but is that all there is to bill clinton? america still isn't sure. >> people wanted to know more about where he came from. he burst on the scene, he's got like a different life, he's smart. he seems to have a lot of controversy around him. where the hell is he? where did he come from? i don't know anything about him. >> i was born in a little town called hope, arkansas, three months after my father died. i remember living in that old two story house where i lived with my grandparents. >> one of the three things you want people to know. he worked his way up. he was born poor. he's one of you. that was the start of telling you the story, the central story of the man from hope. >> i end tonight where it all began for me. i still believe in a place called hope. god bless you and god bless -- >> clinton tells his story and america is buying it. he's chosen his running mate, fellow southerner, al gore. >> everybody looks run, perfect day, don't stop thinking about tomorrow. >> i was gagging, but in terms of the visual, reinforcing

bill clinton of arkansas was sworn in today right back there at the capitol building. >> bill clinton, the first baby boomer president. what he represented was a fresh start. hopes were high. very high. >> the office of president of the united states. >> congratulations. >> bill clinton defeats the man with the best resume in modern american political history, george bush. it seemed impossible. >> a new season of american renewal has begun. >> he was like a meteor. he came on the scene smart, well spoken, appealing and kind of fun. >> let's listen to president bill clinton tear it up. ♪ >> clinton comes to office brimming with energy, enthusiasm and self-confidence. the first few months would be a real trial for him. >> president clinton and his staff are regrouping after an embarrassing political setback. >> his choice for attorney general was before the senate judiciary committee today apologizing for hiring illegal immigrants. >> we got off to a rocky start for a number of reasons. there were hiccups in the appointment process and there were policy hiccups. >> senate critics bash

bill clinton did not seem like a natural fit. among other things bill clinton had beaten bush in the 92 election in addition to which their personalities couldn't have been more different and president bush 41 regaled us at lunch about their trip together through southeast asia and one of the things he said is we are so different, he loves to talk and opines about everything and i'm more measured but in a lot of ways that was very interesting and if i was having trouble talking about something, another thing that drove him crazy about bill clinton was the fact that anybody who knew him knew this, he would get involved in a conversation and we talked about operating on clinton time. they would agree they were going to get up and go around at 9:00 in the morning on trips to southeast asia and bush would be in the car at 9:00 or 8:57 and clinton would show up when he did and he said it clearly bothered clinton that he was always keeping bush waiting so one day at age:55 he came downstairs excitedly, he was going to beat him into the

clinton, bill clinton getting elected, first democrat in a dozen years to win a presidential race at the start of the '90s it was impossible for a democrat to get elected and the republicans had what they called the electoral lock on the presidency i think they talked about picking the lock in 92 and bill clinton becomes president. what he needs is a republican party that was different. when bill clinton comes in in january 93 the republicans are the minority party in the house and senate bu as different as as they've been changed by newt gingrich who has been working starting out on the back benches and he's been changing the way republicans think about congressional strategy and the strategic visiostrategic visiono nationalize politics you don't compromise because it gives the other side credit and tells people there is no difference between the parties and you look for vivid dramatic high-profile demonstrations of this is the difference between a democrat and republican used to say that he wanted people to think of them as the party of the welfare state, the party of the opportuni

bush and bill clinton. for those of us that worked in the right house during the very painful election of 1992, and we all thought that this person of george w. bush was diminished in our eyes through some of the rhetoric of that campaign, and when they became such friends later, i asked george h.w. bush this question on the plane to the funeral of john paul ii, and bill clinton was there, i said how about this relationship between the two of you? what is it? he said, i think he's the father i never had. it really says everything about who he is as an individual, that it is service over anything that is personal. the other point that juan williams made, as a staffer in the white house, i would never -- i saw democratic congress meant to be guests on the tennis court or to play horseshoes or a movie or a cocktail, a regular way that george h.w. bush worked as a president. >> shannon: it was very effective. anita mcbride, thank you very much. juan williams, brad blakeman, dana perino, thank you very much. bre

bush and bill clinton. for those of us that worked in the right house during the very painful election of 1992, and we all thought that this person of george w. bush was diminished in our eyes through some of the rhetoric of that campaign, and when they became such friends later, i asked george h.w. bush this question on the plane to the funeral of john paul ii, and bill clinton was there, i said how about this relationship between the two of you? what is it? he said, i think he's the father i never had. it really says everything about who he is as an individual, that it is service over anything that is personal. the other point that juan williams made, as a staffer in the white house, i would never -- i saw democratic congress meant to be guests on the tennis court or to play horseshoes or a movie or a cocktail, a regular way that george h.w. bush worked as a president. >> shannon: it was very effective. anita mcbride, thank you very much. juan williams, brad blakeman, dana perino, thank you very much. bre

