Air Force One — back from the G20 Summit of world leaders – arrived Monday October 3rd to Ellison Field near Houston to pick up the body of former President George H.W. Bush died Friday November 30th at his home in Houston surrounded by family and friends. He was 94.

Soon after the 41st president passed away it was announced by the White House that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump would be attending President Bush’s funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington on Wednesday. Bush’s body will lie in state in the rotunda of the Nation’s Capital Building from Monday evening to Wednesday morning and then be taken to the cathedral.

History will be kind to President Bush who had the most extensive resume of experience to ever sit in the Oval Office — World War II hero, successful Texas oilman, U.S. congressman, former Central Intelligence Agency director and eight years as vice president under President Ronald Reagan. He will long be remembered as a fine president that should have won a second term – but he did not.

Instead the nation picked a fresh face in that of former Arkansas Gov. Bill “Slick Willie” Clinton who disgraced the office of the Presidency more than any other president. Even President Richard Nixon’s August 1974 ‘Watergate’ related resignation did not top Clinton’s abuses of a young female intern and other women inside and outside the White House after he was elected. Clinton had a long history of affairs outside marriage during and after he was governor of Arkansas.

For his admitted lies about his dallying with a White House intern the U.S. House of Representatives impeached Clinton in December 1998 – during Clinton’s second term. The whole soap opera affair starring such names as Paula Jones of Arkansas, government employee Linda Tripp and intern Monica Lewinsky played out for months on the national news. The embarrassing assault upon the presidency ended when the U.S. Senate failed to remove Clinton from office. He did not resign and he served out his full two terms as the nation’s 42nd president. But if there was ever a man that should never have been elected president it’s Bill Clinton. The nation should have had a second Bush term but the nation made a big fat mistake in electing “Slick Willie” to the nation’s highest office.

After Clinton came the two-term presidency of George W. Bush, the son of President George H.W. Bush. The Bush family had three terms considering the time father and son spent in the Oval Office. Then comes another Bush son — former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — who was once considered a front runner during the early 2016 presidential campaign. Jeb Bush failed to ignite the Republican Party who ultimately picked New York billionaire and real estate mogul Donald Trump who went on to win the presidency in an electoral landslide against former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. At least the nation got it right in denying the presidency to another shady Clinton.

So what is to be learned from the life of the late President Bush? He was a brave, respectful decent human being and a fine father who never got over the death of his daughter Robin Bush who died of leukemia in 1953 at the age of four. Her death made George H.W. Bush a stronger man who could bear the nation’s problems no matter how bad things got. If you can survive the death of a child you can survive anything. For President Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush, who passed away about eight months ago, they built a strong family based upon faith in God, public service and dedication to higher goals. Their legacy will live on with honor. He will be laid to rest on Thursday alongside Barbara at the Bush Presidential Library in Texas.

It is no secret that the late President Bush was no big fan of President Trump and in fact he made disparaging statements such as “I don’t like him” and “He’s a blowhard” against the current president who did not have to offer Air Force One to the Bush family to bring the former president back to Washington for the last time – but he did.

As 2018 comes to a close, the hateful Democrats in Washington are gearing up for a full-frontal assault on the presidency of Donald Trump who by all unbiased measurements is succeeding – trade deals rewritten, strong stock market, low unemployment and rebuilding the military. Of course it matters who is holding the tape measure.

About the Author Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.