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Civility and strength: President Bush remembered by LI colleagues

<p>In the wake of his death, Long Islanders with ties to President George Herbert Walker Bush are reflecting on his life.</p>

News 12 Staff

Dec 1, 2018, 10:19 PM

Updated 2,211 days ago

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In the wake of his death, Long Islanders with ties to President George Herbert Walker Bush are reflecting on his life.
"He could make you feel like your opinion was the only one that mattered in the world to him. He was tremendous one on one," says political analyst Mike Dawidziak, who worked on Bush's 1988 and 1992 campaigns.
The walls of his Sayville office are decorated with memorabilia from the era, including notes Bush would famously leave for many of the people he met and worked with.
Former Nassau Legislator Bruce Blakemen worked for the 41st president in the White House as a part of his advance team. He called him a “real gentleman.”
“He was very thoughtful, but people should not be fooled and think that he wasn't a strong man. He was an incredibly strong man," says Blakemen.
For those who worked for his campaign and in the White House, they say that President Bush exhibited a level of civility that's absent from our current political landscape.
“How you dealt with your friends and your opponents in politics – all the civility started to go out the window after he left office,” says Dawidziak.
"Perhaps President Bush's legacy will be that maybe he's reminded the country that we operate better when we [are] unified,” says Blakemen.
President Trump says he will send Air Force One to Texas to transport President George H.W. Bush's casket to Washington.