Water Cooler

'I am rooting hard for you,' George H.W. Bush tells Bill Clinton in 1993 letter

By Brianna Chambers and Cox Media Group National Content Desk

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 21: Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush attend the Points of Light Institute Tribute to Former President George H.W. Bush at The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts on March 21, 2011 in Washington, DC.

By Brianna Chambers and Cox Media Group National Content Desk

A letter addressed to Bill Clinton from George H.W. Bush is gaining attention online after it was made public.

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Bush, who served as president from 1989 to 1993 and lost to Clinton in the 1992 presidential election, wrote the letter to Clinton in January 1993 as he was leaving office and Clinton was preparing to take over.

"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," Bush wrote.

According to Hillary Clinton, Bush left the letter in the the Oval Office for Bill Clinton, who saw it when he walked into the office for the first time as president.

"You will be our president when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well," Bush wrote. "Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you."

Hillary Clinton said the letter "moved (her) to tears."

"They had just fought a fierce campaign. Bill won, President Bush lost," Hillary Clinton wrote in a post on social media in June. "In a democracy, that's how it goes. That's the America we love. That is what we cherish and expect."

According to Politico, it is traditional for an outgoing president to write a letter to his or her successor.

"What I love about the letter is here is a moment where George Bush has every reason to hate Bill Clinton," author Brad Meltzer told ABC News in 2011. "It is the end of a bitter campaign, and instead, what George Bush does in this moment, is he puts our country above his own personal feelings."

Bill Clinton served as president from 1993-2001.

You may have noticed a letter that went viral on the internet this week. The letter is from George H.W. Bush’s presidential library. I hadn’t read it in a long time, until yesterday. It moved me to tears, just like it did all those years ago. It’s the letter that President Bush left in the Oval Office for my husband, back in January of 1993. They had just fought a fierce campaign. Bill won, President Bush lost. In a democracy, that’s how it goes. But when Bill walked into that office for the very first time as President, that note was waiting for him. It had some good advice about staying focused on what mattered, despite the critics. It wished him happiness. And it concluded with these words: “You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well. Your success is now our country’s success. And I am rooting hard for you. George.” That’s the America we love. That is what we cherish and expect.

A photo posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on

During the third presidential debate on Thursday, moderator Chris Wallace asked Republican nominee Donald Trump if he would accept the results of the election should he lose.

"I will look at it at the time," Trump said. "I'm not looking at anything now. I will look at it at the time."

"There is a tradition in this country – in fact, one of the prides of this country – is the peaceful transition of power and that no matter how hard fought a campaign is, that at the end of the campaign, that the loser concedes to the winner," Wallace said. "Not saying that you are necessarily going to be the loser or the winner, but that the loser concedes to the winner and that the country comes together in part for the good of the country. Are you saying that you are not prepared now to commit to that principle?"

Trump remained vague in his answer, saying he wants to "keep (Americans) in suspense."

Read Bush's entire letter to Bill Clinton below.

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

Cox Media Group

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