Nikki Haley For Vice President?

Remember this tweet?

It’s finally dawning on him who has the biggest incentive to see him impeached. https://t.co/0uvuNZ0ue3

— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) November 16, 2018

Vanity Fair says replacing Pence really is being looked at: 

On Monday, Trump hosted a 2020 strategy meeting with a group of advisers. Among the topics discussed was whether Mike Pence should remain on the ticket, given the hurricane-force political headwinds Trump will face, as demonstrated by the midterms, a source briefed on the session told me. “They’re beginning to think about whether Mike Pence should be running again,” the source said, adding that the advisers presented Trump with new polling that shows Pence doesn’t expand Trump’s coalition. “He doesn’t detract from it, but he doesn’t add anything either,” the source said. Last month, The New York Times reported that Trump had been privately asking advisers if Pence could be trusted, and that outside advisers have been pushing Nikki Haley to replace Pence. (Read the article here.)

Of course replacing Pence wouldn't change the structural reality that any vice president, no matter how loyal, has the most to gain if the president leaves for any reason. 

And speaking of replacing a vice president, how's this for a counterfactual "What if?" During coverage of the Bush funeral David Gergen told a fascinating story. Apparently way back in 1956, President Eisenhower gave serious thought to replacing his vice president, Richard Nixon. According to Gergen one of the candidates to replace Nixon was Senator Prescott Bush, father of George H.W. Bush. Think about how different history could have been if, in 1960, instead of outgoing Vice President Richard Nixon who ran against Senator John Kennedy, it was outgoing Vice President Prescott Bush. In reality Nixon lost a very, very close election to Kennedy. In our counterfactual history would Prescott Bush have been a more appealing candidate than Nixon? Probably. Could he have beaten Kennedy? Possibly. 

How would things have been different? Would President Bush (35) have handled the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as Kennedy did? Would he have sent us to the moon? To Vietnam? He almost certainly wouldn't have been in a motorcade in Dallas in November, 1963. Would he have been reelected in 1964? Possibly.

And what about his son and grandson? George H.W. Bush was 37 in 1961, his son George W. was 15. How would their career paths been different if Prescott Bush had been president in the 1960s? There's no way to know but isn't it fascinating to contemplate? 

Priyanka Chopra And Nick Jonas

Issue dated December 17, 2018: Priyanka and Nick's Wedding

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#NickJonas and #PriyankaChopra open up about their "emotional" wedding. Tap the bio link to see more stunning photos and get all of the details on their five-day celebration in India. | 📷: (c) Purple Pebble America, LLC and NJJ Entertainment, LLC 2018. Photographs by @JoseVilla/Getty Images

A post shared by People Magazine (@people) on Dec 4, 2018 at 3:09am PST

People goes with a celebrity wedding this week, downgrading former president George H.W. Bush to a small headline in the top right corner. I'd be less surprised about this if John McCain hadn't gotten the full Dead Celebrity treatment a few weeks ago. I'd love to have been in the room this week when the editors decided between the dead president and the celebrity wedding. Fourteen years ago, Ronald Reagan also got a full Tribute cover:

Issue dated June 21, 2004



Last year at this time it was still all about newly engaged Meagan:

Issue dated December 18, 2017


Two years ago the Obamas were front and center, which gives me an opening to point out, again, that in the 25 months since the election, People has completely ignored Melania.

Issue dated December 19, 2016

The Guessing Game - Updated

What will be on the cover of People this week? My guesses:

George H.W. Bush: The former president died Friday night and several days of ceremonies will start tomorrow. Senator John McCain got a full main cover story when he died a few weeks ago...



... and I'm expecting the former president will be given the same tribute.

Other possibilities:

Quentin Tarantino: Married
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas: Also got married over the week-end
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: Reached a custody agreement
Meghan and Kate: Supposedly they're "feuding," I think it's much ado about nothing
Michael Cohen: Donald's former personal lawyer has been lying to Robert Mueller, before former president Bush died, that was the big news of the week
Christmas at the White House: The decorations are really strange
Carole Middleton: Kate's mother has given her first interview

Stories that appear on the new cover will be highlighted in green.

Update on Tuesday morning. Click here to see the new cover, featuring Priyanka's wedding.

