And in no better way was that illustrated when the former President donned a Santa suit for a hospital visit in Dallas.
The 68-year-old was handing out toys at the Children's Medical Center of Dallas to patients who have to spend Christmas at the facility.
The family that posted the picture of Bush to Facebook lost one of their twin daughters earlier this year to a heart disease called restrictive cardomyopathy.
'Guess who just came and gave Emily a Christmas present dressed in a Santa suit with Secret Service and all?!?!?......Pres. George Bush,' mom Natalie Smith posted to Facebook.
Her surviving daughter, Emily, has undergone a heart replacement, but is constantly in and out of hospital as her body rejects the organ.
There were reports on Twitter that Bush's secret service detail dressed as elves to accompany him.
