George H.W. Bush et George W. Bush: une relation unique

Ce duo père-fils à la présidence n'était que le second de toute l'histoire américaine, n'ayant été précédé que par celui de John Adams et de John Quincy Adams. Si depuis quelques années les deux hommes sont proches et que leur relation est harmonieuse, dans le long terme elle fut aussi marquée par la rivalité. Les frasques de jeunesse de W. sont bien documentées et il peinait à être à la hauteur des attentes d'un père dont la réussite était écrasante. Parmi leurs nombreux désaccords il y a bien sûr la gestion de la guerre en Irak, le fils allant à l'encontre des conseils du père. Le New York Times nous propose ici un beau topo sur l'évolution de cette relation. Je souligne que ce sont les funérailles du père et que le fils prendra la parole pendant la cérémonie. Je serai un téléspectateur attentif.

 "By the time George W. Bush left office in 2009, the 41st and 43rd presidents could finally put the burdens of public life behind them and focus on the things that parents and children focus on when the parents grows older. They relaxed with each other in Texas and Maine unaccompanied by a military aide with the nuclear codes. They shared the joy of family weddings and births, and fretted over health problems. They talked about funeral plans.

“There was probably an easing,” said Mark K. Updegrove, a historian who spent time with both men in recent years as he worked on “The Last Republicans,” his book on the two presidents. “It was probably an easier relationship in a lot of ways.”

“Let’s face it,” he added, “43 being president was difficult for both of them in some respects. And while neither of them put undue burden on the other, there were still underlying tensions given the nature of the situation. I think it was much easier in the post-presidential years.”

 In a way, the two were finally at perfect parity, both former presidents in retirement. “It returned to the relationship they had when neither one of them was president but now they had had the shared experience of both having been there,” said Karl Rove, the first employee of the elder Mr. Bush’s earliest presidential committee and later the architect of the younger Mr. Bush’s campaigns."

 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/us/politics/george-w-bush-family.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage