Absolutely true- she could be a monster, and of course I might never know. I do not know the woman. But as I said, she never embarrassed me as an American, <appeared> to be a class act while at the same time being a pretty normal human without any false airs or facades that so often seem to surround people who have occupied her position.
Further, I have a lot of respect for what may well be 'The greatest Generation' and it has nothing to do with politics. As a baby- boomer, I believe that generation was tougher, far more grounded, based in reality instead of the illusions surrounding reality (i.e., the goal was to be safe and comfortable in a respectable, modest home while my generation and later seem to think that the goal is really how many square feet of granite counter-top a house has that counts). They bore tremendous, almost unbelievable pressures and situations in the great depression and WWII, rose to both occasions and not only made it through but made things better in the end. Then they benefited from the rapid, almost equally unbelievable economic boom and expansion of the post- war period without losing that grounded, practical inner self. They had a certain minimum level of behavior that resulted in a level of decency that is just not present today and has not been around for several decades now IMO.
And they are mostly gone now, with the ones that remain leaving us at a tremendous rate. And frankly, it makes me a little sad because it is like saying goodbye to a most impressive group of people, again, at least IMO. Those people such as Barbara Bush are merely the most visible 'tip of the iceberg' and perhaps, people who rose up a little higher, bore their own situations a little bit better than some others; beyond surviving, she and quite a few others rose up as leaders that were respectable and if nothing else, at least put on an excellent display.
I mentioned Bob Dole in a similar way a while back and just so it does not appear that these thoughts have any kind of political angle, one of my all- time heroes was Daniel Inouye, who served on the other side of the aisle. Read the citation given him when he received his Medal of Honor and see if that 'flesh and blood' man does not make Superman seem a little wimpy.
Brian
<snip>
... although you could say similar about Bill Cosby. (until recently)