Transcripts For CSPAN3 First Ladies Influence Image - Barbara Bush 20240712

About two days june 10th and 11th, 1963 that defined jfks response to the Nuclear Arms Race and civil rights. Exploring the american story. Watch American History tv this weekend on cspan 3. Did i feel free paired . Yes. I wasnt elected so it didnt make that much difference. I did notice the difference between being the Vice President s wife and the president s wife is huge because the Vice President s wife can say anything, nobody cares. The minute you say one thing as the president s wife you have made the news. So that was a lesson i had to learn. During george bushs presidency barbara bush used the office of first lady to promote literacy and to raise awareness about aids and homelessness. She also earn her way into the history books. She and Abigail Adams are the only women in our history to be both the wife and mother of a president. Good evening and welcome to cspan series first ladies influence and image. Tonight is the story of barbara peers bush the wife of George Herbert walker bush. Here for the next 90 minutes are two guests, myra gutin is the barbara bush gibiographer. She is a first lady scholar and teaches at Ryder University in lawrenceville, new jersey. Thanks for being here shoo my pleasure. Jeffrey engel is the founding director of the center for president ial history at Southern Methodist university. He is the author of one book on george bushs Foreign Policy and at work on another one. Thank you for being here. Good to be here. We heard barbara bush at the outset talk about the fact that when she became first lady her words were much more attention getting. Its been interesting that that trend continues throughout our program tonight. We will see clips of an interview she gave to us in october and one of them which we released last week has been bouncing all around the News Networks for several days because she talked about president ial dynasties, political dynasties in history and also about the potential for her own son governor jeb bushs president ial aspirations. I wanted to start there because barbara bush as you describe her in the biography was in fact, it was a carefully managed public presence about you at the same time she had a good quote an candid comments. How do they mesh . I think she was always aware of her publish persona and i think that she particularly in the white house was always concerned about whether some action might end up having political consequences for her husband but she also was very candid and sometimes a comment slipped out and she admonished herself for it from time to time. So the candid barbara bush had some pluses and minuses for the bush add duration over time. Will you talk about that . She was somebody who would speak her mind and also somebody who would speak her mind to the president but not in a public way, behind the scenes, in their bedroom when nobody else was there she would tell him what she really thought. Lets stay with that note because as were working our way through the biographies of these women barbara about you wish is between two much more publicly activist first ladies, nancy reagan we learned about last week, next week Hillary Clinton. Barbara bush in this interview talks about her approach to the job and whether or not she takes an activist approach. Lets listen to that. If you ever wanted to give advice or talk about policy with your husband, who you would you do that . How would you approach that . If i wanted to id just tell him, but the truth is i really didnt want to. He had great advisers. I never ever called his office to say. If i had something to say i said it to george bush, but i didnt call jim baker or anyone at his office to say, george, this is what i think should be, because i just dont do that. Ive never had an office except in the house. Here at the white house i had an office, but i never went to it. My staff used it, but i worked in the white house and i worked in the Vice President s house at home. I just did not get into his office affairs. So, myra, describe her approach to the first ladys office. Well, she said as she became first lady that she wanted to do something positive every day and she really set out with her staff to try to do that. She looked at potential for her literacy project, some of the other things she was interested in and that it was really full speed ahead to try to do that one good thing every day. But as you look through the documentary evidence of the Bush Administration where can you see through Historical Documents now at this point evidence of Barbara Bushs influence on the white house . Theres very little evidence of her influencing policy. That was really not something she was interested in. Unlike other first ladies she believed her role was to set a proper standard for the white house, set a proper standard for the administration. So her impact upon the administration was really in portraying them as forthright, as honest, as direct and she was a very direct person. We dont see any particular policies that come out of her influence, rather we see a general tone, a general accepting tone, one that the public really took to over the course of her years in the white house. How was that tone different from the reagan years . Mrs. Reagan liked to get her hands dirty in politics and policy within the white house, almost a court politic, if you will. She would frequently call up advisers to the president and admonish them for one thing or another and try to maneuver people throughout the administration, putting the people that she liked in different places. Mrs. Bush never did that. She was a person who did not directly involve herself in policy, but theres an important distinction to be made there. She cared a lot about politics. She knew what was going on in washington, she knew all the players, knew all the actors, made sure she knew the gossip, but she wasnt interested in changing the policy. That