out so president bush could ride back in the cabin of air force one for his final trip back to washington. but it will be a very heart felt ceremony at the capitol building in just a short time. you want to make sure if you are watching now that you stick around for that. the public viewing will be tonight, again, beginning at 7:00. i believe it goes until midnight. and then his body will lie in repose all day tomorrow at 7:00 on wednesday morning. they will again the process of asimming transport the casket from the capital building down constitution avenue up pennsylvania avenue in front of the white house and then up to connecticut to the national cathedral. that is going to be quite something to see the last time i saw that was when president reagan died a number of years ago. and you said, shep, that to some degree while these events are sad they are also comforting for the country. i mean, we can send off somebody who gave such

service to the nation in such a grand fashion really does speak not just to the office of the president but to the military as well the joint task force that puts these events together and the sense that regardless of your political stripes, you know, for these three days, we are all of one nation and i think it's a real reminder of just how great this country can be when you can put away the divisions that seem to mark our politics in a day-to-day basis and everyone come together as all of the former presidents who are able to will on wednesday morning to celebrate the life of this good man. >> shepard: you wonder how they are ever going to get everyone who would like to pay respects to this man in one building, john. it would seem like a true mission impossible. >> it is, but, shep, the joint task force is amazing at this. they plan and plan and plan and plan.

i mean, that's why you saw we got the notification that president bush 41 had passed away late at night on friday and already here on monday afternoon they had begun the process of getting him to the capitol rotunda where he will lie in repose. they are so good at doing this. and they will file through tens of thousands of people between now and wednesday morning. i mean, you have to take your hat off to the military that does this so well. and, again, you know, the 364 days of the year when this was not actually mapping, they were planning for it. and you know, similar event will be planned for jimmy carter when he passes. and, again, he is 94 so he is getting up there in age. and then president clinton and president bush when they eventually pass, the same thing. the military is extraordinary at doing this.

hats off to them. they will get through that rotunda as many people as they possibly between now and wednesday morning. >> shepard: the number of if then possibilities is more than can i detail here. probably come as no surprise to some of our viewers that plans for a president wants funeral begipresident'sfuneral e president is inaugurated updated every year throughout the year along with the tv networks and the military and the white house. it's really extraordinary. >> one of the really interesting aspects about it, too is that there is input from the president on how you would like your funeral to go. , which seems a little morbid but, then again, it does give the president the opportunity to have some input into how they want to go out. part of the transition, shep. >> shepard: barbara bush's funeral largely planned by her. same with nancy reagan's as i remember it they give the

first families, it seems, john, as much input and latitude as they want. >> they are the ones while it's the joint task force that puts this together, it's the family that's in charge. it was interesting too, shep, i was noting to my colleagues here at the white house, that it was the first time today, actually, i think the first time since friday night that we have seen jeb bush. jeb bush was not down there in houston when everybody boarded air force one. i imagine he and his wife came up from miami, florida on their own and joined the family here on the tarmac at joint base andrews. i'm not sure why they didn't travel to houston first so that they would come up with the rest of the family. but we saw jeb's tall figure there on the tarmac at jba. that was the first time that we saw him. that sort of ends the questions as to where is jeb? also interesting to note, too, while james baker was

in the room with president bush while he passed on friday night, george w. bush was on the telephone. i assume he was probably at home in dallas. we did get a notification earlier in the day on friday. it was an off-the-record note that he had taken a dramatic turn for the worse. perhaps, shep, there wasn't enough time for people to get there. i don't know. we were told that it looked like his passing was imminent because his father had not gathered to the degree you would expect and five hours later we got the notification that he had passed. >> shepard: in the end, john, the president was given the opportunity to return to the hospital and it's my understanding if you could confirm that he said no thanks. >> yeah. he knew it was time. and here's the interesting thing, too, shep. and this was predicted some months ago. he and barbara bush were married to each other for more than 70 years. they were each the love 6 each other's life.

