good morning everybody, live from washington, d.c., i am carl quintanilla. >> i am kelly evans. the president has claimed a national day of mourning >> later this hour, the bush family will head to the capitol for a departure ceremony after the former president's casket will be driven to the cathedral. y lan mui is there at the scene. >> reporter: you can see they are getting in place as they are beginning preparation. there has been a public viewing as his coffin has been draped with the american flag people have waited in line for hours in order to pay their

final respects to the 41st president. the bush family is kpebtexpecte come here. it will be full military honors. we'll hear a gun salute and a special military honor guard will carry the casket down the steps. after that, the family will travel by motorcade to washington national cathedral where the funeral itself will be held president george w. bush, and john meecham and the former president's granddaughter will be reading a book of the revolution we know the family is upmost important to the 41st president of the memorials here over the past two days. paul ryan talked about one image of george h.w. bush, it was of him comforting his son in the

after math of 9/11 he was holding his hand during a service at the national cathedral where the funeral will be held. paul ryan said this picture encapsulated bush's commitment to country, family and service kelly, back over to you. >> ylan mui, thank you very much at the capitol there >> kelly, this is going to be a homecoming for former president george h.w. bush he's leaving the capitol, that's where he began his political career before he lived in the white house as president, he lived in this neighborhood in spring valley near the national cathedral. that's where he'll come for service as ylan indicated, the former president and his son, but also from people who are

close to him brian maroney, the former prime minister with canada where he negotiatednafta which was late enacted by president clinton allen simpson, a close personal friend who served in the senate for a long time throughout the presidency of george h.w. bush simpson can be counted on for humor. we'll get some of that from him and he'll hear from john meacham as ylan indicated wrote his magnificent life, someone that enlisted in the navy and were shot down and rescued and went to yale and was an athlete there and moved to texas and struck out in the oil business that was successful and decided to give back and go into politics with

two terms in the house and a series of positions from u.n. ambassador head of the republican party and head of the cia and vice president and president, carl. >> john, look forward to talk to you more of the president later on this morning. our john harwood is joining us in the studio. ed rogers, and an adviser for bush's 1988 presidential campaign, ed, thank you for your time >> thank you for having me >> you wrote a beautiful line this week, if there is such a devine hand guiding us, it is god that made bush to be our president. >> george bush was president during a pivot point in american history. the break up of the soviet union and the attempt of iraq by sadum. all of his experience and

credentials came together to put in good use of those critical moments. success of the bush presidency was all the bad things that did not happen when they could have. the stakes were high and books have been written about everything that could have happened but the measure, experienced and confidence bush saw through those critical times and i think history there serve him well >> he was okay with the reuniification of germany which was a lot of concerns about at the time >> no spiking the ball with george bush. we don't want to humiliate anybody here when they're going through a stressful time and that was true in nation states and it was true in his personal life he believes in politics you always leave a man a way out and you keep the hands of friendship

extended bush did not have permanent enemies, he had competitors and people who disagreed with him. if you did not reach out to him, he'll always reach out to you, there is no permanent enemies of george bush. >> a lot has been said about his era. his son wrote this week, that era is not necessarily gone. >> it is timeless quality. a lot is politicians and up and comers could learn a lot from the example of george bush, for one thing, bush did not have a traditional political base, he never been elected statewide he was not a governor, his base came from the accumulation of one-on-one personal interactions where people were convinced of the merits of his character so when it came time for him to run, he had thousands of beli believers and people committed

to him they have been exposed to him as such a decent human being and that was his base. >> the campaigns were often nasty and that was a struggle of his and which was he's a gentleman and such grace as you describe who still had to get down there be involved in what we consider the modern newscaass of these campaigns >> it is an excellent time to reflect. bush came into the presidency of the permanent campaign where everybody is campaigning everyday all the time. there are winners and losers everyday bush thought campaign politics was a seasonal sport a few months before the election, you get your campaign team and you do campaign things. after that you govern, and good governing is the best politics you set the campaign politics

aside during the time of governance that's not all together a bad thing. maybe we can learn from that and maybe that time has passed it would take a lot of discipline from both parties he thought it was seasonal and campaign politics could be dirty. he did not care for it and he was not great at it as a result. >> did the president later post presidency express regret for the hardball tactics that it takes to win to be in a position to later govern? >> well, not regret. i think he would sigh and he knew some of it was ugly he knew some of it was not particularly tasteful. he anguished about it. some of the parts of the

campaigns, maybe he did not want to talk about it or write about them when they were over, it is over. >> he never wrote a proper memoir, does that speak to his humility >> it does his bias against boastfulness. i think it is reflective and he would have thought it presumptipresumpt presumptous to write a book about himself. >> think of the confidence and the discipline that it takes to have that at constitutitude and it is today when so many political leaders think it is standard operating procedure to be boastful to take credit

>> to craft your legacy. >> to craft it in a way that's most possible rather than letting it happen. >> ed to your point about the message of his life and the way he carried himself, how do you think washington absorb that message and today, how long lasting of that? >> what is the half-life of this reflection of what we are having now of the character of george bush and the traits that we find desirable. probably not very long but i think it will linger it may linger in some younger politicians and it may teach some older ones some lessons that even if they're selfishly driven that acting in a civil way will get me some of the applause that i seek otherwise i read some place, i thought it was well-said that even president trump was being about nono

abnormal abnormally normal. >> how you can succeed and not lose that respectfulness and that grace that you just described. there is something about him that i think a lot of people are looking at and not just drawing the contrast in today's politics but try to think about are we forming people to live thosa nol life >> george bush is a role model for kids the president did have circumstances that were not up to george bush's standards >> we just saw sam donaldson making his way into the national cathedral. so many interesting takes on the way he handledd criticism and th

media. >> yes, the famous case of being the last of the kind, a tough reporter over the washington post was in the george bush's presidency everyday. i used to say she could not see you. she was so intuitive and she knew what was going on but, she took serious role that the press had an advesarial responsible. he came to her aide and comfort and went out of his way to build a friendship with her, i think that's a vivid example that's under reported >> i want you to win this, he sent her a note. >> i am glad you brought it up always willing to go the extra

mile, always being the one to initiate the friendship. >> we can see people streaming into washington national cathedral there. >> joining us is former white house chief of staff the man who helped usher in george h.w. bush nominees to the bench cam. just how significant his contribution is shaping the supreme court has been >> it has been quite successful of the bush's presidency and his legacy afterwards. president bush is very committed doing the right thing, always. sometimes to his personal detriment but he always has his standards and believes and he was willing to follow through. the idea of doing things just for campaign were natural to

him. he was all about governing and making things better i saw him up close and personal not only as president but also as vice president to president ronald reagan. the two of them were hand and glove. reagan may have been the person who came with primary colors but george bush was always there with the best. he knew everybody. everybody got along with george bush you can pick up the phone and get anybody on the phone and be willing to reach out to them and make them see the value of his views and the views of the president, president reagan. he may come across a kinder and

