called him in January to say his dad was home.
Alexandra looked at me with a wicked smile when the president said the only reason he went to church as a young man was to keep from irritating his mother. He went on to tell of how Billy Graham reached out to him gently and kindly, sending him a Bible with Philippians 1:6 written inside. He spoke of his drinking problem and how his alcohol abuse was affecting his marriage and his choices. But he stopped. And he started reading his Bible daily, a practice he continued all through his years in the White House and still does today. But he also confided that he finds it more difficult to walk a walk of faith without the pressures of the office.
No photos were allowed during the dinner, but we did get this poor-quality iPhone shot of Alexandra sitting at 43's place setting during set-up. Sitting there made her happy. Mission accomplished.