Surreal History – Bush & Clinton in Canada

It was perhaps the most interesting thing to happen in months, but did you even hear about it? Two men took to a stage Friday night in Toronto. One was elected to office on a pledge to end the morally toxic climate he believed the other had created during his White House tenure. And just a decade earlier, that other man defeated his stage mate’s father in a bruising campaign for the presidency, and then proved one of his most dedicated and vocal critics throughout his presidency. These two titans of American public life had spent the last two decades as the most influential figures in US politics. But on this night, as the first man put it, their titles and policies fell by the wayside – it was just “The Bill and George show”. And what a show it was – for the two legends on the stage in front of 5,000 in Toronto were none other than former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

While you would have needed to lay down at least two hundred (some paid as much 2,500) dollars to have a seat in the Canadian hall to hear these former chief executives discuss global policy, I can’t help but think it would have been worthwhile. The even, hosted by a Toronto financial powerhouse, had a lot of folks wondering whether the two might come to verbal blows. After all, it would be difficult to find a pair more polar opposite ideologically and in their experiences. Instead, they were quite civil – you could almost bandy the term friendly if it struck your fancy. Instead of attacking, they defended each other. On Darfur, Bush went to Clinton’s defense. Discussing fighting global Aids, Clinton praised his successor. Where they disagreed – gay marriage, the Iraq war – they were also loathe to take it to a personal level. The night presented a tremendously compelling new chapter of political history.

Although it seems an eternity ago, if you strain your memory hard enough you can almost hear the sounds of the year 2000. Governor George W. Bush of Texas rode a wave of popularity in his homestate to the Republican nomination for President and held a steady polling lead over his opponent. Bush represented something new – he would marry the conservatism of Reagan and Gingrich to an interest in traditionally Democrat issues of Social Security reform and education. He was fresh faced, born again, and heir to a political brand that suddenly looked like a needed change. It beckoned so strongly because eight years of Bill Clinton’s presidency had left the nation in great economic shape, but feeling more than a bit tired of character lapse and scandal in the White House. In an erie parallel to the Obama campaign of 2008, George W. Bush ran far more against William Jefferson Clinton than against Al Gore Jr. Bush was relentless in his message that the Clinton years had sullied the nation, and he could bring the change Americans needed. Three debates, two conventions, and an October DUI surprise later – Bush beat both Gore and Clinton. It was the narrowest margin in the history of history, but a win it was.

What a difference eight years makes, and how quickly we forget. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will always represent markedly different things, but it bears note that the job of President is so grueling and difficult that these men see in each other one of the few people on planet earth who could ever really understand what the other has been through.