gentler person but he was a fierce, fierce, proeponent of what he believed in. whether it is drawing a red line in the sand so he can help free kuwait or whether it was appointing people to the supreme court or people in various positions in the government, when he made up his mind, there he went, 99.9 times out of 100 he got it right. i was very fortunate to have an office next to the vice president in the hallway down towards the oval office. i would see him almost on a daily basis and certainly in the 900 briefing in the morning when president reagan and when vice president bush was in town, he would join us for the briefings, he asked questions and he knew what reagan was thinking

he was able to flush it oit a little bit more. >> he has a great sense of humor. he's a one person in the world who ever gotten away of calling me kenny >> not a nick name but he always referred to it i got a lot of handwritten notes from him when i left the first term, he said, he wrote me a short note, say it is not so -- when i came back, as deputy chief of staff and chief of staff, i got a handwritten note that says "it is about time. >> ken, you remind me of what larry kudlow said this week and that was when he was a young one at omb giving routine talking points and vice president president bush would be the one

calling him up thanking him for really nothing at all. he did make that effort. of course, dan quail's piece this week where he says life s was easier for bush and he knew the challenges >> absolutely. he had a number of jobs in the government but whether cia director or u.n. ambassador or the special envoy to beijing, he exceeded and experienced so much and he can bring it all to the table. more significantly as president of the united states i think he's going to be remembered as somebody who's a very consequential president, the

respected one another with people he reached out to people, he picked people up when they were down, he always said thank you, he had some of the corniest jokes in the world that president reagan used to adore and we used to all roll our eyes at he was a gentleman >> yeah. >> he kept us all at our level >> ken, thank you so much. >> results and also the character as you mentioned made the biggest impact on people just a comment, ken duberstein >> president trump and the first lady will be attending the funeral this morning let's get more from eamon javers

who's at the white house >> quite a bit of activities this morning angela merkel, german leader arriving to pay her respects to george h.w. bush and to the rest of the family. this morning it feels like there is a different truce, the political truce if you will of the tensions between the trump family and the bush family, trump famously ran against jeb bush dismissing him as low energy and everyone in tn in the house donald trump was suspicious of anybody in his staff, it is more of a bush family than a trump family the president preparing to pay his respects today as well you do get the sense, carl, as we talk about this president,

this is a president who is in mourning himself and leading the country through this day of national mourning and suspending some of those tensions that have visible between these two families over the past years >> joining us now is a former assistant of george h.w. bush. thank you sir for joining is >> i was asked by the president to join because he wanted to create an office that'll be dedicated and helping him. people voluntarily stepping forward to help people who need help that became known as the point of life that works >> people say a lot these days how there is been a drop off in

volunteerism and those kind of associations that's so strong in the culture in the past. is there anything that people are learning or remembering hey, it does take people whether it is the president or someone making the initiative to remind people of some of those important duties to their society. >> i think you are right, there is at least among organized groups with a bit of a fall off. the other hand, young people are really deeply involved in ways on more independent projects that are a little bit less associated sometimes with large established organizations. i think you are right, it helps when there is a real focus on it as something that's really important to the future of the nation and a community one of the things that president bush and people are sending because of the number of years they kind of watched him, from him, he believed that and awful

a lot of the meaning of a person's life or the adventure in somebody's life is the opportunity to engage who are different than you are and who are strangers and at the same time where you can help. he had this wonderful phrase that he used that any definition of a successful life must include serving others there was this notion of all of us trying to live lives with meaning and success. he said you know this is the way to live that kind of life. we spend at least a little part of your life in time, helping people who need help i think that's a very old idea, it is an ancient idea but it is one that we all need to be reminded of.

they're actually the happiest. >> gregg, i am curious the words point of light, a thousand points of lights came to define his legacy any color on that term and how he embraced it did he think of it first or peggy bring it to him and he said that's it or something like that >> it is a great question. there is a little bit of controversy in it. peggy used it in the draft of the convention in 1988 i heard that president bush himself was the one who utter the words in talking i don't know if it is right or not. i heard both it was a phrase that was used near the foupdingnding of the cy

in a sense either jefferson or adam wrote a letter to george washington trying to engage his interest in becoming the country's first president and said, general, you stand in a point of light for the country so it has a wonderful, rich history. i think that the power of it in my mind because when president bush came in, he was not really focused on that sentence so much as he said i really want voluntary engagement in the lives of one another to become a major part of my presidency and he created this office it was structural change in the white house that could be made the phrase i think and i think he believes was so transcended and provacative that everybody has lights inside them he revealed. it was a powerful image.

i think the fact that it continues to rise as an idea associated with him because he's gotten older and more and more people saw that was the way he was living h his life and the way barbara bush lived her life. i think it has been a powerful idea >> i was going to mention, i read peggy's book about her experience and she talks about looking through those old papers in the white house and finding those kinds of phrases >> gregg, as we are talking, we have seen a number of high-profile names entering the k cathedral and peyton manning, which will lead us direct conversation of the president's love for sports. >> he as i am hearing was a phenomenal baseball player in

his youth at yale. >> he was. >> i was in line and i am outside the cathedral and cutting over, she says last night there were a whole group of sports coaches and athletes who visited the rotunda to pay respects and went out to dinner and i then spoke to coach hayes that there is jack mickelson and peyton manning and ben crenshaw and there were probably 20 really wonderful athletes, coaches who were all buddies of president bush he just had this incredible ease around friendship. there is going to be a song sung at the service today by michael smith called "friends" because i learned that he was a great

friend of president bush i look forward of the songs. i think this is the president's own preaching tools of those of us in the room when you hear the words of this song called "friends," these groups that are here are really -- he really thought everybody, strangers who can become friends and the highest honor he would put on a picture that he would find would be succession of friendship. to him it was like around the table and it was a code of the highest value in a relationship is being a friend. this song is about friends who cannot live a life that's long enough to have your friend is the main theme coach kay says they told stories into the night last night.

he was really remarkable >> love to have been a fly on the wall in that room, gregg, absolutely incredible. >> thank you so much for your time, we'll let you go to the proceedings. gregg petersmeyer. >> we are not too far from the bush family leaving on their way to the capitol we'll turn to john harwood on more of what you are seeing this morning. >> carl, a couple of points, on the sports conversation you were having, george h.w. bush, he was a guy that's always in a hurry, he liked to play speed golf and he was competitive and played soccer at yale and baseball at yale, he only hit .251 but he was a good fielder this was somebody who had a lifelong love for a zest of competition with people.

