Chelsea Clinton Says She Admires President George Bush

Chelsea Clinton. That’s not exactly the first name that comes to mind when you think of people who admire President George Bush, but according to a report in the Christian Science Monitor, she took a moment during a speech to express admiration for the Republican former president.

President George H.W. Bush, that is, the 41st president of the United States, whom her father successfully campaigned against in 1992 with his “it’s the economy, stupid” campaign. Clinton did not make any mention – good, bad, or indifferent – about President George W. Bush, the nation’s 43rd president and her father’s successor during her speech. In addition to expressing admiration for the first President Bush, Chelsea expressed appreciation for President Barack Obama’s student loan repayment programs.

According to an AP report, Chelsea was speaking at a Service Unites event sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation. The elder George Bush started the foundation to promote volunteerism in 1990, during the first year of his presidency. During her speech, Chelsea Clinton reportedly said this of George H.W. Bush:

“I have long been an admirer of President Bush partly because he, like my father, didn’t rest on his laurels after he left the White House. He very much believed that he still had something to contribute to our country.”

Former Presidents George H.W. Bush – who recently spent his 90th birthday parachuting with the Army’s Golden Knights -and Bill Clinton – who has recently been named America’s most forgivable liar – have, indeed, been active after their presidencies. On several occasions, they have appeared together to support bipartisan causes.

Chelsea’s words of admiration for President Bush came in the context of her speech promoting the value of volunteerism, in which she also said:

“It is in all of our interests to ensure that every young person in America who wants to serve is given the opportunity to serve. We often do think of service as only the ways in which the mayor is serving, in which my parents have served. Maybe we think of military service. But service clearly has an almost limitless definition determined by how each individual can make a difference in their community.”

Chelsea Clinton also pointed out the potential benefits of volunteering to the volunteers themselves, saying:

“They know that says the applicant is likely to be resilient, to be a leader, to have good team-working skills, all fundamentals to success in many different corporate environments.”

Tell us, do you share Chelsea Clinton’ admiration for volunteerism and for President George H.W. Bush?