I voted for George W. Bush. Back then, I was a registered Republican, but also I couldn’t stand Al Bore. Yawn!
Per Wikipedia: Bush was both one of the most popular and unpopular presidents in history, having received the highest recorded presidential approval ratings in the wake of the September 11 attacks, as well as one of the lowest approval ratings during the 2008 financial crisis.
He was a fatally flawed president, but I have a newfound respect for him with the release of his best-selling book Portraits of Courage. I highly recommend it.
Bush said he was feeling antsy and trying to determine post-presidency what he could do. He read Winston Churchill’s book Painting as a Pastime, and thought maybe he could take up painting. He turned his mancave into a studio, paints several hours a day, and hired renowned painters to teach him and help him develop. He took up painting only 5 years ago! I love this book because it’s part art, part narrative. Bush is a great artist and writer, plus he painted what he’s passionate about: his profound respect for veterans, their service to our country, and their relentless spirit in the face of depression and post-traumatic stress. All of the profits from his book go toward Bush’s Military Service Initiative which helps veterans make the transition to civilian life.
The biggest takeaways for me are the following:
- You may have hidden talents that can be nurtured late in life.
- Do what you’re passionate about and do it completely. Practice and study, hire teachers and mentors.
- Give back to causes you care about.
Here’s Bush on Kimmel discussing the book. Funny and charismatic.
I have to admit as a registered Democrat from the time I registered to vote, I honestly couldn’t stand George W. Bush. However, in recent years I have grown to actually like and even admit him. Which says a lot for someone like me who is indeed pretty much a diehard liberal. But still I therefore couldn’t agree with you more on this and your final assessment here. However, please don’t ask me to say I have these feelings for our current commander in chief as sadly I cannot say that and will just leave it at that.
This was really very sweet <3 I have also grown to really appreciate his oddball sense of humor and charisma over the years. I saw something recently that described the Bush family shares with the Obamas (particularly George and Michelle) and it was so endearing and really made me warm up to him.
I didn't vote for him then, but it's funny how you can look back and see things differently, ya know? Thanks for sharing this! XOXO
I don’t think that he was a great President but looking at his post-president life, he seems like a good person.