grandfather, father, and i think you will be remembered while ine history of this country. >> shannon: i think you are ♪ ed: good morning and welcome to a special edition of "fox & friends." we are remembering all morning the life and legacy of an american hero, george herbert walker bush, the 41st president of the united states passing away at the age of 94. >> world war ii veteran, patriot and lifetime public servant was the longest living president in u.s. history who always put the american people first. >> we are americans. part of something larger

than ourselves. for two centuries we have done the hard work of freedom. and, tonight, we lead the world in facing down a threat to decency and humanity. >> he died last night after 8 months of the life of his beloved wife barbara. ed: good morning, it is a special edition, of course, of "fox & friends" as we reflect on this life and legacy as you mention an american hero. what stands out to me as did you go through his resume, this is somebody who is not just a president. he was vice president. he was an ambassador to china. ambassador to the united nations. but, after he left office, he said the most important thing i have now are simply father, husband, and grandfather. all i can think about as somebody who covered him a long time and got to know him a little bit as poppy is gone. that's what he was known as to his family. he wasn't known as mr. president. he was known as poppy. and now poppy is gone.

emily: absolutely. honestly the whole world is mourning. their recollections of working with him in their memories he was so memorable and everything about him exuded a grace and humility. the former prime minister of britain saying there was no one like him. he pioneered telephone diplomacy he in general title and humility. he made grade strides in our history and bipartisan politics. todd: today is more of a celebration than anything else. the piece we are about to show you reflects that bret baier takes a look at this amazing life and legacy. >> for a new breeze is blowing and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn for in man's heart if not, in fact, the day of the dictator is over. >> bret: george bush's hardest task as president was giving the green light for operation dessert storm.

but he is credited with rescuing the tiny oil rich nation of kuwait. from saddam hussein's million man army of iraq. before george herbert walker bush took his first step in the white house he learned to walk in kennebunkport mane born june 12th, 1924. he was the second of five general to dorothy and senator prescott bush. with high school behind him, george was accepted at yale university but put his education on hold. the start of the second world war beckoned him to serve his country instead. in 1942, george bush celebrated his 18th birthday by enlisting in the u.s. naval reserve. within a year, he was enson bush, the youngest fighter pilot in the navy. taking part in 58 combat missions in the pacific theater. bush was flying his plane on a special bombing mission over china when he was shot

down by the japanese and forced to bail out at sea. he survived, though his crew did not. >> i'm floating around in this raft, paddling and then all of a sudden saw this tower come up and saw the submarine surface. >> with the end of the war in sight, bush set his sights on barbara pierce the two wed in 1945 while bush was still in the navy. they would have six children including our 43rd president george w. bush and popular florida governor jeb. bush left the navy and guatemalaed from yale before he and barbara moved to texas to find his dreams on an oil field. by the age of 30, he was co-founder and president of pota offshore which pioneered experimental drilling equipment. just like his father, bush was attracted to public service and politics. after losing his first political race for a senate seat in 1964, he was elected to the house of representatives two years

later. serving two terms, encouraged by richard nixon to run again for the senate in 1970, he was defeated a second time. he moved on to high government positions. in 1971 richard nixon appointed him ambassador to the united nations. and in 1973, he became chairman of the republican national committee at the height of the watergate scandal. in that role, bush urged nixon to resign for the good of the party. >> i shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. >> president gerald ford sent bush to china as chief of the u.s. liaison office. a short time later ford called him home to be director of the cia and bush was credited with bringing morale back to the agency. bush left in 1977, when president carter entered the white house. by 1979, he was ready to get back into the political ring. >> ladies and gentlemen, i am a candidate for president of the united states.

[cheers and applause] >> bush was seen as moderate alternative to ronald reagan but dropped out of the presidential campaign after poor primary. a short time later he accepted his reagan's offer to be his running mate. reagan's view of the soviet union. and pushed hard on deregulation and war on drugs. in the natural progression, bush became the republican party's nominee in 1988 with senator dan quayle from indiana as his running mate. the republican team defeated massachusetts governor michael could you caucus and texas senator lloyd benson. >> i, george herbert walker bush, do solemnly swear. >> during his president the soviet union dissolved and the wall fell and securing the panama canal. everything came to a head

when saddam hussein equaided kuwait. >> we are not walking away until our mission is done, until the invader is out of kuwait. >> president bush reacted quickly, committing over 400,000 u.s. troops and building a strong coalition of allies. operation dessert storm had begun. the majority of america supported the president's decision to throw saddam hussein back into iraq and bush's popularity rating hit an all-time high. most thought he was unbeatable for a second term. but a broken campaign promise: >> read my lips, no new taxes. [cheers and applause] >> would come back to haunt the 41st president. and in the fall of 1992, with the war a distant memory, george bush lost re-election to former arkansas governor bill clinton. bush traveled to kuwait to commemorate the gulf war in 1993. an assassination plot on his life was uncovered but bush

was unharmed. it was then discovered the poorly orchestrated plan was the work of the iraqi intelligence service. the kuwait court would convict all but one of the defendants. bush retired to texas with barbara, getting in a few rounds of horseshoes and celebrating countless birthdays by parachuting out of planes. spending time with the family in maine and reliving memories of when he was a boy. >> i can loan nestle say the three most rewarding titles bestowed on me are the three that i have got left, a husband, a father, and a grand dad. >> why retired active until the end. joining forces with bill clinton to raise money for the victims of the 2004 indian ocean tsunami and hurricane katrina in 2005 former presidents enjoyed a

close friendship. using his experience and insights to serve as a quiet advisor to his eldest son, the 43rd president. here, attending george w. bush's library dedication in 2013 and sharing a few words. >> i'm glad to be here. god bless america and thank you very much. [applause] >> bret: bush kept up with public debate i do joining twitter where he often shared photos of colorful socks that became part of his signature look. age brought health challenges, of course, a form of parkinson's' disease that left him in a wheelchair and brief hospital stays in his 90's for pneumonia, bronchitis and a fall in his home. but not enough to keep him out of the limelight. throwing out the first pitch before 2016 baseball game and pregame ceremonies months later at the super bowl in his houston

hometown. reuniting with his former running mate and vice president dan quayle in july, and then catching a glimpse of the rare eclipse that crossed the country alongside his family in maine in august. one of bush's last public appearances was at his beloved wife barbara's funeral where he met with former presidents, first ladies and the current first lady melania trump. bush recently returned to his vacation hometown of kennebunkport, maine joining fellow veterans for pancake breakfast where he was hospitalized for low low blood pressure and fatigue. and he his wife attended the annual memorial day parade. he wrote in a tweet he is forever grateful not only to those prights who made the ultimate sacrifice to our nation but also the gold star families whose heritage is enbuoyed with their honor and hero inch. known for chaired and

straightforward approach. george w. bush called this country to be better in hopes of inspiring a people to be great. >> i think historians are going to say we did pretty well that's all right. be in heaven, look down, and let them make that determination. ed: you think of the sweep of history and you think of legacy when he lost that election in '92 to bill clinton he is going to be seen as a failed president. is he one of these former presidents, now a late president who over time his legacy has gotten stronger and stronger and stronger. i think also about bret pointed out how much time he spent in kennebunkport. when i covered president bush 43, i went back there and it was such a small town. the locals still have such reverence for the bush family. you see them there at walker's point. it's not long walk to sort

of the downtown area. i remember hearing that a sitting vice president and then president-elect he would go to the pharmacy himself to pick up prescriptions. finally the secret service set mr. president-elect you can't go to the pharmacy anymore? what are you talking about? i have been doing this my whole life. as he was seen as this healthy man, he was-so down to earth. todd: last line of that piece you heard the late president saying he wasn't in a rush. with that said, take a look at what he accomplished at such a young age. he was an oil tycoon for all intents and purposes by the age of 30. he married very young the youngest aviator in u.s. navy history, and had his first child while in college. that child our 43rd president. he had the following to say jeb, neil, marvin dora and i are saddened to announce after 94 remarkable years

our dear dad has died. george w. bush was the man of the highest character and best son or daughter cooling ask for. those who cared and prayed for dad and condolences of our friends and fellow citizens. emily: as well his son jeb bush sr. nothing gave my campy more job support for others especially supporting and caring for those who risk making the ultimate sacrifice every day. kind ler and gentler to love each other. we will his minimum dearly. ed: so important to mention family there robin was the daughter that was born who died at the age of 4. it is so moving throughout their entire lives george and barbara bush talked about how devastating that was for them political cartoonist who did an image

a few months ago when barbara bush died that had robin waiting for her in heaven. and then now that political cartoonist has now updated that image to show george h.w. bush coming in a navy plane. we will show that in a few moments. now holding hands in heaven saying we were waiting for you george h.w. bush. emily: he was absolute war hero. something i found remarkable from his service. after his attack in pearl harbor he postponed college and enlisted in u.s. navy 18th birthday becoming the youngest aviator in the u.s. navy. at the time. and during his service, as an officer, he read the letters of the enlisted men before they were sent home to ensure that they were compliant with classified issues. he referenced that he referenced that experience in part as the humanizing quality that he had. the ability to connect all

that he knew about the soldiers and constituents. his future constituents in the country. he learned what like was like in the midwest. he learned what life was like in large cities and small towns from reading those letters and readings those that came from the have notes. ed: such a great important point. he came from great wealth. it's easy for us in the media. and i saw this throughout his presidency, a lot of people sort of cast him as this wealthy guy, out of touch, and, yet, what emily walls just saying when you stop there and think about that for a second. at the age of 18, pearl harbor, he is the son of senator prescott bush of connecticut. he is wealthy. he could avoid war. he doesn't have to. todd: he postponed yale. he had goad make a lot of money after all of that instead, no, he served his country. that is so important to underline and good transition to our friend and colleague pete hegseth who is at the reagan

presidential library this morning. previously scheduled, doing an event there we were planning to have you on the show but not to talk about the life and legacy of george h.w. bush. now we have that opportunity. you, pete, as someone who has served our country as well. reflect on the service of the former president. pete: not only being at george h.w. bush would be more fitting but here at the ronald reagan lie baby. you likely never have president george h.w. bush. this airplane used by ronald reagan at this library but also used by george h.w. bush. a lot of history behind us. as you mentioned, you mentioned his service, which is so central to who he was and how his generation, the greatest generation was. can i only liken it to my own experience after 9/11 a generation of men and women mobilized for war to defend this nation. as you said, december 7th, 1931, a day that will live in elm family.

infamy. but for that generation it awoke a generation. i don't need to repeat it he went to phillips exdoor. son of a wealthy family could have went to yale. instead enlisted as a naval aviator. he got the job stationed on aircraft carriers assigned to torpedo squadron. saw some of the significant battles o engaging with the enemies over 58 combat missions that he flew over the course of his time in world war ii. a fateful day as you have all alluded to was on september 2nd, 1944. he was a part of a bombing run. he was hit by his plane, walls hit by anti-aircraft gunfire, set ablaze. his engine is on fire. yet, while his engine son fire. he completes the attack, releases bombs on the japanese enemy submarines below, hit the target,

destroying those targets, then still ablaze know going captured he will likely be tortured and killed. flies miles out with his engine on fire. the other member of his crew, his parachute does not deploy. george h.w. bush's does deploy. for four hours he is in inflatable raft in the middle of the pacific rescued by a u.s. submarine. as i mentioned others who were captured in that attack were killed. it left george h.w. bush to ask why had i been spared and what does god have for me? you talk about the medals of distinguished flying cross and air medals. amedals as a future public servant and came out of world war ii as a hero what more can i give back to my country, you saw that in going to texas, running for office. all the things he did as you have mentioned before. the military aspect of george h.w. bush should be celebrated as a reminder of a generation that we are losing more and more of each

single day. todd: pete, to add on following all those sacrifices he did give to the country as a soldier, not only congress like you mentioned, u.n. ambassador, cia director. liaison to china, and, of course, vice president and president, he was from that generation, pete, like you said, that viewed public service sort of as an obligation. not as something -- a way to make money later on in your future. he already made his money, so much at least, you know, in his 30's as mall narrow and already served his country as a war hero. but then to give so many more years, decades, in fact, to his country really does speak to his legacy. pete: he could have coasted on it but he ultimately earned it. this is a guy we know as a former congressman and for his successes, he lost just as much as he won. he lost his first race for the u.s. senate in texas before then becoming a

congressman. then richard nixon comes to him and asks him to run for the senate against one of his rivals. he loses that race. so he makes him the u.n. ambassador. famously lost in 1980 to ronald reagan before becoming his running mate. this is a guy who has seen a lot of successes and a lot of highs but a lot of difficulties as well which is a part of the american spirit. when you fail you pull yourself up and keep fighting in service of something greater than yourself. this morning that's something to remember with george h.w. bush. emily: absolutely, pete. when he lost his seconds presidential election, his staff and children they stated that they learned grace and defeat from that that that was such a learning moment. that he demonstrated such grace in defeat and despite defeat. his presidency was remarkable as well. it was said at the prime minister's residence in the u.k. he was the only visitor to shake hands with the door man and in the dissolution

of the ussr, that gorbachev's first phone call was then to then george h.w. bush how remarkable that was that the level of connection and prolific these connections were that he made across the world. he created coalitions, literally. but, also, he knew the names of every staff member and every staff member spouses and family. referenced them by name. grace and humility and connection he exhibited in all of his positions. as congressman, he signed the open housing act. and that was despite that his backers didn't want him to. he said i fought with these men in the pacific. they should live wherever they want and i will stand for that. pete: he was a staunch advocate for that. we think of him as a world war ii vet. push back on saddam. we don't think of him as a cold warrior. we should. the wall fell under his

watch a half mile at this location there is a portion of that berlin wall. talk about someone who followed through on ronald reagan's legacy to stare down the. tear down that wall. open that gate. that was george h.w. bush and he deserves a lot of credit for that. ed: pete we will get great insights from you throughout morning. it's terrible that we have to even think about and contemplate the death of george h.w. bush after so much service but the fact that you are at the reagan library can add to this perspective is something we will be doing all morning long. we will be back to you shortly. pete: you got it, guys. ed: here is former president bush represident-electing himself on his presidency. watch. >> i think i learned that we we were fairly successful. and i remain convinced that we did it with honor. and that we were very corrupt-free administration. we managed humongous

historical change capsulized in a four year period with finesse, i think, and strength. as we saw, you know, the berlin wall came down. germany was unified. eastern europe was freed. baltics was free. russia imploded. russia was set back in the gulf. difficult situation at tiananmen square in china. we were feyed with major foreign policy problems. we conducted ourselves pretty well i think some of these spending programs should try to correct the economy might have hurt me, but i think it was the right thing to do. i was proud of things like the americans with disabilities act and civil rights legislation. ed: when you go through that list i said a moment ago, since he left office, before now reflecting boy, he was a much better president than people gave him credit for when he was in office.

our next guest knows that. served under bush a george h.w. bush official. still young. brought to this office and nation. todd: joining us now anita mcbraid. first, thank you for being here and sorry for your loss. you worked so intimately with this man for so long. first thoughts this morning. >> thank you for having me. part of this, you know, it hurts but it's also a wonderful opportunity to share reflections and it helps. i think what you said early on when the show started this is a celebration of george h.w. bush's life. it's a 94-year long full adventure outsidadventurous lif. think of the marriage they had and example they were to all family but to all of us,

young staffers in the white house. this was an incredible example of leadership and as a loyal vice president, also, to ronald reagan, i mean, we just saw the best of the best. emily: anita you heard him reflecting there. and clearly it upset him to the last of his days that he had to go back on his word when he said read my lips. that really bothered him but it was for the better of the country. you reflect on that for us? >> sure. that was day in the white house. it permeated everybody that he has gone back on his word he did do the right thing. he knew it was the right thing. he knew it would cost him. ed: the other part of that when he was going through the list. remembering, you would know better than all of us, he had a hard time throughout his life about bragging because he didn't want to it was instilled in him early.