he drove that cigarette boat as fast as he could get it to go. it is not surprising that he wove athletes and coaches into his life a bit more on the thousand poin points of lights >> he served under reagan who was a sharp break. ronald reagan was challenging the expansion of government. he was wanting to cut taxes and he did cut taxes the top rate was 70% when he took office. it was 28% when he left office we also had big deficits when george h.w. bush ran in 1988, he said he wants a kinder and gender nation, there was not a lot of money for programs which was the conventional way people thought of how to make a kinder and gender nation of more assistance to people

he sat outside the capitol where he now lies in state, we have more will than wallet. we got to figure out a way to help people that does not involve government spending and that's what gave rise to the points of light. it was using volunteerism rather than government program. that was something consistent with his upbringing and the culture of his family which involved with giving back. the challenge with that approach of course is that there are not many bush families people with the means and time and ability to give back and so it may, the point of light as an initiative may not have established dramatic changes in society but never the less, it was how he approach the idea of social improvement and i think that will be a big part of george bush's legacy the other thing of course is the way that he responded to that deficit problem that we had

which is that he made the tough decision to abandon that no new taxes pledge and make a compromise with congressional democrats and raised the tax break that reagan implemented to 28 and raised it to 31 that deficit reduction agreement put us on a path for economic success in the 1990s point it was followed by another one implemented by bill clinton and by the end of the 1990s, we had budget surplus it was a record that was under rated at the time. he was defeated in 1992 when bill clinton ran and set our economy stupid one of the ironies when i was looking back of performance of the george h.w. bush, he was the last president to preside over four con second secutive quarte plus growth. that's something i don't think

anybody recognizes as we talk about stagnation and what we got to do to get our economy going >> i remember being a cover reporter to china where we are giving the status, that was a big conversation of the day. we talked a lot about nafta. talk about sort of how he saw corners around trade, john >> the defining characteristics of george bush's view in the united states was international, it was looking out and optimistic and confident that grew out of his experience in world war ii. that was a great victory for the united states and its allies we stood astride the world after world war ii the economy was booming. everybody expected of a period

of expansion and growth. we ended up winning the cold war. we have not been able to sustain the kind of immediate growth and expansion of trade is one of the ways that george bush and other since then have looked to revive the american economy and get produced of the rates of growth that we have seen in the past and we have not seen yes, he served as the envoy to china under president nixon. that gave him an appreciation for the way that society was on the rise and of course president reagan initiated the talks that led to nafta george h.w. bush prosecuted those talks to a successful conclusion and it passed under bill clinton that's a huge part of his legacy >> at the time as you said more will than wallet, necessity being the mother of intervention for some of those points of light of program and you have

the compare it in terms of the squeeze to today and what kind of capacity there is for leaders who want to help there is dick cheney there and we saw diane feinstein entering a few moments ago. let's get to ylan mui, she's waiting for the departure ceremony that's set to begin there in a couple of minutes time, ylan >> reporter: that's right, we are waiting for the departure ceremony to begin, it will take place on the steps of the capitol right here behind me you can see it is already in place. we have seen security picking up over the half hour they'll play "hail to the chief," there will be a special military honor guard that carries the casket down steps and place it into the hurst. all of the pom and circumstance

that you saw the atmosphere in washington sort of shifted, of course there is grief and sorrow but there is also a celebration of a life well lived and a politician and a man who was respected by people on both sides of the isle we heard statements from nancy pelosi, she says that president bush believed in the power of ordinary americans to make a difference she talked about the points of life program and that's what she's referencing there and we heard from mitch mcconnell talking about his service as the youngest aviator, he says president bush steered the country as great as he steered that airplane, he challenged us to fly higher still. once the president's motorcade leaves the capitol will be

headed to the national cathedral where the funeral itself will be taken place. the bush family will be flying to texas where there will be additional services on thursday and as well as the burial. back over to you thank you very much. as we look at colin powell there, and former vice president dick cheney who'll be sitting with the quails and the bidens today. joining us on the phone, a speech writer for the 1988 campaign deputy assistant to the president, bob, thank you for your time this morning, it is great to talk to you, robert grady. >> i want to hear about the story of 1988 when he called you and said bob, i am running for president. >> he called me in 1986, i have been working for governor tom cane up there in new jersey.

he said i am running for president and i want you to do for me what you did to tommy cane we had a successful initiative there and focusing on the economy and environment and education. he wanted to continue the reagan -- he was moderate on environment and education and as you saw in the journal today, he's a consequential president when it comes to president spending control and both caps on discretionary spending and pay as you go entitlement that's still in place today >> knowing how rare a third white house term would be for the party, did it feel at the time when you got the call that this was going to be a steep hill >> well, no sitting president

had been elected we used to joke and call him fillmore after the democratic convention, the governor of massachusetts was ahead by 17 points on august 1st of 1988. the president kind of woke up and realized, we have to make it clear that it is not about, this is really about the direction the country is going to go he made it clear and continuing in a conservative direction on national and security on economics and crimes he would be quote on quote kind of gentler on things like education and child care he did at the end of the day reached across the isle as what john harwood was saying, the clean air act reduced emissions by over 78% and carbon dioxide

emissions by 75% and gotten led out of the air 401-25 and it passed the senate 89-11. if you want to have it lasting for decades and that's still delivering much healthier air in america. they got to be bipartisan like that and can't be jammed through on the party with one vote >> it is hard to imagine on that kind of vote today bob, i love hearing the stories of his interactions with people, the way he treated people and does anything to you come to mind as we reflect on him? >> well, we remained friends over the years here is a story that hit me personally my house where i livedd had been burned to the house. i was asked to give a speech on

environmental, many environmental achievements that he had i gave the speech and we came and i was getting ready to come to the airport, he said, bob, come here for a minute he opens up a folder and he said i heard you have a little problem, when your house burnt down, i lost everything of the president. anyway, he happenends me a foldn signed about five of them to me of and gotten pictures of him and i together and he said i thought you may want this. so con sit rate asiderate all t. >> make you wonder how he finds the energy and mustard that kind of extracurricular in kindness

>> he loved people people gotten notes, a funny thing over the last decade, we would have the bushes 's on our christmas card list. oh, matthew is getting pretty big. a he would annotate my christmas cards wi card with a bunch of reactions and jokes and send it back >> do you think he's doing that for everybody, bob >> even though it is a sad day but it is a reunion of our friends, we all feel it is one big family people love him. they really do >> i was going to say i no longer feel an accomplishment of getting that christmas card out this year. that's a whole other level, wow

of service that's incredible. >> as we look at some more arrivals here. vice president biden and tom ridge and some others. somebody said the president may be the last president who upon his death was not in some ways unlik unlike by a large portion of the country. picture of people coming from both sides of the spectrum really says that >> that's right. not only a large spectrum of the country but world leaders from all over you think of how he got 40 nations to come together in the gulf war and build that coalition and i can remember so many times in the oval office where he would be pick up the phone and be somebody from another country and he would say how are the kids and not only how are they by names and what

are they doing and then he would say by the way, i need this favor. i g but, he had a lot of loyalty from both sides of the isle and history will treat him very kindly but leaders all around the world and you will see many of them here today >> did he speak and i am not sure how key he was to modern debates but i wonder as we sort of take a nafta to task in some ways of the last year or two did he have opinions on that >> oh, very strong >> he was kind and he was bipartisan he was a strong policy person. he believed in trade for sure. he was very proud and i am very proud having worked with him not only on nafta. if you remember to get nafta to be passed, we have trade

promotion authority that congress can't change the agreement to be negotiated that passed the house by one vote we had a little war room, rob bolton he became white house's staff under george w. bush we were sitting there and orchestrating and trying to get every last vote and you know like i said, we won by one vote. it may have cause us to build bridges and roads in indiana things like that he knew how to count votes he went off to the house, jim, every week he went off and work out at the j gym so he can be friends with the members. he was good friends at the chairman of the house and means committee that he worked out