More about 41

From @jmeacham's 2015 Bush biography. https://t.co/ykrg3eBeOy pic.twitter.com/qmizBfWLgS

— Michael Kruse (@michaelkruse) December 1, 2018

Because he knew what it was like to lose:

An absolutely amazing story @jamiegangel told on @CNN just now— the first person to call Al Gore after it was announced W Bush won, was his father George HW Bush. Not to gloat, but because he knew what it was like to lose. Incredible.

— Kristin Donnelly (@kristindonnelly) December 1, 2018

Always loved this George H.W. Bush moment from 2013, when he shaved his head at 89 in solidarity with the young son of a member of his Secret Service detail who was battling leukemia at the time pic.twitter.com/zlsquDZBWR

— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) December 1, 2018

The Death Of A President - Updated

Fair winds and following seas, Sir. We have the watch. pic.twitter.com/GdGoBmvKKx

— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) December 1, 2018

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Our hearts go out to Sully, who just lost his best friend. Sending ❤️ to @sullyhwbush and the Bush family.

A post shared by WeTheDogsDC (@wethedogsdc) on Nov 30, 2018 at 9:26pm PST

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Two honorable men right here. I first met George H.W. Bush in 1983 when I was a young official White House photographer for President Reagan and Bush was his Vice President. I remember you could always hear Bush’s knee clicking when he was walking from his office in the West Wing to the Oval Office. You’d hear the clicking before you’d even see him coming down the hall. During those years in the 1980’s, I observed a man who treated people with respect and kindness. And many years later, he treated President Obama with respect each time they interacted. I know President Obama respected him too. In 2011, President Obama awarded President Bush the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “We honor George Herbert Walker Bush for service to America that spanned nearly 70 years, from a decorated Navy pilot who nearly gave his life in World War II, to U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, from CIA director to U.S. envoy to China, to the vice presidency (and the presidency)," President Obama said at the ceremony. "His life is a testament that public service is a noble calling." RIP 41

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Nov 30, 2018 at 9:56pm PST

I was surprised when I saw that Donald is planning to attend the funeral and I wonder how the Bush family feels about it:

Downside of a state funeral, there's no protocol to disinvite the current head of state. https://t.co/Nf1RdWxc64

— David Frum (@davidfrum) December 1, 2018

When Barbara Bush died I wrote this...

I would add that our two 93-year-old former presidents, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, are probably horrified at the thought that they could potentially be eulogized by Donald Trump. Hopefully both have many years of life ahead of them but if not, I'm guessing that both families are already strategizing how to tactfully disinvite Trump from speaking. (Read the entire post here.)

... and when John McCain's family began to plan his services I wrote this:

[I]f either of our nonagenarian former presidents should pass away during the current president's term, the Bush or Carter families would probably be strategizing about how to disinvite him from speaking at the funeral. Apparently the McCain family is having similar thoughts. Not only do they not want Trump to speak at Senator McCain's funeral, when that day comes, they don't even want him at the service...

And one more thing. The McCains may have given the Bush and Carter families some political cover. If the funeral for one of our former presidents should take place during Trump's term, the family involved can follow the McCains' lead and inform the White House that their plans include the VP, or whoever, but not the president. Done. (Read that post here.)

Was I wrong about that? Does designating the service to be a "state'' funeral, which is customary for a former president, require or guarantee the presence of the sitting president? Is there any way for the Bush family to get around that? The thought of Donald preening and smirking his way through 41's funeral makes my skin crawl. I can only imagine how the Bushes feel. They may be too gracious to say so publicly but my bet is that they would prefer that Donald stay home and I can't imagine they will invite him to speak. My guess for speakers? 42, 44 and possibly James Baker.

And one more thing:

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This brought me such comfort this morning. I had the opportunity to talk with my grandpa about the afterlife. This is what he said: ​He answered without any hesitation. “Yes, I think about it. I used to be afraid. I used to be scared of dying. I used to worry about death. But now in some ways I look forward to it.” And I started crying. I managed to choke out, “Well, why? What do you look forward to?” And he said, “Well, when I die, I’m going to be reunited with these people that I’ve lost.” And I asked who he hoped to see. He replied, I hope I see Robin, and I hope I see my mom. I haven’t yet figured it out if it will be Robin as the three year old that she was, this kind of chubby, vivacious child or if she’ll come as a middle-aged woman, an older woman. And then he said, “I hope she’s the three-year-old.” Robin was the daughter this giant of a man lost years before to leukemia. The little girl he held tightly: who spoke the phrase I have heard Gampy repeat for my entire life, forever knitting Robin’s voice into the tightly woven fabric of our family: “I love you more than tongue can tell.”

