How George HW Bush Almost Died...

Not in that silly tandem skydive last Friday to celebrate his umpty-umpth birthday. No, in the one on June 12, 2001. And not by accident. If Jeb hadn't stolen Florida for Dub-ya in 2001, removing Poppy would have become a preferable outcome to many of his associates to his continued breathing. See, '41', or 'HW', or 'Poppy', whatever you want to call him, knows where most of the bodies in DC are buried. From his days as the head of the CIA, to his ambassadorship to China at the beginning of our great sell-out to them, and then of course disappearing in mid-campaign in 1980, to chat it up with Iranians about arms-for-hostages (and for a Reagan Presidency) at the hotel the Ayatollah had stayed at until he and his students took American hostages for 444 days. Then, there's all the fixes he was involved in while he was 'out of the loop' on the culmination of the Iran-Contra deals he'd started back in Paris off the campign trail. No wonder he preemptively pardoned everyone in his Administration on the way out of town in January 1993. At that point, he still had clout in the GOP, and especially in the boardrooms of the companies that'd benefitted from his policies for so long. And with Coors and Bradley and Scaife money keeping Clinton pinned down defending Arkansas from Ted Olsen and the Elves, no one in the White House had a chance to look over the records from the Reagan-Bush years. After all, the real point of the Elves wasn't just to keep Clinton from moving forward, but also from looking back. But Poppy's power and influence began to fade after 8 years. But the toxicity of the secrets he knew couldn't fade. His conspirators were still in office, still in boardrooms, and of course, the chance that the truth about Reagan's election, as well as about Iran-Contra, ever sullying the Great Prevaricator's legend, could not be tolerated. So, in an act not just of holding power, but of self-preservation, Poppy maneuvered to get one of his boys (the two that don't have felony convictions)  elected president, from either Texas (Dub-ya) or preferably Jeb in Florida. Think how horribly wrong the seating of Gore would have been for Poppy, with Florida the electoral tie-breaker. Dub-ya becomes a political non-entity for at least eight years, maybe forever after his petulance at his loss makes the national papers. And the fact Jeb couldn't deliver his own state to his brother, his family, his party, would have ended his political future in the GOP right there. The presidentcy of Al Gore, despised by all Republicans, and supported by a majority of the voters, would be laid squarely at the door of the Bush family. Leaving no more favors to hand out, either from a former president or his two governor-sons. And while his sons didn't know anything about Poppy's backroom dealings, Poppy would have needed to be taken out before he let anyone in on those goings-on, as some sort of life insurance. Which is why I would have bought a ticket to that tandem jump in June 2001 if Dub-ya hadn't been coronated. And which is why the Poppy fought so hard from the back room to get his boy coronated when he didn't win. It was a matter of life and death.