Don't cry for me, Argentina

Praising son Jeb, former President Bush breaks down

The depth of emotion would lead one to think Bush Sr. was eulogizing Jeb instead of simply praising him. He becomes so overwrought that he can neither speak nor continue. It is quite obvious that Bush Sr. loves Jeb very much and feels nothing but pride when speaking of son.

But here’s the thing. When interviewed by journalists afterwards, Bush Sr. makes several remarks that seem derogatory towards his other son, you know, the President of the United States.

When asked about the vision for his grandchildren, he said neither he nor his wife are pushing them toward politics or running for public office.

"But I hope that they will, I hope quite a few of them will," he said before pausing and joking about the current President Bush's daughters. "I'm not sure I'd count on the twins doing this -- Jenna and Barbara -- but they're full of life and they might.”

Forget for a moment that every single grandchild of Bush Sr. has been in trouble with the law at one time or another. Every single one. That’s 100%. But Bush Sr. takes this opportunity to remind the world that Dubya’s children are losers.

And then this:

He also talked about his recent friendship with former President Clinton. He recalled a political cartoon showing his son, the president, opposing gay marriage and then walking into a room and finding his father on a sofa with Clinton's arm around him, prompting him to shout, "Dad! What are you doing?"

"(Clinton) cut it out of the paper and said, 'Don’t you think we ought to cool it, George?"' Bush said.

Yuk yuk yuk. Again, this seems like a subtle, derogatory remark about Bush Jr. Not only was the cartoon in question making fun of him, but recalling the laughs he and President Clinton had over it just seemed, well, strange.

If you have siblings, put yourself in Bush Jr’s position. You are the oldest son. It’s blasted all over the news how choked up with obvious love and pride your father gets while heaping praise on your little brother, for doing a job that is way less important than yours. Then, when asked about you, your Dad not only brings up something embarrassing about you, but takes a swipe at your kids. And laughs about it.


I’ve read that some believe one of the reasons for this war being started is because Jr. was trying to prove something to Daddy by going after the country that put a hit out on him when he was president. Perhaps that’s part of the reason Jr. admits no mistakes, to himself or anyone else.

So watch the video, put yourself in Jr’s place for just a second, and then wonder exactly how family dynamics are at work here, shaping the presidents’ policies, and our world...