bill clinton? >> bill clinton is still a very strong leader within the party, but we just need to ensure that our candidates are able to talk to all voters across every economic spectrum and not just limit the conversation to a handful of people. >> so is that a yes? >> i think bill clinton will continue to be a voice of reason within the democratic party. >> but he's not gonna be leading the charge. >> you know what? the good news is that there are so many wonderful candidates out there who, in addition to being like bill clinton in terms of messaging, they are strong enough to carry their states and to help carry the party into the future. >> is he too compromised because of his past with women? >> i'm not going to run the democratic party, but i'll tell you, every president from jimmy carter to barack obama to bill clinton, they're an asset to the democratic party, and they are an asset to our great country. >> so, you're a consultant. if you were hired to come consult republican candidates or i

and now it was bill clintons time. and he was not, he was setting an example for the appropriate way to he felt act after he was president. and his son did the same. and barack obama has done the same. absolutely he set the tone. of civility. a world we don't use a lot these days. i also just thought maybe we could go back to his relationship with barbara bush. because not only were they married for 73 years. and not only did they meet at a dance when they were 16. but, i think we have some tape here. they were the first people that each kissed. show the tape. we'll talk about it. >> this one was december of 43. my darling barb. word should come easily and in short it should be simple to tell you how happy i was to open the paper and see the announcement of our engagement. somehow i can't say all in a letter. i should like to. i love you precious with all my heart and to know you love me means my life. how often i thought about the joy that will be ours some day. how lucky our children will be to have a mother like you

he said perhaps i was the father that bill clinton never had. you see jimmy carter, roselyn carter there being greeted by the crowd. one last note, george w. bush was giving a speech, george, back when bill clinton was having heart surgery and he made a joke, he said bill clinton just woke from heart surgery surrounded by those who love him, hillary, chelsea and my dad. >> neil bush called him the brother from another mother. and of course president trump will also be there today. he's had a great hand in this ceremony as well. jon karl also at the national cathedral. >> reporter: president trump made air force one available to transport george h.w. bush's casket here to washington. after this ceremony he will board that plane that is air force one to go back to texa this is a truce, a truce in what is a very tense relationship between donald trump and the entire bush family. i mean, you really can't overstate it, george. george herbert walker bush in his last political act actually voted for a democrat, voted for hillary clinton, he was so upse

would extract another thing that frankly drove him crazy aboutm bill clinton was t fact that bill clinton and anybody that's ever covered him he would get involved in a conversation and he would just always talked about operating o clinton time. so they agreed they were going to get up and go around with a 9:00 a.m. their trips to southeast asia and bush would be in the car at 9:00 a.m. maybe even at 8:57 e.m., and clinton would show up when he did. he said it clearly bothered clinton that he was always keeping bush waiting so one day at about 8:55 a.m., he came downstairs excitedly like he wa going to beat bush into the car into the limousine taking them around the bush, not knowing this, not doing this on purpose had gotten to the car at 8:50 a.m. he said the look of disappointment on his face when he looked in the car and though he beat me again. one thing that bush very much respected because they were traveling around in a presidentialid jet was the deference that bill clinton showed him and that clinton, bush was considerably older, always insisted that george h w bush have the pres

bill clinton. who was focused entirely on people's lives in america and anxiety they were feeling. .e was defeated for reelection that was a really painful defeat for him. it took him some time to get over it. in one of those remarkable turns he and bill clinton later became such good friends. of timeu has been a lot with the bush family. you have a book coming out soon about former first lady barbara bush. what role did barbara bush play during the george h w bush presidency? caller: it is interesting. i think barbara bush took pains to not make it clear how much influence she had. she had a divisional approach that he was the president and she was not. in that way, a great contrast to the equal partnership that we so publicly with the clintons. behind the scenes, she was enormously influential. she was influential in ways that we knew. her focus on adult illiteracy. the cause that she pushed for most of her adult life. she was also influential on things like pushing the president to do more to ad

bush to bill clinton, how did it come about? >> i have a theory about this. it's very interesting to me that presidents clinton, george w. bush and barack obama have actually been the son of george h.w. bush or wanted to be the son of george h.w. bush. i think that there -- the senior president bush embodied a kind of world war ii, cold war establishment order that was very reassuring. it was one of the things of being around him in recent years because he went in a wheelchair about 2012, is it was actually the closest people could kind of come to knowing what was it like when fdr was in a room. what is it like when the most powerful person, the central figure in a room is in a wheelchair? and he had a kind of powerful charisma in that way. my favorite story about the bush/clinton relationship which really began when george w. bush asked his father and president clinton to raise money for the victims of the tsunami in late 2004 is when president clinton and president bush 41 were going to pay their respects at the -- i think it was the indonesian consulate in