political advisors implored in him in 92 earlier too but particularly 92, have you got to talk about your successes. i would go out there and did this. wouldn't be prudent to boast about it people jonged about jot it. it wouldn't be prudent. but that was instilled in him bias his mother. >> his mother dorothy saying don't brag, george. it's almost an education for everybody, again, because he, himself, didn't talk about it and in 1992, that election was so hard on all of us. we saw bush we admired so greatly being diminished in certain way right in front of our ice by the rhetoric of that campaign at that time that bill clinton had run against him. yet, look at all those years later, he turned out to be almost a father, the father that bill clinton never had.

todd: when you look at his accomplishments, one area truly does stand out, that is on the foreign stage. >> absolutely. will. todd: during my four decades on this planet no presidential candidate or any president who has had such a distinguished foreign policy resume. in fact, the individuals that we had before and quite frankly after haven't had one tenth of the foreign policy experience that president h.w. bush does. >> think of all the experience and background and opportunity he had to learn to be a foreign policy president from being a young naval aviator and captured and then going on to serve in all these positions that he did. even including a national party chair. i mean, sort of understanding the grassroots politics and how people feel about the country. he traveled extensively and lived here in this city as u.n. ambassador. the time in beijing. all of that prepared him to

be able to be the kind of leader that we needed at a moment when the world was transformed. and, in particular, when he talked about the berlin wall coming down and some of his advisors in the white house at the time are telling you and even members of congress you need to go to germany and you need to be there while this is happening. and he said no, i'm not dancing on the wall that's coming down. this is the germans' time. he knew that would not be prudent or appropriate. and it would be bragging. that it was he who did it and it was not. it was the people. emily: anit tax mananita, many e talk about his wonderful sense of humor and ernesto intertwined. it was never needling, it was always to inline of. could you share with us. >> all the time. absolutely. one moment that's really

memorable for me in 1992, again, an election was lost, everybody is feeling down. and what does george h.w. bush do he calls dana carvy and directly at snl. my staff is feeling down. would you come and just sort of cheer them up? and sat in the sawed yebs and watched. ed: we will play some of that later. >> i didn't know that i'm sorry. ed: no. no. you are setting the table wonderfully. he did make fun of himself. i want to fast forward to 2014. >> sure. ed: george w. bush wrote a book he wrote one about 41. starts the book in late 2014. it's about his to be his father's 90th birthday he gets a call your father wants to go skydiving again. he finds his dad sitting at walker's point looking at the atlantic ocean. is he nervous as a son is he

thinking about pulling out of this. you know, dad, what's going on? he goes it's just beautiful. what are you thinking about? it's just beautiful looking out there. go for a few minutes without talking. and w. wonder what is is he really thinking about? and w. had been painting so he had these cargo paints really dirty. his father looks up and says son, do those pants come in clean? is there another version of them? and then he also said that the landing zone for the sky dive was going to be at saint ann's church in kennebunkport. weddings there, family and all kinds of occasions. barbara bush, i want to bring her into the conversation. you knew the late first lady as well. she joked to the family as they are waiting. by the way i snapped that photo i will talk about it in a minute in 2007 of them at walker's point, but the landing zonal for the sky dive was at saint ann's church the lawn there. >> by the cemetery. ed: barbara bush says well, if he dies, it will be a short carry to the burial. >> she says if it doesn't go

well at least we are in a good spot. ed: talk about what kind of a family does that? is this 90-year-old going to die? they're making fun of it because they had fun together. >> a family with a sense of humor and everybody pokes fun at each other and obviously confident and loving is the best description. >> anita, we cannot thank you enough for being here on this day of celebration. >> it makes me feel better it really does. i really appreciate it i really do. todd: if you are just joining us people around the world remembering the life and leg gales of george h.w. bush. ed: always pushing a message of hope. >> a new world order where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of man kind, peace and security, freedom and the rule of law. such is a world worthy of

our struggle and worthy of our children's future. emily: the world war ii veteran, american patriot, and life-long public servant passed away last night at the age of 94. ed: casey stegall is live outside his home in houston with reaction from fellow former presidents, others around the world. casey, good morning. >> good morning to you. yeah. reaction really pouring in from all over from high-ranking leaders to general members of the public who have dropped by the black iron gate out here that's now decorated with white christmas lights and wreaths. that's the iron gate that is the primary entrance into that exclusive neighborhood back there in houston where president bush lived and where he passed away in his home at 10:10 local time. people have been leaving flags and flowers and the like back there. president trump released a statement earlier and moments ago took to twitter and also said a little bit

more and we want to show that to you. it reads, in part, i'm quoting here: president george h.w. bush led a long, successful and beautiful life. whenever i was with him, i saw his absolute joy for life and true pride in his family. his accomplishments were great from beginning to end. he was a truly wonderful man and will be missed by all. and then, of course, you have president obama, who just so happened to be in texas this week, just tuesday, and reportedly visited with president bush here just a few days ago. and president obama releasing a statement. we want to show that to you. america, he says, has lost a patriot and humble servant in george h.w. bush. while our hearts are heavy today they are also filled with gratitude. not merely for the years he spent as our 41st president but for the more than 70 years he spent in devoted service to the

country he loved. then there is former president bill clinton. they have a joke that goes back and forth between the bush family saying that george w. is bush's brother from another mother. well, president clinton saying today few americans have been or will ever be able to match president bush's record of service to the united states and the joy he took every day from it. this will be a wide scale celebration of life from right here in houston from up the road from us here in texas at brian college station george h.w. bush presidential library and museum is located. mourners have gathered there and that will be the ultimate resting place. that is where barbara is buried. there is a family plot on the grounds back there and that is where president bush will be finally laid to rest

once pomp and circumstance in washington and then he returns back here to texas. a lot of busy days ahead. ed: absolutely casey stegall in houston. there is a formal plan in place for every former president they keep under wraps but they talk to television networks and others to get prepared for and just as we saw when president reagan passed away and gerald ford, there will be a lot of pomp and circumstance likely lying in repose at the rotunda of the capitol there is a whole specific plan that the military office in washington handles to give him a proper send al-jaafari. in addition to everything the family will do for their own private services. todd: ed and emily you heard casey mention the relationship with bill clinton. i don't know if we can think of a more unique nuanced relationship than this relationship. it started with battle. ed: it was bitter in '92. todd: ends with what many are calling a father/son relationship. read the letter that george

h.w. bush left for bill clinton on the day that h.w. left the white house, january 20th, 1993. it reads, dear bill, when i walked into this office just now, i felt the same sense of wonder and respect that i felt four years ago. i know that you will feel that, too. i wish you great happiness here. i never felt the loneliness some presidents have described there will be very tough times, maybe even more difficult by criticism you may think is not fair. i'm not a very good one to give advice, but just don't let the critics discourage you or push you off course. you will be our president when you read this note. i wish you well. i wish your family well. your success now is our country's success. i am rooting hard for you. good luck. george. and, remember, that is two months after a bitter campaign. emily: it speaks so highly of the fact that herbert walker bush was such a great

man. truly such a great man and he lost that bitter election. he took it personally that he was not reelected that it was personal to him he was not able to keep his word to the american people even though he did it as he put it for his country. you are right. it's an interesting relationship that developed. they became so close. condoleezza rice called them the odd couple. and the humility was also displayed when they received the clintons, the president-elect at that time clinton and his wife, hillary, to the white house. and the staff had tears in their eyes. they were crying because they didn't want him to leave. and he said to the clintons, pay them no mind. they will do the same for you when you leave. ed: you think about the humility and grace. the grace in someone who just beat you in an election to say i'm rooting hard for you and all of that difficult political times you have now. hard to believe you would hear similar these days from either party beyond that i'm

struck by the humility i'm not great at giving advice. hangs on for a second, you were a war hero. you were vice president. ambassador, you know at the u.n. and china. and president of the united states oh by the way. a father, grand father, husband. sounds to me like a wonderful role model and man as emily said. but also someone who probably has a little bit of advice who gives to people. i would take his advice. yet, he is saying i'm not good at giving advice. brad blakeman served in the bush administration. brad, talk about that kind of humility. that someone with that kind of resume, that kind of accomplishment, serving this country and all of the rest is like i'm not good at giving advice. >> it's rare. rare commodity. in this town of washington in a sea of politicians. george h.w. bush was a statesman. he knew how to work with people and a lot of it came from his military background in sports he was

competitive. but he could disagree without being disagreeable. he could work across the aisle when necessary. and he was a guy interested first and foremost in his country. sure he was a partisan. he was a republican. the leader of our party. he was our president. but, george bush saw beyond the partisan divide he understood that you had to work to the other side and compromise wasn't a bad thing. you have to do it in every facet of your life. why should politics be any different? his great success was the ability to be human as president and to not hot dog it. his mother used to say brag deosha and he would say that sometimes in speeches. and he really meant it i saw him when the cameras weren't on. he was the real deal. he was the same guy before camera as behind it he treated everybody with

respect he didn't care who you were. todd: we touched on this briefly this morning. let's go back to the '92 election. you recall in january of 1991, here is an individual by many accounts 90% approval rating. and, yet, just a few months later, he loses his bid for re-election. we have mentioned this braggadociousness or lack thereof, do you think that if he had bragged about his foreign policy accomplishments that he would have maintained the white house? >> it was an awful tough elections. i was in it. you could always say would have, could have, should have. george h.w. bush ran the campaign he wanted to run. if he had to do it over again he probably would make some changes, you can't change the guy he is. that's the way he is. he left it to others to do it. but i traveled probably to 50 some countries with him and almost every state. and i saw the respect he had

for people. and he put others above himself constantly. and he changed the world for the better. and i found out in politics that great leaders are very rarely appreciated in heir time. it's only after time where you can give a full perspective of their service and he was a great man, he was a great president. emily: brad, thank you so much for talking with us. we will keep you on stand by. we look forward to hearing your thoughts throughout the morning. >> a pleasure. ed: something anita mcbride touched on was the relationship with barbara bush. married over 70 years. married on january 6th, 1945. six children, 17 grand children. eight great grandchildren. as i noted, their 73 wedding anniversary just this year before they both passed january 6th, 2018. todd: here is barbara bush on her husband and who he is as a man.

>> he is the most decent, honorable, wonderful. nobody has ever been as lucky as i have been. i want people to remember him as courageous. i want them to remember him as he is. todd: take a step back for a moment. 73 years in a day and age when relationships last 73 days in some instances. 73 years. started so very young. with all the trials and contributiontrials andtribulatie as a couple magnified by a war. magnified by so many different things. ed: magnified by the death of their daughter robin only 4 years old. that walls very trying for them, obviously. emily: one of my favorite quotes by barbara bush was when she said i had none of the responsibilities and all of the joy of being his

wife. he was an american patriot, war hero. she was by his side throughout it all. she liked to joke and say the only thing we fought about who loved the other more and i always won on that. shshe says george herbert walker bush was the epitome of a public servant. loved america with all his heart and served her as fully and completely as anyone ever has. i'm so grateful i had the opportunity to work for him, to learn from him and to experience his deep and abiding commitment to his fellow citizens. he was a mentor to me and a dear friend. that from condi rice. todd: this from james a. baker quote: the legacy of george h.w. bush will be forever etched in the history of america and the world it is a lifelong record of selfless patriotic service to our nation in each and every one of these

positions he led with strength, integrity, compassion and humility, characteristics that define a truly great man and effective leader. ed: our friend and colleague pete hegseth is at the reagan library. going to be joining us throughout the morning. pete, i understand you've had a chance to visit with dignitaries who served in those past republican administrations. they are reflecting on his life and legacy as well. pete: great guests, guys. one of the silver linings of a day like this you get the opportunity to reflect on a life well-lived. get the opportunity to talk to people in those moments with a man who is shaping history. and you put it all together with your guests and folks we are talking to here and bring you into some exhibits at the reagan library including this air force one which was used by george h.w. bush in addition to ronald reagan. we are at the ronald reagan presidential library in simi valley, you get a chance to put the story together. the story of george herbert walker bush it is the story

of the 21st century. bosoming of pearl harbor, enlistment. service in world war ii. being shot down, it's being rescued. it's a commitment to free enterprise in texas and jumping into the public square. we defeated imperial japan and nazi germany in world war ii. temporary ally soviet yets and ussr and soon that becomes a cold war and over time developed a foreign policy consensus that we needed to win that cold war and look at where george h.w. bush was during that time envoy to china, cia director, u.n. ambassador, congressman. he was in the middle of developing that washington, d.c. consensus that built america up to be able to challenge the ussr. then comes the actor from california, the governor from california ronald reagan, a more conservative choice than george h.w. bush in 1980. he runs on a staunch anti-communist. build up our military. this is an evil elm pfeifer we need to defeat.

need -- empire we need to defeat. force them to up their spending. he forced the "star wars" initiative, daring the soviet union with our ability to shoot down nuclear weapons. as a result, the wall fell. he told them to open that gate. and the soviet union dissolved. i think it was guys like george h.w. bush, cold warriors, came out of world war ii. committed to the new enemy that the free world faced and then he partnered with someone like ronald reagan who was prepared to shake up that consensus, say some things like evil empire. like tear down that wall. make deals on nuclear arms treaties that no one else could make. everyone knew ronald reagan was staunch. understood that hand. understood the institutions, reach across the aisle with bipartisan sense with democrats who are also staunchly anti-communist who held those conservative beliefs but a little bit more of an establishment

fashion than ronald reagan. they were unlikely partnerships as foes in 1980, once they came together and h.w. bush had a chance to watch reagan for 8 years, you might argue, you know, sometimes history makes the man and sometimes men make history. in this case thank goodness that america had h.w. bush in the wings in 1988 able to ride the popularity of ronald reagan and be there to follow through the policies that led to the fall of the berlin wall and defeat of the evil empire in the soviet union. all of these issues still face us today. but back then it was believed in the foreign policy establishment that the new political international form was a rising and strong soviet union. ronald reagan and george h.w. bush thought otherwise. keep up with the great coverage. opportunity to reflect on a life well oid lived as i said. ed: absolutely. emily: thanks for that

insight, we will circle back to you shortly. ed: next guest on the ground for the reagan revolution that went into the continuation of that maybe what we might now call the bush revolution in a way. craig shirley a long-time republican operative. he is also biographer of ronald reagan. he is joining us on the phone. craig, it's so great to have you this morning. certainly not under these circumstances. we wish it were not so. but your insight is important this morning. reflect on what pete hegseth was saying. made a wonderful point about george h.w. bush sweep of history a man who literally connects us from pearl harbor december 7th, 1941, to the fall of the berlin wall? >> you know, when i think of george bush i think of the movie it's a buferl life. it was a wonderful life. he met every challenge with adam macy, determination and strength and determination. maybe what's under reported right now. bush was best when things

were worst i remember the assassination attempt on ronald reagan in 1981. washington was just, as you can imagine, was just crazy. and al was not doing well at the reagan white house. bush was in the air over texas when he got word the assassination attempt on reagan. and when he landed at andrews air force base his staff said you have to land on the white house lawn. he said absolutely not. only the president lands on the lawn. i will motorcade to my residence and then await my further, you know, what i'm supposed to be doing. he never pushed himself forward. he was cool under pressure. that's why reagan took away the chairman away from al hagin and gave it to bush. when reagan transferred presidential authority because he was in surgery, he was unconscious due to anesthesia. bush never made a big thing

about it he accepted it but he kept a very low profile. and then, of course, also at the reagan funeral, which i was at at the national cathedral and as you can imagine, it was a pretty tough time for a lot of us who had been, you know, part of the reagan revolution and been there at foot soldiers the reagan revolution for some years. bush not known for being a great oro ora it'stor. i think of grace under pressure. that's the epitome of president bush. todd: craig, i would like to delve into the personal relationship between reagan and bush. because we have heard throughout the course of the coverage on almost all channels this morning that george h.w. bush was arguably the most indispensable vice president to a president in history.

