Bush lecture opens speakers series
Former U.S. president tells UB audience he does not miss pol

It will be 10 years this January since George Bush was sworn into office as the 41st president of the United States.

But he does not miss politics, the former president told a crowd of nearly 5,000 at Alumni Arena Sept. 29 as he opened the 13th annual Distinguished Speaker Series.

These days, he is concentrating on "being a dad" to his two sons, both U.S. governors, because "(politics) can be tough and it can be ugly," Bush told the audience. "I want to sit back and smell the roses and take pride in my kids."

Bush, in a talk that was met with applause several times, emphasized his optimism for the future as he touched on major events that marked his presidency and stressed the significance of maintaining good foreign relations.

Referring to his 35-year career in the "political arena," Bush said: "I had my chance and my time has passedŠI made plenty of mistakes, but I think I served with honor.

"One thing I have learned is that time truly flies by," Bush told the students in the audience. "I wish I were a student. I wish I were 20 instead of 75. I wish I were just starting, because I am an unabashed optimist about the kind of world you're inheriting."

His optimism, he said, comes from the many great changes he saw unfold at home and abroad in the short, four-year period while he "was privileged to serve as president."

"We saw the Berlin Wall come down, we saw Germany unified, we saw the Soviet Union literally fall apart at the seamsŠCentral and Eastern Europe become free, the three Balkan states become free and we saw the Warsaw Pact, the enemy to NATO, come apart right at the seams.

"One of the reasons I am optimistic about students' futures is I don't believe anybody can turn back that clock to totalitarianism or rigid fascismŠthe power of freedom is great."

Bush told the audience that one of the most dramatic highlights of his presidency was the fall of the Berlin Wall, a moment he called "a joyous occasion, but also a sobering one."

He said that right after it happened, a reporter sat next to his desk and asked him why he was not rejoicing.

"Well, let me tell you something about leadership," he continued. "Leadership is not always doing something that is going to jack you up a couple of points in the polls. Leadership is sometimes taking prudent action or lack of action." To gloat about it, he said, would have gotten great acclaim at home in the U.S., but "we did not know how the Soviet Union would react. It would have been a catastrophe if we had overplayed our hand."

He said that he believes a peaceful world in the future greatly depends on "one, single, bilateral relationship" and that is between the U.S. and China. "(The relationship) is that big and that fundamentally important to world peace," he added.

Referring to President Clinton's administration, Bush said: "It is fair to say I feel great anxiety over some of the things that transpired that seem to diminish the presidency itself. But I would remind you, particularly young people, that the presidency is a very resilient office.

"I stood there when President Nixon said farewellŠand within minutes Gerald Ford, taking the oath of office, restored decency and respect to the White House. I honestly believe that (the office of the president) is resilient and strong, and will live way beyond any disgrace that comes to it."

Bush said that as a former president he is constantly being asked: What was your first concern as president and what was the most difficult decision you had to make?

"When I was president, it was clear to me that the national security of our country was my first concernŠI can tell you that, at least in my presidency, the most difficult decision a president makes is when you have to send somebody else's son or somebody else's daughter into combat, into harm's way."

Regarding the situation in Kosovo, Bush said: "At times (the U.S.) appears to be a superpower adrift. Good intentions aside, it is not yet clear to me what the operation achieved."

Kosovo provides ample evidence, Bush said, that although the Soviet empire is now extinct, new threats have emerged to take its place.

For example, one of the great threats to the social and political order of the developing world, Bush added, is that 1.5 billion people are forced to live on less than one dollar a day.

He noted that although the world is safer and more peaceful than it was at the start of the century, danger and instability remain.

Bush said that public service, despite its "wart" politics, still remains noble and important. "You must know how proud Barbara and I are to see two sons, George W. and Jeb, doing their part, willing to serveŠWhat greater reward could a father and mother have?

"There is no definition of a successful life that does not include service to others. It doesn't matter if you're a former president or a student," he added. "We still need good and decent people to get involved and give something back to this country, which has given us so much."

What piece of advice does he have for his son, George, the GOP frontrunner, in the upcoming presidential election?

"So far, we haven't given him any advice. But if he is lucky enough to win," said Bush, "I will tell him 'do your best and give the other guy credit.'"