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| George H.W. Bush Funeral Live: A Son Eulogizes His Father | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| • President George Bush was eulogized by George W. Bush, his son and the former president. “He showed me what it means to be a president who serves with integrity, leads with courage and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country,” Mr. Bush said. | |
| • The United States’ five living presidents, dignitaries from around the country and world leaders filled the Washington National Cathedral for the service, the first presidential funeral since 2006. | |
| • President Trump has no speaking role at the funeral — a break from recent tradition and in accordance with President George Bush’s wishes. Mr. Trump is seated in a row with the former presidents, a somewhat awkward first meeting since his inauguration. | |
| • The federal government is closed for a national day of mourning. Here’s what that means. | |
| The younger former President Bush evoked laughter and tears — his own and that of mourners listening to him in the National Cathedral — with a 12-minute tribute to his father that seemed to emphasize the gaping differences between the elder President Bush and Mr. Trump, without ever naming the current Oval Office occupant. | |
| Mr. Bush described his father as a genuinely optimistic and selfless man who “valued character over pedigree,” looked for the good in everyone, and shared credit in victory while shouldering blame in defeat. | |
| “To us, his was the brightest of 1,000 points of light,” Mr. Bush said, invoking a phrase that the elder Mr. Bush used, which Mr. Trump had ridiculed. | |
| He recalled the 41st president’s many active hobbies — fishing, driving his speedboat, playing “speed golf,” an accelerated version of the game to which Mr. Trump devotes many hours — and said he had been “born with just two settings: full throttle, then sleep.” And Mr. Bush noted with a laugh some of his father’s imperfections, including his poor dancing skills and hatred of vegetables, particularly broccoli. | |
| “He showed me what it means to be a president who serves with integrity, leads with courage and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country,” Mr. Bush added, concluding his eulogy on a personal note. | |
| “Through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you — a great and noble man, the best father a son or daughter can have — and in our grief, let us smile knowing that dad is hugging Robin and holding Mom’s hand again,” Mr. Bush said, becoming tearful as he referred to the late Barbara Bush and their daughter, who died at the age of 3. | |
| The cathedral erupted in applause as Mr. Bush strode back to his seat. He shared a laugh with his brother Jeb, apparently chuckling at his inability to hold off tears as he finished his tribute to his father. | |
| Former Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming began his remarks by recalling how Mr. Bush insisted that he keep his eulogy brief. | Former Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming began his remarks by recalling how Mr. Bush insisted that he keep his eulogy brief. |
| “Relax, George told me I only had 10 minutes,” he said. “He was very direct about it, it wasn’t even funny.” | “Relax, George told me I only had 10 minutes,” he said. “He was very direct about it, it wasn’t even funny.” |
| The crowd of politicians and dignitaries laughed throughout his speech, as Mr. Simpson regaled the audience with stories of their long friendship: a weekend at Camp David, their joking analysis of a vase at the Kennedy Center and their renditions of “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Evita.” | The crowd of politicians and dignitaries laughed throughout his speech, as Mr. Simpson regaled the audience with stories of their long friendship: a weekend at Camp David, their joking analysis of a vase at the Kennedy Center and their renditions of “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Evita.” |
| And even as he laughed about Mr. Bush’s inability to remember the punch lines to the jokes he loved, Mr. Simpson gave his so-called punch line to the 41st president’s life. | And even as he laughed about Mr. Bush’s inability to remember the punch lines to the jokes he loved, Mr. Simpson gave his so-called punch line to the 41st president’s life. |
| “You would have wanted him on your side,” he said. “He never lost his sense of humor. Humor is the universal solvent against the abrasive elements of life.” | “You would have wanted him on your side,” he said. “He never lost his sense of humor. Humor is the universal solvent against the abrasive elements of life.” |
| The younger President Bush rocked forward in his seat as he laughed over Mr. Simpson’s recollection of his father’s famous “read my lips, no new taxes” campaign promise. | The younger President Bush rocked forward in his seat as he laughed over Mr. Simpson’s recollection of his father’s famous “read my lips, no new taxes” campaign promise. |
| “None of us were ready for this day,” Mr. Simpson said. “It would have been so much easier to celebrate his life with him here, but he is gone, irrevocably gone.” | “None of us were ready for this day,” Mr. Simpson said. “It would have been so much easier to celebrate his life with him here, but he is gone, irrevocably gone.” |
| “Now we have loosed our grip upon him,” he added, “but we shall always retain his memory in our hearts.” | “Now we have loosed our grip upon him,” he added, “but we shall always retain his memory in our hearts.” |