you know, as the barbara bush could be from time to time toward her husband and her sons, they were soul mates. and it's been off said that when one soul mate passes later in life it's not long after that that the other one goes. if you recall after barbara bush's funeral george bush got very sick and was in the hospital. a lot of people are wondering wow, is this it? he recovered from that and he decided he wanted to keep going on. within eight months of his wife's passing, he now joins her, and they will be in -- he will be interred beside her at the george bush library and forever in eternity they will be side by side, shep. >> shepard: some who were at the funeral for his late wife in the days afterwards, some whom were very close with the family feared that the end was imminent and,

instead, president bush the 41st was able to return to maine for the summer where he entertained, i don't even know the number. we'll learn at some point. but more than a few very close friends of the family throughout the summer and my understanding of things from people who are very close to him and there with him from time to time is that he had a very peaceful, wonderful final summer. >> yeah. and what i had heard as well, shep. is that when he got sick right after barbara bush's funeral and people thought that he might pass then, it was determined to have one more summer at ken bun kenny buy bunat ken bunkport. this came on sudden'ly. he decided it was time. he had seen enough of life to satisfy him and he wanted to go join barbara.

and that's why he did not take up the offer of going back to the hospital. he also likely wanted to pass at home. as billy graham did. he and billy graham were very close. he decided i'm home. it's time to go. and i'm going to go out the way i want to go out. not the way the doctors would like me to. >> shepard: we will hear from some in his family in formal settings and we'll finish my understanding, the interment will not be televised it's private. but prior to that at the episcopal church in houston we will hear from george p. bush my understanding. >> yeah. who is the texas land commissioner who is the son

of jeb bush. who might become the third president bush one day. i havvery attractive. half hispanic. a lot of people are thinking he could be a presidential candidate maybe 2024 or 2028. we will see. >> shepard: those speaking decisions made by the former president himself, right? >> absolutely. it's all done by the family. which is why we are going to see delivering eulogies on wednesday at the national cathedral george w. bush in addition to j. meacham historian, senator al-simpson and one other i'm forgetting because i'm doing this from memory. sorry, brian mall rooney, the former prime minister of canada. how could i forget that he was prime minister when i was living in canada. those are the four people that will deliver the eulogies. i have got to say it's

unusual for a sitting president to not deliver some sort of remarks at the funeral of a former president but it's no secret that relations between president trump and the bush family have not exactly been on the best footing. he did not go to barbara bush's funeral. the vice president went and he spoke. but i will b he will be there ai think bill clinton will be there as well. i don't know if jimmy carter is well enough to make the trip or not. there will not be other than bush 43 who is the son and you would imagine deliver the eulogy a sitting or former president who will speak at that funeral on wednesday. >> shepard: sitting presidents have eulogized the past three presidents who have died, george w. bush gave eulogies for both gerald ford who died in 2006 and ronald reagan who died two years earlier and before that bill clinton gave a eulogy for president richard m. nixon who died in april of '94. to go back a little bit to show historically there have been occasions like this

harry truman and lyndon johnson died a month rah part in '72 and '73. truman opted not have a state funeral. instead his body lay in state in independence, missouri and nixon was the first person in line to pay respects that day. and then at funeral funeral held at national city church nixon presided over the affair but did not speak. so, unusual in recent days but not unheard of and, of course, these circumstances are a bit more extraordinary to those to which we have been accustomed. >> again, very unusual for a sitting president to not speak at the funeral of a former president. the 2016 campaign left a lot of bad blood between the trumps and the bushes. there was actually some question as to whether or not the president would go to the funeral given the fact that he went to barbara

bush's. i don't think there is any way you cannot have a sitting president at the former president. at the very least he will be there though we understand he is not going to speak. >> shepard: john roberts, thank you. mike emanuel is here reporting from capitol hill. he is our chief congressional correspondent. mike, busy days ahead. >> no doubt about it, shep. good afternoon to you. and we're outside the east front of the capitol where we expect president bush's motorcade to come up here to be greeted by v.i.p.es here. the family will greet him out here on the east steps leading him into the capitol rotunda. i can tell you momentarily united states senators are gathering in the senate chamber, and they are expected to walk over to be there for the welcoming ceremony a little later this afternoon. and so we have seen the color guards lined up ready for a presidential rec here to the capitol. a former member of congress. a former diplomat, former vice president and president coming for his final farewell and so, everybody is in position ready to go.

