While we got our first glimpse Friday of some of the 24 paintings former President George W. Bush would be displaying at his presidential library in Dallas, Texas, Reuters photographer Brandon Wade has now snapped some pictures of many more.
Bush, who took up painting as a hobby after he left office, is showing off his collection at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in an exhibit titled “The Art of Leadership: A President’s Personal Diplomacy.”
Inside the exhibit, which opened on Saturday, are 24 portraits of world leaders — all of whom, Bush says, have never seen them before.
Take a look:
Visitors are first greeted with a self-portrait of Bush himself, along with one of his father and 41st President George H. W. Bush.
Then there’s one of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Bush described on the Today Show as a “person who in many ways viewed America as an enemy. I tried, of course, to dispel him of that notion.”
And another of Putin’s portrait, which is surrounded by photographs of the two world leaders together.Here’s one of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Each portrait has photographs and other memorabilia or gifts to accompany them.
This is former Australian President John Howard.
The Dalai Lama:
Another photographer caught this wall with four portraits, displaying (clockwise from top left) Latvia’s former president Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Ghana’s former president John Kufuor, France’s former president Jacques Chirac and Nigeria’s former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
Here’s former Czech President Vaclav Havel, above a signed note and gift.This portrait is of former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
The portrait of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is surrounded by photos of their various meetings. Bush said his portrait conveyed a strong and “passionate” person and a “reliable friend.”Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah is seen here.And German Chancellor Angela Merkel:Another wall displays four different world leaders, including (clockwise from top-left) Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, former French President (2007-2012) Nicolas Sarkozy and former South Korean President (2008-2013) Lee Myung-bak.Here’s former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.And Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
This wide shot shows many more paintings.And finally, it’s a portrait of former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez.
Dr. Ben Carson, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner and legendary neurosurgeon, is now in the spotlight for his keynote address to the National Prayer Breakfast on February 7. It’s not brain surgery to figure out why.
Most notable was his criticism of Obamacare, one of the worst federal laws in decades, and one which, before its complete implementation, is already destroying our economy on a massive scale. Dr. Carson, relying on decades of medical experience, proposed health savings accounts for every American, which would fix two enormous problems in our system today: (1) regressive intergenerational transfers of wealth, and (2) half of our country not having a skin in the game, not having invested in their own futures. HSAs would incentivize efficiency, which is completely lacking in today’s broken health care system. Our country is being bankrupted by the health care industry, and Dr. Carson has a solution that needs to be taken seriously.
Dr. Carson came under fire for these remarks; people called them political, or partisan. What is wrong with a physician sharing his perspective on health policy? Is it partisan just because this is President Barack Obama we’re dealing with, whom the media has seemingly vowed to protect at any cost? Dr. Carson’s wisdom should be heeded by policymakers in Washington on both sides of the aisle.
Rush Limbaugh, in his typically bombastic style, warned afterward, as interest grew in Dr. Carson’s ideas,that “The Obama campaign team is gonna get into gear if this guy keeps talking, and they’re gonna try to find ways to smear him and ruin his life and do to him what they did to Romney. That’s all they can do. They can’t beat him in the arena of ideas and superior intellect.”
It is a shame that Dr. Carson’s speech was considered only for its public policy content. The speech is full of wisdom on other topics, such as education, speech codes,and the importance of tithing.
Webb Simpson putts on the 18th green in the quarterfinal round of play against Hunter Mahan during the Match Play Championship golf tournament, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Marana, Ariz. Mahan won 1-up. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
MARANA, Ariz. (AP) — PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem threw a big wrinkle into the plan to outlaw the anchored putting stroke when he said Sunday the tour opposed the ban because there was not enough evidence to suggest players had an advantage by using a long putter.
“We hold the USGA in highest regard as a key part of the game of golf,” Finchem said. “We don’t attempt to denigrate that position in any way whatsoever. It’s just on this issue, we think if they were to move forward they would be making a mistake.”
The U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced Nov. 28 a proposed rule that would prohibit players from anchoring the club to their body, the method used for belly putters and broom-handled putters that are pressed against the chest.
Three of the last five major champions used a belly putter.
The governing bodies are nearing the end of a 90-day comment period before deciding whether to adopt the rule, which would not take effect until 2016. Finchem has been meeting with his players the last few months, with USGA executive director Mike Davis presenting the rule to a player meeting in San Diego last week. Finchem sent a letter to the USGA and R&A on Friday to state the tour’s position.
The PGA of America also opposes the ban.
“I think the essential thread that went through the thinking of the players … was that in the absence of data or any basis to conclude that there is a competitive advantage to be gained by using anchoring, and given the amount of time that anchoring has been in the game, that there is no overriding reason to go down that road,” Finchem said.
The long putter has become a polarizing issue in recent years, even though it has been around for the last four decades.
The USGA and R&A said they wanted to ban the anchored stroke because they felt it took too much skill out of the game. Its goal was to define the golf stroke as the club moving freely through the entire swing. They conceded in November there was no empirical data, only a recent spike in more players using long putters.
Finchem wanted to make clear that the PGA Tour was not in a “donnybrook” with the USGA over who sets the rules. Rather, he was responding to its request for comment. Even so, it puts the USGA in a position of going through with the ban or backing down because the PGA Tour opposes it.
Finchem has said over the last month that while slightly different rules for the PGA Tour are acceptable, he did not think anchoring would be one of them. And he did not indicate which direction the tour would go if the USGA followed through with the ban.
“I haven’t spent much time worrying about that,” Finchem said. “That would be speculation, and I haven’t really thought about it. I’ve thought more about some areas of bifurcation, whether it would work or not. But I think that the focus here ought to be, if possible, to go down the same road, everybody go down the same road on anchoring, and that’s certainly where we are right now.
“We just hope they take our view on it,” he said. “We’ll see.”
The USGA issued a statement that it is listening to “many productive conversations across the golf community” on the proposed rule.
“As we consider the various perspectives on anchoring, it has always been our position that Rule 14-1b aims to clarify and preserve the traditional and essential nature of the golf stroke, which has helped to make golf a unique and enjoyable game of skill and challenge,” the statement said.
The USGA said it would decide on the proposed rule in the spring.
The tour’s opposition to the anchoring ban was not surprising. Finchem met with his 16-member Player Advisory Council and policy board last week, and several players had indicated that the tour would go against the USGA.
Where it leads is still up in the air.
Finchem said the lack of empirical data was a problem, along with the fact golf’s governing bodies have allowed long putters over the last two generations of golf. He suggested that if the USGA had tried to ban the anchored stroke in 1975, not many would have protested.
“I think we could understand it if for some reason or another … it had negative results for the game of golf,” Finchem said. “We have to look at it from the standpoint of is it good, bad or indifferent for the game as a whole — professional level, amateur level — and we conclude that it’s not (a bad thing).”
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