A post shared by jennabhager (@jennabhager) on Dec 1, 2018 at 4:21am PST

Update. I was wrong. According to Politico, the Bush family is fine, at least publicly, with Donald attending the funeral, although I'm still assuming they won't invite him to speak:

But many of the family’s confidants said Saturday former President George H.W. Bush wished to put that all aside when it came to Trump attending his funeral.

“If anybody at anytime knew anything about the 41st president of the United States, they would completely and totally understand that he would welcome the current occupant 100 percent,” said an aide in the office of the former president. “This is the way the country says goodbye to presidents.” Read about it here.

Spare a thought for Barack and Michelle Obama, who will be stuck sitting next to the Trumps in the first row of the cathedral.

Update #2, on Sunday afternoon. Four years ago I wrote a short post about presidents dying; it included this:

I'm interested in presidential history, and the death of any president is a milestone in our country; a time for grief and reflection, and it doesn't happen that often.

In the last 70 years, two presidents have died in office: FDR on April 12, 1945, followed by JFK on November 22, 1963. Prior to 1945, the last president to die was Calvin Coolidge, in January, 1933. After Roosevelt and Kennedy, there have been seven additional presidential deaths:

October 20, 1964: Herbert Hoover
March 28, 1969: Dwight Eisenhower
December 26, 1972: Harry Truman
January 22, 1973: Lyndon Johnson
April 22, 1994: Richard Nixon
June 5, 2004: Ronald Reagan
December 26, 2006: Gerald Ford

Presidential history geeks know that eight presidents have died in office, four by assassination and four due to natural causes. In addition to John Kennedy, presidents Abraham Lincoln (1865,) James Garfield (1881) and William McKinley (1901) were assassinated; in addition to Roosevelt presidents William Henry Harrison (1841,) Zachary Taylor (1850) and Warren G. Harding (1923) died of various illnesses. (Read the entire post here.) 

Sunday night, update #3: 

Sully, former president Bush's trained service dog, stands, or, well, lies, watch over his casket:  

View this post on Instagram

Mission complete.

A post shared by Sully H.W. Bush (@sullyhwbush) on Dec 2, 2018 at 6:07pm PST

And a little more about Sully:

Sully was President Bush’s service dog who worked with the president after Barbara Bush died. According to @CNN’s @jamiegangel, Sully will be traveling with Bush on Air Force One tomorrow. Eventually, Sully will likely go back to helping veterans at Walter Reed. What a good dog. https://t.co/gdjYuAWISD

— Kate Bennett (@KateBennett_DC) December 3, 2018

Update #4 on Monday morning. More about why Donald is invited to the funeral, from People.com:

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump plan to attend George H.W. Bush‘s funeral — and according to a presidential historian who knew Bush, the former president included Trump in order to not “stiff a sitting president.”

Douglas Brinkley, a Rice University history professor and author, tells PEOPLE that Bush’s decision was motivated by his reverence for the office that he once held.

“For Bush 41, Trump is the president, and he does not want to stiff a sitting president, so in his own way, it is magnanimous that he is having Melania and Donald Trump come,” Brinkley says of Bush, who died at age 94 on Friday. (Read the article here.) 

Update #5, Monday night. Sully arrives:

Sully arrives#Bush41⁠ pic.twitter.com/BfXyA69c8a

— Breaking911 (@breaking9111) December 3, 2018

Update #6 on Tuesday morning. It took a few days but we're finally getting the real story about why the Bushes are being so nice to Donald. They wanted to make sure he signed-off on their elaborate and expensive funeral plans. Presumably they also wanted these intriguing tidbits to stay secret, at least until all the ceremonies are over and everyone is back in Texas. The Bushes famously value loyalty; you can bet they're not happy with whoever leaked this stuff to the Washington Post:

A person close to funeral planning told the Post that while the family had pure motives in inviting the Trumps, they also wanted to ensure the funeral was carried out according to the family’s wishes, including the use of Air Force One to carry his remains to and back from Washington, D.C. (From Talking Points Memo, read the article here.) 

Imagine the scene at Kennebunkport: 

Jeb: "I don't want that degenerate pig at Dad's funeral."

W: "C'mon, bro. We have to be nice to him or he won't let us use the plane."

They promised Donald no one would say mean things about him at the funeral:

Three current and former administration officials said there had been deep frustration in the White House over the anti-Trump tone of the Sept. 1 funeral for McCain, which Trump did not attend. One senior administration official said Trump’s reaction to the criticism was “almost paralyzing for a week,” and officials have been assured that Bush’s funeral would be different. (Read the WaPo article here.)