was the president s job. And during the Campaign Times was she involved in Campaign Strategy that you know of . Less about Campaign Strategy than being out in front for the campaign because especially as the president moved into campaigning for his second term in 1992 she was really much more popular than he was in terms of polls throughout the country. There was many times when the president not only would send her out on the campaign trail, but really would go inn to answer questions with, well, you know, barbara and i think and that was a way of really saying that he was with her, she was the popular one. The subtitle of your biography with barbara bush is president ial matriarch. Thats the next thing wed like to show you of her talking about her relationships and view as a steward of her family. Lets listen in. How do you develop that thick skin or dont you, or politics, for criticism . Im not good at it. Most people dont dare criticize my children in front of me, but the press i dont pay any attention to. I dont like it, but i dont pay any attention to it. Dont dare criticize george h. W. Bush ever. Dont dare criticize george bush ever. When she came to the white house she told her press secretary anna perez that there were three areas where you better keep hands off, her fella, her family and her dogs. And that pretty much followed through. She was very very concerned and reacted sometimes very quickly. If there was criticism of george bush, who she always called george bush, and the children. We are going to invite you as we always do to participate in our discussion tonight and theres three days you can do it. We have a conversation under way on cspans Facebook Page and you can join that, we will work some of the questions in and comments into our discussion tonight. You can also tweet us using the handle firstladies and finally call us. If you live in the eastern or central 2025 53 0. Mountain, pacific or farther west 2025853881 and throughout the 90 minutes we will try to get as many comments from as many different media as we can in our program tonight. Lets go back in time and understand where she came from. She was born in new york city in 1925. Tell me more about ba bra peirces background. As you said, she was born in new york. At the time of her birth her father, Marvin Pierce was on the staff of the president at the mccauls publishing company. Her mother pauline was a descendant of an Ohio Supreme Court justice and the pierce family was distantly related to president franklin pierce. The family moved to rhode island, new york, where barbara and her siblings and older sister and two younger brothers grew up. It was a comfortable upbringing. They went to Public Private schools. When barbara was old enough for high school she was sent a he away to ashley hall, a boarding school in south carolina. Home for christmas break of her junior year she went to a Country Club Dance and thats when she met george h. W. Bush. These were very young people and they got married young. Can you talk about the courtship that led to this marriage. They both both accounts were attracted from the start. Because of the distance they developed an intimate correspondents which was typical for the sometimes, especially as correspondents that continues as george bush decides to drive the navy and pushes forward and becomes the youngest aviator in the Pacific Theater for the United States navy and their correspondents throughout that entire period is emotional, its intimate, its something that drew them both together when they couldnt be together in the same spot. The times when they were together were electric for them. They knew that they were for each other. She began school at smith college. Yeah, she did and she was there for a year and she admitted that she really wasnt the most dedicated of students. She was more interested in her boyfriend george bush. I believe she was rather active in athletics at her time at smith and she went back for the first semester of her sophomore year and then left school to marry george bush. And as a young couple when george bush went off as an aviator to the pacific arena weve all read in the history books that he had some very close encounters. Do you know the story of his being shot down in the pacific and what barbara bush knew about all that . Yeah, its a truly harrowing story, he was on a bombing run over an island and he started the dive down with his bomber and was immediately hit by en into he aircraft, enemy flak. He continued on his Bombing Mission and called back to his two fellow crew mates and said, were going to continue this mission, were going to go out over the pacific, were going to dump out and bail out and he thought that they had already left the plane and turned over and flew out himself and discovered only later that there was no chance for them to have survived. There was no other parachute. He was alone in the pacific and spent four and a half hours bobbing up and down in the pacific before he was rescued by a submarine and spent another several weeks actually continuing with the submarine on their patrol mission. During that time it was very unclear for the bushes, his parents, that had happened to him. He was officially listed as missing in action. They made a conscious decision not to tell barbara until they knew for certain that he was going to be fine. They missed their first wedding date because he still wasnt back and then finally he was back and on january 6th about two weeks after the original date they were married. And he served in the military until when and then went to yale at what point . He served until 1945 until the peace treaties were signed. He had flown so many sortees during the war that he had many points accumulated so he was able to take an early out and then he and barbara left for new haven and yale and the beginning of his long delayed college career. And during that time period first child was born . Thats right. George