Bush Sr.'s Christmas Spirit

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/16/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

George Bush, the former president and the father of the president-elect, told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that he feels no animosity toward President Clinton (who booted him from office in the 1992 election) nor a sense of revenge now that his son won over Democratic opponent Al Gore. "Do I hope something bad happens to President Clinton?" said Bush. "No, I really don't. He's been through a lot. The country's been through a lot. Let's heal and forget." The elder Bush also defended his son against often-pointed remarks (on shows ranging from "Saturday Night Live" and Jay Leno's and David Letterman's programs to news commentary hours) that the younger Bush is not intellectually capable of being the leader of the free world. "Do you think if a guy was dumb he would have been elected governor of the second-biggest state in the nation by 70 percent of the vote?" asked his dad. (For other news of the Bush family, see PASSAGES.)