George H.W. Bush funeral in Washington: Watch live
Former world leaders and presidents will attend Bush’s funeral today—and Brian Mulroney will deliver a eulogy. Watch it here.
Visitors gather before a State Funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the National Cathedral, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. (Photo by Andrew Harnik – Pool/Getty)
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Former U.S. president George H.W. Bush died at 94 last week. Today, world leaders past and present will join former U.S. presidents at a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney will deliver a eulogy. Watch the service here at 11 a.m. ET.
Maclean’s correspondent Allen Abel was in Washington when Bush’s casket lay in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. He wrote that “every tribute seems a rebuke to Trump.” Here’s an excerpt:
Bush went to war with Saddam Hussein but spared the tyrant’s life and rule, only to see his son and successor throw away the lives of thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, squander the sympathy of the world, and enflame the Cradle of Civilization in a vain and vainglorious attempt to finish the job.
In much the same way, Bush Senior’s defeat by Bill Clinton in the “it’s the economy, stupid” election of 1992 has gone down in history as the necessary downfall of a detached oligarch at the hands of a sax-happy Baby Boomer. But, late in his life and even more pointedly since his death—his last words were “I love you” to George W.—the 41st president has grown to become an icon of conscientious service, physical courage, and, as he liked to say, “a kinder, gentler nation,” as if such a fairyland ever really has existed.
“The Thousand Points of Light. What the hell was that by the way?” Trump sneered—typically—at a rally in Montana in July, mocking Bush’s famous appeal to charity and community service. But the 45th president, and his First Lady, did spend two silent minutes in the Rotunda later Monday night.
Read the rest of that piece here.