The Legacy of a President; the Legacy of a Man

Now that President Obama is in the last quarter of his presidency, he is focusing on his legacy.  A nuclear agreement with Iran.  Relations with Cuba.  Obamacare.  But a president’s legacy is more than just his policies; it’s also the kind of a person he, and someday she, is.

Here is an example of a president’s legacy that is perhaps more important than any issue or policy.  In late October 2008, Army Ranger Rob Yllescas was gravely injured in Afghanistan by a homemade bomb.  While doctors worked to save his life, Rob was transferred to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, near Washington, D.C.  There, on November 10, 2008, President George W. Bush donned a surgical mask to visit Rob and award him a Purple Heart.  Rob’s wife, Dena, was there when President Bush visited, but Julia, their seven-year old daughter, was not.  Three weeks later, Rob passed away.

Recently, Dena told Nebraska Congressman Jeff Fortenberry that Julia wished she had been able to meet President Bush that day in 2008.  As Congressman Fortenberry writes in his weekly Fort Report, contacts were made, and President Bush agreed to meet with Dena and Julia.

But President Bush and Laura did more than just meet with Dena and Julia, and Julia’s little sister Eva, who was an infant back in 2008, and Dena’s new husband, John.  The Bushes spent thirty minutes talking with them.  The Bushes didn’t ask for a contribution to their foundation, they just did it – out of love for this family, and out of respect for the Army Ranger who was their father and husband.

Acts like this are an important part of the legacy of a president – and of any person.