every week >> do you know what he can bench? >> i don't know that he's a good athlete though he played basketball at yale as you well know and he's very good athlete and i remember i jogged with him in the morning and it shows what a guy he was. he kind of knew he's going to lose and after he did lose, he would -- he was sad that so many people have worked hard for him and he did not deliver >> yeah, jack harwoohn harwood on that. >> kelly, i want to jump back in on a couple of things, first of all, bob grady was a terrific aide but i can't believe he's

gotten so hrusty on his history it was van mark buren. secondly, i want to talk about the environmental record that bob grady was apart of and bill riley was apart of ahead of the environmental agency bob mentioned that george h.w. bush was moderate on environmental policy than president reagan, that's true. the way that he approached the clean air act and specifically the problem of acid rain was to apply a market base solution to it that's to say you had emissions limits and they were tradeable among companies allowing economic efficiency to dictate how it is reduced. it later became a template for how we may deal with carbon pollution that causes climate

change that was known as a trade under president obama. that remains a market based approach of a proven record of success because of what george h.w. bush and bob riley and the democrats accomplished >> leave it to you to correct bob on air >> that's good stuff joining us this morning from new york is bill donaldson who served as the s.e.c. under president george h.w. bush and he's known from the bush family for many years thank you for your time this morning, it is great to talk to you. >> nice to be here >> i love to get your thought on his legacy and we are talking this morning of kelly and me in another life, he may have well gone to brown brothers

>> he had a long history of public service in his family he executed that public service for a long career. >> i love the story how this is a guy who they basicallyhad to make him go to yale because he wanted to enlist in the military he turned down brown brothers to go down to texas and as i read it today, he did not go down there in any great job, he began sweeping warehouses and painting machinery before becoming a sales man. >> that was extraordinary. >> he had an approach of doing something with his life. >> it was humbled and he certainly had no qualms about starting out that way. look at the places he rose to and did not lose a sense of

himself, what does it tell you about him that he rose such high statue and did not lose that >> no matter how busy he was, he always had time for people he was a man of high integrity and high regard for public service. >> vice president al gore is there. as we see more coming into the national cathedral capacity. about 3,000 people, i understand with five of the former presidents in attendance today, it is about 10% of those who have ever been president in our country. >> that's a good point >> to have a gathering like that and world leaders as well. and talking about -- as i understand it, it was h.w. bush who brought canada into what was

supposed to be a u.s./mexico trade agreement clearing the stage for nafta. bill just reflecting on some of the things that were set up during the h.w. bush term. he also did the four consecutive quarter of 4% gdp growth that genre minded us. what do you think he'll most be remembered for >> i am sorry, say again

general barry mccaffrey who served under president hw bush in operation desert storm. served as director of national drug control policy. general, thank you for your time, appreciate it very much today. >> good to be with you. >> the military efforts in the middle east and drug control, two of the most powerful elements of his legacy talk about what americans should remember about those two things today. >> well, you know, it's a good point. president bush did have planned the initial energizing role in trying to get the nation to think about this devastating impact of addiction. my primary contact with president bush, though, a guy who had a special standing with the armed forces, was as a division commander during desert storm when president bush came to see us in the desert

thanksgiving day thousands of soldiers from the 24th infantry division surrounding him and his first words were in 1944 on thanksgiving day he was flying a combat mission in ground support of this division fighting in the philippines. just a tremendous image, a teenage pilot flying off a carrier in world war ii. then i saw him again colin powell, when he was chairman of the jcf, he was the leader and i was privileged to accompany president bush to moscow and helsinki and frequently he liked having the military around him so i tell people with multiple heads of state and senior people and i was a lowly lieutenant general, i'd be the only uniformed guy in the room it was not just that the president wanted somebody to tell the chairman of the jcs

what was going on. he liked having us around, we loved him. >> i was struck being reminded of the persian gulf victory. how quick and complete it was. he built an international coalition to support the effort but then he didn't go further to try for regime change in iraq. today there's so much controversy in not only his son's administration but as it regards to ukraine and russia's activity and the u.s. trying to figure out what its appropriate vole on the international sphere when do we intervene look at syria. how much further do we push? the choice he made that was prudent and he was mocked for it, wasn't he? >> no question i was division commander and we were aggressive. we wanted to get across the euphrates and start toward baghdad but in retrospect we recognized the wisdom of his decision you have to remind yourself, the senior leadership during desert

storm, bush with his combat service in world war ii, intense air combat, schwarzkopf, our theater commander, badly wounded in vietnam, combat veteran and colin powell, chairman of the jcs wounded in combat, vietnam veteran, they were cautious about warfare. they were appalled at what could happen at the end of the war, bush and general powell basically called it off saying we don't want the american people to think we're piling on. so there was a tremendous sense of respect for life with these senior leaders, starting with the president of the united states interesti i states. >> interesting debate. who was the element saying we need to take aoude a dout a dasm

>> the iraqi army had just come apart. the iraqis couldn't deal with this this was a massive well equipped army and air force but we just shattered them on the first day of the air war and they could never get off their feet so it would have been easy from a military perspective to have continued and athletes g least e saddam regime out but i think secretary bakers and others were mature, thoughtful, strategic thinking and didn't want to do it so in history they proved it was the right call. >> i was reading about the reunification of germany we take that for granted now at the time that was controversial whether it would come together that didn't once

again create european hegemony why was he so sure it wouldn't be a problem for germany to reunify? >> i think history will be very kind to president bush over the years. he had momentous impact on the world as it was then and it was uncertain. we look back ott these events and say well, of course that was the right thing to do but there was still widespread fear among the europeans, never mind the russians, about a unified germany. 1939 to 1945 they wrecked the entire european theater so i think bush, again, his generation, they had devastated germany and japan and they saw it clearly, marshall and truman, that you had to put your allies back on your feet so it was unnatural to have germany, the most powerful country

technologically in central europe not be united and bush was able to convince gorbachev principally because of his own integrity and trustworthiness and his sense of respect for the russian people that he had to go along with it so it's a great contribution to american national security and european security. >> there's acosta, of course, wilbur ross, a few moments ago saw vice president mike pence. but to your point, general, we've been talking about this, he became president at a time where the country needed a gracious winner for lack of a batter word. >> i think you would argue we always need a gracious winner. that president -- the president of the united states, the most powerful political leader on the face of the globe, ban that way since 1945 and it will continue

to be so in president bush's life, i'm not sure how good a politician he was. i know as a public servant, as a man of integrity understood that collective action and american values and moral purpose is the way we exercise leadership not just the most powerful economy on the face of the earth, which we are, the most powerful military. it's american values and president bush's life exemplified american values. >> so where did this image that he was a wimp, where did that come from?