As I recall, no one at John McCain's funeral directly criticized Donald, or at least his name was never spoken. They just said a lot of nice things about the senator and the contrast with the current president was obvious. After John McCain's funeral, I wrote this:

A good chunk of the most important people in government, past and present, were at the Cathedral yesterday to honor John McCain and his service to our country. (Donald was golfing, see above.) Will a similar congregation show up for Donald's funeral? (I doubt it.) Would anyone of stature be willing to speak over Donald's casket? (Don't make me laugh.) Whoever happens to be president at the time would probably submit to hemorrhoid surgery to get out of giving that eulogy. The former presidents will probably hightail it out of the country the moment it becomes evident that Donald's funeral is imminent, and not return until he is safely in the ground.

What about Donald's children? Could Don Jr. or Eric deliver a speech as moving and heartfelt as Meghan McCain's? Could Ivanka or Tiffany? (Short answer: No.) As I've said here before, no one at Donald's funeral will be able to stand up and tell stories about times when he was heroic, inspirational or courageous, because there aren't any. Anyone who even implies that Donald was any of those things at any time in his life will be laughed out of the funeral parlor. The whole thing will be superficial, perfunctory and, frankly, pathetic. (Read the entire post here.) 

No one will criticize Donald at 41's funeral. They won't have to. The contrast will be crystal clear. 

Is Barbara Bush Getting Married? - Updated

photo credit: Getty Images

Maybe. Page Six speculates with this intriguing item, posted last night:

New York society types are buzzing after mysterious invitations went out for a "celebration" of former First Daughter Barbara Bush and her under-the-radar relationship with her actor beau of under a year, Craig Coyne.

The invites offer few clues about what will happen at the event next Friday night at a luxe Tribeca loft -- they read: "Join us to toast Barbara and Craig."

Read the story here. 

Monday morning update: The rumors were true. Barbara Bush did get married over the week-end, as announced by her grandfather's service dog Sully: 

View this post on Instagram

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I’ve never seen my best friend so happy #newfamilymember 📸 @paulmorsephoto

A post shared by Sully H.W. Bush (@sullyhwbush) on Oct 7, 2018 at 8:13pm PDT

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So honored to photograph the wedding of Barbara Bush and Craig Coyne at Walkers Point in Kennebunkport, Maine. @barbaritabush @verawanggang . . . #southernbride #southernwedding #southernweddings #southernweddingphotographer #nolaweddingphotographer #weddingphotography #weddingphotojournalist #paulmorsephotography #luxuryweddingplanner⠀#destinationweddings #destinationweddingplanner #destinationweddingphotographers #destinationweddingphotography ⠀#neworleansweddingphotographer #neworleanswedding #neworleansweddings #nolawedding #neworleansbride #southernwedding #funwedding #tietheknot

A post shared by Paul Morse (@paulmorsephoto) on Oct 8, 2018 at 5:29am PDT

People.com also has the story, labeled "Exclusive" and including what appear to be some quotes given directly to the magazine. (Read it here.) Will this story be on the cover of the new issue? My guess? Yes.

Monday evening, update #2: I've now read a bit more about Barbara Bush's wedding and I'm struck by how quickly it was put together. According to People, the wedding was planned in a very quick five weeks, and the couple just met last November. Barbara's grandfather, the 41st president, is 94 and I admit I find myself wondering if there could be a health issue that influenced the timing of the wedding. Just a thought. 

A Nice Moment - Updated

I'd like to think that moments like this between W. Bush and Michelle Obama are what McCain was hoping for. pic.twitter.com/vYE3A46Ity

— Brenna Williams (@brennawilliams) September 1, 2018

Monday morning update: It was a cough drop:

(cough drop) https://t.co/kRkcvXgwHQ

— Freddy Ford 🆒 (@kyfredchicken) September 1, 2018

According to CNN, Freddy Ford is a spokesman for George W. Bush. 

Happy Birthday!

On October 13, 1992 the Bush family celebrated the 200th anniversary of the laying of the White House cornerstone by burying a time capsule filled with items like a White House Christmas Ornament and a flag that flew over the White House, seen here being presented by servicemen. pic.twitter.com/4gUAl5OZSt

— White House History (@WhiteHouseHstry) June 12, 2018

This tweet doesn't mention it but today is President Bush's 94th birthday, the first he'll celebrate without Barbara by his side. He's the first president to reach that age; Jimmy Carter will join him on October 1. 

