Michael Butler’s Blog

The other night I had dressed for dinner and was leaving the apartment. I passed Mildred as she was ironing shirts. She said, “Nice you are going out. You won’t have to listen to Bush.” I was quite surprised when she followed that by saying, “I hate him”. That really astonished me. I went out thinking of what she had said. I thought of my feelings for presidents and how they varied over the years.

FDR was like a father figure. I was too young to have any real political opinions. Truman I held in disrespect because of his using the atomic bomb, but creating the UN was great. Eisenhower was a shadow of MacArthur. Jack I was too close to make an objective assessment but when he was killed, lights went out. Lyndon Johnson I knew as tough customer but he carried through on civil rights. Nixon was terrible. Of course I would have to say that as when they published his enemy list I was on it twice. Ford was to me a fill in. Carter created for us a legacy of disaster when he pulled the rug out from under the Shah, but he left a great enviornmental heritage in his creation of national monuments. Reagan I liked him and Nancy as people but politically no way. BushI was good for the Carlyle Group. I had to like Clinton but his taste in women was bleak.

So we get to BushII: socially discompassionate and fiscally irresponsible. Hatred is not there but I sure hope someday I don’t have to shake his hand.