| Jon Meacham, a Pulitzer-Prize winning author and Mr. Bush’s biographer, delivered the first eulogy for the 41st president, calling him “America’s last great soldier-statesman.” | |
| He recounted the day Mr. Bush’s plane was shot down in the Pacific during World War II and some of the more amusing moments of Mr. Bush’s political career, including comedian Dana Carvey’s impression of him on “Saturday Night Live” and the time he accidentally shook the hand of a store mannequin while greeting voters on the campaign trail. | |
| As he described the elder Bush’s personality — “his tongue may have run amok at moments, but his heart was steadfast” — his children, including George W. Bush and Jeb Bush, smiled. | |
| Mr. Meacham also alluded to Mr. Bush’s bipartisan efforts and foreign policy work, including the fact that under his administration, “a wall fell in Berlin, a dictator’s aggression did not stand.” | |
| “The rest of his life was a perennial effort to prove himself worthy of his salvation,” Mr. Meacham concluded. “A lion who not only led us, but who loved us. That’s why he was spared.” | |
| In the funeral itself and news coverage of Mr. Bush’s death, many references have been made to Mr. Bush surviving his plane being shot down during World War II. Senator Susan Collins, the Maine Republican and a close friend of Mr. Bush, said he once told her that he thought every day of the two airmen who did not escape the crash and perished. | |
| President Trump and Melania Trump arrived at the cathedral to an awkward moment. The two were led to their seats next to the other former presidents in the front row. By protocol, they sat next to Barack and Michelle Obama. Mr. Trump reached over to first shake Mr. Obama’s hand and then Mrs. Obama’s. None of them looked happy about it. | President Trump and Melania Trump arrived at the cathedral to an awkward moment. The two were led to their seats next to the other former presidents in the front row. By protocol, they sat next to Barack and Michelle Obama. Mr. Trump reached over to first shake Mr. Obama’s hand and then Mrs. Obama’s. None of them looked happy about it. |
| This was the first time Mr. Trump has been with the former presidents since his inauguration nearly two years ago. In the interim, he has harshly attacked each of them except Jimmy Carter, who has offered accommodating words about the incumbent president and agreed that he was being treated unfairly by the news media. | This was the first time Mr. Trump has been with the former presidents since his inauguration nearly two years ago. In the interim, he has harshly attacked each of them except Jimmy Carter, who has offered accommodating words about the incumbent president and agreed that he was being treated unfairly by the news media. |
| As they slid into the presidential pew, the Trumps received a cold greeting. After the handshakes with the Obamas, former president Bill Clinton briefly glanced Mr. Trump’s way. | As they slid into the presidential pew, the Trumps received a cold greeting. After the handshakes with the Obamas, former president Bill Clinton briefly glanced Mr. Trump’s way. |
| Mrs. Clinton stared straight ahead. | Mrs. Clinton stared straight ahead. |
| Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada, a dear friend of Mr. Bush’s, recalled during his eulogy that it was the 41st president who had been responsible for beginning to negotiate Nafta, the trilateral trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that Mr. Trump has harshly denounced and from which he recently threatened to withdraw. | |
| Mr. Mulroney, standing just steps away from Mr. Trump as he spoke, described the agreement as “recently modernized and improved” by subsequent administrations, a glancing reference to the current president’s newly negotiated and renamed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. | |
| Mr. Mulroney reflected on the historical significance of Mr. Bush’s presidency, recalling his critical role in reunifying Germany and his leadership during the first gulf war. But the most poignant moments of his speech were his descriptions of personal moments with Ms. Bush, from his early days trying to puzzle through the rhythms of international summit meetings, and from his latter years, when he reflected on the life he had led. | |
| “Brian, I just learned the fundamental principle of international affairs,” Mr. Mulroney recalled Mr. Bush saying to him during a coffee break at his first NATO summit meeting in Brussels, where the newly elected president had been taking copious notes as each leader spoke, including a particularly long-winded prime minister of Iceland. “The smaller the country, the longer the speech.” | |
| Mr. Mulroney recounted a visit he made to Mr. Bush at his compound in Kennebunkport, Me., on Labor Day weekend 2001, in which the former president seemed content and at peace, with the presidential library set, his eldest son having recently been elected president and his younger son Jeb serving as governor of Florida. His friend told him how his mood had shifted over the years from frustration to tranquillity. | |
| “You know Brian, you’ve got us pegged just right,” Mr. Mulroney said Mr. Bush had told him. Then he walked Mr. Mulroney down to a spot overlooking the ocean at Walker’s Point and showed him a plaque that bore the inscription “CAVU,” which as a young pilot he knew as the acronym for “ceiling and visibility unlimited.” | |
| “Those were the words we hoped to hear before takeoff — it meant perfect flying — and that’s the way I feel about our life today,” Mr. Mulroney said Mr. Bush had told him. “CAVU: Everything is perfect. Barb and I could not have asked for better lives. We are truly happy, and truly at peace.” | |