but, at the same time, this wasn't necessarily a bromance alaa obama and biden. shed some light into that. >> sure. they fought viciously terribly for the 1980 nomination. reagan reluck tangtsly picked george bush he flirted with gerald ford co-presidency and looked at other candidates paul axle in nevada ronald reagan and nancy reagan really wanted as his running mate. didn't make sense. nevada only had 4 electoral votes and other issues. and only reluctantly at the end does he, when time has run out does he call bush. but they really weren't close friends at all. >> but they started to develop a relationship over the course of that campaign. it was kind of a, you know, they put aside their mutual

animosity over the bruising 1980 nomination fight to form a working partnership. by the time reagan was elected president in 1980 is that they were having lunch every thursday, just the two of them and did so for all 8 years. but you would never say that there was a close, warm relationship. it was definitely mutual respect between the two. so, you know, and mrs. bush and mrs. reagan, you know were, cordial with each other but never close. interestingly enough they were both graduates of smith college but that never brought them together. that is just the reality of politics is that, you know, there is true, you know, friendships and more like working relationships. theirs was a very good working relationship. he was a very, very good vice president for ronald reagan.

emily: craig, you ran the public affairs campaign supporting president bush in operation dessert storm. tell us about the restraint he exercised after securing kuwait. >> though were those that called for him to move on to baghdad. but at that time there was no authority for that from nato. >> that's right. >> he honored that share with the viewers your experience there. >> well, you bring back a lot of memories here. he believed in consensus. he wanted to get the world's consensus. he wasn't going to act unilaterally to oust kuwait even though by all rights he could have. he got the u.n. charter. he got many of these nations in the world as possible to support it mandate to get saddam out of kuwait but don't go beyond that border. he was perfectly happy -- not happy but he was satisfied to do that and not go beyond because he wasn't going to violate his agreement with the other nations of the world.

ed: craig, important to have your insight go. to amazon. man loves history comes out in his voice. written a lot of wonderful books particularrably ronald reagan but others as well. sir, we appreciate your insight. we hear the emotion in your voice and thank you for coming in this morning. >> you bet, thank you. ed: please. emily: something earlier you were talking about. you said, you know, the president would never -- he would loathe to give advice. who am toy give advice. ed: you are a former president. emily: exactly. ed: former president and a war hero. emily: exactly his son 43. george w. bush he says everyone always asks me you must always be seeking your father's advice. he said i was never constantly seeking his advice i was constantly seeking his love. you said earlier, todd, he would be remembered, touchdown, as also a great father a wonderful grand

father. a wonderful campy. campy. he -- gampy. todd: aren't just former co-workers or colleagues. to a certain extent. they were all part of the bush family. they may not have had the bush name. but you hear in their voices the words that they are using. they had a relationship with this man that transcended just employment. there was something special there. one of those individuals that he quote, unquote, worked with if you will is an individual that let's say when you jump out of a plane with somebody, you are working with them. he helped celebrate -- ed: you need somebody good. todd: 81st birthday jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet. ed: joining us on the phone is retired army sergeant first class michael elliott.

he is the president of the all veteran group and parachute team. good morning, michael. >> good morning, how are you guys? ed: we are doing fantastic as we flect on wonderful life and legacy. i know you would like to focus on that as well. i mentioned earlier that george w. bush wrote a little bit in his book 41 about a jump that 41 took when he was 90. you were there for the one in '85. after he jumped in 1990, arnold schwarzenegger and i hope our viewers will forgive me when i say happy birthday to the most bad ass 90-year-old i know. >> believe it or not. i have taken the former president on three of his jumps, the rededication of his library. 85th birthday and i was there for his ninth 90th birthd. ed: you were there. >> i just walked in the house when he had gotten the call from governor arnold schwarzenegger. so amazing. i remember walking in and the entire family -- they

all applauded when i walked in. it was, to me, i was so honored to have the opportunity to put a smile on a great american hero's face. and that's what he was. a great american hero and believed in american values and, you know, we have lost a superman. todd: i know the wind is going pretty fast in your ears when you are skydiving. what what is he talking about during some of these dives, if you can remember hearing those comments? >> i remember on the rededication of his library in college station, texas, he was concerned about landing properly. i mean 41 is definitely a perfectionist. he epghted to make sure that whatever he was doing he did it 100 percent. on his last jump on his 90th birthday, he was taking it all in. being over walker's point and saint ann's church. he was very quiet.

and couple times i was saying hey, sir, are you okay? he was kind of like looking that all that he had accomplished and thinking about everything he had accomplished. i don't know exactly what he was thinking but he wasn't saying a whole lot. ed: wow. emily: have you met anyone in your career in all the jumps have you done as brave as that man as a 90-year-old to jump out of an airplane? >> you know, man, i would have to say i have met a whole lot of brave heros in my life. but, you know, as far as meeting a former president who regardless of whoever he spoke with, it didn't matter that he was a president. he was, you know, truly a guy that loved everyone. and i can recall that i received a letter from him. he told me that for us to have a very close relationship would be an understatement on several levels. he considered me a friend. and, again, it's just an honor to have met 41 and the

family and i truly feel like i'm a small part of his life. ed: that's wonderful to hear. as someone who recovered the white house i hear that from secret service agents and uniformed office of the secret service. sometimes the president democrat or republican won't really chat you up because they are busy, obviously. they are the commander-in-chief. give us a quick story. we have about 30 seconds. how did he show that to you that you mattered to him? >> you know, he continued to show that in every christmas i get a christmas card from the bush family letters from them. when my son was born, he wrote my son a personal letter. that's how he assured me is a great american hero. ed: that's remarkable. michael elliott is president of the all veteran group and parachute team. we appreciate your insights and really wonderful reflections this morning. thank you for coming. in. todd: beautiful. thank you, sir. ed: as we continue to remember the life and leg gales of george h.w. bush here is he in his own words. >> i think historians are

going to say that we did pretty well. and that's all right for me. i'm not in any rush in heaven look down and let them make that determination. ♪ed toed to welcome back to todd: welcome back to "fox & friends." we are remembering gorge herbert walker bush our 41st president of the united states passed away at the age of 94. >> he was the longest president in american history. guide our nation through the end of the cold war. >> as commander-in-chief, i can report to you our armed forces fought with honor and valor. as president i can report to the nation aggression is defeated. the war is over. [cheers and applause]

emily: he died last night after eight months of the loss of his wife barbara. ed: we will be staying with this all morning. as we heard michael elliott talk about how he felt like this former president treated him with great respect and i mentioned that secret service agents and officers have told me the same thing. i remember hearing that bush 41 started a tradition that his son bush 43 continued. which is on thanksgiving or christmas, typically a president could go anywhere. they would go to the ranch. and he would always stay at the white house. and the reason he did that was not about his family. it was about the secret service and the support staff. when you go to another location, not the white house, for a holiday, you need more secret service personnel. that meant more secret service personnel away from their own families. so he would like to do

thanksgiving -- maybe didn't do every single one. different family circumstance would pop up. most holidays bush 41 would try to do it at the white house it's already under heavy guard. less people working on a holiday and away from their own families. what person of power thinks about that? instead a president could say look, this is all about me. know want to make sure all of these folks are with their family. todd: common thread that moves through your story and stories we have heard for the first hour of our coverage. it's not about the presidency. it's about humanity. and i think bret baier really captures whether a it was to be george h.w. bush our fox news chief political anchor takes a look at incredible life and incredible legacy. >> for a new breeze is blowing and world refreshed by freedom seems reborn for in man's heart, if not, in fact, the day of the dictator is over. [applause] >> bret: george bush's

hardest task as president was giving the green light for operation dessert storm. but he is credit you had with rescuing the tiny oil-rich nation of kuwait from saddam hussein's million-man army of iraq. before george herbert walker bush took his first step into the white house, he learned to walk in kennebunkport maine. born june 12th, 1924, in the town of milton, massachusetts to a family already deeply involved in public service. he was the second of five children to dorothy and senator prescott bush. with high school behind him, george was accepted at yale university. but put his education on hold. the start of the second world war beckoned him to serve his country instead. in 1942, george bush celebrated his 18th birthday by enlisting in the u.s. naval reserve. within a year, he was the youngest fighter pilot in the navy. taking part in 58 combat missions in the pacific

theater. bush was flying his plane over china when he was shot down by the japanese and forced to bail out at sea. he survived though his crew did not. >> i'm floating around in this raft, paddling, and then all of a sudden saw this tower come up and saw this submarine surface. >> bret: with the end of the war in sight bush set his sights on barbara pierce. the two wed in 1945 while bush was still in the navy. they would have six children, including our 43rd president george w. bush and popular florida governor jeb. bush left the navy and greated from yale before he and barbara moved to texas to find his dreams on an oil field. by the age of 30, he was co-founder and president a company that pioneered oil equipment. like his father bush was attracted to public service and politics. after losing his first

political race for a senate seat in 1964, he was elected to the house of representatives two years later. serving two terms. encouraged by richard nixon to run again for the senate in 1970, he was defeated a second time. he moved on to high government positions. in 1971, richard nixon appointed him ambassador to the united nations. and in 1973, he became chairman of the republican national committee at the height of the watergate scandal. in that role, bush urged nixon to resign for the good of the party. >> i shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. >> president gerald ford sent bush to china as chief of the u.s. liaison office. a short time later ford called him home to be director of the cia and bush was credited with bringing morale back to the agency. bush left in 1977 when president carter entered the white house. by 1979, he was ready to get back into the political ring. >> ladies and gentlemen, i

am a candidate for president of the united states. [cheers and applause] >> bush was seen as moderate alternative to ronald reagan but dropped out of the presidential campaign after poor primary performance. a short time later he accepted reagan's offer to be his running mate. reagan won in a landslide. during his eight years as vice president, bush was credited with softening reagan's view of the soviet union and pressed hard on issues like deregulation and the war on drugs. in a natural progression, bush became the republican party's nominee in 1988. with senator dan quayle from indiana as his running mate. the republican team defeated massachusetts governor michael could you caucu dukakisd benson. >> i george herbert washer bush do solemnly swear. >> the berlin wall fell and

manuel was arrested securing the panama canal. >> we are not walking away until our mission is done, until the invader is out of kuwait. [explosion] >> president bush reacted quickly committing over 400,000 u.s. troops and building a strong coalition of allies. operation dessert storm had begun. the majority of america supported the president's decision to throw saddam hussein back into iraq and bush's popularity rating hit an all-time high. most thought he was unbeatable for a second term. but a broken campaign promise -- >> read my lips. no new taxes. [cheers and applause] >> would come back to haunt the 41st president. and in the fall of 1992, with the war a distant memory, george bush lost re-election to former arkansas governor bill clinton. bush traveled to kuwait to commemorate the gulf war in

1993. an assassination plot on his life was uncovered, but bush was unharmed. it was later discovered the poorly orchestrated plan was the work of the iraqi intelligence service. the quea quaky quake kuwaity cot would convict all but one. celebrated countless birthdays by parachuting out of planes. spending time with the family in maine and reliving memories of when he was a boy. >> i can honestly say that the three most rewarding titles bestowed upon me are the three that i have got left. a husband, a father, and a granddad. >> while retired his life was active until the end. joining forces with former political foe bill clinton to raise money victims the 2004 indian ocean tsunami and hurricane katrina in 2005. the former presidents formed a close friendship,

continuing their charity work and enjoying annual lunches at bush's home in kennebunkport. and using his experience, insights to serve as a quiet advisor to his eldest son, the 43rd president. here, in george w. bush's library dedication in 2014 and sharing a few words. >> glad to be here. god bless america and thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> kept up by public debate on twitter shared photos of his colorful socks that became part of his signature look. age brought health challenges, of course. a form of parkison's disease that left him in a wheelchair. and brief hospital stays in his 1990s for pneumonia, bronchitis and a fall in his home. but not enough to keep him out of the limelight. throwing out the first pitch before 2016 basic game and

pregame ceremonies months later at the super bowl in his houston hometown. reuniting with his former runs mate and vice president dan quayle in july, and then catching a glimpse of the rare eclipse that crossed the country alongside his family in maine in august. one of bush's last public appearances was at his beloved wife barbara's funeral where he met with former presidents, first ladies and the current first lady melania trump. bush recently returned to his vacation hometown of kennebunkport maine joining fellow veterans for a pancake breakfast before he was hospitalized with low blood pressure and fatigue. this was the first time in decades that neither he nor his wife attended the annual memorial day parade. he wrote in a tweet he is quote forever grateful not only to patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation but also the gold star families whose heritage

is imbued with their honor and heroism. known for straightforward approach. george h.w. bush called this country to be better in hopes of inspiring a people to be great. >> i think historians are going to say that we did pretty well. and that's all right for me. i'm not in any rush be in heaven, look down, let them make that determination. todd: president george w. bush with the following on his father.

ed: wow, that's remarkable. and the family is very important to underline here. somebody who also had -- was almost a member of the extended bush family is our own dana perino. got to know you when you were press secretary for george w. bush and you got to know george h.w. bush very well. >> like probably the biggest honor of my life to be able to have said that i knew him. my husband last night said well, we actually knew him. and you really felt like he did know you. the first thing he always did was ask questions but. how is peter? how's the dog? he knew about, yes,. ed: everyone knows about jasper. >> henry before that ed, when you were in the white house briefing room. you know how reporters can go up that ramp t to the press secretary's office. on the phone and of course

busy, busy, busy. i hear all this commotion outside and my staff is laughing. what nuclear kill head is out there. i look out and there is 41. and i got up and i said sir, i'm so sorry, i was just on the phone with karl rove. oh i love a name dropper. [laughter] he made you feel very special. the reason he had come by that day is he said i just wanted to take a moment and to thank you for all you are doing. ed: wow. >> the relationship is so interesting. only the second time in our history and probably maybe never happen again where you have a father and son both serve as president. but one of the things i remember is that 41 said it was much harder to witness the criticism of his son than it was to have been criticized himself. and visa versa for them. their relationship is very close. i do feel for george w. bush and all of the family. even though it wasn't unexpected that 41 would pass away and especially

because his health had been in deterioration. he wanted that one more summer in maine in kennebunkport at his home. i got to see him in june. he was holding my hand. i kept trying to be respectful and let him be. he just wanted me to keep telling stories. and yank my hand back down don't go. we got to be there when we left i told peter i think that's the last time we will ever see him. it's really heart-breaking. emily: if you remember, what were one of the stories that you shared with him that he loved? >> well, 41 loved to gossip about the media. [laughter] [laughter] >> never said fake news. he was interested in people's lives. and what was happening. and also, just think of those 94 years. the kind of technical innovations he saw. one of my favorite experiences when we lent to the olympics in beijing in 2008, 41 was co-founder or co-chair of the united states delegates. and his staff wasn't going with him. they asked me dana would you

mind sitting in on an interview he was going to do with mike of "the washington post." i said sure i didn't feel like i was staffing it i sat there enthralled listening to these stories especially about, i will tell you this one, it's morning television but i can tell it they are talking about how during watergate, party is in a shambles. and he keeps getting calls from donors when he is the chairman of the rnc. calls from donors you have got to get this watergate thing off the front page. you've got to put this in a box. have you got to move on, change the story. 41 told us that he said this story is like making love to a gorilla. it's not going to stop unless the gorilla wants it to. he is exactly right. he had vision. he was always accepting the call. he was at the rnc. he was at the cia. he was at the united nations.

and i would argue set the best example for how to conduct yourself in the post presidency. there for the presidents if they need him but staying out of the limelight as well. todd: it's that public service that is standing out so much this morning. we live in a society now where public service is viewed as a temporary job to lead to another job in the private sector where one gets paid a boat load of money. credit, george w. bush didn't need the money he was millionaire early on in his life. all those jobs he took. >> i would say he grew up in privileged. but he didn't accept the handout. when he got back from the war. he finished college. he was a college baseball player. he immediately got married and george w. bush is born. barbara bush would do the box scores. holding the baby. and then 41 had an opportunity to come here to wall street. he says no. i'm going to make my way. and they leave and get in the car and drive to

midland, texas and odessa, texas and go to california. they had nothing. i was telling anita mcbride downstairs. one point is he painting barrels. that was his job painting barrels. this guy come up and says are you a college man he says yes, sir. where did you go? he goes yale, sir. the guy says never heard of it. he was born into privilege but he was a self-made man. ed: he understood the common persons as well. pete hegseth. you and i both remember july, covering the white house and george h.w. bush rarely intervened said you need to repair this relationship he said to george w. bush vladimir putin who was on the stage then. they had a mini summit in kennebunkport. i remember two things. one steve holland from reuters. you know him well. covering stories how when when 41 was president he would invite the reporters

over much simpler time for barbecues. going to walker's point thinking super rich point. it was beautiful but h.w. would be there in shorts and like a t-shirt with a can of beer flipping the burgers. steve, you want a cheeseburger? you want this? he was very down to earth. we were getting ready for a news conference, vladimir putin and george w. bush atlantic ocean gone fishing to know each other. all of a sudden a lunch of us reporters noticed coming out of the bushes literally was h.w. bush the former president and barbara bush the former first lady. here is the photo i snapped. i found this -- forgot i had taken it you we started engaging them. what do you think about your son-in-law. he didn't want to make a headline. he said just here to support my boy. i thought he's a dad. >> decision points book 43 wrote after he left office. in that first chapter he talks about his parents.

