BUSH FAMILY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The hilltop cathedral in Washington filled Wednesday [12-5-18] with recollections of George H.W. Bush as a modest but mighty president, a man whose characteristic humility was belied one final time with all the pageantry of a state funeral. ‘He valued character over pedigree and he was not a cynic. He looked for the good in everybody, and usually he found it,’ President George W. Bush told 3,000 political leaders and family members who congregated at the National Cathedral to say goodbye. ‘To us,’ the younger Bush said, ‘he was close to perfect.’ As Christian hymns echoed through the cathedral’s limestone arches, sung and played by military orchestras and choirs, there seemed to be more laughter than tears in the pews — a reflection of a long life lived in the company of good friends and family. His eulogists each captured the successive roles Bush played in his lifetime: World War II flyboy, statesman, friend and father.”
–Kevin Liptak, “Nation says goodbye to Bush: ‘To us, he was close to perfect’,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, December 5, 2018 3:54 pm