'George Bush was absolutely the best': former VP Dan Quayle pays tribute to his late boss

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Dan Quayle pays tribute to former President George H.W. Bush

Former Vice President Dan Quayle on the life and legacy of former President George H.W. Bush on 'Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.'

Former Vice President Dan Quayle paid tribute Sunday to his late boss, President George H.W. Bush, calling the country’s 41st president “a great individual” who “loved his country.”

Speaking on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Quayle said that Bush, who died Friday, will be remembered for both his accomplishments while in the White House and for his devotion to the United States.

“George Bush was absolutely the best,” Quayle, the 71-year-old former vice president said. “He was a great individual in my opinion; he was a great president.”

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The former vice president added: "He loved his work. He loved the country. And it was such an honor for me to work with him every single day that he was president."

Quayle’s words on “Sunday Morning Futures” echoed those of an opinion piece he penned for the Wall Street Journal shortly after Bush’s passing in which the former vice president recalled the help the late president gave him during their term in office. Quayle wrote that Bush’s character – and the fact that he himself served as President Ronald Reagan’s vice president – helped make their relationship while in office such a positive force.

“Vice presidents don’t always stay on the best terms with the presidents they serve,” Quayle wrote. “What starts out as partly a political calculation, the selection of a running mate, is by no means certain to mature into warm friendship. In our case, what made all the difference was a few choices we made early—and the character of Bush himself.”

On “Sunday Morning Futures,” Quayle added: “The man, George Bush, was very good to me.”

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George H.W. Bush died Friday at the age of 94, and about eight months after the death of his wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush.

"Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died,” Bush's son and former president, George W. Bush, said in a statement. “George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41's life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens."

George H.W. Bush was known for his gentlemanly demeanor, dedication to traditional American values, willingness to take on foreign despots like Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Panama's Manuel Noriega, and presiding over the breakup of the Soviet Union.

"He got things done," Quayle said on Sunday. "The Berlin Wall came down, Eastern and Central Europe freed from the yoke of Communism, Apartheid in South Africa was eliminated, success in putting Saddam Hussein back into Iraq, Noriega apprehended. He did so many things in a short period of time."

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During his life, Bush served as a congressman, an ambassador to the United Nations and envoy to China, chairman of the Republican National Committee, director of the CIA, two-terms as vice president and, finally, president.

Air Force One was being sent to Texas to transport Bush's casket to Washington, where his body will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda. The public can pay their respects from Monday evening through Wednesday morning.

Bush will be buried Thursday on the grounds of his presidential library at Texas A&M University at the family plot next to his wife Barbara, who died in April, and their 3-year-old daughter Robin, who died in 1953. The Bush family is still arranging funeral services, but the White House said President Trump and first lady Melania Trump plan to attend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.