Senator Rob Portman and Browns legend Bernie Kosar may not seem like they have a lot in common but they both lost a man they proudly called a friend with the passing of former President George H.W. Bush.
Portman's relationship with the 41st President started in 1979 when Bush was in the early stages of his run for the Republican nomination for president. "I just liked the guy, I thought of all the people running for president... that he was the one who had the experience and I just thought he'd be a great president," Portman said.
Bush would lose the nomination to Ronald Reagan but landed a spot on the ticket as his vice president and Portman continued to do advance work in Ohio. "Then when he became president I had helped run his campaign here locally and he asked me to come to the White House and frankly I probably wasn't qualified for the job."
It was as one of the White House lawyers, a position that led to becoming the president's legislative liaison and eventually White House Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs.
"At a very young age," Portman said. "Probably again, not qualified for it but he wanted to give me the opportunity and I tried to earn that trust he had shown in me and ever since then he's been a mentor of mine and really my mentor in this crazy business of politics."
The two built a relationship that has lasted through the years as Portman ran for Congress then went to work in the White House of George W. Bush and then on to the U.S. Senate.
Portman would frequently visit with the former president always wondering in the last several years if this would be the last time they'd meet. "I was just with him in September a couple of months ago and had a wonderful visit with him," he said of his trip to Kennebunkport.
"He has a good sense of humor so I showed up with my Bush '88 hat that was ancient and falling apart but he got a kick out of that."
For former Cleveland Browns Quarterback Bernie Kosar, the opportunity to meet the future president came in the early 80s when Kosar was playing football for the University of Miami. "One of the first guys I met was Jeb Bush in Key Biscayne," said Kosar who writes about it in his book "Learning to Scramble."
That led to an invitation to the White House where he met and also became friends with President Ronald Reagan.
"Being able to get into the Lincoln bedroom and hang out there, you have kind of access to the Oval Office of the White House with President Reagan and then President Bush and it kind of led to one of my favorite pictures that I'm proud to kind of have in my house," Kosar said of a photo during a rally at the Akron Canton Airport in late October, 1988.
Before an estimated crowd of 20,000, the crowd erupted as President Bush stated "the way Bernie came back last week I'd be worried if he was on the other ticket I'll tell you that."
His relationship with the elder Bush led to a relationship with his son George W. Bush.
Kosar said the president's passing marks the end of an era for the country and the loss of a man he so deeply respected.
"Whether you're a D or an R it's such an honor to be a president of our great country and for me to have that ability to call him a friend, I just feel super blessed," he said.