he did it in reaching out to bill clinton after he had been defeated by bill clinton. that was who he was. and that's what i was so impressed with covering him over the years. >> i'll interrupt you for a second. trump is with german chancellor angela merkel in buenos aries. >> we're talking trade and defense and talking about many things. we have a tremendous trade imbalance but we're going to get that straightened out. it will be better and better as time goes by. our military relationship is very good. i think we all understand each other. and it is an honor to be with the chancellor. she's done an incredible job. highly respected by everybody, including me. so just want to say it's great honor. >> thank you very much. >> you're welcome. [ speaking foreign language ] >> i want to just continue this conversation with you. just with reference to this, donald trump saying to angela merkel, highly respected by everyone, including me. karen, it is not clear, he has not -- not in the past been very clear about his respect for angela merkel and the deal has respect for her

just days afterwards he reached out to president bill clinton. the two of them had a lunch, 90 minutes or so, in washington. they both ate a bit of humble pie, we are told, and buried the hatchett and then it just grew from there. one of the key things that happened is he asked and tasked both president clinton and his father to try to come up with in february 2005 a relief effort for the tsunami that hit southeast asia killing tens of thousands of people a massive effort, whether or not they would be able to raise money as well. they were able to raise millions and millions of dollars in that effort. this was just after -- shortly after his first term and then months later is when katrina hit. that was in late august and again he tasked his father and president clinton to try to raise private donations to try to help out in that relief effort. at the time he was undergoing a great deal of criticism for his administration's slow response to hurricane katrina. those two presidents sat down with me at the white house at the time and defended his ad

he had become the father bill clinton never knew. barack obama did not know his father either and viewed in 41 someone who he admired and who was a huge source of consolation to him. and it's interesting that president obama was one of the last people to visit president bush before he died. >> the last public visit was from james baker his best friend and president obama. and that friendship -- i believe that the 43 and michelle have, they have -- 41st president to extend that generosity to bill clinton. >> we've been watching rudolph giuliani walk in. the saying about the flynn document. in effect, there's nothing to see here, which has been an increasing part of his job of late. jimmy carter will be an interesting figure to watch today, nancy. it strikes me, he is the record setter for having lived the longest in the years after leaving office. jimmy and rosalynn carter are keenly aware, having been married 72 years, that they have chasing the record of longevity that was just set, the benchmark set by the late george and the late

the loss to bill clinton very hard. bill clinton was his son's age. >> thank you so much. >> people are sure that george bush's presidency will be the overlooked moment between the charisma of ronald reagan and the charisma of bill clinton. >> as we look back on the bush presidency we see stock going up. we see he managed the end of the cold war. he let the soviet union go off into the dust bin of history and america emerged as the great power of the 1990s. >> he won the world but lost his own country. the reason was, in no small degree, economics. in american politics most people in the end vote their pocket books. >> i believe that history will deal extraordinarily kindly when president bush, the way he brought about germany's unification and nato. the way he dealt with iraqi aggression but did it in a way that brought the international community together. >> people often think that history is scripted. but there are moments in history when even the most powerful people don't really know what's going to come next. and

bush. >> i, william jefferson clinton. >> reporter: former president bill clinton says he learned a lot about the character of the man he replaced from a letter. he read us the note george bush left him in the oval office in 1993. >> "dear bill, when i walked into this office just now, i felt the same sense of wonder and respect i felt four years ago. i know you will feel that, too. i wish you great happiness here. i never felt alone as some presidents have described. there will be very tough times made even more difficult by criticism you might not think is fair. i'm not 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. i wish you well. i wish your family well. your success now is our country's success. i'm rooting hard for you. good luck." this letter is a statement of who he is. and it's why he's a world-class human being, in my book. >> glor: tomorrow's "60 minutes" will feature three former presidents, clinton, obama, and george w. bush, remembering bush 41. up next here tonight, wh

bush was defeated by bill clinton and it was a hand-off to bill clinton which did go smoothly. and as i say later the two of them later became friends. but it was hard for george h.w. bush to lose that election. he had a very high approval rate, it was 88% after he went into kuwait and liberated kuwait from saddam hussein, and then also had the restraint not to go into iraq. his numbers went up to 88%, and then over the next few months or so he dropped precipitously after six months. he never got the cred in the polls about that, but i remember the story telling, he had a great sense of humor. and i remember after he left the presidency, he was quite along in age jumping out of an airplane, it was remarkable. but he said when he got down to the ground, he was taken off the parachute and barbara walked over to him and she said, george, i haven't seen anybody fall that fast that's run for president. >> i want you to standby, david, and i want to bring in cnn's wolf blitzer. wolf blitzer is traveling with the current president now. wolf, if you can hear me -- wolf, can you hear me