The New Royal Baby

Issue dated May 7, 2018: The Royal Baby


The new royal baby gets the main cover story, no surprise, and People even rushes the cover out a day early. There's a nice picture of the Bushes, too, although the story inside may be sadly out-of-date now that we know the former president is hospitalized in critical condition.

The Guessing Game post

Last year at this time: Issue dated May 8, 2017

Attending The Funeral - Updated

photo credit: David J. Phillip/AP, taken at Lady Bird Johnson's funeral in 2007

On the day of Barbara Bush's funeral, the Washington Post does a deep-dive into the phenomenon of current and former First Ladies attending each other's funerals:

In 1979, Pat Nixon joined her husband at the funeral of Mamie Eisenhower. But first lady Rosalynn Carter also attended, solo, despite having only met Eisenhower once. It’s Carter’s apparent gesture of solidarity that seems to have codified the convention, according to the library.

A few years later, Carter attended the funeral of Bess Truman, along with Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford. Nixon’s 1993 first lady funeral delegation fell along party lines (only fellow GOP first ladies Ford and Reagan attended), though probably by accident. Jacqueline Kennedy had requested a small, family-oriented service, but in 1994, Lady Bird Johnson and Hillary Clinton still made the cut.

Five first ladies attended Johnson’s funeral in 2007, and four each went to Ford’s and Reagan’s. (Barbara Bush missed Reagan’s funeral but attended the burial.)

Four first ladies came to Houston on Saturday to honor Bush: Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, daughter-in-law Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton. Carter, 90, is recovering from surgery and was unable to attend. (Read the article here.) 

The article doesn't mention it, but there's also a traveling band of presidential daughters that attends First Lady funerals. That's Caroline Kennedy sitting next to Mrs. Bush in the picture above; Caroline was in Houston today, too, along with Lynda and Luci Johnson, Susan Ford, Chelsea Clinton and Tricia Nixon. Amy Carter, daughter of Rosalynn, and/or Patti Davis, daughter of Nancy Reagan, may have been there too but I didn't spot either of them.

And what about Melania? What was she thinking as she listened to the tributes for Barbara Bush? Was she struck by the contrast between the Bush family and her own? I certainly was. Was she struck by the contrast between the degenerate pig she's married to and the kind, thoughtful, devoted husband and gentleman that was seated to her left? I certainly was.



Was Melania considering what might be said about her at her own funeral? Was she anticipating what might be said about her husband during the garishly tacky gangster's funeral that will serve as his final sendoff from this world? Perhaps. (I certainly was.) As I'm writing this post, I assume Melania is on an Air Force plane, winging her way home and soon to be face-to-face with her husband. After a day spent surrounded by museum-quality authenticity, dignity, grace, service to country and overwhelming demonstrations of genuine love from family, friends and former political opponents, can you imagine what it would feel like to be going home to Donald Trump? I certainly can't.

Sunday morning update: An historic picture from yesterday, with lots of interesting dynamics about who is, and who is not, there, and note that I'm not referring to the Carters, the only other living presidential couple. Jimmy Carter is out of the country and Rosalynn is recovering from surgery. I've seen several comments from people noting that in this picture, and the one above, Melania seems a lot happier and more at ease with these people than she usually appears to be with her husband. As I'm writing on Sunday morning I'm still pondering how wretchedly awful it must have been to have to go home to Donald Trump.

photo credit: @PaulMorsePhoto

Sunday afternoon, update #2: Great minds think alike? I don't know anything about Benjamin Hart, but his article about this picture, at NYMag.com, had thoughts similar to mine, and no, I hadn't read his article when I wrote the paragraph above:

It must be said, though, that the warm and fuzzy feelings engendered by the picture were thrown into particularly sharp focus because of the president who wasn’t in it. And we don’t mean Jimmy Carter. Read it here. 

Monday morning, update #3: Still thinking about presidential funerals. I like this tweet from Matthew Yglesias: 

One has to pity the future president who will be called upon to deliver a tasteful eulogy for former president Trump.

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) April 22, 2018

I would add that our two 93-year-old former presidents, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, are probably horrified at the thought that they could potentially be eulogized by Donald Trump. Hopefully both have many years of life ahead of them but if not, I'm guessing that both families are already strategizing how to tactfully disinvite Trump from speaking.