| The main eulogy was delivered by his eldest son, former President George W. Bush. Other tributes were made by his friends, former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada and former Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming, and by his biographer, the historian Jon Meacham. | |
| Three of his granddaughters, Lauren Bush Lauren, Ashley Walker Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, gave readings. His hometown minister, the Rev. Dr. Russell Levenson Jr., of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, delivered a homily. And Ronan Tynan, the Irish soloist who sang to Mr. Bush on the last day of his life, performed along with a variety of military musical groups. | |
| The officiating clergy include the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Washington diocese; and the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, the dean of Washington National Cathedral. The minister of ceremonies is the Rev. Canon Rosemarie Logan Duncan of the cathedral and the intercessor is the Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope, the provost of the cathedral. | The officiating clergy include the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Washington diocese; and the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, the dean of Washington National Cathedral. The minister of ceremonies is the Rev. Canon Rosemarie Logan Duncan of the cathedral and the intercessor is the Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope, the provost of the cathedral. |
| The cathedral’s bourdon bell tolled 41 times. After the service, the coffin will be taken to Joint Base Andrews outside Washington for the flight back to Houston. | The cathedral’s bourdon bell tolled 41 times. After the service, the coffin will be taken to Joint Base Andrews outside Washington for the flight back to Houston. |
| The pomp, pageantry and military precision with which Mr. Bush’s funeral unfolded on Wednesday was a product of decades of planning and practice by military officials and the late president himself. American presidents begin the somewhat macabre exercise of designing their own funerals almost from the moment they are sworn in, the better to put their own personal stamps on an event that amounts to their final official act and message to the nation. | The pomp, pageantry and military precision with which Mr. Bush’s funeral unfolded on Wednesday was a product of decades of planning and practice by military officials and the late president himself. American presidents begin the somewhat macabre exercise of designing their own funerals almost from the moment they are sworn in, the better to put their own personal stamps on an event that amounts to their final official act and message to the nation. |
| Coordinated by the Army’s Military District of Washington, which oversees the division’s official ceremonial units, Mr. Bush’s funeral is unfolding according to a lengthy and detailed script, a publicly distributed overview of which stretches for more than 20 pages. The plan lays out which anthems and hymns are to be played and when — right down to the number of “Ruffles and Flourishes,” the fanfare that precedes “Hail to the Chief” (16 of them were scheduled for Wednesday) — how many 21-gun salutes are to ring out (three), and how many times the funeral bell should sound when his coffin reached the National Cathedral (41, naturally). | Coordinated by the Army’s Military District of Washington, which oversees the division’s official ceremonial units, Mr. Bush’s funeral is unfolding according to a lengthy and detailed script, a publicly distributed overview of which stretches for more than 20 pages. The plan lays out which anthems and hymns are to be played and when — right down to the number of “Ruffles and Flourishes,” the fanfare that precedes “Hail to the Chief” (16 of them were scheduled for Wednesday) — how many 21-gun salutes are to ring out (three), and how many times the funeral bell should sound when his coffin reached the National Cathedral (41, naturally). |
| White marks on the Capitol steps showed members of the military honor guard exactly where to stand, and family members were shown their precise places to line up to honor Mr. Bush as he departed the Capitol and arrived at the National Cathedral. | White marks on the Capitol steps showed members of the military honor guard exactly where to stand, and family members were shown their precise places to line up to honor Mr. Bush as he departed the Capitol and arrived at the National Cathedral. |
| For all the traditions and customs that infused the day, Mr. Bush did what he could to keep his funeral moving along at an efficient clip, according to his longtime spokesman Jim McGrath. He eschewed a military procession including a horse-drawn carrion pulling his coffin and a riderless horse — flourishes that Ronald Reagan included in his funeral in 2004 — in favor of a hearse and motorcade. | For all the traditions and customs that infused the day, Mr. Bush did what he could to keep his funeral moving along at an efficient clip, according to his longtime spokesman Jim McGrath. He eschewed a military procession including a horse-drawn carrion pulling his coffin and a riderless horse — flourishes that Ronald Reagan included in his funeral in 2004 — in favor of a hearse and motorcade. |
| The Bush family entered the cathedral led by former President George W. Bush with Laura Bush holding his arm. They were followed by his siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Doro and their spouses. | The Bush family entered the cathedral led by former President George W. Bush with Laura Bush holding his arm. They were followed by his siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Doro and their spouses. |
