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No new taxes, it didn't help. >> thanks to senator bob dole for that conversation just before we came on the air tonight. john harwood, we talked with george mitchell about some of george h.w. bush accomplishme s accomplishments, the clean air act. one we didn't talk about was the nafta free trade agreement signed by bill clinton was negotiated under george h.w. bush and of course, on the day that he passed, the new version of that was being signed down at the g 20. how much of our free trading system is part of the legacy? >> a significant part. he was an internationalest and the passing of t...

Not out of arrogance, not out of altruism, but for the safety and security of our children. this is a fact. strength in the pursuit of peace is no vice. isolationism in the pursuit of security is no virtue. >> with that, i'd like to welcome in my panel. with me, msnbc contributor jon meacham, the author of "destiny and power, the american odyssey of george herbert walker bush." also with me washington bureau chief for the "usa today," susan page. the author of "the matriarch, barbara bush and the making of an american dynasty." and the former senate majority leader during george h.w. bush's pr...

Bush was elected to the oval office. >> can i say one thing at the risk of dorking out already. i don't think embittered is the right way. i think he was crushed and disappointed. i don't think he actually ever had a bitter bone in his body. i think that's generational. >> not to take this over, but i -- imbembitter may be the wro word. but he was mad at ross perot and also pretty mad at the press. he thought his press coverage wasn't fair and that that hurt him. >> certainly many politicians do, of course, have that. >> no, really? >> george mitchell, thank you for being here. i want to ask y...

And under jobs you don't want to have, chairing the rnc during watergate and after the church hearings. those were two jobs no politician who wanted a future would have ever taken. and it's remarkable that he was able to become president after taking each of them. >> it does speak to his character in that regard. john, or susan as well, did george h.w. bush have any regrets? he faces criticism for not doing enough on the aids crisis, for example. >> i ask him that a lot and what he came back to was, i shouldn't have said read my lips. and he believed that that is what cost him the presidency i...

Don rumsfeld who was not particularly enveloped with grace. >> george mitchell, please weigh in. do you think the deal you cut is what led ultimately to him breaking that no-taxes pledge that many credit with him losing the 1992 election? >> well, the statement you made at the republican convention, read my lips, no new taxes, was great politics with bad policy. he later regretted and changed his mind and agreed to a program, reluckantly. but it was a good budget agreement. it went through some changes from the time we began negotiations at that breakfast that john just referred to, but