and because they gave him unconditional love if he failed he would still be loved. the closeness of the family is something that i think all of us could aspire. to say and also, you know, if you are a young couple. look to the example of barbara bush and george h.w. bush. there is a lot of pressure on barbara bush, oh, she should di dye her hair and wear different clothes. he said i love you the way you are. such a beautiful relationship. pete: i agree, yale, never heard of it. ed: you are a princeton guy? pete: i think flipping burgers thing with a can of beer in your t-shirt might have been a part of his military background, too. this is a guy. talked about a privileged background and i agree with what dana said. you could go that route or

be a self-made man. academy, elite bordering school. son of a senator as was mentioned. could have gone straight to yale. instead, december 7th, 1941. a date that will live in infamy, changed the lives of a generation. he decided at the age of 18 to enlist in the navy. became a navy aviator shortly thereafter found himself on aircraft carrier on an aircraft that was whose expertise torpedo squadron go over submarines in the pacific. 45 combat engagements in the pacific against the japanese and september 2nd, 1944. a day that changed his life weighs was shot down. anti-aircraft fire. you are in the pacific on an airplane built in the 1940s, your engine son fire. rather than ditching it right away. he went in to complete the attack, drop the bombs on

the enemy submarine. hit the target, destroying that target. then flew with the engine still on fire two miles to ditch the aircraft because he knew if he was captured he would be killed, tortured of by his captors who were notorious in the imperial japanese. he bailed out, so did thinks crew members. his parachute was d. not open and was killed. he survived. in the pacific ocean for four hours, picked up by u.s. submarine. again, so many of his fellow men, almost a lone survivor on that mission from world war ii. he was given the distinguished flying cross. i said 45 combat missions. it was actually 58. he stayed on that ship until november of 194. he went back on the ship where he had been, continued to fly combat missions after being shot down and was in the navy all the way until the japanese surrender. in many ways his combat service, his volunteering to be art path ferocious combat was emblematic of the

greatest generation, congressional career. ultimately into the oval office. as i'm here at the ronald reagan presidential library, this air force one was not just used by ronald reagan but also by george h.w. bush bill clinton an george bush. emily: the christens of the aircraft carrier named after him. he was supposed to be asleep. he was shaking hands with every single one on aircraft carrier. there are ones i haven't met yet. he wanted to meet every single one. as a veteran what does that mean to you. pete: when he became commander-in-chief he had been there and he understood that every single part of the mission is important. not just that commander and not just platoon leader and ensign in his particular case. crew chief, corporal, sailor, every single job is

important, especially on aircraft carrier. when you take off, if it's not done right every single time you come back, every life on that ship is at risk. certainly your life and aircraft is at risk and entire mission is at risk of being compromised. when you are the commander-in-chief leading our nation into war dessert storm in 1991. and commissioning ships and sending men off into the battle. you are thinking about not just those at the top but those executing the mission as well. and if you think about it buffalo war propelled america out of vietnam. entire generation of folks gone to war and felt like their country turned their back on them. questions in the foreign policy and military establishment as to whether america had the hutzpah to mobilize again because he had wee had lost the last one. muddy outcomes in korea a. he martialled the nation to war. brought countries collectively together. pushed saddam hussein out and restrained from going all the way to baghdad which

we can debate all day long whether that was the right call aren't listen to his generals. victory parade in new york city how the healed soon from those who pulled triggers in vietnam. todd: war we won in less than two months. dana, i want to ask you this question from communications perspective. we heard stories of him being so great in this one op. one capacity. meeting individuals that you wouldn't expect an individual to meet. but one thing that h.w. bush also lamented he wasn't as goods a communicator as his predecessor ronald reagan. how much do you think that influenced him on a day in and day out basis? this is a tough question to ask was it as bad as he thought it was. >> he was exceedingly modest. communications person if you are dealing with somebody who needs to actually brag about himsel himself you are frustrated so humble raised by a wonderful woman who encysted don't you ever talk

about yourself. there is a story about him coming home one day and he had just been playing on a baseball field little league and she said how did y'all do? he said i hit a home run and she said i don't care how did you. how did the team do? that's what you are supposed to talk about. he was taught that early age. no one can be compared to reagan because really you are also comparing different technologies, right? so now you have social media and instagram. young people go back in time with us for a little bit. it was a different time. yes, that was difficult. i do think also he had tussled with the media and 43 actually bore more of the frustration with the media on behalf his father but there is this one antidote in the book that 43 wrote, 41 a portrait of my father. in one the interviews a reporter says have you ever had any hardship in your life? and he said have you ever watched one of your children die? and she says no. and he says well, i did for

six months. but he didn't talk about that a lot. right? he and barbara bush held together. in fact, their relationship got stronger after that. but they -- he was just somebody who didn't complain a lot. i think obviously better than he would have thought. but remember at the very end of the presidency, you remember marlon fitzwater a press secretary for reagan and then for bush. in the fall of 2008, you will remember, ed, the approval ratings of 43 were way down. were in the -- the surge had gone well but still the economy was in the tank after the financial crisis. i invited marlon fitzwater to come talk to my team. he said to all of them when they left office in january of 1993, he never thought, meaning marlon fitzwater that 41 would ever be as revered as he is today because the mood of the country was such moving forward, we're moving on. enough with reagan-bush. we are moving on. brand new day with bill

clinton and they felt so bad about it and one of the things i learned from them is that you can't worry about history. 43 said in his last year i'm not going to talk about my legacy. i read three books about george washington this year and if historians are still trying to figure out the first president. the 43rd doesn't have a lot to worry about. they didn't worry about that. ed: that's why you kept messaging, i remember, sprint to the finish. we are not looking back. we are sprinting. >> the president was sprinting to the finish. sir, i'm crawling to the finish line here right behind you. ed: after that crawl got a little rest and now you are doing great. >> thanks for the privilege. ed: thank you for reflecting on wonderful memories. juan williams is here to share a very personal connection next.

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ed: good morning again. if you are just joining us people from around the world are remembering the life and legacy of course 6 george herbert walker bush the first president of the united states who passed

away. todd: always put the american people first. >> we are americans. part of something larger than ourselves. for two centuries we have done the hard work of freedom and tonigh we lead the world in facing down a threat to decency and humanity. emily: he died last night nearly eight months of the of the death of his wife barbara. ed: jason chaffetz fox news contributor and co-host of the five juan williams. welcome, gentlemen, both of you by the way. juan, you were out on the campaign trail with george h.w. bush at least going back to 1984. >> oh, yeah. ed, i will tell you i feel

like i have lost a friend this morning because way back i used to be the white house correspondent to the "the washington post." but one of my duties as a young guy out there, the young pup was to cover vice president george h.w. bush. and we used to go on trips on air force 2 all across the country, ed. he would be reaching out to party officials, especially in '84 as you mentioned in the run-up to the reagan reelect. so, we were going all around the country. and, ed, you know, we talk about george bush as this man born to prescott bush, the war and the like. he knew the name of county g.o.p. chairman. he knew not only the county g.o.p. chairman, he would attend lincoln day dinners. he would go to picnics. nothing was too small for george h.w. bush's attention and it was on a human level. a human level that really

required him, i think to touch people. so he would write notes. he taught me the importance of note-writing. he would write five or 10 notes a day to people. people you have never heard of. people i can't remember. he would reach out. if there was a child born, if there was a death. if there was a marriage in the family. and he knew these things. an incredible sort of personal touch for a man that as i sit here this morning i still regard as the definition of the great american statesman. not only because of his military service but, remember, this is someone who had been, as i said, head of the party but then also u.n. ambassador, envoy to china, head of the cia. he ran twice for the senate. he was a congressman. and, of course then, vice president. and in all of these capacities, what you see is someone who is self-afacing and so willing to be a

servant of the american people. it's just so out of touch. it sounds acritical condition chauvinistic to say that servant of the american people. he earned his stripes and served the people. i have a picture of air force 2. different age. i had an afro, ed. ed: we covered a lot of history. we are talking about the days when you were a young pup, my friend. we are talking about the sweep of history, literally. >> i just want to show you you can see we are having lunch on air force 2 with one of his aids. and he would not only and i say this to you, ed, with great love, because he would be often talking to me about baseball. so here i am with this guy who is so impressive to me in terms of american politics and all that he has done in his life. most politicians i cover,

they are all promoting themselves. they got an agenda. they have got a bill. that's why they are calling me. he was an example of someone who i would want my children to emulate. and by the way when my youngest son raffi was born, he sent me a note when i was going to the 2008 olympics in china because he had been envoy in china and because by the way george w. bush had spent so much time biking around with his dad envoy he called what are you going to do? here is what i would suggest. incredible. ed: juan, wonderful stories, let me pardon you one second. i want to bring in jason chaffetz because i want to get your perspective as well. george someone served on the house. served in the house a long, long time ago as well. >> yeah, what a great american patriot. i was sad to see him pass. what a legacy left behind. i remember meeting him back in the 1990s, just being in awe. here was iconic anything,

somebody i saw next to president reagan. he was standing in front of me and just so warm and personable. there were tumultuous times back there in the late '80s, early little '90s. the world was a difficult place. he was a stature of leadership. he took our men and women into war. you know, in very difficult circumstances. but, overwhelming success and confidence that i think he gave the american people. i think later in life, you know, my wife and i, when we were newly married we were looking at the bushes and just in awe of barbara bush and, you know, president bush and just thinking gosh, i just hope we are like them. serving his country. he loves his family. he is perpetually happy. he is a positive, happy, conservative. he was iconic figure that i think a lot of us wanted to emulate. and looked up. to say i think history will be very, very kind to this president. what a great man and great family.

he had the right balance in life. emily: jason, as a former congressman, then congressman h.w. bush, he backed the open housing law in stark contrast to the backers of his party. he said i served with these men in the pacific. they should live where they want to live. what did that kind of commitment to substance and commitment to morals over everything else, what does that mean to you as a former congressman? >> what he believed, and he was such a pillar of strength and of fortitude and integrity. you really could never question his integrity and his intention and his love of country. when you couple that with the strength of his wife. when i very first saw that he had passed away. all i could think of is him and barbara bush. they were just inseparable and the humor and humility that they brought to everything. they always made you smile. they came up with some quip

or something that you didn't necessarily expect from them. i just, you know, so we have to make tough decisions when you have that kind of integrity and backbone. then i think people respect him. and i think that's what we'll be left with. todd: jason and juan such amazing reflections. thank you for spending your saturday with us on a sad day but a day of celebration. we appreciate it. >> juan: you are welcome. todd: go back out to california. pete hegseth and joanne drake she served as president reagan's post chief of staff and former white house staff under president reagan. chief admin officer of the ronald reagan presidential foundation and institute. pete, take it away. pete: absolutely, todd, thank you very much. we are here with joanne drake. they gave you a proper introduction so our audience has already heard it if you haven't. >> thank you. pete: you spent a lot of time at the white house working with president reagan. you are here at the library and institute it wouldn't have been a reagan

presidency without h.w. bush as well. talk to me about your interaction with george w. geor. bush here as well. >> george bush was as large as life. during eight years of the reagan presidency as well as his own presidency. their relationship was pretty extraordinary, i think. and i was just a small staff during the reagan white house. during the second term but i was very privileged to run into george bush a lot, day-to-day he was there i worked with him on events that he did with president reagan on the grounds of the white house. and you really could see that both men respected one another. and shared a lot of similar qualities i and that they loved people. if there is something about both of them i have been thinking about it overnight, they both loved people. they loved to talk to them. they loved to hear about them, you know, what they brought to the table. what their passions were. and i think that they shared that. and they shared a great sense of humor as well.

pete: if you are in the business of politics, you should be in the business of people. knowing that about someone's core is important. during the presidency of george h.w. bush. do you have a story or two you could share about that time frame? >> sure. after president bush was elected and took over the white house, president reagan moved back to california. and we were told that president bush was coming to los angeles on first trip after being elected. the first thing he wanted to do was come pay his respects to ronald reagan the former president. what they wanted to do was have lunch the same they had every thursday at the white house in the oval office, a mexican lunch. something that they shared a little bit of a treat for them out of their normal diet and they just sat and talked. they talked about what was going on in the world and about their families and really, i think reerks kindled that relationship that had been really important to both of them. pete: i hear that thursday

lunch was initiated after the president reagan was shot and the vice president showed so much grace in that interaction towards their relationship even more. >> if there is anything george bush was was graceful, it was calm. he was strong. and he was loyal. probably hasn't been as loya vice president as there was under ronald reagan and george h.wgeorge bush. pete: thank you for welcoming us here to the ronald reagan presidential library. >> thank you. pete: later on we will be talking about the reagan national defense forum. we remember the legacy of george h.w. bush. back to you. ed: we appreciate your insights and be getting back to you as you remembered. you have may remember by the way we teased this before. a cartoonist memorialized barbara bush after she passed away in april and reuniting with late daughter robin. this morning a new touching

tribute. she will talk to us about the inspiration for two moving cartoons. that's next. -these people, they speak a language we cannot understand. ♪ [ telephone ringing ] -whoa. [ indistinct talking ] -deductible? -definitely speaking insurance. -additional interest on umbrella policy? -can you translate? -damage minimization of civil commotion. -when insurance needs translating, get answers in plain english at progressiveanswers.com. ♪ -he wants you to sign karen's birthday card. it's a high honor. the zip code you're born into can determine your future. your school.