walker bush was born during that time and it was also at that point that george h. W. Bush was playing varsity baseball at yale and barbara was the official scorer for the team. It was a happy time for them at yale. Ultimately the bushes had six children. Yes, thats right. And they were george, then Pauline Robinson who is known as robin. Robin. Jeb who john. John ellis bush, thats how the nickname jeb name along. Neil born in 1955 and the final child, dorothy, known as dora born in 1959. I want you to tell the story if you would about robins death because it clearly impacted both parents for all of their lifetime. Robin was a little over two years old and woke up one morning and at this point the bushes were in texas and she said to barbara, i think today im just going to stay in bed or maybe i will go out on the lawn and look at the clouds going by. And that raised a red flag for barbara right away because her daughter was very active. She took her daughter to the pediatrician and the pediatrician asked barbara and george later that day. And she said to them, your daughter has leukemia. And george bush said, well, what does that mean . He said at that point in time, who knew what it was . And the doctor said, well, it means that shes not going to live very long. The doctors recommendation was that robin be allowed to go home and enjoy things, be around her family. But one of george bushs relatives was a doctor at Sloan Kettering in new york, the hospital, and robin was taken there to try some different treatment modalities to try to deal with the leukemia. They prolonged her life a little bit. She even returned to texas once, but she passed away. And the bushes still talk about her today, and still the emotion is very visible all these years absolutely. Its dramatic. I mean, president bush spent his entire life writing letters. Thats one of the things hes known for and famous for. And perhaps the most painful letters that we have in the archive are about him writing about his daughter, writing to his mother, in fact, years later, talking about the pain in his heart, the thing thats missing, the fact that we really do need a little girl in our lives running around, that life was not the same since. But they did manage to recover to some degree, and they had a big and bustling family. And this next clip, from our interview in october, barbara bush talks about her role as a parent versus the future president s role. Lets listen. Youve been referred to by some family members as the enforcer right. Of the bush family. What do you think about that reputation . Well, im not sure im thrilled with laura saying that. I deserve it, because george is so you know, anything they do is all right. But someone has to be sure that the standards are kept. And he leads by example. I lead by denying some things. And i am the enforcer; theres no question about it. Do i like that role . No. Would i rather he had done it . Yes. But it didnt work that way. Have any comments about barbara bush as the enforcer . Well, her husband always called her miss frank. And, indeed, she is. And she has had his back and the back of all of her family members all of these many years. If someone was critical of them, she was going to respond. There was a story that a reporter once told me that, if you wrote something negative about bill clinton during the clinton administration, maybe the clintons would forgive you and let you write another story. If you said something negative about george h. W. Bush, you were done until the next administration. We have two questions, one on facebook, one on twitter, about this aspect of mrs. Bushs life. David welsh wants to know, what aspects of mrs. Bushs personality might be seen in her son, president george w. Bush . Have any thoughts about that . Well, i think that both of them have long memories. Barbara bush, i think, does not let go of criticism very easily, and im not sure that George Walker bush does, either. And a similar question, and you can respond to both. Regina crumkey on twitter, are there any passions that a Young Barbara passed on to her own children . Well, you know, we have to appreciate i think to understand barbara bush, you need to appreciate that she was really a product of her times. And the passion that she passed on to her children was the fact that she had devoted her entire life to them, to raising a family and to being a good and loyal wife to her husband over the course of his varied careers. I mean, he was a really for many times it was at many sense, an active and absentee father for many years, because he was on the road as a salesman, then he was on the road as a politician, then he was on the road as a government official. She was the one who was there every night. And so, for george w. Bush, in particular, i think that helped form a real bond between the two of them, especially after robins unfortunate death. Just to pass some statistics on that, so people get a sense of how mobile this family was, by the time they made it to the white house, they had at that point been married for 43 years and at that point they even lived in 29 different houses in 17 cities. So it was quite a life on the move. Right. Dave murdock wants to know is, rumor has it that barbaras hair turned white after robins death. Is that true . I believe its true. I believe it is true. I believe thats true. Yeah. Ive heard and she both sides. And not surprisingly, given the devastating nature of losing a child, she took the death very, very deeply. This is a period where in many ways we would say today that she went through a period of depression, and it was only she tells the story it was only after she was so sad for so many months that she heard george outside saying to a young friend, im sorry, i cant come out and play today because i have to take care of my mother, that she realized this is too much burden to put on a little boy, but it also demonstrates the pain that she was having at the time, as