BUSH FAMILY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “George H.W. Bush can perform one last, posthumous service to his country this week by orchestrating a rare moment of unity and a short-term truce in the rancorous politics swirling around the crisis-stricken Trump presidency. The remains of the former president, who died at home in Texas on Friday [11-20-18] night at 94, will be brought to Washington on Monday [12-3-18] to allow the nation to bid farewell to a man whose one-term presidency looks better with each year that passes. The ex-commander-in-chief will lie in state at the US Capitol ahead of a state funeral service in Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday [12-5-18] that will see a meeting of the world’s most exclusive club — that of former presidents. For a few days, a building showdown over a possible partial government shutdown may ease, and the increasing threat posed to the Trump presidency by special counsel Robert Mueller could fade into the background. Despite antipathy between the Bush family and President Donald Trump, the 41st president made clear he wanted America’s current leader to be at the funeral, putting the institution of the presidency above personal animosities.”
–Stephen Collinson, “Why George H.W. Bush wanted Trump at his funeral,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, December 4, 2018 12:37 am