then hillary clinton and bill clinton. michelle obama. barack obama. and then melania trump and president trump. they arrived last. another waiting for the casket to arrive. we have the head of the gop chapter here in san francisco, jason clark, with us, talk a little bit about the pomp and circumstance of this and the unusual sight of seeing all of those former presidents gathered in one wrote to say goodbye to george bush. >> it is definitely something that we have come to expect from our democracy. if you watch the funerals of british royals, they do not have that leisure, because there is no past royal or retired realtors it there. you will die in office. here, you will see the past presidents coming together united to honor someone who served as one of their own. >> it has also been described that the president belong to a club, if you will, that very few living will ever know that responsibility, that excitement, and the fear at times. with all the challenges you face leading the world's largest democracy and most successful democracy. there is a

i leave it out on the desk for bill clinton. looks a little lonely sitting there. >> dear bill, when i walked into this office just now, i felt the same sense of wonder and respect >> i felt four years ago. 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 diskrj courage or push you off course. i'm rooting hard for you. good luck, george. >> cnn presidential historian douglas brinkley joins me now. doug, it was only in 1993 that that exchange of letters or that letter took place. it seems like hundreds and hundreds of years ago on a planet far, far away. >> boy, really does. i mean, the age of civility seemed to have ended at some juncture, but bush and clinton became very good friends. part of it, jake, as you recall in 1992, there was a third party candidate, ross perot, the billionaire from texas, and bush wasn't so kind to ross perot after he lost in 1992 because perot had taken 19% of the vote as a third part

i know the clintons, particularly bill clinton, was around him enough in the early 2000s that bill clinton can can talk about anything and he can get very animated about it, but when he would talk about getting to know george h.w. bush, there was a real genuine excitement. first, i think it's incredible that two people, the last two people you'd think would get together were getting so close. and there was something he would love saying how george bush, george w. bush would say bill clinton is my brother from another mother, barbara bush would say he's my fourth son and i think it formed a really close relationship that was genuine. it's wonderful to see in american people where two people who squared off and had every reason to not like each other could bond over their shared love of country. >> and that relationship developed after blin will clints inaugurated into the white house, but one always wonders about that remarkable tradition when you have the previous president, the outgoing president, leaving a letter for the incoming president. do you have any insight to share of what was sa

the best may be his friendship with bill clinton. here is wolf blitzer. >> thank you, all. >> reporter: they were one-time rivals. >> my biggest problem with governor clinton is he is on one side of the issue one day and the on the other, the other day. and we cannot let the white house turn into the waffle house. >> reporter: best of friends, a political odd couple doing good around the world. their relationship the subject of letters published by george h.w. bush in 2013. >> may all the democrats forgive me as close to the election. i love george bush. i do. >> i so appreciated your words about our relationship, about our friendship, bush wrote to clinton after a 2006 awards ceremony. it was from your heart. i hope you know i feel the same way. >> they've become really great friends. in fact, almost like family. and that's part of a jealous problem for the rest of the bush kids. they think they've got this other brother named bill clinton. >> until you've been on the ground and see it, it's hard to real advertise scope of the chall

bush and bill clinton. i interviewed the clinton about his relationship with the bushes a few months ago for the book i have done. he talked about how much it meant to him, how much he enjoyed going up there to kennebunkport to see the former president. host: we will like to thank susan page for coming on the phone with us this morning and talking about her memories and work with president george h.w. bush. >> tomorrow on "washington journal, we dedicate our first hour to a membrane the late former president george h w bush. he died at age 94 on friday. later, we will hear from john lawrence, former chief of staff and nancy pelosi discussing the future of democratic leadership in the 1/16 congress. also sebastian gorka talks about the molar -- robert mueller investigation and national security policy. we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter as well. journal" live on c-span. >> former president barack obama and mrs. obama released a statement on the passing of presid

it's easy to forget in hindsight, but bill clinton was in real danger of being pushed out of office. many of his fellow democrats were furious with him. >> let justice be done though the heavens fall. >> if they came to the white house like the republicans did with nixon in 1974 and says your time's up, that would have been it. >> but clinton, the ultimate comeback kid -- >> i never should have misled the country. >> -- was able to rally the party and the country back to his side. >> i will continue to do all i can to reclaim the trust of the american people and to serve them well. >> his behavior may have been reprehensible, his allies said, but he was hardly the threat to the republic that impeachment was designed for. the american public agreed. the democrats scored a shocking upset in the midterm elections, gaining seats in the house. >> the lewinsky issue didn't carry any weight. >> i'd say republicans got stumped. >> newt gingrich, who had predicted a big republican victory. >> we have a chance to win some very startling victories all over the country. >> lost his job as speake