well. Leroy is watching us in monticello, kentucky. Hi, leroy. You have a question . Caller yes, maam. Were the bush family were they a biblereading people . Did they go by their scriptures . Did they go to church and right, thank you for your question. Later on, if you watch until the end, we do have a clip where barbara bush talks about her faith. But were they Church People . And how did it influence them . They always had very strong faith. I cant really attest to how much Church Attendance was part of their lives, but i believe that it was considerable. They did go to church. But president bush during his time as president did give one remarkably revealing speech about his own spirituality, where he said, i am a person of faith, but, you know, im an episcopalian and we dont talk about those things. And this is during a time when theres tremendous religious fervor, especially coming throughout the Republican Party, coming up from the south, of new evangelicalism, where people are designed to speak about that type of faith, and thats just something that president bush was not ever comfortable with. So they moved to texas and then to california for the oil business. How did the bush family make the transition into politics . Well, they came back to texas, and they came back to midland, and they had a great deal of success there. And after that, they moved to houston, and it was then that george bush was asked to consider running for Harris County republican chairman. So that was his first campaign. It was barbaras first campaign. She really enjoyed it. She felt very competitive. And they won that race. I believe there were 189 precincts, and they visited every one, and it was on from there. And we should also note that, at about that same time, George Herbert walker bushs father was involved in politics. What happened to him politically . During the 1950s, he was a senator from the state of connecticut, in fact, was one of Dwight Eisenhowers favorite golfing buddies. And one of the reasons that he was one of eisenhowers golfing buddies is really instructive for understanding the personality of president bush, in that the senior bush, prescott bush, was very competitive. Eisenhower said, i like playing with him, because hes one of the only people that wouldnt let me win. And that really is an idea that was instilled into the entire family, that when youre on the athletic field, when youre in the arena, in any arena, when youre in business, when youre in politics, youre there to win, respectfully, but youre there to win. So from the Harris County republican head to the national stage, how did that happen . Well, there were two terms in congress, so the family before that, there was a senate try that didnt work . There was a senate try that didnt work. There were two terms in congress. There was another try for the senate that, unfortunately, didnt work. And then there was mr. Bush was asked to be Republican National Committee Chairman during watergate. Before that time well, and between that well, actually between that time, he was United Nations ambassador. And i think the broader political context is really important here, in that hes coming from texas, a texas that is transforming itself, that is changing from a democratic bastion to a more conservative republican state. And so when he runs in 1964, hes hopeful of winning, but frankly, no republican was going to win in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson had the longest coattails in American History, biggest landslide for any president in American History. And so, consequently, he goes, becomes a congressman. And then richard nixon, one of his mentors, encourages him in 1970 to run again. And actually, he thinks hes going to run the exact same campaign that he ran in 64, portraying his nowincumbent adversary as really a liberal. Im the conservative, bush would say, hes a liberal, and then a terrible thing happened for george bush. A more conservative man than him got the democratic nomination, lloyd bentsen, so his entire Campaign Strategy went out in the wash. And theres a wonderful line from a texas magazine at the time essentially reminding people that this is still a democratic state, saying, you know, given the choice between wee dilly and pee willy, texas will always take the democrat. Thats just what happens in 1970. Thats changed, of course. And so, consequently, richard nixon, having encouraged him to run for the senate, tells him, ill take care of you, and you can go and become United Nations ambassador up in washington. And where would his Foreign Policy at that point bona fides come from that he would be thought of as u. N. Ambassador . He didnt have any. And hed be the first one to admit it. And he says, i know nothing about Foreign Policy, but im going to learn. And this is actually one of the reasons that nixon chose him, because ultimately what nixon and his secretary of state and National Security adviser, henry kissinger, wanted was somebody who was going to be loyal, not somebody who was going to pursue their own mind. In fact, the less a person knew, the better, because all they want him to do was to follow what they said from washington. And he was very good at that. He was very loyal. He liked the social activity of being at the United Nations. He liked meeting with other diplomats. And he did something very unusual for a United Nations ambassador. His predecessors gave him advice before he showed up, and they said, you know, youre the ambassador from the most powerful country in the world. Let them come to you. Let them visit your office. And george bush simply said, that never worked for me in life in business before. Im going to go visit other people. And he went and as an ambassador, went to all the different nations in their offices around the u. N. , something an American Ambassador had never done before, and he really relished in the personal sense of learning about diplomacy on the ground level. You