Four decades after their first meeting, a former Florida Republican Party Chair is remembering a politician turned friend.
"He was my hero in so many ways," says Al Cardenas.
Cardenas worked under the senior President and recalls how George W. Bush first introduced him to his father George H.W. Bush in 1978 when the congressional candidates were tapped as Republican National Committee standouts.
While he didn't approve of every decision Bush made, the conservative says he always admired his demeanor.
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He believes 41 leaves behind a legacy that will endure: "You could say by in large whether it was in foreign policy or physical policy he conducted himself well and the nation benefited from it."
Cardenas feels in his passing, America will hold President Bush in a higher regard, especially now as divided as we are.
"We need to get back to more respect for one another, more understanding of our differences, and he certainly was one of the last major figures in America to do it in such a pronounced way," says Cardenas.