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ed: tributes pouring in all morning after the death of george h.w. bush. todd: casey stegall in houston. >> good morning. in the last time we have spoke to you. you can now see there is a giant american flag that now adorns the gate back there with the christmas decorations to pay homage and tribute to the former president who died at his home last night just after 10:00 local time. of course, reaction coming in from all over the

political world. president trump releasing this tweet this morning it reads president george p.w. bush led a long, successful and beautiful life. whenever i was with him, i saw his absolute joy for life and true pride in his family. his accomplishments were great from beginning to end. he was a triewzly wonderful man and will be missed by all. president obama had this to say: so, of course, as the days and hours come and pass, we're going to be hearing so many tales about this man who left an impact on so many and so many generations. ed: absolutely. casey stegall. appreciate that report.

we will be getting back to you as well. todd: we mentioned earlier this morning. you may remember when that cartoonist memorialized barbara bush when she passed away in april with this amazing powerful and poignant cartoon. emily: now to honor the president of george h.w. bush this morning he reveals his new touching tribute showing a family reunited. >> joining us now is the car stoonist for the clarion ledger. marshall ramsey. >> good morning. ed: thanks for joining us by phone. a few months as it was a sad occasion but quite uplifting and moving when you drew that first cartoon. let's start there. what was the inspiration for that? >> you know, i was busy being a dad that night when i found out shy had passed away. i didn't really jump and go draw a cartoon very quickly. the next morning i sat down at the drawing board and started thinking about her life and all the amazing things she had done. i thought about that one piece of her life that needed to be healed and

child. cartoon came boom like that. i saw it and the family saw it and it took off. it was amazing. but what was really especiallreal specialcartoon fat children took on a special life of its own. ed: you suggested you maybe heard from the bush family? what did they say to you? did someone send you a note? >> jenna had seen it about an hour after i had posted it and she reposted it and so then jeb bush jr. posted it and i had heard from neil bush and so i started hearing from different members of the family. and i got to tell you this. the bush family is one of the most gracious families you will ever ever talk to. they were really touched. and i gave them the original of that cartoon. i think it will probably end up in the library. todd: it's amazing the common thread throughout our first common hours of coverage has been the president's humanity and

when asked to draw a cartoon about our 41st president, he didn't go through the history. you didn't go through the policy. you focused on that humanity. and, sir, this is one of the most beautiful things that i think we're ever going to see. i don't mean to be hyperbolic i don't think you can look at this second cartoon you drew and not be joked up. >> i will tell you i came around last april, because he got incredibly sick after she had passed away and he got sepsis. and both my parents who have sense passed they had sepsis and i thought this is going to be tough. i forgot it was george bush, the guy who was superman. he bounced back. i just kind of tucked the idea away. then last night i was asleep on the couch, you know, because i'm old and boring. and my wife woke me up and she said george bush died. i said no. i knew i had the idea so i went ahead and did it i did want to touch on the fact that he loved barbaraened a

he loved robin. the family just talked to me and told me they said that was the thing that, you know, they were talking about, too. ed: marshall, before we go any further, some of our viewers may be listening on satellite radio or something like that. >> sure. ed: describe the second. so the first cartoon people can see it on the screen. others may just be listening. the first cartoon, of course, was barbara bush shouting out robin when she got to see her daughter finally who had passed at the age of 4. describe the second cartoon. >> sure. you know, she saw robin. i had them waiting for him. and of course he arrived in his avenger. which was the plane he flew in world war ii. jacket over the back. actually inspired by statue that's in the houston airport of all of things of george bush. i just remembered seeing that image. i had him being greeted and all renoon nighted as a family.

emily: marshall, one of the wonderful things about this second image is the fact that you included the avenger and one of the multiple photos during george h.w. bush wants life george h.w. bush's life when avenge der a fly by the day the aircraft carrier named after him was christened. it was a surprise to him. he didn't know. amazing photograph and so meaningful to him in that moment and the fact that you captured it here is absolutely exquisite. thank you for the emotions that that evokes. that's why i'm been quiet this whole time. it's difficult to control. >> a friend of mine has one just like it. i got to fly in it a few months ago, actually. and that was just incredible thrill. i can't imagine being 18 years old or 20 years old and being and having that much respondsability in your hands. that shaped that whole generation. it was just amazing. todd: marshall ramsey thank you for getting up and being

on the phone with us this morning and discuss amazing but simple piece of work that will resonate with so many millions of people when they see it this morning. ed: i don't want to put you on the spot. emily while we were showing the images we were turning to you because the viewers couldn't see us as if it was your turn to ask a question you kept passing you couldn't speak because it was so moving. emily: i don't think you have had to know that former president to be moved by the lifetime of service an and the fact that the commitment to family was so apparent in everything that he did. and, yes, those cartoons are so moving to me. if you have family, if you love anyone on this earth and this just to me is -- it just evokes so much emotion. so sweet, marshall, so it's simple and so divine at the same time. that sums up the grace. ed: the way dashed it off. so powerful. did i it real quick. amazing. todd: so much of what we do in our business is along party lines and we discuss policy and we discuss fights

here is an individual who led an amazing life of public service the president of the united states. really two things stood out in that picture. one, his time runnin run serving our nation and two loving his family. ed: illeana ross joins us to talk about president bush's legacy on the world stage. good to talk to you this morning congresswoman. >> good morning. ed: tell us about this man on the world stage? >> well, he was just a kind and gracious man. what a joy it was for me to have been a member of the united states congress serving with him at the white house he came down to campaign for me in my first election in 1989. it wasn't difficult to get democrats to come in and fill that hall along with republicans. why? because he was always a bipartisan man.

he was a gracious gentleman. he treated everyone with respect. even you had an opposing opinion. and it just takes because to come where civility was the norm and now in congress we are so divided and nasty. he was a president who talked about a kind ler, -- a kindler, gentler nation. and, oh boy, that would be great to hear. ed: funny you mentioned that phrase i forgot it people mocked that kind ler, gentler thing. >> he always said that the 8 years he served as vice president to the big gipper, those were the most defining moments of his life. he had many defining moments. he always had those kind words about everyone. and he got along so well with congress. i remember being on the

house floor when he talked to us about the iraq invasion on kuwait and what we had to do. he brought us together. a great congressman, democrat from miami was in charge of the foreign affairs committee upon which i served and then eventually chaired. but he was a democrat but he was the one who channeled this all together to support the commitment of our armed forces overseas to fight against. again, that was not as difficult then as it would be today because george bush was that guiding light and spirit of bipartisan. and we had so many people when he came down to miami and i remember the first day when i got sworn in to congress he invited my father who was my campaign manager, jeb bush, president 41 son was my overall campaign manager and i thought oh my gosh, we have votes in the house but it

was already the first day i missed votes. who could turn down an invitation from 41. todd: congresswoman we thank you very much. we do have to get going. we appreciate your time this morning. more continuing coverage of the legacy of president george h.w. bush. ♪ ♪ the united states postal service makes more holiday deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. ♪ with one notable exception. ♪

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♪ ♪ ed: good morning again and welcome to a special edition of "fox & friends." we are remembering the life of an american hero, known simply as poppy to his family but known to all of us as george herbert walker bush the if the of the united states. todd: longest living president in u.s. history. bush 41 leaving behind a legacy as a life-long public servant. >> i watched my father at early age not realizing what he was up to doing a lot of

charitable works. my mother pounded into us early on do something for others it's always been a part of my life. i really believe there can be no desks of a successful life that does not include service to others. emily: this lifetime public servant died last night nearly eight months after the death of his beloved wife barbara. ed: we have the dits ticket honor and privilege of bringing in brit hume long time host of "special report" fox news contributor. griff, i grew up wantinbrit i go cover the white house. you had a front row seat. talk about this man you saw up close. brit brit my experience of him goes back at least to 1980 when i covered his presidential campaign in the primaries in 1908 which, of course, he lost to ronald reagan in the end and then was chosen to be his vice president where he served as you all know for eight years. when he went into the white

house, i covered his presidency. i knew him a long time and the word that comes to mind when i think of him is character. this was extraordinarily gracious man. humble in victory and similarly humbled in defeat. he is pa man of a different era. for all of his kindness and extraordinarily nice as so many people said he had steel in his you i particularly remember, ed, when saddam hussein invaded kuwait. we were in an era then when after vietnam the americans' taste for armed combat anywhere had shrunk and people referred to it as vietnam syndrome the president rallied a coalition of nations to fight together to drive saddam hussein out of kuwait. and in order to do that he got a resolution from the

united nations to authorized that action. and there had been a series of united nations resolutions which saddam had ignored. here was another one that authorized this coalition to go and remove his army from kuwait everyone should remember at the time he went to the u.n. and got that resolution and then went to congress. it was a close thing. a number of democrats voted no but it passed. and then and -- and there were predictions there would be a terrible blood shed in the dessert and it was not. it was a walk over. it was over in a matter of days. and saddam hussein was driven out of kuwait it was extraordinary success i hoped it eliminated vietnam syndrome. i'm not sure it did but it went away at that time.

ed: absolutely. emily: at one point george h.w. bush presidency the 10 most overrated men. and he threw a party for the rest of the overrated men and he stood up and gave a toast. speak to that grace and levity in the face of criticism for the press and your thoughts on whether that is remarkable? >> he had a sense of humor and he was -- you know, he was willing to make light of things. his method of dealing with criticism was not quite to turn the other cheek in the rough and tumble of the campaign in 1988. he played hard ball. but, the event you mentioned, it was characteristic of him to try to make light of the situation and diffuse it in that way. i think it certainly did that. there are people who never overcame their antipathy to him. he was not well-regarded by some figures in the media, george will, the columnist

never cared for him. maureen dowd wrote a lot of columns about him and ridiculing him. her columns dripsd with class envy i think his presidency stands grace and courage and character. and i think that he sort of overcame all of that criticism. he was born a blue blooded new england aristocrat made his way to texas basically on his own and became a texan and that's where he ran from. ran from office from. and, of course, that's where w. grew up. w. is much more of a texan because he was born down there than his tear was. that was really who he became. todd: brit, as somebody who knows d.c. as well as you do what is george bush's legacy in the nation's capital when it comes to party politics? >> well, he was -- he had no antipathy to members of the other party. i remember one of his

buddies was in the years when he served in the house of representatives was dan democrat from illinois power house figure chairman of the house ways and means committee, the tax writing committee. they were great friends, close friends it was very like bush that he would develop a friendship across the i'll. ross continuhe used to think hed see president bush in a hearing wasn't very long he seemed to stop paying attention and sometime leave early. this guy may be a light weight he doesn't seem to care about the depth of these issues. he later had a conversation with him became clear to him that bush had gotten the gist of the testimony almost immediately and had it figured out in his own line. he famously had a short attention span which is in some way a bush family

characteristic. they both are the attention span of mosquitoes. he was sharp and he made a lot of friends across the aisle. he was never a bitter partisan. he played rough when he had to. he was never a bitter partisan and things in washington were not nearly -- divisive but not nearly as divisive as they are now. his personality, i think, contributed to that atmosphere. ed: he also didn't like broccoli that became like a national scandal for a while there. >> i remember he said that he said i do not like broccoli. that was a big deal for a while. ed: talk about something more serious. you got a rare chance to sit down with both presidents in 2009 where they got a chance to reflect a bit. let's hear from them and then hear from you. >> very like you and like you as well to refrain from comment on other political figures, the incoming president and so on. why? >> to me that has been the

biggest disappointment in the political process up here there has been this kind of bitterness by a few people to the point they don't want to have a logical discussion or civil discussion about policy. they just want to tear you down. brit brit do yo>> do you think s gotten worse since your days in washington. >> offensive. very offensive. i agree with the president that when you have somebody, you have your own trust in, and that person, for his own gain, thinks it for his own gain, goes out and here is the inside story. here is what they saying but here is what is happenings. playing the leap game. it's just as horrible. and every administration has that. but i think president george bush here has been lucky there hasn't been that many of them. ed: moving to see 41 refer to his is on the president here, this is a rare opportunity in history to say that. reflect on what they were say and the substance of it.

it. >> that expresses exactly how both those men felt about the atmosphere in washington. the poisonous atmosphere that has only worsened over time neither one of them had any taste of it. that is a reflection of both of their attitudes. there was about those men. they were -- both of them gentlemen. the ideal of being a gentleman has been somewhat lost. whatever you might say about donald trump, the first word that comes to mind when you think about him is not gentleman. you know, the fact that both of those presidents were quiet about their successors. no doubt they had criticisms to make maybe privately about how successors acted in office but neither one of them spoke out about it. you have barack obama out on the campaign trail. and that's changed.

donald trump lays about himself in all directions. i don't know what he will do after he leaves office. that's emblematic of the those men h belief was their time on the world stage had gone and time for them to be off stage and better seen than heard which both of them observed. they would show up for events and appear where they should and otherwise they lead private lives as gentlemen. ed: you were the first person i thought of when i heard the news and having you on. we appreciate your insight this morning, sir. >> thank you for having me. todd: thank you, sir. ed: lead's go back to our colleague pete hec hegseth. "fox & friends" co-host. you were at the reagan library. this started out as a complicated relationship reagan-bush and then changed overtime. pete: it did. they were political rivals and unlikely folks to join

the same ticket. and then became friends. very close. as we heard from former chief of staff of ronald reagan, they had that regular thursday lunch that they cherished and did every single thursday as they grew closer not just politically but personally. that's why i think it's fitting that we are here at the ronald reagan presidential library only more fitting if we had been at the george p.w. bush library. those two are inextricably linked forever. you don't get a 41 or a 43. you don't get a bush senior or george w. bush, i don't believe, without a ronald reagan, without the sharpening of the political sword that was -- the political campaigns they went through. but then the legacy of the 1980s, into the early part of the 1990s, and frankly the end of the cold war era. i think what we are seeing today and a lot of what we reflecting on is the end of the world war ii cold war era presidency. starting with truman and dwight eisenhower through jfk and lbj through nixon to

ford, to carter. and then you've got ronald reagan himself who challenged the evil empire amend tear down that wall and open that gate, "star wars" initiative. george w. bush falling on the legacies. he had a didn't approach. he wasn't bombastic. he was anti-communist not in the outright way that ronald reagan often was. but he quietly followed through around the globe staring down and reinforcing the perspective of the globe. of peace through strength and ultimately you saw the fall of the berlin wall early in the george w. bush presidency, the collapse of the soviet union and then ultimately him as brit alluded to. i think it's so important getting over the vietnam syndrome that america had that we couldn't go to war and win. that we wouldn't support our war fighters. he built that coalition and led it to victory. in fact, later on we will have the new army secretary on the program here. he actually served in

101st airborne in the gulf war under commander-in-chief george h.w. bush. has the perspective of what it was like to be led into war in that era. but i don't think we can under estimate how significant this passing is in the passing of an era. the cold war shaped an entire generation in staring down the soviet union. ronald reagan and george h.w. bush were central to that. todd: staying with foreign policy quickly for a moment. there is a meeting between president trump amend xi jinping, one of the many accomplishments of the president bush service of envoy in china. how much of what the president did in china can serve to inform the current president as to what needs to be done with an adversary, quite frankly that is much more powerful than it was back in the time that president bush was there? pete: very much. so the geopolitical train has shifted ever since we opened up to china during the cold war. of course all of that opening up was painted by a relationship with the soviet union.

we saw a big enemy and adversarial foe in the soviet union. china still developing as a nation then before they have taken some of the steps as they have more recently to open up the economy and invest in their military. now today rush russia is still a threat but different than the soviet union and the rise of china has created way more friction in that relationship. the trade imbalance as president trump talks about is something they are staring down. but you would wants someone like h.w. bush, who understands the dynamics of where china was. the legacy historically they have had for thousands of years and you will get that as an envoy. insight into the communist party. grip on control and how they have used those open marks marko consolidate power. the future of america's stand down with checkis collect eu678 ancollectismand communism. george w. bush he had

president trump at g-20. a lot of fallout from that in the days ahead. pete hegseth. we appreciate your look there at the foreign policy legacy if you will of bush 41. our next guest served on the domestic front. he was education secretary for president george h.w. bush. lamar alexander. good morning, sir. i wonder what you are thinking about this morning. >> well, i was thinking about a conversation i had with john meacham who wrote the biography of george h.w. bush. and i think a better title for the book might have been the last gentleman because bob teeter, who was president bush's campaign manager and polster once said to me that george h.w. bush is probably the only person who ever got elected president by being nice. he was tough.

you know, he fought in world war ii. nearly died. he was tough but he was nice. i have dozens of handwritten notes from him as i guess hundreds of americans must. emily: on the first day of his inauguration, senator, he offered his hand across the aisle. he was obviously inheriting a democratic controlled house and congress and this is, you know, it became an infamous speech where from the first minute he wanted to establish that connection across aisle and the fact that he wanted to be collaborative. what did that look like in the administration that you served in? >> well, it looked like he knew what he was doing. if you looked at the portraits of presidents in the white house, you think of them not just by how they did as a partisan. but you think more about how do they reach beyond their own party and get something good for the country. you look at reagan and you think of going to the berlin wall. you look at nixon and you think of going to china. so, he was probably the best

prepared president we ever had with his background having won and lost a political race in china as ambassador united nations. vice president of the united states. so he knew what he was doing and he knew if he was going to put the country first, which was always his goal, that he had to work with other people and the result. todd: senator, is there a politician currently in d.c. that you see reaching across the aisle like president bush or is that a by gone era that we're never going to see again? >> no, no, no. it's not by gone era. there are a lot of us who try do that we may not be as prominent as he is. if you look at washington, d.c. like a split screen television in october, you would have seen on one side. on the other side you would have seen 72 senators of both parties creating a landmark opioids bill. you would have seen passing appropriations bills with record funding for

biomedical research. you would have seen legislation changing copyright laws. song writers get paid fairly. that doesn't make so much news. but it goes on all the time. it's just be a secured by obscue more contentious things we see on the other side of the screen. ed: we have been trying to get into the life and leg base of george h.w. bush. i don't think we have mentioned this one thing as important to his legacy as well. when you ran for president, you talked a lot about service and volunteering for the nation. and george h.w. bush had an important role in kicking that off, too. as you know better than anyone, with the thousand points of light initiative. talk about that. >> he did. that was his idea and his idea was what republicans often say in speeches but we forget when we get in the midst of legislation. the best ideas and greatness of this country doesn't come from washington, d.c. it comes from 1,000 points

of light we are a country that operates best, community by community. and so he set up this understated effort. put spotlight on men and women in every part of the country helping other people and making our country really, you know, as great as it is. and i think that's one of his real legacies. he probably had the best foreign policy team and was best prepared for that of anybody else but on the domestic side i think his points of light were a real contribution. todd: senator, quickly, favorite memory. my favorite memory we were walking out spring of 1992 on the white house lawn to announce his gi bill to kids to give school choice to low income children. and he had the wrong suit coat on. and barbara looked at him and said george, you've got

the wrong pants on. go back in and change. so the president of the united states turned around and walked back into the white house, changed his pants, came back out and made his announcement. ed: senator, you covered a lot of ground in this interview and we appreciate that. that's a funny, light hearted moment but you also got into a lot of serious parts of his life and legacy. senator lamar alexander from the great state of tennessee. thank you, sir. we appreciate your insight. >> thank you very much. ed: is a man behind some of president bush's most iconic speeches. speech writer edward mcnally joins us to share his memories coming up. ♪ mitzi: psoriatic arthritis tries to get in my way? watch me. ( ♪ ) mike: i've tried lots of things for my joint pain. now? watch me.

