The Bush family personifies the old days

Sam Tanenhaus, New York magazine:

“Recently, George H.W. Bush was wheeled onto the field at the Super Bowl and got an ovation. ... With his old man’s permanent rictus, he’s even weathered reports of groping incidents. This is all further evidence that the Bushes do indeed personify the old days. ... But the wheel has turned in the Bushes’ favor not through mere accident or kindness of history. A good deal of image-burnishing has gone on. ... However clumsy the Bushes may seem, they are well schooled in the upperclass art of making self-promotion seem a concession to public demand.”

Mary Kate Cary, USA TODAY:

“I was 24 years old. It was one of my first days on the job at the White House. President Bush told his speechwriting staff that we were not to use the presidential ‘I’ in speeches, only the much more democratic ‘we.’ ... Soon it became obvious that he defined ‘we’ very broadly. ... Unity, diversity and generosity were the hallmarks of his most important achievements. ... As the last eulogy is given and the last hymn is sung, as he is laid to rest beside his beloved Barbara and their daughter Robin, I can’t help but think there was a wideness to George Bush, like the wideness of God’s mercy.”