we expect to hear the sirens from that motorcade in a matter of minutes as they prepare for president bush's arrival here at the united states capitol for a farewell that will include the public later this evening throughout tomorrow and then ultimately leading to the funeral service at the national cathedral on wednesday, shep. >> shepard: what's the first order of business upon arrival? >> well, you will have color guard greet him. they will bring him up the stepping of the east front of the capitol. we expect family members to be waiting at the top of the steps. then they will make a solemn procession into the capitol rotunda. obviously security extremely tight when you consider that the vice president here, a lot of lawmakers here. a lot of v.i.p.es from over the years are here. then you will go into the capitol rotunda for a very solemn ceremony. there will be prayers, of course. there will be speeches by the majority leader mitch mcconnell. paul ryan, vice president mike pence and a variety of

wreath layings where the top republicans and democrats from the senate and the house will participate bipartisan fashion. and we do expect at some point president trump to come over here to the capitol to pay his respects. he tweeted earlier in the day that he was looking forward to paying his respects with the bush family and of course we do expect as john was saying the president and first lady to attend that funeral service on wednesday morning. >> shepard: for those who might want to attend, who might want to pay respects, mike, do you have an idea just for people's information how cumbersome the process is going to be given the security involved and everything else? >> i would say bring your patience for sure. i can tell you from my vantage point i can see people lined up here waiting for their opportunity. i can tell you from past similar experiences when you have the funeral for john mccain, the senator and the reverend billy graham had you americans lined up on the sidewalk.

and they seemed to understand that this was obviously a unique opportunity to pay their respects. there was security involved. and they seemed to be quite patient with the whole process. my suggestion to folks thinking about coming to your nation's capitol, to the united states capitol to be certain, be prepared. there will be security. wear comfortable shoes. it's winter so dress warmly but you will get the opportunity to go in if you are willing to wait to go past the casket and pay your respects to the 41st president of the united states, shep. >> shepard: just looking here in our fox weather center. today is lovely in the capitol. 60 degrees this afternoon and partly cloudy but it is winter and winter returns in earnest to the capitol tomorrow. highs in the low 40's and lows in the mid 20's. by the time we get to wednesday, highs in the high 30's and lows in the low to mid 20's. so, it will be chilly. a very untexas day and we

hear the sirens now of the motorcade arriving with the remains of the 41st president. we are of the understanding that we will have live pictures and a bit of ceremony. you can see there at the capitol a number of people have gathered along those iconic steps there as the sun is beginning to set early on a monday afternoon. you can see the flag there at half-staff. mike emanuel has moved on, preparing for his next reporting. barbara perry is with us. professor and director of presidential studies at the university of virginia's miller center. also an editor and contributor of 41 inside the presidency of george h.w. bush. when you were putting that together, professor perry, what was it that the former president wanted people to know the most? >> oh, the former president

was so open, chose actually not to do an interview with us because 43 was in the white house at the time. so we like to say dines are badynastiesare bad for oral hisy business. one family doesn't like to speak about another. he was so open and encouraging the people from his administration to speak to us. i was so honored to do a commemorative book in addition to the one that you mentioned that i believe is on our website here at the miller center. miller center.org. and i wrote the materials and took the materials from the owner history. and when we finished and we sent it onto the library and they had supplied wiferl photographs. it's really a coffee table book. we got word back from the president's executive assistant, administrative assistant she said send more books. the president wants to share this with all the family members and certainly all of his kids. so we were thrilled that he was happy with the product and i say i was honored to have a part of it.

i think he wanted people to know the inside story of his presidency and now we do. >> shepard: the family today, what is the message from the family? this long planned, the last thing you want if you are -- your father has gotten older and he is not doing well, you know, very lucky around here, mine is not young but he is doing great. when your father isn't doing well, the last thing you want is for time to stretch out and for suffering to be elongated. there must be some -- there must be some sense of happiness and celebration that their father did not suffer for endless days. >> well, i mentioned to you how my father passed just 10 months after my mother was 62 and a half years marriage. my dad wanted to go on and be with her. we knew. that is like president bush, he was able to be at home

for the last few weeks of his life. and passed away very peaceably and peacefully in his own bed. we were devastated to say goodbye to him but we knew he was going on to as they say a better place. he was a man of faith. our family is as the bush family is it is a relief to know that your loved one is not suffering, that they have completed the race and that they will get that impaiimimperishable crown. the best thing to leaf with in this life is imperishable crown of one's good name and we know for sure that george bush carried that crown as a stateman, as a president, as a military veteran and it's imperishable and his memory is imperishable. >> shepard: barbara perry. professor, stay with us if you would. it's my hope we will be able to hear this part of the process. let's listen in the capitol rotunda.

