Acknowledging George Herbert Walker Bush

President George H.W. Bush's funeral was held Wednesday, and he is finally receiving the recognition and accolades that he deserves. He will likely be judged by historians as an important if not great president, but you'd hardly know it from the public perception of him during his one term in office.

As the president succeeding Ronald Reagan, Bush faced an unenviable task in persuading the public to love and respect him. Reagan had finished his two terms with a loyal following and an easy charm that made him a favorite on the national stage. Despite all his accomplishments and qualifications for office, Bush never seemed comfortable as a politician. His speaking style ranged between stiff and awkward. He was not an eloquent speaker, nor a spell-binding story teller. He always seemed self-conscious on the podium and refused to brag about himself, no matter how justifiable. Texas governor Ann Richards said Bush was "born with a silver foot in his mouth."

Some critics even suggested he was a coward. But as one Navy aviator put, anybody who does night carrier landings cannot be a coward. Bush flew 58 combat missions in World War II, landing on a rocking, moving aircraft carrier that is a mighty small refuge in a vast ocean. When he pointed out his grandchildren in a crowd to Ronald Reagan as "the little brown ones," he was accused of being a racist. A man who loves and is proud of his Hispanic daughter-in-law and her children is not prejudiced.

After succeeding Reagan, his next challenge was running for office against one of the best political charmers the nation had ever seen. Bill Clinton was glib, charming, empathetic, eloquent at times and willing to do whatever it took to win. The Democrats in 1992 portrayed Bush as a bumbling old man who didn't speak well and was out of touch with the electorate. Clinton's campaign hammered Bush on the economy ("It's the economy, stupid!), although any president's influence over the economy is limited, and the economy had begun improving before 1992 votes were cast.

Bush's accomplishments as president are only now being appreciated. He helped arrange the world order as the Soviet Union collapsed and Soviet bloc states declared independence. He saw to the reunification of Germany and the expansion of NATO. He negotiated and got approved a nuclear weapons treaty, and he led the push for the Americans with Disabilities Act and a civil rights bill.

But what he may be best remembered for is his personal dignity and kindness. He never called attention to himself. He refrained from criticizing others. He was sincere and genuine, never pretending to be someone he wasn't. He famously sent hand-written notes to friends, relatives and new acquaintances, thousands of such notes that are now cherished and even compiled in a book.

America is at last acknowledging the greatness of George H.W. Bush

In defense of taxes

It seems to be true that nobody likes taxes. For nearly 40 years, the Republican Party has built its strategy and its appeal on promises of lower taxes and has largely succeeded with the tax-hating electorate.

But taxes, rather than a nefarious evil, are necessary. Without taxes, government on the local, state and federal level cannot function. Voter ire against taxes can easily be fired up over reports of fraud in federal contracts, bone-headed spending, such as the Internal Revenue Service's $7 million contract with Equifax to prevent hacking and fraud in IRS files. This no-bid contract came just weeks after a massive hacking of Equifax data that had endangered the financial security of millions of Americans.

Taxes need to be cut from time to time. Tax cuts can spur spending and help speed recovery from a recession. Fast-rising wages and salaries can result in surpluses in the federal treasury (but that is rare). John F. Kennedy bucked his own party to pass a massive tax reduction in 1963. Ronald Reagan's tax cuts 30-plus years ago spurred economic growth but also ballooned the budget deficit (because he didn't get the spending cuts that should have accompanied the tax cuts). Since Reagan, every GOP presidential candidate and most GOP candidates for lesser offices have touted tax cuts for whatever ailed the country.

