Presidents’ Day and the Power of Unity

On the morning of January 20, 1993, President George H.W. Bush sat down at his desk in the Oval Office for the last time. Since he had failed to win reelection to a second term, he was preparing to attend the inauguration of his successor, Bill Clinton. But before he left the White House, he decided to pen a note to the man who would shortly replace him.

When Clinton took office that afternoon, he found the note waiting for him.¹ This is what it said:

Dear Bill, When I walked into this office just now, I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know you will feel that, too. I wish you great happiness here. I never felt the loneliness some Presidents have described. There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I’m not a very good one to give advice; but just don’t let the critics discourage you or push you off course. You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well. Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you. Good luck — George

We’ve been thinking about this letter as we approach Presidents’ Day. As you know, this holiday, which began as a way to celebrate the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln, has since become a celebration of all those who have served in our nation’s highest office.

We think it’s remarkable that Bush would take the time to write such a kind and thoughtful message to the man who had defeated him. He could very easily have said nothing. People would have understood. It also would have been easy to leave something nasty, sarcastic, or passive-aggressive. After all, Bush and Clinton were technically rivals. That would have been an unfortunate — but also very human — response.

But President Bush did not do those things.

Though he didn’t have to, though it wasn’t required of him, he thought it important to make the new president feel, as Clinton himself later said, “as much at home as he could.”² He decided to emphasize unity, respect, and goodwill over bitterness.

And that, to us, is the whole point of a day like Presidents’ Day.

As you know, there have been forty-five different presidents in our country’s history, across forty-seven presidencies. (Presidents Cleveland and Trump served/are serving non-consecutive terms.) These men were all very different, with different philosophies, styles, beliefs, opinions, and ambitions. That makes sense, because we are and have always been a country made up of different philosophies, beliefs, opinions, and ambitions.

But no matter our differences, all those presidents — and all of us — still have two things in common: A shared love for our country…and a mutual benefit whenever we place unity, respect, and goodwill above our differences.

President Bush’s letter established a tradition of leaving a note for the next commander-in-chief.³ As chance would have it, each president’s note has been to a member of the opposing party. Bush to Clinton, Clinton to Bush. Bush to Obama, Obama to Trump. Trump to Biden and back again. None of these men, it is fair to say, agreed very much with each other. But each chose to continue the tradition. Each chose to stress unity and goodwill over bitterness.

Our country is strongest when we emphasize these values. When we remember that even those who disagree can still show respect for one another.

While it’s not as important as Independence Day, or as hallowed as Memorial Day, we think this holiday is still a wonderful opportunity to exercise our patriotism…and to remember that what unites us will always be more powerful than what divides us. To paraphrase President Bush, the more each of us succeeds, the more we all succeed. And the harder we root for each other, the better off we all will be.

On behalf of everyone at Minich MacGregor Wealth Management, we wish you a happy Presidents’ Day.

¹ “Note from President George H.W. Bush to President Bill Clinton,” Clinton Digital Library, https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/101724
² “The letter George H.W. Bush left for Clinton is a lesson in grace,” CNN, December 1, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/01/politics/george-bush-bill-clinton-letter-trnd/index.html
³ “Letters left by U.S. presidents to their successors,” Ballotpedia, https://ballotpedia.org/Letters_left_by_U.S._presidents_to_their_successors