there’s a ton of hype around obama/biden, the inauguration tomorrow, the incoming cabinet, the changing view of african- americans, and rightly so. i can’t help though, to feel for president bush and his family. a cnn story read earlier reported on the sadness of the bush family, 41 and 43, as they prepared to leave the white house. moving their possessions out of the house, saying goodbye to the white house staffers they’ve known and lived with for the past 8 years, closing shop, not only in a presidential way, but in a personal way.
so often i find that i separate the president (and many others for that matter) from the person. sure george h. bush has been the “leader of the free world” for the past 8 years, but he’s also been george h. bush. he’s developed relationships with the white house staff, he’s seen his daughters grow up in that house, he’s lived in d.c. and, at least i believe, grown to appreciate the city, grown close to members of congress, and world leaders.
he leaves all that behind tomorrow. a reporter stood outside the white house this evening around 10pm central time and i watched the lights go out in that house. i couldn’t help but imagine the sadness, the relief, all the emotions swelling up in that house on this evening, the bushes last night there.
how often we forget that those we see on tv are real people. actors, actresses, sports stars, senators, representatives, movie stars, and even the president are just people. i use “just” lightly, not as a means of demeaning their value or influence on society, but as reminding us that they are no bigger or smaller than you or i.
as the country looks forward to the presidency administration, let’s not forget for bush, obama, biden, or even cheney, that they’re still people and they deserve the utmost respect from us as fellow humans, and our appreciation for their willingness to serve.
