Fmr Pres George H.W. Bush: Romney Best – Stable, Experienced, Principled

Mitt Romney enjoys a visit with former President George H W Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush in their Houston, TX home. The Bush pooches, Bibi and Mimi made an appearance. Dec 1, 2011 (Photo AP/Pat Sullivan)

Music to our ears…

Less than two weeks before Iowa Republicans make their crucial caucus choices on the night of Jan. 3, George H.W. Bush offered words of support, if not an official endorsement, to an old friend, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

“I think Romney is the best choice for us,” former President Bush told the Houston Chronicle this week. “I like Perry, but he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere; he’s not surging forward.”

Bush said he had known Romney for many years and also knew his father, George Romney, a former Republican governor of Michigan who ran for president in 1968.

Bush said he supported Romney because of his “stability, experience, principles. He’s a fine person,” he said. “I just think he’s mature and reasonable – not a bomb-thrower.”

President Bush 41 is not a big Gingrich fan:

Bush’s words of encouragement for the former Massachusetts governor also come at a time when the party establishment – of which Bush is the elder statesman – seems to be increasingly alarmed about the possibility that former Speaker Newt Gingrich might get the nomination.
[...]
Choosing his words carefully, the former president said he knew Gingrich relatively well. “I’m not his biggest advocate,” he said.

“I had a conflict with him at one point,” Bush recalled, alluding to the crucial moment in 1990 when a recession drove him to renege on his “no new taxes” pledge. He needed a bipartisan group of party leaders, including then-House Whip Gingrich, to stand with him.

“He was there, right outside the Oval Office. I met with all the Republican leaders, all the Democratic leaders,” Bush recalled. “The plan was, we were all going to walk out into the Rose Garden and announce this deal. Newt was right there. Got ready to go out in the Rose Garden, and I said, ‘Where’s Gingrich?’ Went up to Capitol Hill. He was here a minute ago. Went up there and started lobbying against the thing.

(emphasis added) Continue reading here.

President Bush, we appreciate your praise for Governor Romney and your insight on Newt Gingrich.

Note: Governor and Mrs. Romney attended the spectacular Points of Light Gala honoring President George H. W. Bush last spring (March 20, 2011) at the Kennedy Performing Arts Center.

► Jayde Wyatt