example, was bill clinton went through impeachment in late '98. the senate voted to acquit him in 1999. for the final two years of his presidency, the issue hovering was on the day he leaves office, will he face criminal prosecution? it was the final hour of his presidency when he cut that deal with the independent counsel, consented to the suspension of his law license, ultimately gave up his law license, had a written statement acknowledging that he had misled investigators. that same cloud now threatens to exist over this presidency. >> yeah, that's exactly right. there's the distinct possibility that if there is no impeachment proceedings and there's still the prospect of criminal liability hovering like a sword over the neck of the president, there will be different maneuvers to try to remove that before he leaves. the thing that's most frequently mentioned is the possibility of resigning ten minutes early and a pardon ensuing by new president mike pence. i think that part is going to be problematic. but the distinction with clinton, i think,

clinton transition into the presidency and later on, as you know, he and bill clinton came to getz tore raise money and that is sort of the kind of bipartisan spirit that we're not seeing today but hope to regain at some point. >> let's talk a little about life outside of the oval office after his presidency and the more recent years. we know his wife passed eight months ago. what was he doing in his more recent years of life? >> interestingly, if you reached out to him he invariably sent a note back. it happened in my case and probably in the case of thousands and thousands of people. he worked very hard on issue that is were important to him even after the president u.s. i think he enjoyed the heck out of seeing his son become president and advised presidents after his time in office. he was a very busy guy and that's when he wasn't skydiving and enjoying the pursuit that is he did. he just had a rich, full life. i often think of the famous picture of george herbert walker bush with babe ruth because one of the things he did in his life, his college, he was on the college baseball tea

bill clinton says: thatis that is one of many reactions which are coming to us. we will be bringing you more on that throughout the morning. this week mark the 50th anniversary of the release of one of the most revered albums of all time. astral weeks by sir van morrison. the likes of eltonjohn, u2 and bruce springsteen say the singer from belfast has been a huge influence. now fans are being drawn to his home city to see the streets and sights which have inspired sir van. our ireland correspondent chris page has more. astral weeks is the greatest record ever made. astral weeks is the soundtrack to my life. belfast is celebrating its enigmatic songwriting generous. i'd like to welcome you on this 50th anniversary at astral weeks. i am lynne, i'm a van morrison fan. vanatics, as they are often described, are making a pilgrimage to the place their hero calls home. here we are on the corner where van morrison was born on the 31st of august 19a5. traces of the city and memories of his upbringing are everywhere in his music. so i'm just going to play something and you

and what's more, bill clinton in 1992 made the argument, the countris inecession. it's spinning out of control. in retrospect, we now know at the time of the '92 election, george bsh was presiding over an economy that was getting better, but what he didn't hae was communication skills. he wasn't tiebl make that plain to americans. >> sreenivasan: we'veo talked a bit about this after the passing of mccain, but he se gs a differeneration of the republican party that had room for such-- i would say a moderate voice-- as his. >> right, he was a modern-- moderate new england republican. those things are all an oxymoron how many republicans do we have in national office from new england these days? virtually none. and the other thing is that this ras someone who was known fo reaching across the aisle, known for not talking in over-done ways about himself, not getting into brawls with people. all those things seem very antique in 2018. rhaps you and i will e a day, hari, when those things are in faion once in. >> sreenivasan: do you think that the willy horton ad against

andhat sort of encapsulated in the famous note he left on the note of bill clinton that bill clinton found on his first day in office. where he said, bill, president now. i'm routing for you. your success is america's success. i think that reflects the the ethos of george h. w. bush. >> madam secretary, do you want to weigh in on that? i heard you a little bit in there? but h really has a remarkable legacy, does he not. >> h really does. and some of this shows his uality and strength of characte he could be a tough minded andh decisive necessary, but always gracious and kind at the same time. this is leadership to me. and what he did with respect to getting the chinati.s. reship back on an even keel was leadership. and tt is what presidents do. and he did it without seeming to doing anything sometimes. >> right. ffortlessly.ook but he did. >> right. >> the great quality of this man i'm honored to have served and known him and barbara bus for 40 years. >> we are pleased you are with us as well. barbara franklin, the former commerce secreta and our own john harwood. thank you for joini