>> it's interesting. anybody that survives carrier aviation in world war ii, just getting on and off those are carriers was an act of personal danger so look, from his young life he was an athlete, he was tremendously personally courageous, not unmindful of danger you read his personal recollections of world war ii. he had been there himself alone with a crew member in a navy combat aircraft trying to survive. it's a miracle he did. you think about it his unit suffered enormous casualties so he did have personal courage by the way, that whole parachuting at age 90 struck me as something -- i've got a lot of parachute jumps and i was scared to death every time i did one so i was amazed at this man

doing in the his older years. >> there's ivanka and jared kushner. even after getting hit in 1944 the plane was on fire and severely damaged and he still, general, finished his run on targeting that japanese installation before flying back to sea and bailing out so it's interesting how history shakes its head and even evan thomas apologize national guard wimp headline because in retrospect it made no sense at all. >> no. i think people confused his thoughtfulness, his personal kindness president bush would come in a room and he would spot a soldier in uniform or a single mom, that's where he'd go he came to brussels, belgium, i was sort of a lowly one-star deputy u.s. military rep in nato and he came for the heads of state conference the president travels with a

couple thousand people sometimes. so i went in my additional duty was military kmoond commander. i said to the lee say siaisolia could i get them to come say hello to the military dependents school he and mrs. bush went over there and signed every poster of those young kids that's the kind of person he was. a gentleman. >> and there's sarah sanders and nikki haley as we await for the ceremonies to begin. ylan mui is tracking the bush family >> kelly, we are expecting the bush family to arrive within minutes. you can see the military band starting to get into place there. you can hear the drums, their brass instruments polished to a gleam. crowds are gathering at the capitol. staff on the plaza, the public is gathered outside the security

perimeter. we can see the crowds starting to form there. the ceremony will be taking place on the steps on the east side of the capitol. the presidential hearse is already in place you can see a police car coming up here as those preparations begin. lawmakers trying to put aside partisan sh partisanship they're all trying to achieve president bush's vision of a kinder and gentler america. we'll see how long that lasts. i believe the family is coming out of the black cars you see over there behind me as the military van begins and the arms services members take their places. >> we'll talk to you in a few

moments. you're looking at a live shot. the bush family arriving at the u.s. capitol where they will then escort the remains to the national cathedral they'll participate in this departure ceremony at the capitol. so many threads of our investigation this is morning, kelly, lead us back to elements of humility and kindness and general service to the country there's president carter, one of five presidents in attendance today. even though he oversaw, as you said, things like the fall of the berlin wall or breakup of the soviet union he was asked why didn't you get more emotional about this his answer was literally i'm just not an emotional kind of guy. >> you can't generate emotion for those kind of events you know yourself quite well it all happened on his wash and the lack of celebration to me looking at that period was striking and not being concerned about germany reunifying

understanding both international dynamics and as well trying to understand national ones for him to have won his term, elected popularly after serving as vice president. it was a referendum on how well the public thought the reagan administration served it for eight years. very uncommon for the party in power to get four more they did with george h.w. bush and then you throw ross perot in '92, the economy was a huge area of contention at the time. even just 20, 30 years out it's very different from what it was at the time. >> as we look at these pictures here, from out side the cathedral today, tom scully served as associate director of omb under president george h.w. bush and as deputy assistant and former cms administrator

tom, thank you for your time. >> thanks for having me. >> just reflects on the pictures we're seeing and the absolute bipartisanship in people paying respects today. >> well, he was a great guy, he was easy to work for back then things were different and we had a pretty good relationship with democrats and got a lot of things done and the friendship you see for him was legit and genuine. >> any personal recollections come to mind we've enjoyed hearing how he was as a person. the incredible -- as carl said, the energetic took to do things like finding old photos after bob grady's house had burned down and marking up his christmas cards and returning them with comments about his kids. >> he was an incredibly nice guy. i heard you say he wasn't very

emotional. he was very emotional. he was just modest and didn't like to brag i worked on a lot of things on the 1990 budget deal which was the read my lips, no new taxes iss issue. he was very fired up but he wa convinced it was the right thing to do and it was in hindsight, did it hurt a lot two years later? yeah, but it put the economy on solid footing for a decade and put in budget controls la lasted for years and years and did a lot for health care. fixed the medicare and medicaid programs and slowed the golden state rate he got excited about lots of stuff and he was fun to work with so the idea he was not emotional, i just think he was modest and humble and that probably didn't help too much in the election. >> a lot has been -- we've been recollecting the tax hike, people pointing to something he

wrote in his diary, as i'm sure you know i can't break my read my lips pledge, i'd be destroyed if i did. did he get other there >> yeah, it's one thing to run for election and it's another to govern and once he got in there and realized, people forget the congress was overwhelmingly -- dominated by democrats he was friendly a lot of them. he had great relationships with all of them but they weren't going to pass anything and we needed to do a deficit reduction move and they weren't going to do anything on medicaid or medicare without a modest tax increase he understood that was the right thing to do so at the time he was very popular a year before the election after the first gulf war he was running at 80% he knew it would be difficult. we had a pretty bad last year but that's politics but he knew

it was the right thing to do the one thing he did is the right thing to do. >> so when you're up against george mitchell, did those relationships mend themselves? >> i think it was president bush i spent a lot of time back then with mitchell, he was doing his job, too he was tough and if you're going to get a compromise, they did it but he was doing his job and i have a lot of respect for senator mitchell and i think he had a lot of respect for president bush and they were very friend ly friendly. >> you saw the king and queen of jordan in the cathedral. rick perry among the many guests assembling there that event will begin in just under an hour's sara fagan joins us as well.

sara, what are you looking for today? >> well, i'm really interested in seeing president bush 43's remarks and to really, i think, put a bow around what has been a remarkable several days highlighting the life of this really incredible public servant. i think it will hit on the strongest themes we've been talking about here today. >> i thought it was interesting. according to alan simpson who will be one of the yule gists, he said when he was first approached by the family five years ago when the president was hospitalized and asked if he would give remarks, the request from the president was to keep it to under 10 minutes what does that tell you about hw >> well, for one thing, he's always respectful of oh people

and other people's time and the bush family is notoriously on time president bush when i worked for him as a staff person, you knew if you were not that motorcade, that mother was leaving because he was not going to keep people at a convention center or a library or wherever he was headed to waiting on him and his team so they're very prompt and you have four yule gists so that is a good number of comments and i'm certain president bush's comments will probably be slightly longer than the other yule gists. i saw earlier as you were talking, al gore and dick cheney standing next to each other. it's a special time that our country comes together and you see political rivals and folks who are enemies at times and had

harsh words for each other coming together to pay respects to our world leaders and our president. >> one thing is when senator john mccain passed away there were many comments about his politics as it regards the current president's. do you think any of those subtexts are likely to come up this morning >> no, i don't it would be uncharacteristic of the bush family. i thought john mccain's funeral was beautiful and he deserved the accolades he received but i thought it was too political it's not appropriate at a man or woman's funeral to take political shots. i understand emotions run high

president bush and president clinton became close friends. they looked past their personal hurt and did what was in the best interest of the country and, of course, in many cases victims around the world of these or blg natural disasters so i don't suspect you'll see anything -- i don't think you'll hear president trump beyond mention thanking him for being there and paying his respects on behalf of the united states. >> some of these pictures are remarkable watching vice president biden talk toing ing angela merkel. david rubin stein of the

carlisle group prince charles, secretary perry along with congressional leadership chuck schumer, nancy pelosi, john major is here, mitch mcconnell with elaine chao it's hard to get into the head of bush 43 but they never -- >> what's been nice to watch is how much time president bush took for his children and grandchildren.

but they did take a lot of time off but they took the time for each other to build relationships and wherever i've spoken to president bush about his father, my former boss, 43 he beams with pride and love and it's a very genuine affection that not every father and son enjoys >> quickly, before we turn to john harwood, can you characterize any conversations father and son had post-9/11 in the middle of international combat when things were tough for your boss?