| George W. Bush made a point of greeting Mr. Trump and the first lady and then all of the former presidents and their wives. Mr. Bush got a smile from Michelle Obama, with whom he has forged an unlikely friendship in recent years. She fondly called him her “partner in crime” because they are usually seated next to each other at events like this. | George W. Bush made a point of greeting Mr. Trump and the first lady and then all of the former presidents and their wives. Mr. Bush got a smile from Michelle Obama, with whom he has forged an unlikely friendship in recent years. She fondly called him her “partner in crime” because they are usually seated next to each other at events like this. |
| Mr. Bush also appeared to hand Ms. Obama something as they shook hands, evoking the viral moment from the funeral of Senator John McCain when Mr. Bush handed a cough drop to Ms. Obama in the middle of the proceedings. | Mr. Bush also appeared to hand Ms. Obama something as they shook hands, evoking the viral moment from the funeral of Senator John McCain when Mr. Bush handed a cough drop to Ms. Obama in the middle of the proceedings. |
| Officials in the Trump White House are not often invited to mingle with the rest of Washington, a city that heavily voted for Hillary Clinton, a woman seated in the front row at the cathedral. | Officials in the Trump White House are not often invited to mingle with the rest of Washington, a city that heavily voted for Hillary Clinton, a woman seated in the front row at the cathedral. |
| The funeral is the rare event to create bipartisan mingling. | The funeral is the rare event to create bipartisan mingling. |
| For a few moments at least, the Washington establishment looked intact: Several high-ranking members of the Trump administration were in attendance at the cathedral before Mr. Trump arrived. John Bolton, the president’s national security adviser, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the president’s daughter and son-in-law, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, were all spotted smiling and greeting onlookers before the ceremony. | For a few moments at least, the Washington establishment looked intact: Several high-ranking members of the Trump administration were in attendance at the cathedral before Mr. Trump arrived. John Bolton, the president’s national security adviser, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the president’s daughter and son-in-law, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, were all spotted smiling and greeting onlookers before the ceremony. |
| Mr. Trump, for his part, has been given credit this week for not doing or saying anything that might derail the funeral. Before the funeral began, Mr. Trump arrived and walked solemnly into the cathedral clutching the hand of Melania Trump, the first lady. | Mr. Trump, for his part, has been given credit this week for not doing or saying anything that might derail the funeral. Before the funeral began, Mr. Trump arrived and walked solemnly into the cathedral clutching the hand of Melania Trump, the first lady. |
| The Bush family gathered in front of the Capitol on Wednesday morning under gray skies, hands over their hearts, to watch Mr. Bush’s coffin leave the building. Four of the president’s five living children, former President George W. Bush, former Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, Doro Bush Koch and Neil Bush, along with their spouses, formed a row in the Capitol driveway for the elaborate departure ceremony, with more relatives, including former first daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush, the younger Mr. Bush’s daughters, looking on from farther away. | The Bush family gathered in front of the Capitol on Wednesday morning under gray skies, hands over their hearts, to watch Mr. Bush’s coffin leave the building. Four of the president’s five living children, former President George W. Bush, former Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, Doro Bush Koch and Neil Bush, along with their spouses, formed a row in the Capitol driveway for the elaborate departure ceremony, with more relatives, including former first daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush, the younger Mr. Bush’s daughters, looking on from farther away. |
| A military band played the official presidential anthem as an honor guard held Mr. Bush’s coffin at the top of the Capitol steps, and a 21-gun salute rang out from cannons assembled at the base of Capitol Hill. Then the honor guard slowly carried the coffin down to a waiting hearse while mournful hymns played. The Capitol grounds fell silent as the hearse drove away, bound for the National Cathedral and Mr. Bush’s official state funeral in northwestern Washington. | A military band played the official presidential anthem as an honor guard held Mr. Bush’s coffin at the top of the Capitol steps, and a 21-gun salute rang out from cannons assembled at the base of Capitol Hill. Then the honor guard slowly carried the coffin down to a waiting hearse while mournful hymns played. The Capitol grounds fell silent as the hearse drove away, bound for the National Cathedral and Mr. Bush’s official state funeral in northwestern Washington. |
| The younger Mr. Bush waved from the motorcade at onlookers lining Constitution Avenue to catch a glimpse of the 41st president’s funeral procession. | The younger Mr. Bush waved from the motorcade at onlookers lining Constitution Avenue to catch a glimpse of the 41st president’s funeral procession. |