it's easy to forget in hindsight, but bill clinton was in real danger of being pushed out of office. many of his fellow democrats were furious with him. >> let justice be done, though the heavens fall. >> if they came to the white house, like the republicans did, with nixon is 1974 and says, your time is up, that would have been it. >> but clinton, the ultimate comeback kid -- >> i never should have misled the country -- >> -- was able to rally the party and the country back to his side. >>ly continue to do all i can to reclaim the trust of the american people and to serve them well. >> his behavior may have been reprehensible, his allies said, but he was hardly the threat to the republic that impeachment was designed for. the american public agreed. the democrats scored a shocking upset in the midterm elections, gaining seats in the white house. >> the lewinsky issue didn't carry any weight. >> i say republicans got stomped. >> newt gingrich, had predicted a big republican victory -- >> we have a chance to win some very startling victories all over the country. >> -- lost his job as

it's easy to forget in hindsight, but bill clinton was in real danger of being pushed out of office. many of his fellow democrats were furious with him. >> let justice be done, though the heavens fall. >> if they came to the white house, like the republicans did, with nixon is 1974 and says, your time is up, that would have been it. >> but clinton, the ultimate comeback kid -- >> i never should have misled the country -- >> -- was able to rally the party and the country back to his side. >> i will continue to do all i can to reclaim the trust of the american people and to serve them well. >> his behavior may have been reprehensible, his allies said, but he was hardly the threat to the republic that impeachment was designed for. the american public agreed. the democrats scored a shocking upset in the midterm elections, gaining seats in the white house. >> the lewinsky issue didn't carry any weight. >> i say republicans got stomped. >> newt gingrich, had predicted a big republican victory -- >> we have a chance to win some very startling victories all over the country. >> -- lost his j

that would not have worked for bill clinton. and my guess is it's not going to work well for donald trump. >> one story of mine you will appreciate, when clinton was impeached and the bulletin went out, i printed it out thinking it would be a piece of history. it turns out that, you know, a laser printed piece of paper ain't worth nothing. >> i got one of those at home, too, actually. it is a piece of history. >> still, it didn't last quite as long as i thought it would. that day was also fascinating because speaker-elect bob livingston, here is a guy who was supposed to replace newt gingrich. he was the speaker designate. he had to step down that day, that day. and i want to play a clip of you from that day responding to all of this. >> i believe the president firmly believes that the politics of personal destruction in this town and this country has to come to an end and it has to stop soon. and in that spirit, the president's wish is that representative livingston would reconsider the decision he announced on the floor today.

go back to that letter he wrote bill clinton on inaugural day 1993. this is bill clinton had ended his political career. he defeated him. george h.w. bush was, he was a sensitive person. he was not in great shape at that point, but he assured bill clinton, as clinton was coming in, you don't have to worry about criticism from me. you're my president, too. >> felipe, on that note, andrea mitchell reading that letter top of the show. there's a distinction between governing and campaigning. they were there after hurricane katrina. traveled to haiti after what happened there. explain that. this is a transcendent -- >> i don't know about explain it but overall it's fascinating at the last two people you would ever think to get together, someone who beat someone else for the presidency would ever become close, but when they left, when president clinton left office and right around, it started with the tsunami with them asked by president bush to be, to take that on, president clinton was so excited by that. whenever i was around the clintons, i mean, presid

, hillary clinton,jimmy obama, bill clinton, hillary clinton, jimmy carter and his wife ju5t clinton, jimmy carter and his wife just off i think. it is a real pantheon of american dignitaries and american leadership but also global leadership that has come to pay tribute, a5 leadership that has come to pay tribute, as we have been saying for the last few minutes, of a passing not just of an the last few minutes, of a passing notjust of an era but of a generation a generation that served in the second world war with george hw bush the last president to have served in the military and become president of the united states. you look at those three leaders, obama, carter and clinton, and you wonder what they are thinking about the pa55ing what they are thinking about the passing of this generation. bill clinton perhaps reflecting on that extraordinary letter that george herbert walker bush wrote him on the day of his inauguration in 1993. your success is day of his inauguration in 1993. your success is our success, day of his inauguration in 1993. your success is our success, he wrote. th

just give us a second there we've got barack obama michelle obama bill clinton hillary clinton and if the camera does plan right hopefully it will ripples out you'll see a president jimmy carter there as well as the remaining living presidents up there george w. bush kimberly will join them i saw him at the top of a little before and he's delivering the eulogy today george bush george w. bush not a man we've seen that much old in post-presidential lost in the simply a momentous day for him a huge occasion to deliver such an important unity. there's no question that after living such a public life the family following their presidencies live very much in privacy in texas where in fact george w. bush as father will be laid to rest following the service he will travel there what's significant about all of this is the fact that there were this is only the second family in u.s. history the adams family being the other series of presidents where it was father and son and so this eulogy will be unique in that regard given the fact that often there were times that there was a bit of tension b

