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The First Yalie Takes His Last Bow
January 2, 2009

The most famous living Yale alumnus exits the world stage this month. It will be a long time—if ever—before the world stops talking about his performance.

To mark the end of Yale's two decades of White House occupancy, the Yale Alumni Magazine has started a web archive of alumni commentary about the Bush presidency. On these pages, you'll read things that were written about Bush in our magazine and elsewhere by journalists, commentators, and alumni. “Yale Anecdotes” features recollections and insights on the president’s time as a student at Yale. “The Candidate and his Opponents” includes observations about Bush and his Yale-bred rivals, most notably John Kerry '66. “Performance Reviews” and “Foreign Policy” include commentary from Elis about Bush’s policies and performance. “The White House 35th” features accounts of the Class of 1968 reunion at the White House in 2003. “Eli Pundits Weigh In” is reserved for Yale alums in the ranks of professional punditry. And “About that Honorary Doctorate” recalls the contrasting opinions about the degree Yale bestowed on the president a few months after he took office in 2001.

We invite you to add your thoughts to these pages. Send your comments about any of these aspects of the Bush presidency to alumnimag@yale.edu.  

Related

Intro

About That Honorary Doctorate …
“Yale’s neglect of the father led to instant recognition of the son, the worst president in American history. So two wrongs do make a right?” —Mark Taylor '61

The Candidate and His Opponents
“Yale was wasted on John Kerry '66 because he was too preoccupied with getting ahead. It was wasted on George W. Bush '68 because he was so busy falling down.” —Jacob Weisberg ’86

Eli Pundits Weigh In
“For Bush, the problem with law is that it is supposed to apply equally to everyone."—Strobe Talbott ’68

Foreign Policy
“At the end of the day, Bush may be the last neoconservative in office.” —Fareed Zakaria ’86

Performance Reviews
“I fail to see much difference between George W. Bush and Bernie Madoff other than that Madoff was smart enough to keep up his charade longer.” —James M. Unger ’75PhD

Yale Anecdotes
“What does the song say? ‘The shortest, gladdest years of life?’ Well, they really were for George.” —Clay Johnson ’68

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