>> i recall president bush 41 coming to the white house. i was a junior staffer and he was there to comfort not only his son but the staff who were very afraid because many people for a long time believed the plane that crashed in pennsylvania was headed for the white houseso young starves working in the white house and executive building were afraid and i know what he said to his son -- we get all the bushes confused here, 41 said to 43, in addition to taking the necessary steps militarily and intelligence and restructuring government in the way to deal with the new threat is to remind him that in addition to being commander-in-chief he was comforter in chief and we saw the famous moment where he went to yankee stadium and throughout the pitch, the

moment on the bullhorn which is iconic on new york city in the rubble of the twin towers. that is the father's influence on the son and the man that george w. bush was because he watched his father and because he had that shoulder to lean on and presidents are pretty good about leaning on each other and getting advice but the familial relationship made that stronger. >> we saw supreme court justices, including brett kavanaugh, elena kagan in the national cathedral and david rubinstein, mike pompeo, steve mnuchin, many members of the current administration. >> alan simpson. sara and tom, we thank you for joining us, please stay with us. john harwood is overlooking the national cathedral ahead of the funeral service, good morning,

john. >> carl, i'm struck in watching the images of the people you've just been describing inside the cathedral, the biggest phenomenon in industrialized countries right now is the rebellion of people who have felt left behind by economic change against the so-called establishment and in that church is the establishment in the united states over the last several decades and it's not really that big. you talk about people who have grown up with one another while their parents were serving at high levels in government. now -- people like al gore went to st. alban's, very close to hear george w. bush grew up for a time in spring valley when his dad was serving in washington and so this is a fairly small community of people, they understand each other.

they've had similar burdens and responsibilities and even if they've been on the opposite side politically, they have a follow feeling from the experiences that they've had in navigating the political world and navigating the world of government david rubin stein, we know him from the carlisle group, he was a young aide in the jimmy carter white house and both are in that cathedral right now. >> john, thank you we're looking there at the whole bush family assembled at the u.s. capitol the five remaining members hw and his wife lost one to leukemia we heard about that when barbara passed away and how the family dealt with that. and following the body he will have the service today they will have a long day today, carl, of course going through all this, george w. bush will be giving one of the eulogies and it continues into tomorrow with the funeral in houston.

>> you mentioned robin who was their second daughter, just younger than george w. bush who died at the age of three back in 1953 jenna bush hager did an interview with her grandfather, talked about whom he'd most like to see in heaven upon his passing and he mentioned robin john harwood, that experience has to color so much of your life, there was a piece in "usa today" where barbara bush relay add story when their daughter was in the hospital, barbara's message to the president was please do not cry in the hospital room and the president was unable to withhold back his tears so he would tell his daughter he had to go to the restroom and as barbara bush later joked, she didn't know whether he was upset or had the weakest baghdader in the world let's take a moment to look at

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>> what you're about to see is the remains and the family on their way to the washington national cathedral the funeral ceremony there will begin in a little more than half an hour, last about an hour and a half before the remains will then defpart the cathedral for joint base andrews and then around 1:15 we'll see a final d.c. ceremony at the joint base before leaving for houston, arriving tonight about 4:30 and then we'll have the president's body laid to rest tomorrow in the afternoon at the george bush presidential library at texas a&m and college station. >> and markets have been closed today. the stock markets, the bond markets. yesterday, of course, we had a lot of weakness, people concerned about growth and so forth and knowing today they would haven't the opportunity to trade. a lot of the reports we look for on a day like this, even the

private adp jobs report being pushed off so the nation can come together. and as we've been doing, reminisce about the life of president george h.w. bush, think about the contributions he's made and the way in which his administration shaped a lot of the topics of debate, the things we're struggling with he said george h.w. bush was instrumental in a trade agreement between the u.s. and mexico thinking about taxes and the deficit and the way he tried to encourage poll tie-- volunteerso people who couldn't lean on a government-funded program could find support in their community. >> the policy discussions are on hold today but as our guests have said today, whether or not

his legacy of humility, kindness and bipartisan shship will outl him. whether this message washington takes to heart in some way, whether that sticks in the political times that we're in. i think it was the "journal" earlier in the week that send he was a gentleman in an era where the culture was getting cruder by the day. >> great point. >> the last time this happened was the passing of ford and reagan in '07 and it's highly unusual for the whole nation to grind to a halt. and the whole world grinds to a hea a heart. it's meant to send the message that this is highly appropriate, we think about the life and his legacy and as we have been doing so far the last several days since he passed on friday.

>> i think politico quoted an aide to the family saying there was 100% if you knew the president you knew he would want the sitting president to say good-bye. >> joining us, the dean of -- and the chief of staff of the air force. thank you for joining us >> thanks for having me. >> i'm curious to know how his leadership and values are embedded in the dna of the school. >> i think that's exactly the wa

way. >> can you talk about what texas a&m meant to him >> i think from the first time he came here, he saw the pride, the patriotism, the belief in faith and family and loyalty and respect that aggies tend to aspouse and are what this university is all about. they met so closely with his values, his family values, the way he always dealt with people that he found a number of kindred spirits here. >> if you didn't know him, if you just had his resume in front of you and you saw raised in greenwich, phillips academy, yale, you might not expect him to have college station so close to his heart how did that happen? was it similarly move to texas and getting into the oil industry or something else >> well, i think when he and the

family came to midland and he got into the oil business and succeeded and then got into politics i think texas gets under your skin. it's hard to resist it when you're here. it's a great place with great people and he fit the fabric of the state remarkably well and the state and the city of houston embraced anymore a very, very dramatic way and i think you've seen that since he retired from public life he's been very active, very visible, and the entire year when he's down here he's been involved in things, touching people and just kind of sharing his expertise and his great, great example. >> and there's former president obama alongside his wife, president clinton and his wife, everybody's there ready and waiting. the body is making its way to national cathedral diana olick is along that

procession route. >> you can see way off in the distance the procession is just beginning. it will travel down pennsylvania through here, freedom plaza. in fact we're standing in front of the ronald reagan international trade building we spoke to a police officer who said this is very different from past presidents like president reagan who wanted it to be more formal and had military and police lining the route. president ford wanted his procession to go through his hometown in virginia and past the world war ii memorial to pay his final respects in this case, just a simple run up pennsylvania avenue you can see the flags are lined here we started to see people lining up about an hour ago some of them just coming down from their offices to pay respects, others coming from home work is as usual in d.c. except