in 1992 he lost to bill clinton becoming a one-term president. >> i had my chance. i gave service to this country, and now, i'm perfectly content to let history be the judge. >> george bush enjoyed an active retirement full of grandchildren, fishing, even sky diving. and he saw his eldest son become president, but he kept his advice to a minimum and his son charted his own course. bush was no stranger to partisan politics, but he aspired to a higher idea as when he teamed up with bill clinton on global relief efforts. >> you can be political opponents and still work together for something more important than your own political future. >> a former president for decades, he saw granddaughter jenna bush haguer become a today show correspondent. >> what is a.g. like? >> better than the alternative. >> he saw them turn away from the bush brand it represented. >> excuse me. one second. >> no. >> rejecting son jeb's bid for the presidency. >> so tonight, i'm suspending my campaign. >> and survived his wife of 73 years, barbara bush and welcomed an outpouring of affection f

we mentioned bill clinton defeating george h.w. bush in 9 1992. one of the reasons he was able to do that was that decision to go back on the read my lips, no new tax promise. he made that in the 88 campaign. he cut a deal to do it in 1990. he called it a mistake on the campaign trail in 1992. a generation later in 2014 he ended up being awarded a profile in courage award from the kennedy library in boston. it seemed as a candidate and a president he never learned how to talk about that. what is your sense? did he always think that was the right thing to do? >> he did. he actually got a fax from richard nixon during the transition in december of 1988 where nixon offers him -- which nixon did to a lot of his successors, offered a lot of advice. one was to go ahead and break the pledge and get it over with, get the deficit under control. bush wrote back saying that he'd be dead meat if he did it that quickly. but he did signal -- actually in a conversation with michaay -- signalled that he thought he might have to break the pledge. so he was always

i also wanted to ask about his leadership with bill clinton -- his relationship with bill clinton that comes after, of course, he lost to bill clinton. but there was this graciousness and the letter that he wrote to bill clinton that was in the oval office desk that said you are our president. we'll be rooting for you. and then they go on to have what is a pretty good friendship. >> well, you know, there was a period there after the election in 1992 where president bush was very gracious in the transition, enormously so, wrote that beautiful letter. but he was bitter for a while, angry, at sea a bit after being rejected by american voters. he had expected to win that race. not at the very end, but i think he was surprised that bill clinton beat him. it took some time for that to heal, and i think two things made that. one is he and clinton got to know each other, especially after clinton also left the white house. also, once george w. bush was elected president, any bad feeling that president bush had, i think, got washed away by pride in his son. dana: tell me how he approached being

it's easy to forget, but bill clinton was in real danger of being pushed out of office. many of his fellow democrats were furious with him. >> let justice be done though the heavens fall. >> they came to the white house like the republicans did with nixon in 1974 and said time's up, that would have been it. >> but clinton, the ultimate come back kid. >> i never should have misled the party. >> i will continue to do all i can to reclaim the trust of the american people and to serve them well. >> his behavior may have been reprehensible, but he was hardly the threat to the republic that impeachment was designed for. the american public agreed. the democrats scored a shocking upset in the mid-term elections, gaining seats in the house. >> the lewinsky issue didn't carry any weight. >> newt gingrich who predicted a republican victory. >> we hava chance to win startling victories. >> he lost his job as speaker. >> impeachment is a two-edged sword. you may intend to use it against your enemy, but it could hurt you even more politically. >> president clinton was thrilled, think

we mentioned bill clinton defeating george h.w. bush in 1992. one of the reasons he was able to do that was that decision to go back on the read my lips, no new tax promise. he made that in the 88 campaign. he cut a deal to do it in 1990. he called it a mistake on the campaign trail in 1992. a generation later in 2014 he ended up being awarded a profile in courage award from the kennedy library in boston. it seemed as a candidate and a president he never learned how to talk about that. what is your sense? did he always think that was the right thing to do? >> he did. he actually got a fax from richard nixon during the transition in december of 1988 where nixon offers him -- which nixon did to a lot of his successors, offered a lot of advice. one was to go ahead and break the pledge and get it over with, get the deficit under control. bush wrote back saying that he'd be dead meat if he did it that quickly. but he did signal -- actually in a conversation with michael dukakis during the transition, a man he defeated in 1988, he actually signalled t

