Former Secretary of State Colin Powell had the highest praise for late President George H. W. Bush, as both a man and president. Bush died\u2026<\/b>
\nFormer Secretary of State Colin Powell had the highest praise for late President George H. W. Bush, as both a man and president. Bush died Friday at age 94.
Powell told ABC\u2019s \u201c This Week \u201d that the elder Bush was the \u201cperfect American.\u201d
\u201cI thought he was a perfect American in terms of how he served the country in so many different capacities\u2026 but throughout that entire period, he never forgot who he was. He never let it all go to his head. He was a man of great humility. He was humble,\u201d Powell said. (RELATED: Here Were George H. W. Bush\u2019s Last Words To His Family)
Powell also rated Bush as \u201cthe most qualified with respect to foreign policy.\u201d
The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff called Bush \u201cfar and away the best one-term president \u2026 and one of the best of all time\u201d in reference to Bush\u2019s extensive resume that included time in Congress as well as being director of the CIA. \u201cYou name it, he did it,\u201d Powell said.
Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell is interviewed in ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week,\u201d Dec. 2,2018. ABC News screenshot.
Powell said it was significant that Bush had served in the Second World War as a Navy fighter pilot who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross .
\u201cHe knew what combat was all about \u2014 he knew that combat was about the death of people, yours and the other side.\u201d The retired general noted that the Gulf War was all about a \u201cspecific mission\u201d and a \u201cprecise conflict.\u201d (RELATED: Here\u2019s A Look Back At George H. W. Bush\u2019s Life In Pictures)
Former U. S. Secretary of State Colin Powell salutes the audience. REUTERS\/Jonathan Ernst
When that war was over, Powell noted that Bush did not stand in front of the victorious troops at the welcome home parade. Neither did Bush openly celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 because he had been taught \u201cnot to be a braggart.\u201d
Powell summed the late president\u2019s life up as one of \u201cquality\u201d and \u201chonesty.\u201d
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