write about how barbara bush really enjoyed those u. N. Years, because the world really came to their doorstep. Hard for us to believe now, but when they became when they went to the u. N. , she had not yet gone outside the country. Her first time leaving the country was when they were in china. But she loved the time in new york. They had a suite in the waldorf towers, where they entertained, and they entertained constantly. I think something that jefferys hit on is important here, too. For both bushes, there was an understanding, a comprehension of the importance of personal diplomacy, and it worked very well for both of them. So lets get the sequencing right. First, there was the u. N. Position. Next for the bushes was head of the Republican National committee. And during what time period, with watergate . Well, unfortunately for the president , this was during watergate. Of course, watergate doesnt show up until after hes already in the position, and he has the unenviable job of going out every day and defending the president. And he feels its his duty as republican chair to defend the president no matter what, not matter what his own sinking suspicions are about the president s own guilt. He refers to this period as being in the eye of the storm, that this is the worst part of his life. And this for mrs. Bush, in this town, with the rnc position being a very social one, this town was so full of tensions at that time. What was life like for her and her family . It was difficult. And she really wondered how he was soldiering on. And there comes a point where mr. Bush has to go to president nixon and say to him, it looks like most hope is lost, and we hadnt hoped that things were going to come to this, but it looks like they will. Kumu is in quincy, massachusetts, and our next questioner. Youre on the air. Hi. Are you there . Caller hello . Yes, you have question . Caller oh, yes. Hi. Sorry. This is kumu gupta, and im in quincy, massachusetts, which is the birthplace of john adams. And i had called in, you know, when you had the show on Abigail Adams. And i have a question and a comment. And my question is that you mentioned earlier that mrs. Bush is the first lady after or the only first lady after Abigail Adams who was the mother of a president and a Vice President. And my question is, is that also true that shes the only first lady after Abigail Adams who was the wife of a president and a Vice President . President and Vice President , as well as who was the one pat nixon. Wife of a president and Vice President and Vice President. Yes. But not the mother of a president. Yeah, no, thats no, she barbara bush and Abigail Adams. Yes, uhhuh. Thank you for your call, and thanks for following the first ladys history along with us. So from watergate, chief of the Republican Party, to china, how did that position come across . This is a great story, because it tells a lot about president bush on many levels. Watergate occurs, president nixon resigns, gerald ford comes in. George bush is considered very strongly to be one of the potential Vice President ial picks for gerald ford. He eventually goes with nelson rockefeller, and turns to bush, and essentially he says, youve been a loyal soldier for the Republican Party for all these years, and, quietly, id like to get all of the people who were involved in watergate, even publicly, out of the city, out of limelight. What would you like to do . I know you like diplomacy after having being in the u. N. Where would you like to go . I can offer you paris; i can offer you london, really, the prime jobs he has to offer. And george bush looks at him and says, id like to go to china. And gerald ford says, would you like to go to london or paris . Because those are the better places to go. And bush says, no, china is going to be a future. China is growing. China is an exciting place. And also and this is really key, and this comes up in his personal correspondence at the time china is a lot cheaper than london or paris. The ambassador to london and paris and other fine capitals of europe is expected to supplement the embassys social budget. And after all these years in public service, george bush felt like he and five kids he put through college he felt like he wanted to go some place that was a little bit more affordable. And his diary throughout his time in china is filled with references to how not only exciting it was, how vibrant it was, but how wonderful it was to live in a place that was so inexpensive. Barbara bush loved china, it seemed. She said it was probably her favorite place to be. The kids were not there. They were all back in the u. S. She but the dog went with them, correct . The dog went with them, absolutely. But she had george bush to herself. And she really took the two of them took advantage of the many possibilities that china offered. They learned to speak some chinese. They were able to enjoy going out into the countryside. We didnt have a full consulate there. We had it was a liaison. Its the u. S. Liaison office. Liaison office. Yes. We didnt establish relations until 79. Right. So its an unofficial official post. So there was also a little more freedom that came with that, that might not have been there otherwise, but it was she was very unhappy when they had to leave after a year. And what, very briefly, would china have been like during that time period . It seems like it was just on the cusp of change. It was a world apart. It was a world away. There was no telephone connection that was reliable. There was mail service was spotty. You could really feel like you were getting away from it all. And thenambassador bush felt after watergate that he was exhausted, that he needed a sabbatical, that he needed time away, and china was a wonderful place where he would say, the phone doesnt ring on my desk. I can get away and rejuvenate. And it was a place that was actually dark at night. This is at the end of the cultural revolution, and it