Monday, 11 Nov 2024

Opinion | Looking Back at Bush 41’s Presidency

To the Editor:

Re “A Peaceful Exit, but First, One Last ‘I Love You, Too’” (news article, Dec. 2):

The irony that President George H.W. Bush died peacefully at the age of 94 on the eve of World AIDS Day should not be overlooked. Peter Baker’s touching account of the president’s final days and passing, described by Mr. Bush’s pastor as a “very graceful, gentle death,” belies the suffering and anguish endured by so many of those who died prematurely of AIDS during his administration.

Mr. Bush’s appalling indifference to the epidemic spurred one activist, Mark L. Fisher, to describe his impending death from AIDS in 1992 at age 39 as a “political assassination.” So while it is understandable to extol the life of Mr. Bush, we must also remember to honor the memory of those thousands of AIDS victims who died on his watch.

Sarah A. Lichtman
Brooklyn

To the Editor:

With a lump in my throat reading the dozens of stories being shared about “41,” the amazing George Herbert Walker Bush, the one small thing that brought tears was learning that his longtime friend James A. Baker III was there till the end, holding his hand and rubbing his feet.

There were things I didn’t like about Mr. Baker’s politics through the years, but what a selfless and loving and beautiful thing to do for a friend.

Kathleen L. Lewton
Stamford, Conn.

To the Editor:

Re “A Genial President Who Guided the Nation to the End of the Cold War” (special section, Dec. 2):

The passing of former President George H.W. Bush has elicited personal tributes that readily cite qualities such as integrity, humility, civility, fairness and decency. While well deserved and particularly poignant in light of today’s presidential politics, let us not forget that his legacy may ultimately be defined by the elevation to the Supreme Court of Clarence Thomas, whom Mr. Bush called, at the time, “the best person” for the job.

Edwin Bacher
New York

To the Editor:

I wish you had included a photo of President Bush signing the American With Disabilities Act. The act was a seminal law for Americans with disabilities, the first acknowledgment of inclusion.

Edith M. Prentiss
New York

To the Editor:

George H.W. Bush is now an admired statesman even among liberals like me. But we still remember the racist Willie Horton campaign ad. That was not statesmanlike.

John Hauptman
Ames, Iowa

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