for the federal government i did speak to a middle schoolteacher who came in from maryland she said i'm a democrat, i was too young to remember him in office but what i wanted him to do was come here and pay respects to the office of the presidency and the service that president bush gave. she just wanted to pay her respects and be here to say how much she felt about his service to our country so, again, you can see a lot of people have lined up we're just seeing in the the distance it will come slowly through. we saw the bush family come through earlier, laura bush waved to the crowd that was here everyone very somber, very quiet. kelly, zmarl. >> diana, thank you very much? >> diana olick as the body of george h.w. bush makes its try the cathedral for this service mark welsh is still with us, dean of the bush school down there in texas

i was going to ask how you came to know the former president, if you had any recollections to share. >> yes, ma'am. i was an admirer during my military career. he was a highly respected commander in chief i do not meet him personally or mrs. bush until i accepted this job. my wife betty and i had the chance over the last few years to get to know them and members of the family. the first time i spoke to him was after a voice mail that he let me know i was selected for this job it was a call i didn't receive because i was working at the pentagon and couldn't answer my phone. he left that message three times which was embarrassing for me but instructive in the man himself. he wanted to make sure i got the note there was no hint of upset that i hadn't answered, just pride in the fact that i was coming to work at his college. >> even as we're looking at these pictures, can you give us a preview of what we might expect tomorrow as the remains

make their way to college statio station. >> i think you'll see the pride of texas and the great love for george h.w. bush and what he represented. when he reaches college station, i can assure you that will be the case you'll see the pride of this great university as he passings through the corps of cadets and as he gets to the bush school itself, you'll see the pride of the entire place represented >> three times he left you a two-minute voice mail? >> three times, yes, ma'am and i was a little embarrassed by that but incredibly proud to now be going to a college that bore his name.

>> sara fagen, we're seeing a lot of people pay respects >> when you think about the diversity of his career, it's remarkable, from being at the cia, to being ambassador to china and serving as the 41st president. he's touched so many lives i heard jenna and barbara bush, president bush's daughters, talking about what's been moving for them which i find the same way as somebody who is reasonably close to the bush family is just that everybody you speak to has an interaction. i spoke to a professional colleague who told me this great story, he did not work for either man but either bush president but he was helping in an advanced trip as a volunteer.

and the president went into a restaurant to eat and president bush 41 got up and said you're going to be joins us, right? and when the bill game my friend the aide paid for the bill, there was a lot of commotion president bush wanted to pay for that meal and he sent him a personal check after and insisted he cash it. he just touched people in a way that you don't hear a negative word about him and that's pretty remarkable in public life given particular his tenure of service. >> yes if there had been tell-alls about his term, probably not the kind of tell-alls that we're used to in the modern era, sara. joining us from houston is the press secretary to george h.w. bush when he was in congress at the u.n. and at the rnc, also the former secretary to president reagan

peter, thank you for your time today. >> my pleasure. >> one of my favorite stories of the week was bernie shaw's recollection of after doing a brief stint covering the gulf war, hw, a sense of invites him to the white house and said we were very worried about you. he said these things just aren't done anymore. >> you're right. apropos of what you just said, i'm reminded if he were here right now -- and i know this from my 50 years of friendship and association with him -- he'd probably be saying hey, pete, this is all great all this pomp and circumstance, but be sure you add a light touch to it. because nobody had a greater sense of humor than george h.w. bush did and if we get a sect here, i'll tell a quick joke that he told his entire career. >> please. >> since we're all headed for church there, he started using

this joke when he was a congressman and up until he came to houston and the joke is this, a little boy is walking into church with his grandmother and the little boy says to the grandmother, what are all those flags along the way in front of the church and his grandmother said, why, son, those are in memory of those who died in service. the little boy said, oh, really? the 9:00 or the 11:00 service? now, he told that joke his entire career and when he was on the front lines in saudi arabia the night before the golf war began he told that joke to the troops there so that was one he enjoyed telling. >> this was a deeply spiritual man who made a point of impressing on other people they don't need to be shy about their faith. >> you're right. one other thing that crossed my mind sitting here watching these scenes is that he once told me

that right after he graduated from yale in his first job interview he was turned down for the position he didn't get the job and i won't mention the company but we'd all recognize the name. >> what kind of company, was it financial services oil? >> no, none of those he said having had that happen to him and i'm now an endowed teaching chair at sam houston university, he said being turned down in that first job interview, he said to himself i'm going to get in a studebaker and drive to odessa, texas, with my wife and get in the oil business and just think if he hadn't been turned -- just think if he hadn't been turned down for that job, none of us might be sitting here today

then in the early '60s he was looking for a new challenge in life and what was was it entering the political arena. >> do you know about his politics back in those days when it -- i read some reference to him insisting he wanted to run as a republican so texas could be a two-party state. >> in those days texas was a one-party state, it was a democrat state so you have to give him credit for sticking his neck out and he first sought public office here in 1964 which was a landslide year for president johnson so he -- as he used to say, he often -- i often heard him say over the years, you know, sometimes in life you just have to take on the tough ones and do what's right not what's expedient for you and your career but what's the right

thing to do. and if you look at his career, he had many ups and down, people say george bush had it made. no he didn't, he faced a lot of stuff challenges in various jobs he was in. in 1974 when he was serving as chairman of the republican national committee -- and i might add during watergate, what a thankless job -- he gave some serious thought to coming back to texas and running for governor at that time and finally one day we were sitting in a car at national airport in washington and he turned to me and said pete, i can't do that i have to do the right thing and the right thing is to hang in here and do this job here during a very tough time. now, the expedient thing would have been to come to texas and run for governor but he just could not abandon that position at that time and i think that speaks volumes about the conviction he had as a person.

>> that's a fascinating story and peter it reminds me of our discussions about his relationship with the media, watching sam donaldson walk into the cathedral earlier today and john harwood, we've talked this morning about his relationship with even his biggest detractors and critics. >> i'll get to that in a second but first of all, hi, pete. >> hey, john >> pete was too polite to mention it but it was procter & gamble that turned down george h.w. bush when he applied for that job he and barbara bush made that landmark decision to strike out in the oil business. he could have gone to wall street but he decided to go to texas. that was his own declaration of

independence he set out, went to midland, made success in the oil business and that was a huge part of his identity and that's how that presidential library ended up at texas a&m because george h.w. bush valued his ability to make it on his own. he had some family help in setting up that business but he succeeded on his own in terms of the media, one of the fondest memories i have of covering his white house was the 1992 reelection campaign and he had a slogan which he started saying and we made it up into bumper stickers, it said annoy the media, reelect bush because president bush felt that those of us who were covering the economy but it was a completely different tenor than the discussion that occurred before

his presidency pat buchanan was one of the leaders when he worked for richard nixon of the push to -- against what conservatives considered media bias. they had some legitimate points there. president bush shared that but he has a gentle relationship with people in the media it wasn't a deep hostility. >> john, as you're talking there's the president and melania trump walking into the national cathedral i hesitate to make this too political. we've talked about the dangers of making this political at all, something president george h.w. bush would not want but can you comment on the implications, the significance of having trump specifically here today? >> well, he -- let me tell you, president bush 41 had -- i've never known anyone that had more

respect for the institution of the presidency than he did and let me just give you one quick small anecdote that i think emphasizes that. in 1969 he's a second-term congressman there made an appointment with president nixon to talk to him about the senate race in texas in 1970. so we're driving to the white house. he was driving, i was in the car with him all of the sudden, he says, wait a minute, i got to go by my house. we veered away from the white house and drove to his house, which took about ten extra minutes. he goes inside, he comes rushing back out, he gets in the car, we drive back to the white house. he doesn't say a word. we get to the white house, and of course i'm dying with curiosity as to why we made that stop we get to the white house, and i said, what was that all about? he said, well, i looked down, and i noticed that i had loafers on he said, you don't go see the president of the united states with loafers on. he had gone all the way over to

his house just to change his shoes and put on a pair of lace shoes. and that to me is a microcosm of the kind of respect that he had for the office of the presidency, regardless of who's in it. >> on that note -- yes, john >> there's another thing that occurred in 1969 that also demonstrated that respect. he was the only member of the texas congressional delegation to go out to andrews air force base and see off president lyndon johnson as he transitioned power and president nixon became president george h.w. bush went out to andrews to say good-bye to him he said somebody needed to see the president off, and he took that on himself. >> and could i just add to that? when bush was u.s. ambassador to the u.n., we went to austin one time for a speech he was giving. we then went out to the ranch in

johnson city to visit president johnson. while we were there, i said to president johnson, i said, mr. president, do you remember your last day in office out at andrews air force base, who came out there to say good-bye to you? he said, not only do i remember that, i will never forget it he had served in the senate with bush's father, so there was a relationship there you know, the interesting thing about that was we got back to new york at the u.n., and the next day president johnson passed away at the ranch >> oh, my gosh >> and president bush said, you know, we may have been two of the last people to visit him there. >> oh, my goodness what a remarkable tale, peter. as we see that front row with presidents clinton, carter, obama, president trump, of course, and the bush family en route. just an incredible front row ayman javers is at the white house today watching all of this. >> i'm struck by the images you're just talking about. that is one of the most fascinating tableaus we have seen, i think, in american

politics the trump family sitting side by side with the obama family president trump has made so much of his presidency about an entire reputation of the obama presidency and reversing some of the former president's most high priorities politically and policywise personally, there couldn't be more tension between those couples, both the current and former first lady and the current and former president yet, what we see here is a smile and a handshake and polite greetings inside the national cathedral here there's a phrase they toss around a lot in washington called continuity of government. that's all about the future, who will have power if this happens, if that happens. it strikes me that what we're seeing here today is continuity of government about the past the bush administration, the obama administration, the clinton administration as we've been watching these images of people gathering inside the national cathedral, you're seeing members of the

trump administration who hold important, powerful positions greeting people who held those same positions decades before them we saw a clutch of vice presidents, for example, all gathered and talking to one another. this is an astonishing moment in american politics to see this, particularly with the obama family and with the trump family sitting there side by side that is a portrait of a country right there. >> ayman, it also reminds me, never be at such odds with your nemesis -- let's not say enemy -- that you can't sit next to them at a moment like this. >> sure, absolutely. i think both the obamas and the trumps feel that it is very important to be here, to bear witness, to salute the former president, and also to show the country that this can still be done in this country, which is so politically divided, so tribal in its politics now you think back to the presidency of george h.w. bush at a time

when we thought that was partisan and divided today is a very different washington, d.c., and yet you can still see that continuity of government going back through the generations, physically present by the people who are in the room in the national cathedral right now. it is really something to behold i think we should all just pause for a moment and watch that because it's one of the most impressive things about this country, that we can all come together still after all the divisions in our politics. >> impressive is the right word, ayman. peter, one last note from you. you said if the president were here, he would say keep it light, but isn't there part of him that would want this message to carry, the one that we're talking about right now? >> yes, and consider this. look at who became two of his great friends after he left office president clinton, president obama. and one last thing on this in his respect for others who held the presidency i'll never forget sitting with him at their house in washington

on the day president carter took office the carters were going down to the motorcade -- the parade was going down pennsylvania avenue the carters all the sudden got out of the car and started walking hand in hand down pennsylvania avenue. i'll never forget him saying at that point, isn't that a neat thing for them to do that is really impressive that they're going that well, guess who did that the day he was elected president that would be george and barbara bush >> was he surprised that he became president >> well, he'd been in government most of his adult life, so i don't know that surprise is the word >> did that seem like his goal >> well, he never -- i never heard him say, gee, i'm going to run for president some day it was kind of, i think, a lot of people just expected him to and we may never, ever see in this lifetime anyone with a resume that he had upon taking

office >> peter, thank you so much for your time and your stories truly remarkable as we watch the bush family pull up here to the cathedral, a final thought as we're just a few minutes away from the start of this service? >> well, again, i think what ayman said rings true, which is that this is really a remarkable statement about our country and how we come together in times of sorrow and tragedy, and to see all these presidents and world leaders come together to pay their respects for somebody who devoted their life to public service is something we can all take pride in as americans and certainly hope that we see this pattern of civility, at least at key moments, in the nation's history survive. it has been a tumultuous political time over the last several years, so i think a moment like this is even greater

and more poignant because of the times that we live in. >> i'll be curious to see how these eulogies, what their message is, both from bush 43 and from alan simpson, who actually talks about the process of writing it in "the washington post" this week. he said, you save the crying for while you're writing it so you don't end up crying while you're reading it >> i always wonder about that. even as we're relating stories from his life, you know, there are going to be highly emotional moments regardless of that, i'm sure we mentioned the former senator, simpson, brijohn meacham i always like to look at the selections that are chosen for the readings we'll be hearing from the book of revelation. we'll be hearing from isaiah those selections also tell you a lot, especially for somebody

whose faith was so important to him, like h.w. that will have a lot to say about the way he lives his life and the message he wants people to come away with. >> one of the things i saw is president george w. bush on the way out of the capitol really fighting back tears. all presidents give a lot of speeches, and president bush -- i believe the last time he spoke here would have been -- it would have been president reagan's funeral. also, right after 9/11 when they had the prayer service being in this venue for president bush has to evoke a lot of emotion in and of itself. but to have to stand there and speak about your father when the entire world is watching, this certainly will rank up there in the most important speeches he's ever given

>> and george w. bush -- i mean, regardless of what you thought about his presidency, he has been extremely respectful in his post presidential life of the national stage and ceding it to his successors this is a moment where he re-enters that national stage. i'm sure he's cognizant of that as well. >> yes, very much. knowing him, i know that he isn't worried or thinking at all about his perception out of this it's how can i honor my father and give the respect due to him for his service to the country and our family i know the bushes have a lot of pride in just seeing how honored their father is being by so many people of such diverse backgrounds, all the stories, all the kindnesses, all of the attention president bush 41 gave to people, whether they were wait