really is not the vibrant, exciting, smogfilled beijing that we know today. It was a really quiet place to be. And barbara bush must have been quite of interest to the chinese, a woman with white hair they werent used to seeing and also not really very many westerners at the time. Right, right. Did she write about that experience at all . She did. She wrote some columns for newspapers which were then sent home. And she just found so many things to be unique about the experience. So barbara bush was and perhaps still is an inveterate scrapbooker, and the collections at the bush president ial library have cataloged all of these. Were going to visit the bush library next and learn more about scrapbooks that she kept during her china years. Mrs. Bush began scrapbooking shortly after she and george bush became engaged, and really began scrapbooking after they were married. And its a hobby that she continued throughout george bushs entire political career and family career. Theres over a hundred in the collection, and theyre the older, largeformat scrapbooks. They go throughout his time in congress, his time at the u. N. , the rnc, and china. President bush was head of the rnc. And when ford became president , he asked him where he would like to go, and so he had just reopened our relationship with china. And president bush told president ford that hed like to go to china. And there was no u. S. Ambassador to china. There was only a u. S. Liaison. So they werent all the trappings of an ambassadors residence. There was no huge staff, or no staff like is typical at a u. S. Embassy, because this was just a u. S. Liaison office. They were there for about a year. They got out among the public. One of the things president bush said he wasnt going to do, he wasnt going to sit in the u. S. Consulate, he was going to get out. And they did get out. And president and mrs. Bush got out on their bicycles and bicycled around beijing and very much enamored themselves with the Chinese People and the public. President bush took chinese lessons and was able to learn enough chinese to carry on a conversation with his barber and also invite people over to play tennis. Mrs. Bush has hundreds of photos, some of what you see in these scrapbooks, that she took of her travels around china. Mrs. Bush has often said that of all the jobs president bush had during his career, this is one of her most favorite, because they did get to spend so much time together, because of the fact that there was no huge there was no staff to speak of and it was just kind of the two of them. So from all of the intrigue and interest in china, the next stop for the bush family was back in washington at the cia. These were more challenging years for barbara bush. They certainly were. She was not happy to return to washington, particularly not for her husband to become the director of the cia. It meant among other things that he could not tell her anything that was going on in his workplace. And this has been a relationship where the two of them had really discussed everything. And the kids were gone, and the beginning of the Womens Liberation Movement was starting, and barbara bush plunged into depression. And those were some difficult times for her. Her husband suggested that she get professional help, but perhaps with a yankee selfreliance, she felt that she could handle it. And ive heard her say in the years past that today, if someone says to her, im depressed, she says, im sorry to hear that. Get help. So shes come full circle on that, but those were tough years. Peter is in southington, connecticut. Hi, peter. Youre on. Caller hello . Yes, sir. Caller id like to share a story. Barbara bush gave i worked at a banquet facility in connecticut. And barbara bush came to connecticut for a fundraiser for governor john rowland. The owners of the banquet facility invited the school down the street to have all their students come, and the parents felt it was too political, so they allowed two children to come from each class. She arrives in the back of our building, got out of the suv herself, saw the children, immediately went over to them, who were so, so excited to be in the presence of her. After she had passed by, one little girl, the little girl got sick and threw up. Barbara bush turned around, picked that child up, positioned her so that her twopiece red suit and her white pearls, nothing got on her. She comforted the girl, she kissed the girl, she told her it was all right, put the child down, and continued on her day. She was extremely gracious and humane. Peter, thank you very much for sharing that story. Does that ring truth to both of you, that her comfort with campaigning, her comfort with interacting with absolutely. She became a very good campaigner. She worked a crowd very well. That action with that young girl wouldnt have surprised me at all. Mack is in hammond, indiana. Hi, mack, youre on as we talk about barbara bush. Caller yes. I had two statements to make, then a question, very quickly. Shes three statements. One, im a democrat. And out of all of the president s wives, i think barbara bush is one that i respected greatly for her frankness and just a beautiful person. The other statement was this. Two more statements, real quickly, and then the question. I had a Great Respect for her husband, although i didnt vote for him. And but what he did in the gulf war by going in, organizing and going in and getting out. Whether he took care of saddam hussein, thats another thing, but he got out. The other thing was when he was confronted, when clinton and i dont agree with what clinton did with the young lady in the white house but he was confronted with it. And what i understand, he says, listen, im not getting into that. I was wondering what was barbaras position in reference to the clinton affair . Was she ever confronted with it and how she handled it . And ill be quiet. Thank you very much. Do we know . Well, it occurred during the 1992 president