JFK gave me the impression that he was a dynamic, young, take charge type of a president, and Jimmy Carter seemed too plain and folksy. George H.W. Bush presented a very different picture. He may not have had the presence like JFK, but neither did he appear to be just a "good old boy" like Jimmy Carter. George Bush 41 (he was our 41st President) had the unmistakable bearing of a statesman. He was not stuffy or formal, on the contrary, he was plain! Yet, there was definitely an aura of importance about him. He just seemed very "presidential," although at the time I met him he was the Vice President, not the President.
In August of 1984 I had been in Guayaquil, Ecuador with the U.S. Consulate General for about nine months. That year, Ecuador elected a new president, Leon Febres-Cordero, a good friend of the U.S., and a personal friend of the U.S. Vice President George Bush. In August the inauguration ceremony took place in Quito, Ecuador's capital, and various dignitaries were invited to attend, among them, George Bush.
Ecuador, as lovely as it is, is basically a backwater country where few if any VIPs ever visit our diplomatic posts. Having served in Tokyo and Athens prior to Guayaquil, it was refreshing to be at a place where we were not constantly besieged with VIPs, CODELs (Congressional Delegations) and such and we could concentrate on doing our jobs, rather than babysitting and playing tour guides. Hardly anyone ever came to the Embassy in Quito, so Guayaquil, a constituent post, almost never got VIP visitors.
As the inauguration ceremony unfolded on television, we watched it with some amusement. It seems that, smaller the country, the greater the pomp and formality in their ceremonies. You would have thought it was the crowning of the Emperor of the Roman Empire or something, not just an inauguration of the president of Ecuador! We were also relieved that we didn't have to worry about any VIP visits! But we were wrong! No sooner the TV was turned off when we received a call that Air Force Two with the Vice President of the United States would be stopping in Guayaquil in a few hours for refueling!
Well, we hardly ever had anyone of high rank visiting Guayaquil. The last "important" figure to appear in Guayaquil was CIA's Director of Latin American Affairs. He came on an unofficial visit to meet with one of his old friends, a former Ecuadorian politician. But that was it, mostly we had visitors from the State Department who were of Brigadier or Major General level in civilian rank. So, a visit from a Vice President was not only totally unexpected, but something that we were completely unaccustomed to having at post. At the time, the Consul General was absent from post, so I was temporarily the acting principal officer. So, Del Junker, the Admin Officer and I made the best arrangements that we could, contacted the Ecuadorian officials and had the VIP room at the airport reserved and prepared.
A small three person delegation from Guayaquil's Consulate General rushed out to the airport, myself, Del Junker, and his assistant the General Services Officer. It was a hot, humid and windy evening when the Air Force Two landed and taxied close to the terminal and the VIP room. We walked over to the planeside and I met George Bush 41, welcoming him to Guayaquil. Bush appeared genuinely surprised that we came out to meet him! He apologized for causing inconvenience for us! His apology took me completely by surprise, so much so that for a second I didn't know how to respond. I ended up by saying something to the effect that "it was not a problem," or something equally inane as I shook his hand! The photograph that I posted on FB was taken at the moment when I was responding to his apology! If I look somewhat flustered in the photo, you know why!
We, together with Secret Service and other members of Bush's staff walked over to the VIP room to wait while Air Force Two was being refueled. Inside, George Bush 41 once more apologized for disrupting our normal routines. He pointed out that he had been a head of mission and knew full well what a pain it was to have VIPs pop in. Bush was our first head of mission to China after we normalized relations with PRC, so he indeed knew very well how disrupting the visitors can be to a post!
It was interesting that all his staff members, especially the Secret Service, absolutely loved him. The head of his Secret Service detail told me that Bush 41 was the nicest person he knew, always concerned about the welfare of those who worked for him, always trying not to impose on his staff! Quite a difference from what I heard of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter's behavior with their staff!
By the way, Air Force Two is the very same plane that is called Air Force One when the President is flying in it. When the Vice President uses the plane, it becomes Air Force Two. When the Secretary of State or Defense use the plane, it drops the "Air Force" moniker all together. That's what I was told then, it may be different now.
Four years after our meeting in Guayaquil, George H.W. Bush was elected the 41st President of the United States. I was in Paraguay at the time, but I was very happy to see him reach the Presidency. Bush 41 struck me as being a very decent man. I know he was surrounded by controversy in some cases, but like all presidents, he did not know everything that was going on during his presidency. The American public seems to think that because the president is in charge, he should know everything that is going on. That is impossible, especially given the size of our government!
As I said earlier, he had an aura of a statesman about him. It gave you confidence, made you think that he would always try to do the right thing. Indeed he did try to do the right thing during his presidency. It was partly because of his refusal to get involved in mud slinging during his reelection campaign that he did not get reelected. Perhaps he would not have won anyway, but it certainly would have increased his chances. But he refused to stoop to that level. That was how he was and how he was described by everyone who knew him.
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