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[sirens] [sirens] [sirens] [sirens]

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>> shepard: the vice president and mrs. pence' arrival and the city, as you might imagine, alive with sirens and a reminder that the nation will pay respects

to a president who has died. john roberts is our chief white house correspondent. and live with us, these sorts of days are reminders of the power and the respect in that place. >> yeah, and, you know, just returning from the g-20 in argentina it's interesting to note the difference between when an american president travels and travels anywhere whether it's within washington, d.c. or whether it's outside of the country compared to other leaders. maybe the closest you would get would be the russian president or the chinese president. but the number of vehicles that it takes just to transport the president's entourage and, again here we have -- that's the vice president's motorcade that you see there judging by the types of vehicles that are included in it. yes, he just did arrive because he will be speaking at the capitol.

the difference in the power of the american presidency compared to other nations around the world, shep is really quite something. we talk about the type of person that george h.w. bush was. and we talked about the 1992 campaign and how rancorous that got at times. i remember vividly then vice president bush calling bill clinton and al gore bozos and seemed quite upset at the prospect that they might beat him in the election. but then when bill clinton came into the oval office after the inauguration on january 20th, 1993, he found a letter from president bush. and the letter wrote dear bill when i walked into this office just now, i felt the same sense of wonder and respect i felt four years ago. this is as he is leaving the oval office. i know you will feel that, too. i wish you great happiness here. i never felt the loneliness some presidents have described. there will be very tough

times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. i'm not a very good one to give advice, but just don't let the critics discourage you or push you off course. you will be our president when you read this note and listen to this, this was after this long and rancorous campaign i wish you well, i wish your family well, your success now is our country's success good luck. outgoing president to incoming president. you are now my president. i wish you good luck i'm routing for you. that's the type of person he was, shep. >> shepard: and a good example for all of us. john, thanks. the former president's body arriving now at the rotunda.

>> shepard: the motorcade continues and the former president's body will arrive on capitol hill for a final time in just a moment. and our coverage on fox news channel continues on "your world" with neil cavuto. ♪ ♪ >> bret: welcome to fox news channel's continuing coverage of remembering president george h.w. bush i'm bret baier in washington. >> martha: and i'm martha maccallum come up on special programming the casket carrying the body of the president arriving. ceremony, casket flown from washington to houston, texas will be carried into the capitol rotunda. >> bret: president bush's remains will lie in state and program with remarks by several political figures including the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, house speaker paul ryan and vice president mike pence.

>> martha: we will hear music this afternoon from the u.s. academy glee club. the public will be allowed to pay their respects as mr. bush lies in state until wednesday morning. invitation only funeral service will be held at 11:00 national cathedral. the president will be returned to houston to lie in repose at saint martin's episcopal church his lifelong parish before his burial on the plot of the george w. bush presidential library and museum in college station. >> bret: we are waiting for the motorcade to arrive at the capitol as you take a look at the scene there on the south side of the capitol, you can see some of the dignitaries arriving. we just saw the former secretary of state, former chief of staff james baker who we heard those poignant memories of the last moments of president george h.w. bush's life in which he called baker bake and jim baker called president 41

hefa. and the president said where are we going, bake? and baker turned to him and said hefa we are going to heaven. and those memories really set over the weekend a lot of emotions in action. >> martha: what a friendship, right? , to be able to say that to your friend in that moment and the president, former president 41 responded along the lines of i'm ready i think that we have thought a lot about the way that he got to the end of his life over the past few days watching all of your coverage, bret, over the weekend. there has been a lot of reflection. we are really just beginning the process of saying goodbye to this president. >> bret: john mee meacham and historian and biographer for the 41st president this is a merging of the majesty of state and all this pomp and circumstance with the humility of the man, this man the 41st president.

he didn't ever want to make it about him, ever. but this is about him. and everyone is remembering the 41st president as you look live inside the capitol rotunda. let's brings in our panel byron york chief political correspondent of "the washington examiner." mara liasson national political correspondent of national radio and "the washington post" columnist marc thiessen. >> martha: marc, let's start with you. >> it's been amazing day watching this celebration of the life of george h.w. bush. he called us to be a kinder, gentler nation. sadly we are far from that ideal today. and truth be told, our politics has never been that kind or gentle. but, perhaps just for a few days, we can live up to the ideal of america that he wanted us to be, perhaps for a few days we can have a few days without partisan bickering and without personal insults and without outrage and celebrate the grace and generosity and gentleness of this good man. if we can do that what a parting gift he has given us.