ial campaign. And she really was she tried not to talk about it. She would say to the press, arent there other things that you can talk about . You know, this is speculation. So she really tried to stay above it as much as possible. So weve fastforwarded to the 1992 campaign, but weve really got to get back their foray, first foray into president ial politics. The bushes wanted to be a candidate in 1980, a highly competitive year. So would you quickly kind of tell us about their decision to run for the white house and what barbaras role was in that campaign because this is really her story and then ultimately how they joined the ticket with the reagans . Yeah, actually, i dont think it was much of a decision at all. I think it was a fait accompli that he was going to run for the white house. As early as the time that hes in china, hes actually telling visitors that he intends to run for the white house. And so he goes back after leaving the cia, after he actually wanted to stay on at the cia, after president carter took over, but carter put his own man in. George bush goes back, does a few years of business, but really is laying the groundwork for his ultimate campaign, and actually does surprisingly well against Ronald Reagan. Ronald reagan, of course, had nearly won the republican nomination in 76 and was expected to win the nomination in 80. But george bush hits the ground running and takes iowa and really surprised a lot of people and make it seem as though this is going to be a competitive race. Unfortunately for him, at that point, the reagan steamroll begins and he winds up winning the nomination handily. And george bush goes to the Republican Convention really thinking that was it. He had he was going to release his delegates. He had played his part. And reagan actually comes up with a very unusual plan that perhaps hes going to bring back gerald ford and they would be copresident s, gerald ford take the nomination and essentially handle Foreign Affairs while reagan handled domestic affairs. And very quickly, it became apparent that was never going to work. So reagan then turned to george bush, the man who had finished second, and offered him the ticket, and george bush took it in a heartbeat. And what was her role during the 1980 campaign . She was certainly someone who listened to her husbands speeches and reacted and did she campaign herself . Absolutely. She was out there on the hustings. And this is the first time also that we hear about her literacy interest and project, because she says, if we go to the white house, my focus is going to be on people learning how to read. And where did that come from . Two schools of thought on that. One of the bushs sons, neil bush, was dyslexic and was diagnosed at a time when it really wasnt there wasnt a lot known about it. And barbara worked with him, hired tutors, and helped him to learn to read. So there are many people who believe that it was a personal interest that sparked her activity in literacy. Shes said in some statements that that wasnt true, that instead it came from her own love of reading and the fact that she has these wonderful memories of childhood of her family all reading together. And she believed that parents were the first teachers that children had. My feeling has always been maybe it falls somewhere right in the center. Next up is michael watching us in washington, d. C. Hi, michael. Caller hi, i have two questions. Did barbara bush stay friends with former first Lady Nancy Reagan . And did she have any of the living first ladies back to the white house while she was in the white house . Okay, thanks very much. Well, they were on the ticket together, but most of your reading of history suggests that it was not the warmest of relations, but no. In fact, your caller asked if they stayed friends after the white house. That suggested they ever were friends. I think the bushes were very adamant that they wanted to be friends with the reagans. That was how they lived their entire lives, was making friends and social connections and moving up through political circles by melding politics and friendship. The reagans were a very isolated couple, selfisolated. They liked each Others Company and, frankly, not a lot of other people. And so consequently, they really never reciprocated the overtures and the friendship and the warmth that the bushes put towards them, especially nancy and mrs. Reagan and mrs. Bush. In fact, they were only invited to the white house a few times during the is that right . Well, they were only invited to the family quarters a few times. They were certainly at the white house many times for ceremonial occasions. But there was a level of tension between the two of them. And and what about between the two the first and second ladies. How did they get along . I think they worked pretty well together. They had the sense that they were working towards the same goal. Of course, they also had very divergent interests. Nancy reagan was talking about antidrug measures, and barbara bush was focusing on literacy. So their paths diverged. Gary robinson wants to know, besides family, what confidants did barbara have . And did she rely on anyone special to help guide her through political life . She did count on lee atwater, who had been the head of the Republican National committee for a while and was the chairman of the Republican National committee when george bush ran for president in 1980. He was a confidant. Im trying to think if she had others outside the family. She certainly has a network of good friends and certainly relied on those people, as well. John henry, as were been looking at the Vice President ial years, has this question about, can you talk about the whereabouts of both the Vice President and mrs. Bush on the day he almost assumed the presidency . Yes. Thats march 30, 1981, the day that there was the attempt the attempted assassination on president reagan. This is actually something that was not only an