in 1992 he lost to bill clinton becoming a one-term president. >> i gave service to this country. and now i'm perfectly content to let history be the judge. >> george bush enjoyed an active retirement full of grandchildren, fishing, even sky diving. and he saw his eldest son become president, but he kept his advice to a minimum and his son charted his own course. bush was no stranger to partisan politics but he aspired to a higher ideal as when he teamed up with bill clinton on global relief efforts. >> you can be political opponents and still work together for something more important than your own political future. >> reporter: a former president for decades, he saw a granddaughter jenna bush hager become a "today" show correspondent. >> aging is all right. better than the alternative. >> reporter: he saw republicans turning a away from the bush establishment. rejecting son's jeb's bid for the candy. and he survived his wife barbara bush and welcomed an outpouring of affection for her. theirs was the longest marriage in presidential history. george bush was admired as a man of d

leave it out on the desk to bill clinton. it looks a little lonely sitting there. >> president clinton still has the letter. >> dear bill, when i walked into this office just now, i felt the same sense of wonder and respect that i felt four years ago? there will be very tough times made even more difficult by criticism. you may not think it's fair. i'm not a very good one to give advice, but just don't let the critics discourage you and push you off course. i'm rooting hard for you. good luck, george. >> that 1993 letter from george h.w. bush to his successor displayed grace and dedication to national unity. that quite frankly seems alien in today's 41 and 42, bitter rivals during the 1992. close friendship, even a love as president clinton put it. even alleviating suffering both the u.s. and abroad. more on this friendship, cnn national correspondent suzanne malveaux. it's somewhat rare, and even rarer that the loser of friends, the winner, explain how one time political and ground through humanitarian causes. >> sure, ana.

bill clinton did reach out to george h.w. bush at key moments of national crisis or international decisions. donald trump has not done so. >> john, stand by. jim acosta is there at the national cathedral. you watching all these amazing pictures as we all are. what are you hearing? >> reporter: i just wanted to add to what you were just talking about with john king. that is i talked to a source close to the president. president trump earlier this morning who said the bush family was very gracious in inviting president trump, first lady melania trump to the services this morning. there was another outreach in the truce between the bush and trump families. that is when president trump selected brett kavanaugh for the supreme court. one of the first people that he called to notify the world of this decision that he had made was the former president george w. bush, bush 43. bush 43, the bush family took that as something as an olive branch according to the source close to president trump. it was very well received. i think that al

bill clinton spoke at richard nixon's funeral. ordinarily the sitting president would be one of the speakers and in this case, obviously, no presidents were invited to speak. the president who spoke was speaking as a son. s >> you think social security going to get worse? >> it's possible. shakespeare would say it has to get worse before it gets better. i think there's something very healthy what we saw of just being reminded not just that it's been bad before and gotten better and there are cycles in our history but that things do bring us together and then values that are shared are abiding. >> do you think it's like the world war i scene at christmastime where french and germans got together and sang christmas carols together and then went back to killing each other. >> i hate to think we're in a world war kind of moment. it feels that way sometimes. i also think the values that were being talked about today. the values of service and sacrifice and humility and of being willing to admit to your errors as well as exhalting your

plus the fact that bill clinton just his downfall. plus the fact that bill clintonjust seem to his downfall. plus the fact that bill clinton just seem to have a little bit more spirit and vision, perhaps, when he was elected. president trump, who of course is a republican as well, although of a very different kind to that of george hw bush, said in a statement, he praised george bush'sjudgment, common—sense and unflappable leadership, as he put it, also, the former president, barack obama, said america had lost a patriot and humble servant and the former us secretary of state, james baker, who served under george hw bush, said the legacy of george hw bush will be forever etched in the history of america and the world. david willis reporting and we have more reaction throughout the programme in response to the death of george bush senior, who died aged 94. theresa may has suffered another major blow to her hopes of winning the backing of mps for her brexit deal after another cabinet resignation. the universities and science minister

hillary clinton, bill clinton elected -- that is our modern history. those are people who basically shared and fought hard for their places in history and obviously are here to honor one of the great men of our times and two people in the front row won the popular vote. al gore and mrs. clinton didn't win the presidency. we have a unique system. this is the ultimate insider game. all the people are there around american politics for a long time. the president who sits on the final person to come in here, george h.w. bush is the ultimate outsider. it is a very fascinating observation and what makes our democracy so unique and wonderful. >> bret: chris wallace, your final thoughts before we get ready to listen in for the whole service. we aren't going to talk a lot at all through all of this as the hearse arrives at the cathedral. >> i have to say i was struck when president trump and melania trump came to the front row that it was as if a chill had descended on that front row. you had seen a lot of chatty talk between the clintons and obamas, the carter