Why the Bush-Obama letter was a big deal
If things were right in America, the letter from the Bush girls to the Obama girls would be no big deal. But they aren’t, so it was.
Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, daughters of George W. and Laura Bush, wrote a letter to Malia and Sasha Obama this week, prompting a collective “awwww” from the internet.
The letter was graceful, generous, caring, magnanimous – and devoid of even a whiff of rivalry or politics. The Bush daughters, as members of the same tiny sorority of First Kids as the Obama girls, were empathetic like almost no one else could be.
“We have watched you grow from girls to impressive young women with grace and ease,” they wrote.
“You have listened to harsh criticism of your parents by people who had never even met them. … As always, (your parents) will be rooting for you as you begin your next chapter. And so will we.”
Such a simple expression of support. And yet, so striking, because with our public discourse at shamefully low levels, reaching across the aisle is a foreign concept.
To the Bush daughters, though, they weren’t reaching across the aisle so much as putting an arm around the shoulder.
This story was originally published January 13, 2017 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Why the Bush-Obama letter was a big deal."