There’s a new biography on preppiest president George HW Bush, written by none other than his son, the other George Bush. Father and son are pictured above.
The Washington Post has an excerpt and review here.
OK, so 41 was wearing sack suits and striped watchbands when Reagan’s look was what Paul Fussell calls “LA County chutzpah,” but was he a good president? — CC & CS
[yop_poll id=”42″]
No President is ever entirely good or bad; they’ve all done things I approved of, and things I didn’t. But that’s natural.
Bush 41 was courteous to others, nonideological, pragmatic. An institutionalist. I didn’t like his politics, but I liked him as a person. That makes him, if nothing else, at the middle of the pack.
Much better than his son.
Like that boatneck sweater. Would like one without the letter on the chest.
Ethan,
I commend your comment. I wish that I heard more political discussions with comments like that.
Agree with RJK,very much better than his son.
P.S.
Of course,not a ivy guy,but Reagan was not bad dressed.
41 was the real deal. Great resume.
Paul Fussel (and Julia Child and General Patton) were all born in Los Angeles County.
@Roy R. Platt
Paul Fussell and Julia Child were both born in Pasadena, which is hardly representative of Southern California.
Both Julia Child and Gen. Patton were the children of privileged families and left Southern California as soon as they graduated from high school.
Fussell left as soon as he graduated from college.
In short, none of the three were typical Southern Californians.
And of course “The Graduate” is set in Pasadena.
I lived in nearby Glendale and went to Pasadena regularly (in part for my table tennis club!) It really is preppier there.
I live in Pasadena now and have before. I suppose it is as close as you can get to an eastern suburb, and I do find some similarities with the village where I grew up on Long Island. And I am thankful for that. But that similarity has diminished over the past 30 years. And, this holds true for its sister city, San Marino, which is where the Patton family lived. There used to be at least three wonderful traditional Ivy clothiers here: Bill Winn and the Andover Shop (yes, same name), both on Huntington Drive in San Marino, and Atkinson’s on Lake Avenue. All gone now, as are many purveyors of other goods that would have been a part of a culture of restraint and reasonably good taste. They just couldn’t survive. In the end, the problem is that even though its Pasadena, you’re still in bloody LA.
@ A.E.W. Mason
Isn’t the Huntington Library in San Marino keeping some of the old ways going?
@RJG
Yes, the Huntington Library is still wonderful in so many respects and yes, it does reflect and cultivate some of the positive aspects of the area.
@A.E.W. Mason
Sir,
I don’t know if you coined the phrase “culture of restraint”, but it’s a phrase that I’ve been looking for. It nicely sums up my approach to life. Thank you. I would like to modify it as a description of my sartorial approach: Restrained Ivy.
@Restrained Ivy
Sir,
In response: Well, thank you, but I suspect that term has been used before. But, “restraint” is a word that is often called upon when discussing our current age, which I think is one of exaggeration.
General Patton’s family lived next to Henry Huntington’s house (now the Huntington Library). There are pictures at the Huntington Library showing the Huntingtons and their neighbors, the Pattons, together.
The original “Graduate” book was set in Pasadena. The film was filmed elsewhere.
http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/g/graduate.html#.VHPIiL4-CWw