A friend sent us a link to the YU website Hanukkah Dinner and Convocation page. Turns out the Special Guest and Keynote Speaker this year will be George W. Bush. Do you remember GW? Barbara Bush’s kid? Of course you do, as does the YU page, which introduced him as follows:
George W. Bush served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009.
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Next come the introductory notes about the accomplishments of the honorable keynote speaker. We took the liberty of breaking them down in order of appearance on the page:
1. President Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, to Barbara and George H.W. Bush – later the 41st President of the United States.
2. In 1948, the family moved to Texas, where George W. Bush grew up in Midland and Houston.
3. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University in 1968 and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School in 1975.
4. He served as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard from 1968 to 1974.
5. He settled in Midland, where he started an energy business and married Laura Welch on November 5, 1977.
6. After working on his father’s successful 1988 Presidential campaign, George W. Bush joined a group of partners that purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989.
7. On November 8, 1994, George W. Bush was elected the 46th Governor of Texas. In 1998, he became the first governor in Texas history to be elected to consecutive four-year terms.
8. After the Presidency, George and Laura Bush founded the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas. The Center is home to the Bush Presidential Museum and Library, which houses George W. Bush’s presidential papers. The Center is also home to the George W. Bush Institute, a public policy organization that focuses on economic growth, education reform, global health, and human freedom. The Institute supports the rights of women with its Women’s Initiative and honors those who have served in the United States armed forces through its Military Service Initiative.
9. President Bush is the author of a bestselling memoir, Decision Points.
10. He and Laura have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna; a son-in-law, Henry Hager; and a granddaughter, Mila Hager. The Bush family also includes two cats, Bob and Bernadette.
So help me, that’s the list of the key events and memorable points in GW Bush’s life. Do examine the swift passage from item 7 to item 8:
In 1998, he became the first governor in Texas history to be elected to consecutive four-year terms. After the Presidency, George and Laura Bush founded the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas.
But what about DURING the presidency? Nothing? Anybody? Too soon?
Ah, well, we thought there might have been, but we could be wrong.