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kuwait is liberated. kuwait's army is in the hands of kuwaitys and in control of their own destiny. >> coalition forces fought this war only as a last resort and look forward to the day when iraq is led by people prepared to live in peace with their neighbors. todd: that was president george h.w. bush announcing the end of the gulf war. emily: the man who helped write that speech is joining us now speech writer edward mcnally. thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> good morning. emily: as we celebrate such a legacy and incredible man. ed: what are your thoughts as you woke up you heard he had health batallionses before he kept coming out of it and seemed so strong and now we have a chance to not dwell on the death but think

about the life and legacy. you saw him up close. what are you thinking about. >> there is no former president who touched as many thousands of life. the way he managed the end of the cold war. i have a story so common with anybody whose life he touched. i was just out of college. i was working on his very first presidential campaign in 1979. i got a scholarship to go to law school and torn about what to do with it jim baker who is a god to bush people put the arm on me. barbara bush who we're all afraid of, even now, sort of put the arm on me. and then i was alone in a green room with the former ambassador as we knew at the time. i hear this guy put the arm on me i would be done and i would say. our son marvin is up at uva. he has a semester left to

finish there, dad, mom, no one in virginia has ever heard of you. i want to leave school and work on your campaign. and the future president looked at me and said you know ed, i don't know how i can tell you anything different than we would tell our own son. we want him to stay in school every single person, thousands of people who know him briefly tell a story just like that. a man of grace, decency who often acted against his own self-interest to show kindness to other people. todd: as somebody who wrote the words that the president would go on to say, how receptive was he to your words and are there any funny stories you have of any changes maybe that he was interested in making? >> i think, you know, he was so -- he followed one of greatest communicators our country has ever seen, right? ronald reagan. he was his vice president, watched this guy upfront. and in his very first group meeting with his speech writers after he took

office. he kind of cautioned us that he is no ronald reagan. and we thought he often, i think one of my very first rose garden speech was about to take place, someone who knew him well, might have been a guy named fred mcclure said mcneal, be mcnallye prepared to watch your own buecheed he had dana carvy way of speaking. he wouldn't follow the script because he had a bright mind. and although he was often imitated is he a hard guy to imitate on some levels. emily: one of those moments was when he went off speech and deviated with mcgill gosh che it had a relaxing effect and made great strides. would you say that he had really that kind of ability to choose when to stick to the script and when not to stick to it? >> he was that combination of iq and eq.

he red people most of the time read them uncanningly write. he could speak to small groups and large groups one-on-one. you spoke about the born connecticut guy. he had authenticity that was often missed when you saw him sort of in the national life that no one missed for a moment when they met him. ed: we have talked about phrases thousands points of light we just spoke about. we spoke about a kindler, gentler nation which seems kindler, gentler nation kinder and gentler to whom? reagans were not happy we were turning the page. talk about that and their relationship? >> keep in mind, this was the first vice president in

130 years since buchanon who followed andrew jackson to actually be elected being elected president of the united states. that job has been a curse for most of the people who held it. ed: most of the time die in office for you to go up. >> 100 percent. i think it's provablably true by electoral success in ronald reagan that he was arguably one of america's most effective and appropriate vice presidents and his record speaks for itself including in politics. a challenge for every vice president how do you step away from them and forge your identity. kinder gentler is a pretty gentle way. ed: turning the page with a smile. >> there you go. todd: thank you for coming in on a difficult but such an informative and touching morning. we appreciate your time and your reflections. >> thank you. thank you, todd. todd: appreciate it.

we are taking an in-depth look back at the life and legacy of president bush. emily: plus, we are reading your emails and sharing your memories this morning. that's next. ed: first on george h.w. bush on how he would want to be remembered. >> honor, service and honor. i'm very at peace now with myself and our record. i have no regrets. i have had my chance. i did my best. snacking can mean that pieces get stuck under mike's denture.

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♪ >> every single day when i walked into this office from this door over here, you feel a sense of awe. and a sense of respect and i tried to treat the office with respect. but i have many happy memories. ed: what a wonderful life and legacy we have been talking about all morning. george h.w. bush. 41st president of the united states has died at the age of 94. the stories we have been hearing from people who served with him has just been remarkable. they talk about life public service. emily: how remarkable it is to me the fact that in all of these same conversations and stories we hear this touches on what an impressive man he was beyond words and had the ability to make connections with people at all levels macroand micro. todd: tough to boil down a life but chief political anchor bret baier did a good

job. here is a look at the incredible life and legacy of president george h.w. bush. >> for a new breeze is blowing and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn. for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. [applause] >> george bush's hardest task as president was giving the green light for operation dessert storm. but he is credited with rescuing the tiny oil-rich nation of kuwait from saddam hussein's million man army of iraq. before george herbert walker bush took his first step into the white house he learned to walk in kennebunkport, maine. born june 12th, 1924 in the town of milton, massachusetts to a family already deeply involved in public service. he was the second of five children to dorothy and senator prescott bush. with high school behind him, george was accepted at yale university. but put his education on hold. the start of the second

world war beckoned him to serve his country instead. in 1942, george bush celebrated his 18th birthday by enlisting in the u.s. naval reserve. within a year he was ensign bush, the youngest fighter pilot in the navy. taking part in 58 combat missions in the pacific theater, bush was flying his plane on a special bombing mission over china when he was shot down by the japanese and was forced to bail out at sea. he survived, though his crew did not. >> i'm floating around in this raft, paddling, and then all of a sudden i saw this tower come um and saw the submarine surface. >> with the end of the war in sight. bush set his sights on barbara pierce, the two wed in 1945 while bush was still in the navy. they would have six children, including our 43rd president, george w. bush. and popular florida governor jeb. bush left the navy and graduated from yale before he and barbara moved to

texas to find his dreams on an oil field. by the age of 30, he was co-founder and president of sapota offshore which pioneered experimental drilling equipment. like his father, bush was attracted to public service and politics. after losing his first political race for a senate seat in 1964, he was elected to the house of representatives two years later, serving two terms. encouraged by richard nixon to run again for the senate in 1970, he was defeated a second time. he moved on to high government positions. in 1971 richard nixon appointed him ambassador to the united nations. and in 1973, he became chairman of the republican national committee at the height of the watergate scandal. in that role, bush urged nixon to resign for the good of the party. >> i shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. >> president gerald ford sent bush to china as chief of the u.s. liaison office.

a short time later ford called him home to be director of the cia. bush was credited with bringing morale back to the agency. bush left in 1977, when president carter entered the white house. by 1979, he was ready to get back into the political ring. >> ladies and gentlemen, i am a candidate for president of the united states. [applause] >> bush was seen as moderate alternative to ronald reagan but dropped out of the presidential campaign after poor primary performances. a short time later he accepted reagan's offer to be his running mate. reagan won in a landslide. during his eight years as vice president, bush was credited with softening reagan's view of the soviet union and pressed hard on issues like deregulation and the war on drugs. in the natural progression, bush became the republican party's nominee in 1988. with senator dan quayle from indiana as his running mate. the republican team defeated

massachusetts governor michael dukakis and texas senator lloyd benson. >> i, george herbert walker bush do solemnly swear. >> during his presidency the soviet union dissolved, the wall fell and manuel noriega arrested. everything came to a head when saddam hussein invaded neighboring kuwait. >> we are not walking away until our mission is done, until the invader is out of kuwait. [explosion] >> president bush reacted quickly, committing over 400,000 u.s. troops and building a strong coalition of allies. operation dessert storm had begun. the majority of america supported the president's decision to throw saddam hussein back into iraq and bush's popularity rating hit an all-time high. most thought he was unbeatable for a second term. a broken campaign promise -- >> read my lips.

no new taxes. [cheers and applause] >> would come back to haunt the 41st president. in the fall of 1992, with the war a distant memory, george bush lost re-election to former arkansas governor bill clinton. bush traveled to kuwait to commemorate the gulf war in 1993. an assassination plot on his life was uncovered, but bush was unharmed. it was later discovered the poorly orchestrated plan was the work of the iraqi intelligence service. queat kuwaity court would convict all but one. texas horseshoes and countless birthdays by parachuting out of planes. spending time with the family in maine and reliving memories of when he was a boy. >> i can honestly say that the three most rewarding titles bestowed upon me are the three that i have got left: a husband, a father,

and a granddad. >> while retired his life was active until the end. joining forces with former political foe bill clinton to raise money for the victims of the 2004 indian ocean tsunami and hurricane katrina in 2005. the former presidents formed a close friendship, continuing their charity work and enjoying annual lunches at bush's home in kennebunkport and using his experience and insights to serve as a quiet advisor to his eldest son, the 43rd president. here, attending george w. bush's library dedication in 2013 and sharing a few words. >> glad to be here. god bless america and thank you very much. [applause] >> bush even kept up public debate twitter shared photos of colorful socks that became part of his signature

look. age brought health challenges, of course. a form of parkison's disease that left him in a wheelchair. and brief hospital stays in his 1990s for pneumonia, bronchitis, and a fall in his home. but not enough to keep him out of the limelight throwing out the first pitch before 2016 baseball game and pregame ceremonies months later at the super bowl in his houston hometown. reuniting with his former running mate and vice president dan quayle in july and then catching a glimpse of the rare eclipse that crossed the country alongside his family in maine in august. >> one of bush's last public appearances was at his beloved wife bar perhaps funeral where he met with former presidents, first ladies and the first current lady melania trump. bush recently returned to his vacation hometown of kennebunkport, maine joining fellow veterans for a pancake breakfast before he was hospitalized for low

blood pressure and fatigue. this was the first time in decades that neither he nor his wife attend the annual memorial day parade. he wrote in a tweeted: he is, quote: forever grateful, not only to those patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, but also the gold star families whose heritage is imbued with their honor and heroism. known for his maturity and straightforward approach, george h.w. bush called this country to be better in hopes of inspiring a people to be great. >> i think historians are going to say that we did pretty well. and that's all right for me. i'm not in any rush to be in heaven and look down and let them make that determination. ed: what a larkable way to remember his legacy. bret did a great job and hearing the president's own words, contributes pouring in from our viewers. cathy writing on facebook barbara has her hero again, praying for his family.

that's beautiful. emily: on instagram louann says rest in peace. prayers to the family. god bless america. todd: george writes one of the classiest presidents we ever had. i think that word classiest really sums it up. ed: it really does. we were talking about the secret service and how familiar reverence the plain clothes agents. sergeant just sent me greatest six years of my career. i assume he is talking about the vice presidency into the presidency of bush 41. 41 and mrs. bush treated us so well. sad dad. he sent along a picture. interesting because we have heard this and i think todd, you have been saying it that the thread through the whole deal is not just public service it's humanity and kindness. todd: you remember how people make you feel not necessarily what they've done. and so these memories that are pouring out of people, on what has to be an emotional morning for them all, it's not necessarily about the bill that was

signed. it's not necessarily about the history of the policy. it's about kindness. it's about warmth. it's about family. it's about love. emily: i was going to say amongst that leg gales of such grace and humility, it's almost easy to overlook the fact that he had an incredible legacy and such imprevisich service as a public servant spanning his 94 years. for more on that we are going to bring in pete hegseth "fox & friends" co-host from the simi valley reagan library. pete? pete: yes, talk about legacies this library is dedicated to ronald reagan, today everyone talking about the legacy of george h.w. bush. the next guest, current army secretary, he has been that for a year dr. mark esper, we didn't plan to have you

here, sir, to talk about george h.w. bush or necessarily your service in the gulf war. but, you're a west point graduate, served in the gulf war with 101st airborne. you picked the right outfit in my opinion. he was your commander-in-chief? a war that changed the view of america's military and american strength. talk to us a little bit about commander-in-chief george h.w. bush. >> first, let me say i personally mourn the loss of president bush and the entire army mourns his passing. he was a great man, a statesman, a veteran and fantastic commander-in-chief. we all mourn his passing today and send out our condolences to the bush family. with regard to the gulf war, it was the war of my generation. it was the war that defined in many ways united states army for the remaining next couple decades. i think in many ways the army of the 1980s that president reagan built with vice president bush's at his side and then was utilized against the fourth largest army at the time the iraqi army really prufd mat american army can deploy,

fight and win and do so. i think in many ways i heard you mention this earlier, put into the past the vietnam syndrome that we could not quickly win, succeed and come home. pete: you were a captain on the ground part of the famous air left hook in the dessert. we now take for granted that war that lasted 100 hours. at that time you didn't know what you were facing and what type of enemy. talk to us -- put us in the moment of that war that ultimately george h.w. bush was important to building the coalition for? >> it was very uncertain at the time how it would turn out. in fact, you might recall media reports at the time said that we could be facing tens of thousands of casualties. we were very concerned about nuclear or certainly biological, chemical attacks. the fourth largest army. they had engaged and fought against the iranians for many, many years. they were an experienced force as well. it was -- the outcome was uncertain in many ways. i think leveraging the cold war army that president

reagan had built alongside with president bush, vice president bush made the difference and was what made it very successful. pete: talk to me a little bit about more about that comparison. we are here at the reagan presidential library. we are here defense forum. weth ththe built up the reagan years. dufault like similar ear ranchts we came out of vietnam early 1970s. vietnam was behind us. now looking behind to how we could confront the soviets and retool the army from our doctrine to training to equipment to make sure we were prepared to meet that threat in the future. we find ourself at a similar point today. after 17 years of bitter conflict in iraq and afghanistan. we are still a nation at war. buff we know because the national defense strategy tells us we now have to look towards further strategic such as russia and china and prepare for that army renaissance happening today is doing just that how do we

improve our training? how do we come about and create a next generation of weapons. new doctrine to make sure we can deal with that in the future. pete: how important is that commander-in-chief in that aspect ronald reagan. president trump today building the environment and ethos of peace through strength. how much of that starts at the top? >> it's very important. it's the peace through strength is what ronald reagan brought to us and gave us a sense of confidence in ourselves. he put strong budgets behind it to make sure we could build the military we needed. that messaging from the top down through the ranks and messaging out through the world is very important how we conduct ourselves and prepare. pete: you have been a year on the job as secretary of the army. >> thank you. pete: if you see new warriors wanted for the army i hold this guy responsible. they are fantastic. back to you in new york. ed: wonderful interview and perspectives. the president called kennebunkport his summer

home. our next guest knew the president for 25 years. he joins us to share some amazing stories about their friendship that will simply last a lifetime ♪ to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. (man) don't ...go...down...oh, no! aaaaballooned your car. call meeeee! (burke) a fly-by ballooning. seen it, covered it. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪

emily: here with stories of decades long friendship with the president director of kennebunkport conservation trust who has known the president for 25 years. thank you nor joining us today. walker's point was known as the president's anchor. can you speak to that? >> sure. the >> the president all of the pressures of the world and him. he could come into this family and be with friends and be

surrounded, he could put things in perspective. it gave him a place and look at -- it was very special to him and he loved his entire life. every year but one he was in the service. in a career that put him in many places. >> tom, it's interesting when i was covering bush 43, remember people they remember fondly when 41 was president and he was to try to go to the pharmacy to pick up his prescription. and he will go to mabel's if i have the names right -- >> exactly! was amazing was, he was just

being a member of the community. he never wanted anything special. just within the flow of how things ran, do the best he could to pick up things and when he was president sometimes, that didn't work out so well. at that point, he couldn't do that, he didn't want to inconvenience stores and people. but his natural inclination. >> tom, we appreciate you being with us we apologize to the viewers the phone is breaking up a little bit we know that you are in maine and services little spotty. we have a lot more coming up. >> thank you very much. still ahead, rivlin franklin graham, karl rove, but bear, -- brett baier and more.

the life of the 41st president, george h. w. bush when a special edition of "fox and friends" continues.♪ ♪ [music] over the last 24 hours, you finished preparing him for college. in 24 hours, you'll send him off thinking you've done everything for his well being. but meningitis b progresses quickly and can be fatal, sometimes within 24 hours. while meningitis b is uncommon, about 1 in 10 infected will die. like millions of others, your teen may not be vaccinated against meningitis b. meningitis b strikes quickly. be quick to talk to your teen's doctor about a meningitis b vaccine.

>> good morning again and welcome to a special edition of "fox and friends". we are remembering life and legacy of an american hero. what a life it was, george h. w. bush, the president of the nicest passing away.>> he led the nation. >> the world war ii veteran

always reminded americans to spread the message of hope. >> americans know leadership brings burdens and sacrifices but we also know why the hopes of humanity turned to us. we are americans, we have a unique responsibility to do the hard work of freedom and when we do, freedom works. [applause] >> freedom works. he died last night nearly 8 months after the death of his late wife, barbara. giving us a look back at his life, joining us, you have heard his obituary that has been remarkable but here now live, fox news political a host of special report, our own brett baier. good morning. >> good morning. >> to cover so much ground in the obituary. the one that really stands out

to all of us is the idea that he was someone who is been portrayed so long for being a privilege and at the age of 18, right after pearl harbor, decides i will defer the opportunity to go to yale and go to the workforce and make money sooner because they want to enlist in the navy, i want to serve my country. >> he was truly amazing when you think about the service, the length of service that this president really give the country.i mean, he foregoes college, decides to get into the u.s. navy. that was after the attack on pearl harbor. and he is involved in, as the youngest naval aviator, he gets shot down. if you read the story of the actual bombing run, as he is trying to bomb a japanese island in the pacific, he gets

shot down. his crew, the other two guys flying with him are killed. and he is bobbing essentially, in the pacific ocean. then he is picked up by a submarine. and fortunately, he comes off and that is the beginning of his you know, post-world war ii life. getting rescued in the pacific. imagine if that submarine had never popped up there. he had this amazing ability to really be the most courteous politician i think anybody remembers. he was just an honorable, decent man who i think was most important to him, his very large family. and in later years of his life, that drove him. >> absolutely, brett.

his son, gw bush commented, people always ask me my currently seeking my father's advice and he says i am not. i'm constantly seeking his love. and another remarkable thing about george h. w. bush, the fact that during the dissolution of the soviet union, he declined to travel to germany and said, this is a german moment, it is not an american moment. and yet, he was the first call that mikael gorbachev made, can you speak to that?>> yes, in fact i research this and i wrote about in a book and it was one of the seminole moments coming to when the wall goes down, that very moment, the images are live in the u.s. and all of this, and other advisors saying mr. president, what is the statement? let's get the press in here, let's make a statement. his initial thought is, no.

i am not going to. and they said what you can't, it is happening live, it is a seminole moment in history. we should shout this from the rooftops! and president bush said no, i do not want to dance on the wall as it is coming down. get me gorbachev on the phone. and he established his own relationship with the soviet leader as that big moment was happening. >> along those lines, brett, i think it is okay to make a sports analogy because of the intertwined career of the president and sports. of course his time at yale and a big-time star there. it seems with regard to the cold war, president reagan was the starter and george h. w. bush was the marianna rivera. the closer. it almost feels like president george h. w. bush does not get the credit that president reagan does. can you speak to that? >> of course. president reagan was larger-than-life and in his two terms in office, vice president

bush was of course as vice president, second fiddle. once he takes over the oval office, he's his own man and does his own thing. even on foreign policy and on domestic policy. i think the biggest moment of foreign policies obvious to the gulf war. the first gulf war where he, president george h. w. bush establishes one of the largest coalitions anyone have ever established to get iraq and saddam hussein out of kuwait. >> you think about more recent former presidents perhaps come that seem to want to get out there on the campaign trail rather quickly. george h. w. bush, it had to take great discipline for him in 1993 and beyond, to sit back and he had to be itching to explain his own legacy but he seemed to have a discipline to sit back and while history books at that point might have said, this is a failed one term

president, he had the discipline and the patience to say over time, people will see what i accomplished. anything it seems to be of covered a lot of presidents right now, over time, his legacy has been getting better and better in terms of his accomplishments. >> i think you are right. anything history will smile broadly on president george h. w. bush in the way he handled the office and how he handled his life. i mean just to give you a little story about i think, what drove him. john meacham, of course, the great historian wrote about george h. w. bush in a great book. a lot of, he talks about his humility. that it guided him during some of the really, the nations most difficult crises. when president reagan was wounded in the assassination attempt shortly after taking office, vice president bush was actually traveling in on the plane returning to washington, he was determined to not be

taking charge. not in a disrespectful way. while he said his friend, president reagan was fighting for his life. there is this air force aid who comes back and suggests that he landed on the south lawn instead of andrews air force base because he could get there faster, more quickly. and bush says john, only the president lands on the south lawn. and he lands at andrews. and even in the most you know, that time. >> he understood this in a way that others did not. >> former president george h. w. bush was a pioneer of telephone diplomacy. building a coalition, obviously other leaders, they make

decisions based on national interest but above and beyond they would also make decisions because of him and because of their relationship with him. and they would take the additional step. can you speak to that, please? >> yeah, he had the ability to reach out. he had this quiet dignity and resolve. a kind of permeated his foreign policy and his first goal was to reach out and discuss things. and that comes from a long life of service. you know as cia director, in the house, as an envoy, as an ambassador. he had an experience that he could tap into. especially dealing with world leaders. >> it is an amazing life and legacy. in addition, he was a pretty tough cookie! i know we have the work from the brain room here, they are five-page of illnesses and ailments and the like that he

made it through.i think they need to be underscored. not only amazing patriot, smart guy, wealthy guy, all of the stuff we look for in life, he was a tough guy! >> yes, he was a tough guy. we talked about his survival effort being shut down the world war two. but he was resilient through his life. i think really at the end of his life, one of the most poignant moments was at his wife barbara's funeral. and before it starts with that picture of him in his wheelchair, his daughter behind him, the two of them just staring at the casket in the church. i think that moment in april of this year, a lot of people looked at it, that there is probably not a lot of time left for president bush because of the long-lasting love that he lost. a low of 73 years to barbara bush. >> we are showing the imagery now of his daughter, her hand

on his left shoulder. the casket there, so vividly. brett baier will be covering this throughout the week this is only beginning. we appreciate your insight.>> thank you. quickly breaking news and were going to kevin live in buenos aires, argentina. good morning, kevin. >> good morning. an outpouring of affection from all over the globe, g 20 in buenos aires. but the point that we have a statement from the white house and i want to share with the viewers from the white house press secretary, sarah sanders, she's talking about what the white house has heard and what will do in the days to come. she says the president and first lady were notified late last night of president george h. w. bush passing. president trump is scheduled to speak with president george w. bush this morning and offer his condolences on behalf of himself, the first lady and the

entire country. a state funeral is being arranged with all of the accompanying support and honors. the present will designate wednesday, december 5, as a national day of mourning. hand the first lady will attend the funeral at the national cathedral. in this tweet he says president george h. w. bush led a long, successful and beautiful life. whenever i was with him, i saw his absolute joy for life and true pride in his family. his accomplishments were great from beginning to end. he was a truly wonderful man and will be missed by all! sentiments echoed by the first lady as well. again, we will continue coverage from here as we watch the outpouring of affection and all of the great wishes from around the world on the passing

of america's 41st president. back to. >> kevin, thank you. joining is now from the reagan library, our cohost and former white house senior advisor for george h. w. bush and a fox news contributor, joe meant, i do not know if karl can hear us or pete you will translate. wait, you can hear us i didn't want to draws but kevin reports , i want to address this because it is the elephant in the room. it is not the gorgeous relationship between the trump family and the bush family. we are hearing that the president and first lady will attend the funeral.have you heard anything about whether or not president trump will speak? >> i have not heard anything about whether or not he will attend. but he would be welcomed. i believe the preparations have been designed with the hopes that the president will be in attendance at this national celebration in washington d.c.. >> karl, just talking to before

the, turn on i can tell that you have a heavy heart. tell me about that. >> i was 22 and newly elected, some are from the subbasement of the republican national committee to the fourth floor, to the top floor to get a lecture from the chairman of the republican national committee who might've never met. a tall, athletic guy, gave me a lecture about you know, me and my executive director, a guy named lee atwater, behave yourselves, we will give you assignments and things to do. six weeks later, completely inexplicable to me he offered me a job and set the arc of my life, he was a remarkable individual. a gracious man, kind, gentle, smart, courageous. i learned a lot about life in

character input to emulate and what to follow and what to strive for. and think about the arc of that life! the youngest combat pilot, navy combat pilot in world war ii. rushed through yale after the war, started a family. captain of the ncaa baseball champions.turned his life on a back of comfort and privilege and ease. he could have joined his father's financial company, brown brothers, instead, let out to learn the oil business from the bottom up. as a toolpusher, as a salesman, and start his own oil company. after seeing a movie, he named it zapata oil company paid most qualified person ever to become the president of united states. think of the jobs he had before president and the critical

moment he was president, him and the soviet union and the invasion of kuwait by saddam hussein. critical moments for our countries history. he was there and provide a dignified, strong effective leadership the country needed. >> you are a student of history, you know that. this woman the bookends from december 7, 1941 when he decides shortly after to enlist and serve his country. all the way to the crumbling of the berlin wall. as you say, that could not have been a man or woman better prepared to deal with a post-cold war world than george h. w. bush. >> yeah. he had shown an early interest in foreign affairs as a candidate in texas and is a congressman from texas and then became un ambassador, the first u.s. envoy to china at the beginning of the important relationship. director of the central intelligence agency. you talk to people in the cia today and even today, he is revered as one of the most effective and important leaders who take an agency that was

broken by congressional investigations and scandals and rebuilt it into an effective intelligence gathering arm of the government. and then as time as vice president and president.hard to imagine now, how the world could have gone wrong in those tumultuous years after the fall of the berlin wall if we had not had effective guidance of this president, george h. w. bush and his close friend and longtime associate, james a baker the third pair between them they navigated these rough and treacherous waters in the invasion of kuwait by saddam hussein. the determination and resolve it president george h. w. bush showed and meeting the challenge and rallying the world for rejection of these, of saddam hussein 's effort to

unsettle the middle east. a remarkable man.and you know what? the thing that impressed me about him for the moment i got to know him, until the final moment of his life, how kind and gentle he was. he treated everyone with respect. one of the most important lessons i learned from him. i spent two years as head of his political action committee. it sounds fancy because we would look at this through the lens of the day when these were big operations. most of the staff or most of it was 18 months and then we had to other people join us. margaret came in as a scheduler, a longtime aid of jimmy baker. a young girl from iowa came in as secretary. he recruited his tennis partner in labor day 1978 to travel with him the last two months of the 1978 campaign. so i could spend time at headquarters marshaling all of

these names. there was nothing like it to be will to be that close to such a great man. and to learn so much from him. >> you better the political business. i do not know the met him when you're 22 but this they got it wonb we also lost a couple of as well. he lost the senate race in texas. >> twice! >> being asked by nixon to run and lost and then being ambassador. then that trajectory started. told by his instincts and commitment to the party in the country. >> he was a patriot, he loved america. that show through in everything that he did. he had a sense of obligation to serve our country. where there is the military or public life, political office, elected office and appointed office. the other things that he also believed in service beyond service in that way. he believed the injunction to love a neighbor make you like to beloved yourself.

was one of the most important commitments we could receive. his entire life was infused with a sense of service. whether was anderson, the points of light foundation, to identify americans in serving the communities and making them better. a legacy, a commitment to literacy. this is a shared relationship that these two people were more than just two people together. they were a powerful pair. his life exemplified so many of these values. >> karl, obviously, the event you are at is foreign policy in nature. can't think of another president say, for maybe the founding fathers who had so much foreign policy experience. or to say president bush was the most experienced president in a while. but can you think of anyone with as much foreign policy experience as george h. w. bush? >> well, maybe john quincy adams only because he followed his father around as an ambassador. he was in the -- or no, i

can't. actively involved in foreign affairs as a member of congress, ambassador of the united nations, a tumultuous time for that body. and andrenvoy to china. here he is making his way around beijing on a bicycle. because we did not have a staff, we did not have a gigantic embassy there we were starting this relationship and then director of the cia and all he did in the reagan years and beyond. >> before we have to let you go, any one particular story or moment that you had so many moments behind the scenes with the bush family. any anecdote you can share with us? >> lots, but one of the sweetest was i got to say goodbye to him. before the election i got to put in a call and they said come, he was to see. so went to thank him. and he was there.

his body was failing but the mind, the person were there. he was funny, alert, he wanted to talk politics. he wanted gossip -- [laughter] a couple of bad jokes. he had a great sense of humor and we had a wonderful moment. but he was a great man, extraordinary life. they don't make them like that. >> we take solace in these days that he is in a better place. exactly with who he wants to be with. karl, thank you so much. >> you look at the impact he has on him and so many incredible life.>> just wonderful. talking about the sense of humor, a little salacious gossip, all right, the tributes are still pouring in. the death of george h. w. bush family and friends honoring his service. >> and life outside of the bush family home in houston, casey, good morning. >> good morning to you. this is an all-too-familiar

street corner right here in houston because it was almost in this exact same spot, about eight months ago, where we were reporting live on the passing of former first lady, barbara bush. today we are back out here to report that the former president of the united states, george h. w. bush passed away last night. at his home just a little after 10:00 in the morning. the president has tweeted this morning, alyssa learned of course at the first lady and the president will attend the presidents funeral and in his tweet, president trump saying, president george h. w. bush led a long successful and beautiful life. whenever i was with him, i saw his absolute joy for life and true pride in his family. his accomplishments weregreat. from beginning to end , and he was a truly wonderful man. and will be missed by all. the vice president, mike pence, has also weighed in.

