Truman compared to Poppy Bush -- in retirement

[HamdenRice]

As every DUer knows, Poppy Bush has spent much of his retirement making a fortune as a speaker (including in Saudi Arabia) and as a board member of the Carlyle Group, a consortium that includes arms manufacturers that have profited handsomely as a result of junior's never ending "war on terror."

I came across the Wikipedia entry on Harry Truman and was astounded by this paragraph on Harry Truman's retirement:

Former members of Congress and the federal courts received a federal retirement package, and it was President Truman who ensured that servants of the other branches of government received similar privileges. Truman decided that he did not wish to be on any corporate payroll, which reflected his view that to take advantage of such a benefit would diminish the integrity of the nation's highest office. It cannot be said, however, that he foreswore all attempts to "cash in" after leaving office, as he received the then-record sum of $600,000 as an advance on the publication of his memoirs. Despite this windfall, Truman had small means for his early post-presidential years because he had not chosen to extend federal retirement benefits to the presidency itself. In 1958, the Congress passed the Former Presidents Act, offering a $25,000 yearly pension to each former president, primarily due to Truman's financial status. The one other living President at the time, Herbert Hoover, also took the pension though he did not need the money, reportedly to not embarrass Truman.

[Yollam]

1. Clinton has also made a fortune in retirement. So what?

I will resist the temptation to comment on the darker side of Truman's legacy, since the comparison is between him and spookmaster scumbag Poppy.

[MissWaverly]

2. there is no comparison

I knew a guy that went just to look at the Truman residence back in the 60s, he said that
Harry Truman came out to get the paper in his pajamas and bathrobe, shook his hand and
went back inside with the paper, I would like to see Poppy Bush do that.

[HamdenRice]

3. A beautiful story and in character ...

Even as president, he was known for his "morning constitutional" of walking around the block without a big security presence.

[MissWaverly]

4. we have very few presidents who have been this aloof

remember how obsessed they used to be with the poll numbers, how will it play in Peoria????

[LSparkle]

5. The thing that bugs me is that Poppy is the ONLY ex to receive briefings

from CIA, etc. This was mentioned around the time of Rice's testimony about the "PDB" and it was reported that all ex-presidents are entitled to them; only Poppy gets them. WHY? (Rhetorical; of course, to keep his Saudi friends informed!)