My Impromptus today leads with the first President Bush — and his (reported) decision to vote for Hillary Clinton. I believe I can understand why he can’t support Donald Trump. I sketch it out, rather as William Safire used to do in his columns (when he was reading people’s minds).

I can certainly understand Republican pique at Bush. Sarah Palin calls anti-Trump conservatives “traitors” and “RATs.” (The latter term refers to “Republicans against Trump.”) Many on the right are pointing out that Bush was never a “true conservative.” (Unlike today’s champion, Donald J. Trump?)

But Republicans might ask themselves, “What does it mean that George Bush won’t vote for our nominee? What have we done, to lose George Bush? Is it worth it? Is it right?”

My guess is, a decision to vote for Hillary Clinton was painful to Bush. She is the wife of the man who defeated him for reelection in 1992. I bet he has never voted Democratic in his entire life.

And, as I note in my column, he knows a thing or two about the world. He flew against the Japanese — the youngest pilot in the Navy. He was a congressman. U.N. ambassador. Envoy to China. CIA director. Vice president. President. He has had a few intelligence briefings. He knows the dangers, and he knows the stakes.

He may even know as much as Trump.

So, if I were a Republican, I would not just write Bush off, or damn him as a RINO and traitor, etc. I would engage in some “serious self-reflection,” to borrow a term (an annoying one) from President Obama. What have we done to push George Bush into the arms of Hillary Clinton?