In his very good biography of George Bush, Destiny and Power, Jon Meacham tells how on winning the nomination of the Republican Party for President of the United States he received a telephone call from the New York businessman Donald Trump asking if he could join the ticket as the Vice Presidential nominee. Bush swiftly despatched the request, which he considered ridiculous, and dismissed it out of hand. Trump never forgot the snub and it may well account for the vicious treatment he meted out to Jeb Bush years later in the primary contests of that season.
The death at 94 of George H W Bush, 41st President of the United States of America, closes a remarkable chapter in American and world politics. Mr Bush is the last American leader to have fought in World War Two, to be a member of what Americans refer to as the Greatest Generation. He served in various elected and appointed public offices throughout the Cold War and he had the unique responsibility as President to preside over its demise.
