a thrilling sunday at the dole, with bush 41
“what a thrill!”
that’s all that comes to mind after spending 2 hours at ku’s lied center this afternoon, first in a reception for george herbert walker bush and then in a ceremony honoring him as this year’s dole leadership prize recipient.
the 41st president of the united states was selected for the award this year for his service to the united states and the world as well (especially given his efforts to raise funds and awareness in the wake of several natural disasters).
at 84, he is slower than you may remember. he appeared to steady himself now and again (noting at one point that he wasn’t getting fresh with one attractive ku senior, just leaning on her for support). but what a gracious, self-deprecating, genuine and funny man. wow.
the president spoke to the reception for perhaps 2-3 minutes, the highlight of which was his telling us that if anyone else asked where barbara was, he’d kill us. that got quite the laugh. she, obviously, wasn’t there but he says she’s fine.
in the main event, the president was interviewed by the head of the dole institute, bill lacy. the questions ranged from policy, to relationships (he described ronald reagan much as i have described g.h.w.b. — kind, gracious, genuine) to his greatest achievement (which he thinks may be operation desert storm because of its lightning fast success as well as the fact that it brought the u.s. military back to prominence and restored respect which had declined after viet nam).
some of the most memorable moments involved his explanation of why he didn’t go to berlin to celebrate the falling of the wall. he says that in not doing so, his counterpart in the ussr stayed in power, the result of which was the further spread of democracy and reform. he talked about his relationship to bill clinton, recounted a story where the two went on their first trip overseas after the tsunami. clinton deferred to the elder bush, letting him have the only sleeping quarters on the plane. when bush emerged from the bedroom, he found the 42nd president of the united states wrapped in a blanket, sleeping on the floor.
and maybe the biggest chuckles of the afternoon came when he did his impression of dana carvey doing his impression of bush 41. in talking about carvey, he noted that he had done some stand-up with dana within the last couple of weeks and that unlike so many comics today, carvey was never mean and thus the two have developed a rapport.
in terms of logistics, i was surprised that there was no security screening (which wouldn’t have helped with the handful of jerks who were appropriately thrown out of the main ceremony for rudely interrupting with incomprehensible protests. it happened 3 times and each time, the audience grew less tolerant. the prez handled it well at one point saying he was old and deaf and couldn’t understand what they were saying. later he remarked that such disruptions don’t bother him anymore.)
all in all, wow. what a thrill. what a great man. what a great afternoon.
(and dinner at teller’s in downtown lawrence was the perfect way to top it off. the butternut squash gnocchi were good if not a bit too subtle in taste. but the duck confit was among the best i’ve ever had. served with sauteed peppers and onions which provided a sweet contrast, the salty duck fell from the bone as it should. but unlike so many other renditions of this dish, it was served on the bone, encased in its very crispy skin — not swimming in fat and a random reduction. the bread served with olive oil is from a local bakery. some of the best european artisan bread i’ve had in the midwest. the baguette is a real baguette. the rustic italian -or hungarian- bread was light on the inside and thickly crusted outside. can you tell i liked the dinner almost as much as the bush 41 event?)
rock’n'roll.