>> bret: mara? >> one of the things that george h.w. bush really exemplified is that the people he ran against or fought against in policy matters were his opponents not his enemies. he was as tough as they come in political campaigns. we all know about wily horton, but he was once the campaign was over, he was a decent, decent person. so i think he really did set a good example. i have one little memory of my own. i covered congress at the time when he was the president. i didn't cover the white house but did i have the honor of sitting next to him at the radio and tv correspondent association's dinner. i was on the board then. he showed me a press pass, a fake press pass that the white house photographers had made him because they loved him so much and he was so affectionate with him that they made him an honorary white house photographer. i love that picture. >> i think the next few days are going to be an opportunity to reflect not just on him, not just on his four years in the white house, but really on these momentous events of our

history. if you live 94 years, you really do cover a lot. and here you have the last president who served in world war ii to be president. the cold war just played an enormous role in his life and ending of it in his presidency. he lost in 1992 to a baby boomer, the first boomer to become president and they are still presidents today. he was part of this enormous war inside the republican party. he was on the moderate side in 1980s, the divisions inside the republican party between the conservatives led by ronald reagan and moderates led in part by george h.w. bush was just huge. so he has played an enormous role in all of these things. and there are all of these well-deserved tributes to his character. is he also just such a big figuring in everything that has shaped our country for almost century. >> bret: we're looking live at the hears an hearse and merit

indicated arriving at the u.s. capitol. met at the stairs and solemn ceremony taking it up to the capitol rotunda that we will bring you full coverage of here as well as that ceremony. let's bring in former george w. bush senior advisor karl rove. as we look at this arriving and you hear all of the media reflecting on these positive memories of the 41st president, you also have to remember that, you know, he didn't really think the media treated him that fairly back in the day. i had a message from rob mcdowell, former fcc commissioner who worked on the campaign. and he sent me this bumper sticker that says annoy the media. reelect bush. and he said -- you see the inscription on the bottom this is my favorite and country's favorite, too. talk about that and kind of as we reflect on the 41st president's life. >> well, he didn't think he

was well-treated by the president in the 1992 campaign that bumper sticker appeared late in the campaign. and president bush 43 took a special delight in it. on the other hand, like it was observed earlier he never thought of his political opponents as his enemies and he never thought the press no, matter how badly he thought they treated him as his adversaries. they had their job. he had his job. marc thiessen put his finger on it earlier this is the 9 president president last was lincoln and in between we have had garfield and harding jfk and ronald reagan. this is when the country comes together and looks more as to what draws us together as americans than what divides us and more what we ought to strive for rather than what we are. and it's a great moment, almost a civic religion where we come together and participate in the same

ceremony and good for the country to do so and particularly good to do so when such very good man is the object of our thoughts today. >> martha: absolutely, karl. any death causes one to pause. i think the death of a president causes the nation to pause. and you reflect on the era that that person represents and the history that they lived and then also the period of time after in this case they were president. we still are relatively young country. we have only had 45 of these individuals in office. when this happens we do all come together and we flect on where we are as a nation. you look at these faces we all remember them for so many years by the side of president bush 41. and let me bring in dana perino, host of "the daily briefing," co-host of "the five" and former press secretary for george w. bush. dana, your thoughts as we watch this at the capitol? >> listen talking and actually having been with all of you during this past year, there has been a lot of loss, right?

so barbara bush who died in ape, we lost our own krauthammer in june. there was the death of senator john mccain and now that of president george h.w. bush. and i think that it does show that, you know, americans do take a moment to pause and we might -- it's likes things they used to say in washington that you fought like heck during of the day and went and had a beer afterwards as we watch the here's come here to the capitol before the family is going to receive the casket at the capitol. the other thing i have been thinking about martha and bret is that this is a family who has had a lot of loss this year by losing the matriarch of their family and then their poppy, their gamps. george h.w. bush, they grieve for him as children, grand children, great, great grandchildren, sons in law, daughters in law. they have to share these moments with us as a nation. and i admire their ability

to allow us a chance to be a part of this because it's intensely personal but, of course, the world is watching as well. >> bret: he would call people up and say this is 41 after his son obviously was president. there you see john sununu, his former white house chief of staff. other members of the administration. and vice president dick cheney. he served as secretary of defense, obviously, next to him is james baker as the the hearse arrives. check in with mike emanuel who is at the capitol this afternoon. mike? >> mike: very solemn mood out here on the capitol. lighting appropriate for such a day. getting a little dark here, a little cloudy as we await the casket of george herbert walker bush. we can see former president dan quayle and members of the bush 41 cabinet up at the top of the steps awight the arrival of the 41st president. we have color guard of all the service branches out

waiting for him. there will be 21-gun salute and ruffles and flourishing. gathering of the president who had every major job it seems like in this town at one point or another. we await the arrival to go up the steps very slowly, very orderly to make the way into the capitol where we know that united states senators past and present are waiting for him in the capitol rotunda. we expect house members as well. members of the supreme court are in there. so we are about to see a very haul american district here at the u.s. capitol. bret, martha? >> bret: this doesn't happen very often. as it does little talking as we do. let you listen in and hear what is happening right there on the east side of the capitol.

