IN MEMORIAM

Former President Bill Clinton Shares Letter George H.W. Bush Left in Oval Office

‘No words of mine or others can better reveal the heart of who he was than those he wrote himself,’ Clinton said of Bush's letter in The Washington Post.

Former President Bill Clinton shared a letter his predecessor George H.W. Bush left before he took office, as part of piece in The Washington Post. “Dear Bill, When I walked into this office just now I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know you will feel that, too. I wish you great happiness here. I never felt the loneliness some Presidents have described,” the letter said. “There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I’m not a very good one to give advice; but just don’t let the critics discourage you or push you off course.” “Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you,” Bush’s letter to Clinton also said. “No words of mine or others can better reveal the heart of who he was than those he wrote himself. He was an honorable, gracious and decent man who believed in the United States, our Constitution, our institutions and our shared future,” Clinton said of Bush's letter in The Post. “His friendship has been one of the great gifts of my life…I cherished every opportunity I had to learn and laugh with him. I just loved him.”

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