tributes are coming in from all over. he has written, president bush loved his family. love the country and his legacy will be a lifetime of service to the united states of america. at former president barack obama writing in part, america has lost a patriot and humble servant in george herbert walker bush. while our hearts are heavy they are also filled with gratitude. not merely for the years he spent as 1/41 president, but for the more than 70 years he spent in devoted service to the country he loved. ironically, president barack obama was just in houston last week on tuesday for a speaking engagement and we understand that they had the opportunity to meet and the former president obama actually came to visit mr. bush here at his house. now just days before, we are

learning of his passing. >> thank you so much. >> president bush like many presidents, sought spiritual guidance from his longtime confident, billy graham. >> and his son, reverand franklin graham joins us now on the friendship their families shared. good to talk to you as always, sir. what was your relationship with this remarkable man? >> first, my condolences to the entire family. the president was a deeply spiritual man. he did not wear his faith on his coat sleeve. he was private about it. he was a spiritual person, he had a deep faith in god. my father and him on many occasions, when they were together, not only enjoyed politics but with my father, he wanted to talk about spiritual things. he had questions and sometimes those questions would involve

the second coming of jesus christ. what god would want us to do for certain instants or problem that he was facing. and so, he had a faith and i appreciate that very much about this president. and how he handled his life, he was such a kind and gentle person. and he really reflected, i think, the person of price the way he lived his life. >> during the beginning ofthe gulf war, protests were erupting outside the white house , then president george h. w. bush said, i'm not a warmonger. i've been to war. i hate war, i loathe it. and it was an incredibly difficult decision for him to make, dissent is fellow americans to war. can you speak to the role of his faith and contemplation that was played in the decision for him>> it was a very difficult night for him . i remember he called my father.

and he asked that my father would be with him that night at the white house. the president knew the cost and american lives and iraqi lives. he knew what war was about. as you have said, and i appreciate the fact that he wanted my father with him to lead in prayer that night with him. the two of them stayed up all night. and they had not just one prayer, but a number of prayers together. as the war began. >> reverand franklin graham, let me get my memory right. when the first lady pass if you want to go there was a story going around when bush 41 was in office, mrs. bush and bush 43, future president, having intense discussions about what happens to people that do not practice any religion.

and george w. bush said something that there is no salvation beyond jesus christ. and barbara bush was not sure about the answer and said, get me billy graham on the phone. in a white house operator called your father. can you pick up the story from there? >> that was true. and my father could sense that he was in the middle of a very intense family discussion. [laughter] and so, he certainly i think, give the right answer. that god is the only one who is the final judge. and of course jesus is the way, the truth and the light.there is no other way to god except through him. jesus is the one that took our sins to the cross and died in our place. no one has ever done that. but at the same time at the moment of death, no one knows what a person says in their heart to god at that moment. and so god is one that opens a door to heaven. we know that the door does go through jesus christ. and i have, at that time of

death many people call on the name of jesus christ and at that moment they are saved. >> is there one word in your mind that sums up the spiritual life of george h. w. bush? >> gentle. he was a gentle man. he was tough, he was strong but he was a gentle giant of a man. we don't have this in politics today in washington. he was just a gentle giant of a man. >> we've heard a lot of reflections but gentle giant of a man is a pretty powerful one. reverend, we appreciate your insight this morning. thank you, sir. >> thank you. was our next guest served under president reagan and bush. president bush even give him a special mission as the nations first -- the stories of working side-by-side with the president next.>> the first and historic moment in the presidency of george h. w. bush. in 1991, he marked the end of ♪

♪ the gulf war. ♪ [music] ♪ >> as commander-in-chief, i ♪ can report to you, our armed ♪ forces fought with honor and ♪ valor. ♪ and as president, i can ♪ report to the nation ♪ aggression is defeated, the ♪ war is over. ♪ [cheering] i am not for colds. i am not for just treating my symptoms... (ah-choo) i am for shortening colds when i'm sick. with zicam. zicam is completely different. unlike most other cold medicines... ...zicam is clinically proven to shorten colds. i am a zifan for zicam. oral or nasal. [music]

>> welcome back to a special edition of "fox and friends". remembering the extraordinary life and legacy of george h. w. bush. >> the 41st president of the united states passed away last night at the age of 94. the longest living president in u.s. history, a great reminder of what true leadership looks like. >> i will keep america moving forward. always forward. for a better america, for an endless enduring dream and a thousand points of light. this is my mission and i will complete it. [cheers and applause] >> the world war ii veteran, american hero passed away nearly 8 months after the death of his wife, barbara. after 73 years of marriage. our next guest served as nations first drug czar in the administration of george h. w. bush. he is education secretary before the patron is not, good morning sir.

there is so much ground to cover but i think when i hear the word, mission he just used that word. >> yes, old-fashioned guy. mission and conviction, i've been watching all morning and you guys have done a great job. >> thank you, sir. >> the foreign policy stuff this is what he trained for his whole life. the best with foreign policy and he should wear american power would be.alexander hamilton wrote that's how it should be.i was a drug czar. and this was the greatest decline in american drug use in modern history. we could sure use that right now. he pushed hard, he pushed hard in the country pushed hard and that the epidemic down by 70 percent. and he went with me wherever i

asked him to go. on that mission.we went to south america columbia, jim baker was not happy about it. we're in the helicopter and said who the hell decided to bring us down here? and i said, i did. [laughter] he said i'm just wondering what the fishing is like down there. [laughter] always a great sense of balance. but he was the establishment. we talk about the establishment today but he was the best of the establishment and the best of man and the most decent boss i never had. >> his four years as president were so prolific. and to hear that stride that he and you made in the drug arena but also the civil rights act of 1990, the clean air act, the ada, the budget. it is almost impossible to believe had the same 24 hours in a day that everyone else did. >> he did and he also had time for leisure, and if i can, i know it's always a good time to tell a story. i wonderful stories about george bush.

when we were in a limousine, lining the road was san francisco's finest and also san francisco's weirdest. people were dressed up protesting him and protesting me, the drug bizarre as they called me. and president bush turned to the secret service and said if we throw bill bennett out of the car with the chances he makes it to the city? [laughter] he had a great sense of humor. and another thing, camp david, there was an athletic day. i mean in athletics drill. jack camp and i tried to hit they fastball and a pitching machine and could not do it. and kemp is pretty good and i'm just an old tackle but bush just hit it into the outfield. and if i could just tell one more. >> please do. >> we were in oregon at the dedication of a police memorial. we were supposed to go jogging.

when we jogged, he, 20 years my senior, would slow down for my benefit. [laughter] >> i will not tease you about that! >> we call you the big kahuna. >> he would say, we would look out in the secret service called and said you cannot go there is a demonstration out there in the street. and they were burning the flag. george h. w. bush, who was kidded about being and articulate, he says nothing gets to me like burning the flag. because people knew what people had to endure in order to keep the flag. the american people, that was the man. >> definitely a quiet patriot

opposed to ec this day and age. another comment that we have heard all morning long, this spread between the man who left office and the men that we revere in moments like today. in terms of his popularity and the job that he did. in your estimation, if he did not inherit an economy that was slowly going downhill and ultimately, hit the breaking point in 1991 and 1992, where do you think george h. w. bush would rank in the pantheon of u.s. presidents? >> i would say -- i wrote a book about his presidency. he was very much overshadowed by ronald reagan. it was out there and people remember and reagan had a certain presidency. but remember the berlin wall really felt during the presidency of george h. w. bush but as you all know and pointed

out, he was a fine man and a great president. i will miss him. >> yeah. >> he stood by me, had conflict, was in the defense department with others in the drug war. i would call him and he would say let's go get them, let's go do it. he was a great human being. we watch t.v. once in his office. behind the oval office, ross perot was on, ranting and raving about president bush and he said that the president destroyed his daughters wedding byputting what the christians in the couches . and the president turned to me, we were having breakfast and he said, do you believe this guy? do you believe this? he had such a great sense of himself. he knew he was. he was rooted you know, and he

was a great example for all. >> we appreciate your stories. they've been fantastic. we appreciate you coming in, sir. i'm sure that you will be on fox throughout the week remembering a remarkable life and legacy. >> you all have done a great job. thank you. >> know we going to california. doing a phenomenal job out there, i think we have a special guest. >> good morning. we hear with the executive director of the ronald reagan presidential library. we recently were notified so we rushed over there is an impromptu memorial for bush 41 in recognition to his connection to ronald reagan. if you would, just share the legacy of george h. w. bush with us. >> there will be thousands and thousands of people that come through the reagan library today. in a great many of them are going to be coming here specifically to pay their respects to president george h. w. bush. ronald reagan's wing man. that is who he was.

probably the most loyal vice president in the history of the nation. president reagan look to him as being so incredibly important to his legacy and readjust on or to ask people that come to the library today to pay their respects and you know, leave their name and maybe a note behind for the bush family. that we will make sure to pass on to them. >> absolute. if you're in the area in the simi valley, coming out, this is one way to show respect to george h. w. bush. but you mentioned the relationship, they were political rivals before they were on the same ticket. talk to me about the developing of the relationship between ronald reagan and george h. w. bush. >> this is a difficult time for the two men. many prognosticators would never have felt reagan would have chosen bush to be his vice

president. but it turned out to be one of the smartest decisions president reagan ever made. how could you find a man you know, more loyal and more capable than george bush with this remarkable amount of experience in government? he really was a wing man for ronald reagan. one of the smartest decisions he made. question a lot of people credit ronald reagan with the defeat of soviet union. from the fall of the berlin wall. you have a piece of that wall here at the library. also the collapse of the soviet union. those actually happened during the george h. w. bush presidency. talk to me about the post presidency of ronald reagan how it was with the presidency of george h. w. bush. >> ronald reagan spent his eight years in office doing everything he could to bring the berlin wall down. to defeat communism. he had spent a lifetime trying to make that happen. and yet, it was about a year or a year and and a half into the bush presidency when the soviet union actually collapsed and thank god for george h. w. bush. because it was bush who found a

way to ensure that it happened peacefully. there could've been a dramatic problem had it not been handled well. quick that is great point. he had a cold warrior at the home to make sure the management at the end of the cold war happened with american interest at heart. john heubusch, think of having us here. the form is happening today, the legacy of george h. w. bush on the hearts and minds of everyone in the simi valley, california. >> we appreciate that. we would try to get back to and certainly we will be back here tomorrow if we run out of time. this message going viral. >> and the deputy assistant to george h. w. bush will be here to tell us about service and honor. >> as we go to break, the flag lowered to half staff at the capitol building in washington in honor of bush 41 .♪ ♪ [music]

[music] ♪ ♪ >> in honor of the 41st president wednesday, december 5 will serve as a national day of mourning from the white house this morning. america remembers the lasting legacy of george h. w. bush. this letter going viral of his message to president bill clinton in his first dayton office where there is a letter on your screen. it reads, dear bill, when i walked into this office just now i felt the same sense of wonder and respect that i felt four years ago. i know you will feel that to. i wish you great happiness here i never felt the loneliness some presidents have described. there will be very tough times may be more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. i'm not very good one to give advice but just don't let the critics discourage you or push you off course. you will be our present when you read this note.

i wish you well. i wish your family well. your success now is our countries success. i amrooting hard for you, good luck . george. >> here to share his memories about that historic letter is the former deputy assistant to president george w. bush. an advisor to the bush cheney campaign. thank you for joining us this morning paid we just learned also, that president george h. w. bush wrote your law school recommendation letter. that is incredible! tell us about that. >> we were at a fundraiser in florida. it was a beautiful home and the president after the fundraiser was going to have dinner. so he kicked everybody out and he was sitting down for dinner and he called the staff and said everybody come on, join me for dinner. in the host that owned the home

sat us down and we ate with the vice president. and he went around the table and said, what is your future going to be? and he asked each person and followed up with questions. he turned to me and said, what are you going to do? and i said sir, i am going to go to law school. he said when you're ready i will write your recommendation. when i was ready he asked important and true to form, the notes that he rides and the letters that he wrote my letter of recommendation with a caveat. he sent a separate note that says i hope this does not hurt you. [laughter] that is a type of guy he is. he would help others and go out of his way. >> are letters of recommendation for law school were not as strong as yours [laughter] we had reverand franklin graham on earlier in weston to come up with one word to describe the late president. the work he came up with was gentle.was that your experience? >> absolutely.

and i come up with another war to end to that, honor , he had a great sense of honor. we showed the litter on the screen, he beat political -- it was a tough fought campaign and he was stunned by it, of course. losing. but he rose above it. and he understood that the greatness of our country is a peaceful transition of power. when we have one president at a time. he meant what he said to bill clinton, he supported bill clinton as the president, a small club of people that have held the office and he made it clear to everyone at the white house that the transition is going to be orderly and respectful. that is exactly how it went down. >> talk about the transition meetings. it would have been easy for bush 41 to be bitter about not just losing, but he lost in kind of a nasty way. like many campaigns. there were things set on all sides and people might regret down the road. he could have you know, really tried to be nasty on the way out. instead, he was graceful. and to your point about honor, and later he said something to the effect of, your success, president-elect clinton, is our success.

>> that is what he saw service. at the end of the day, the american people speak. we heard them loud and clear. and now, it is his job at that time to have an orderly transition. and to support the new president. to make sure that every opportunity had was for success. success in our country is for everybody. when everybody is successful, that is what makes america great in this president more than any other understood the duty of being president, the honor. he never came in the oval office without a coat and tie. if it was a saturday or sunday he did not enter the office. because he had an honor and respect for the office of the president. >> brad, the former prime minister of great britain, sir john major said president bush 41 was the only person to shake hands with a doorman and the fact that he has a dichotomy that blended so well, these lofty positions that he held while also connecting with

literally, every single person that he met, can you speak to that? >> absolutely, i cannot tell you how many times i saw the president go out of his way to be kind to a waiter, to president, it did not matter who they were or their position in life. he was always on time. the reason being was respect. he respected peoples time. he respected people's position and he did not care who you were. you were american first and foremost. that's how he raised his children and how he conducted himself in every facet of his life.you really know someone when you see them behind the camera. when no one is around. he was the real deal. what you saw was what you got. >> the book of our coverage this morning, about four hours now, has not been about the policy, not about foreign versus domestic, democrat versus republican. it is been about the man in the family and about his kindness, his love. what is going through his mind

right now is he is hopefully watching this from on high? >> he's probably saying come on, enough about me! and mrs. bush's income on george, enough! [laughter] it is not enough. because it is very cathartic for our country to celebrate a life. this is a joyous occasion to celebrate someone who has had such tremendous contributions to our country and a greatlife. >> we appreciate you being here. >> owned -- our next guest a longtime friend and golf partner. >> figure being here. this a character of a man or woman is revealed on the golf course. what did the golf course reveal about the late president? >> is always about the other guy. i'm so honored to be able to

talk about him. he loved the game of golf. he loved the camaraderie, and just the family time together. i was blessed to be able to share those times with him. and the other area he enjoyed was standing on the river and it was a special time that will be etched in my memory forever. >> let's not get past the golf course because as a recall as a young reporter, he used to play a round of golf that would normally take four or five hours. what was bush time, was it two hours around or something like that? >> the press labeled golf as cart polo. they can understand why you had to throw grass in the air and wait for it to come down. it took too long. [laughter] i think all record, he had a busy day planned but he wanted to get some golf in on vacation. one hour and 24 minutes.

>> one hour and 24 minutes? >> 18 holes! >> correct. it was great to have them out there. it was helping the golfers today with speed of play. >> talk about how important it was for him to golf, you mentioned the ocean and we talked about how skydiving on his 90th birthday, he came down right there by saint anne's and his beloved wife said something happens it will not before to the burial. >> he had an incredible sense of humor. certainly as we've all heard. we are honored to have something that he cherished, he loved his people. i think more than anything he loved the people and what it stood for.

it is such an honor for me to be able to play so many rounds of golf with him but so many times some of the world leaders were at the golf course and it said an awful lot. just trying to share something special to him. >> ken, thank you for joining ♪ ♪ us this morning and sharing ♪ your special memories. ♪ more "fox and friends" ♪ moments away. ♪ [music]

♪ ♪ [music] ♪ >> we have covered a lot of ground this morning. a lot more tomorrow. look at this image.♪ ♪ an american flag, as you can ♪ see added to the gate ♪ outside the home. ♪ >> in national day of ♪ mourning coming on december

♪ 5. ♪ funeral will be at the ♪ national cathedral, the ♪ president and first lady ♪ will attend. ♪ >> it has been a memorable ♪ morning. ♪ a morning of history, a ♪ morning to look back at an ♪ amazing man and an amazing ♪ life. ♪ stay withfox news throughout ♪ ♪ the day . ♪ [music] >> americans weakens the reality of the former president gone. you're looking at the capitalth. and some of the past presence including his son. writing the best father a senator sasse repair the entire bush family is grateful for his