>> ceremonial.

>> ceremonial.

>> attention. [beeping]

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>> bret: solemn ceremony as they wait for the casket to move up those stairs, martha. there you see the remains of the 41st president. you saw the grief on president 43, george w. bush's faces a they walked in. you also saw it on air force one, special mission 41 flying from houston. >> martha: you know, much was said about 41's inability to be a great communicator. he talked about how reagan was such a far superior communicator and, yet, in

the later years of his life, i think we got to know him as such an excellent communicator and someone who had written such beautiful letters. and the emotion that we have seen over these years between bush 41 and 43 i think has just been a lovely lesson for everyone to take in because, you know, tough guys, presidents of the united states are so open about their love and affection for each other. you clearly saw that etched on 41's faces a he gets back to washington. comes back to where so much of their lives together was spent and when you see this pomp and circumstance and the magnitude and the gravity of it, it's awe inspiring and no doubt overwheloverwhelming to some ex. >> bret: marc? >> one of the things that 43 used to tell us when i worked for him in the white house is that i was with him at the end of the administration and he would tell us that history's verdict take as long -- he was very calm about his place in history because history's verdict takes a long time to come in. one of the advantages of

living to the age of 94 is that you get to see history's verdict come in. a lot of things we take for granted today about how history unfolded over the last quarter century were the handiwork of george h.w. bush. we take for granted that the soviet union collapsed peacefully without a shot being fired. this is the most heavily armed empire in human history and it -- that was his management of the end of the soviet union. we take for granted that germany is united single country and that happened without a hitch going forward. that was incredit i can babli canincredibly hardwork to. we take for granted that we were able to protect the middle east by a massive invasion by iraq. that was incredibly hard challenge to meet there is a young generation who didn't live through these experiences doesn't understand the collapse of the soviet union. doesn't remember the soviet union. and the one beauty is that they are getting a history lesson right now about this era of politics and how these things don't just

happen. they require leadership. >> bret: president bush 43 there with the family. that shot, just look at that shot. i think the pool will maybe go back to it and that is the sun set looking out the east side of the capitol to the left of the screen the u.s. supreme court to the right library of congress. that is majesty at its best as the sun sets on a beautiful day and the 41st's president remains there getting ready to make the journey into the capitol rotunda where he will lie in state. and members of the public, after this ceremony, will be able to come in and shuffle through and chad pergram, our senior producer up on capitol hill said the amazing thing about these moments, mara, is that when that happens, the silence of the capitol rotunda, the shuffling of hundreds of feet going past the caskets is at one point eerie but also really respectful.

>> really respectful. this is a time that calls for as little talking as possible. everyone in the nation can partake. if they want to go to the capitol and stand in line they can too. something marc just said i think history is treating george h.w. bush already? where are we now? supposedly at a time where the party he represented has been obliterated. what? think again, nafta is still in place. his vision of what it should be, three countries, canada, mexico and the united states integrated through trade. still in existence. nafta has been updated but not obliterated. certainly every bit of foreign policy architecture he put in place is more or less paying off. so i think that george h.w. bush has been as people have said all day probably the most consequential one term president in terms of impact. >> bret: let's listen back in. >> present arms.

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[cannon fire] [cannon fire]

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>> martha: members of the president's cabinet entering the room. general colin powell at the front of the line and john sununu, chief of staff and colin

powell has retired to a quiet life but obviously one of the central figures in the iraq war during bush 41's presidency. >> bret: they'll file in as well as members of the house and senate. we should point out former senators as well. bill frisch and others in attendance who obviously had a big relationship with the 41st president. >> martha: i believe that's senator danforth toward the front of the line and lamar alexander of tennessee, andy card toward the back of the line there as these faces which were very familiar during the bush years gather for this moment. >> boyden gray and others. >> bret: the weather outside. president bush 41 -- a naval aviator. on his 80th birthday he said