George H.W. Bush will go down in history as “one of the most successful presidents of all time,” former secretary of state James Baker predicted Sunday.
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” Baker, who was with the 41st president when he died Saturday, lauded his leadership as “extraordinarily consequential.”
“He will be remembered as our most successful one-term president and perhaps …one of the most successful presidents of all time,” Baker said.
“[That] he managed the end of the Cold War so that it ended with a whimper and not with a bang was really incredible,” Baker noted, adding “the unification of Germany and peace as a member of NATO, the coalition he put together to reverse Iraq's aggression in Kuwait, ending the wars in Central America — which had been the holy grail of both the left and the right… he'll be well-remembered by history and well-treated by history.”
Baker called Bush’s death “a very gentle passing,” recalling his poignant last words to his son former President George W. Bush as “I love you too.”
He also related a poignant moment of his own with his longtime friend.
“This last Friday I went over there at 7:15 in the morning — I live right near — to see how he was doing,” Baker recalled. “One of his aides said, ‘Mr. President, Secretary Baker is here.’ He looked up, he opened both eyes, he looked at me, he said, ‘Where are we going?’ I said, ‘We're going to heaven, Jefe (chief),’ and he said, ‘That's where I want to go.’
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