Tax-cutting continues to be the signature policy of nearly all GOP candidates, and Democrats have learned that opposition to popular tax cuts can be politically suicidal. Like nearly all Americans, I wince each time I write a check to the IRS or look at the withholding in my paycheck, but I have to admit that I want those government services my taxes pay for. While tax cuts sound great, consider what things federal taxes pay for:

° National Defense. The United States has by far the largest military budget on Earth, but few taxpayers want to cut the military.
° Medical and health initiatives. Annual flu shots, research into causes of cancer and other diseases, epidemic controls, standards for medical professionals and facilities.
° Highways, airline safety, passenger trains, and other transportation initiatives. Without federal gasoline taxes, modern highways would not exist.
° Food safety. Federal inspectors assure that meat, vegetables and other food items are safe to eat and are properly labeled for buyer safety.
° Drug safety. Federal testing and inspections keep dangerous or bogus drugs off the market.
° Interstate commerce. Regulation of long-haul trucking, shipping, water-borne navigation and port safety are all paid for by taxes and save lives every year.
° Communications. Federal regulations provide the basis for modern communications from telephone wires to WiFi to the internet itself. Without federal rule-setting, these tools we depend upon would never have developed.

State and local taxes go to even more popular and essential services, including:
° Garbage pickup and recycling services.
° Streets, sidewalks, bikeways, hiking trails and parks.
° Regulation of development and construction to prevent annoyances such as a pig sty next door to a residence or disasters, such as a building collapse.
° Public education, paid for locally and statewide, to ensure an educated workforce and a knowledgeable citizenry who can make democracy work effectively.
° Police departments to protect individuals and property.
° Fire departments to prevent and put out devastating fires.
° Emergency medical services that improve chances for victims of accidents, heart attacks and other medical emergencies.
° Colleges and universities that open bright futures for young people, increase upward mobility and improve economic opportunities for the entire state.

Unfortunately, tax-cut fervor at the state level has led to sharp cuts in K-12 and higher education. Damage from these cuts might not be apparent for a generation but could be disastrous.

A quarter-cent decrease in the sales tax or a 0.2 percent cut in the personal income tax will hardly be noticed an individual taxpayer but can make a huge difference in the state's ability to provide services needed and wanted by taxpayers. The cumulative effect of a fraction of a tax can help all residents, including those who are not directly affected in particular government services. All benefit when services help build a caring, upwardly mobile society.

Escape from the "Dust Bin of History"

President Reagan once famously remarked that the Soviet Union and other authoritarian regimes were failing and would be consigned to the "dust bin of history." In the 1980s, it seemed that the "arc of history" was bending toward liberal democracy, the principles presented by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence and the Enlightenment philosophies of freedom, independence, self-government, and the equality of all people. The easing of restrictions under Soviet Perestroika, the Solidarity movement in Poland and the overthrow of oppressive regimes in South America all pointed toward a more democratic future. Soon after, the Soviet empire collapsed.

This week's news, however, seems to point in the opposite direction. Venezuela appears to be falling headlong into authoritarianism, and Turkey, a member of NATO, is turning to mass trials and the abolition of dissent.

Venezuela has declared victory for a proposal from appointed president Modura that will dissolve the national legislature and replace it with an assembly selected by Modura himself. The Sunday referendum, which was nearly universally condemned as illegitimate, approved the sweeping powers and rewrite of the constitution. That was followed by the dark-of-the-night arrest and imprisonment of opposition leaders. The nation is in turmoil after years of mismanaged, centralized economic policies. Basic necessities such as food and toilet paper are said to be unavailable in Caracas, the capital. The notion that a hungry, oppressed electorate would choose more of the same is a farce. Yet, Modura appears to be winning the battle against the public. The United States is imposing sanctions, but a collapsed economy can only be hurt slightly by economic sanctions.

In Turkey, President Erdogan continues a crackdown that has followed last year's unsuccessful coup attempt. Erdogan has used the coup attempt to justify his arrest of political opponents. Turkey had been one of the few democratic and secular Islamic majority nations, but the continuing crackdown has reversed hopes for a democratic, secular society. This week, mass trials began, featuring 500 defendants dragged into a courtroom for a prosecution with a result pre-ordained. European and American NATO members have to cringe at the obligation they have to defend this dictatorship should it be attacked by any other nation.

Since Reagan's "dust bin of history" remark, the United States has conducted a forceful foreign policy based on America's unchallenged global military power. But with Putin's Russia and Xi's China extending their reach and influence, the United States may no longer go unchallenged in a crisis. Putin is sowing seeds of discontent and doubt in democratic countries and trying to prove that a central authority is superior to a dispersed, federal, democratic system. If Venezuela and Turkey succeed in their transition from democracy to dictatorship, other countries, encouraged by Putin's conniving and China's economic successes, could be tempted to shift their allegiance from democratic ideals to authoritarian practicality. 

Five great speeches of my lifetime

The Newseum posted a link to Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech on Facebook with the notation that comments were disabled because "many of them were hateful and racist." How pathetic in this day, 25 years after the MLK Holiday passed Congress and 43 years after King was martyred in Memphis! His 1963 speech may well be the best speech ever given in America, but if you listen to the first part, when King was reading from the prepared text, it's nothing extraordinary. He delivers a well-argued speech with some vivid imagery, but about 12 minutes into the 17-minute speech, King hits his stride. He is no longer reading from a text; he is preaching. He is no longer standing on the podium; he is in the pulpit. With the cadence of the church, he delivers some of the most memorable lines in American history, and he does it with a cadence and an oratorical style that sends chills down your spine.

King's speech and the comments I received following a post about Barack Obama's memorial speech in Arizona got me to thinking about great speeches. Here are the speeches from my lifetime that I would rank as my top five:

1. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. It's a good thing he didn't stick to his text!

2. John F. Kennedy's "Ich bin ein berliner" speech delivered at the Berlin Wall at the height of the Cold War. The speech is less than five minutes long, but it packs a rhetorical wallop with his repetition of " some say ... let them come to Berlin." It is not as long or as famous as his inaugural address, but its brevity is its strength.

3. Kennedy's inaugural address. Rarely has any president laid out a vision for the nation as Kennedy did in 1961. The "ask not what your country can do for you" line gets quoted frequently, but the speech is full of memorable phrases. Subsequent inaugurations have featured some very good speeches, but I can't think of any with the breadth and eloquence of Kennedy's.

4. Barack Obama's speech at the memorial service for those killed by a deranged gunman Jan. 8. I wrote of my admiration for this speech in a previous post. This is a great speech with just the right tone for the moment.

5. Ronald Reagan's "these are the boys of Point du Hoc" speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of D-Day. Reagan was an exceptional orator, but rarely did he have a topic or words of this poignancy. The speech reminds me of Henry V's St. Crispian's Day speech.

Those are my top five, but one speech, a bit before my time, might trump all of them. On Nov. 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered a 200-word speech at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pa. He was not the featured orator, but his simple speech was filled with words that carried more weight than a library of long orations. We know it as the Gettysburg Address, and we know its key phrases: "conceived in liberty ... hallow this ground ... last full measure of devotion ... government of the people, by the people, for the people ... ." It might be the finest speech in American history. But that's just my opinion.

Sixty-five years ago on this date

Today is D-Day. Sixty-five years ago, thousands of Allied troops gave their lives for the liberation of Europe from the Third Reich. The few remaining survivors will remember the sacrifices made on this date. They are, in Shakespeare's immortal words, a "band of brothers ... for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother." The playwright put the words into the mouth of King Henry V before the battle of Agincourt and promised that the date, St. Crispian's day, would live forever. June 6, 1944, will live forever.

Each passing year, I am struck by how recent D-Day was, World War II was, when I was growing up. When I was a child, just discovering what D-Day meant, that battle was as recent as the Clinton administration or the first Gulf War is today. On the 20th anniversary of D-Day, I watched Walter Cronkite tour the Normandy battlefield with Dwight D. Eisenhower, remembering the sacrifices of that day.

President Reagan gave one of his greatest speeches on the 40th anniversary of D-Day. It's a speech worth remembering 25 years later.