illustrative story about president bush, it also helped solidify his relationship ultimately with president reagan, because thenVice President bush was back in texas when reagan was shot and immediately, of course, got on a plane and flew back. And we have to remember that the Communication Technology was not as good as it was then. Air force two, for example, had no way to directly communicate with the ground except through radio through the pilots, through their cockpit. And so consequently, president bush thenVice President bush didnt know entirely what had happened to president reagan, didnt know exactly what was going on. By the time he landed at Andrews Air Force base, it was very clear that the president had survived the shooting and was in surgery. And he immediately went to the white house, but made an extraordinarily important subtle distinction and subtle decision. He said, im not going to take a helicopter to the white house, because only the president lands on the south lawn. Im instead going to take more time, and im going to take my limo and drive up that way, as the Vice President would. And so at that very moment that alexander haig, thensecretary of state, is running around the white house saying, im in charge, and thereby offending nancy reagan and usurping of president ial authority because he wasnt in charge Vice President bush was essentially being the calmer man and the more respectful man of then still the president reagan, who of course was still alive. And this left a lasting impression on reagan. He really solidified his own relationship with reagan as a consequence. Brian watkins on twitter wants to know specifically, what was mrs. Bushs experience like during the aftermath of the assassination attempt . Do we know . Theres not much written about it that im aware of. Okay. Then we will move onto another question. This is from mark, who is watching us in detroit. Hi, mark. Caller hi, good evening. How are you . Good, thank you. Whats your question for us . Caller my question is, what was first lady Barbara Bushs opinion of the clintons during the 92 campaign . Because i was in high school back then, and it seems like it was such a dramatic shift in first ladies between her and Hillary Clinton. It sort of reminded me of Mamie Eisenhower and jacqueline kennedy, in terms of polar opposites. Okay, thank you. Well, barbara bush had trouble understanding how anyone could elect bill clinton. She felt that her husband had done a superb job as president and deserved reelection. And along came the governor of arkansas, and there were disclosures about his having had an affair. She just could not understand how people would go ahead and elect him. As far as Hillary Clinton went, she thought she was bright, she thought she was sharp, but she barbara bush did not entirely know how to deal with her, because she really was someone different. So there was a certain level of discomfort with both of them. So this difference is really quite crucial, because there is a real cultural shift, even a generational shift going on in america at this time, that barbara bush was from a generation where a traditional womans role was to stay home and raise the kids and support her husbands career. Hillary clinton did not come from that model. And consequently, barbara bush had really sort of inadvertently waded into this transformation in American Society through the time that she was first lady when it became essentially a politicized issue, whether or not a woman had chosen to stay home, whether she had that choice, whether she chose to go out into the workplace, and then being confronted with a woman who clearly had taken other choices really left the two of them, hillary and barbara, at odds, not so much with each other personally, but ideologically. They were from two different worlds. Was the 1988 campaign, again, a highly competitive open seat that brought the bushes into the white house and im wondering it was a very difficult campaign. The Willie Horton ads, for example, that the Bush Campaign employed. Dukakis and senator bentsen, who had an earlier role in the story, were the challengers. Im wondering some history books suggest that barbara bush was very much involved and supportive, as was son george w. Bush in its strategy to employ the Willie Horton campaign right. To be tough. Do you know that empirically . Ive heard it perhaps apocryphally. There are certainly sources that say that both she and george w. Bush had gone to george h. W. Bush and said, if you dont toughen up, youre not going to win this race, so go ahead with the Willie Horton ad. And ultimately, successful. They reached the white house. And its interesting to note we were talking about this before we started were doing this program live on the 20th of january, 2014, and it is today exactly the 25th anniversary of the bushes coming into the white house. The bush years and we have, as we do in each of these programs, a still of the important things that happened during those four years in the white house just to put it on the record books. And they include his no new taxes pledge. The savingsandloan crisis also happened during that time period. Of course, the first iraq war, which was known as desert storm. Tiananmen square also happened during that time. And for many of your interests, the end of the cold war happened during the bush years. So on the national stage, so much going on. What was happening domestically during that time period . A lot of social upheaval. Jeffrey alluded to it with the changes in society and the role of women. Hillary clinton becomes the first lady later, but first lady aspirant who had gone to graduate school, having graduated from yale university. Just a very different time. And did barbara bush get involved in any of the debates over changing society, such as abortion, rights for women, gays, and gender equality, that sort of thing . Well, she stayed away from the abortion issue. Many years later, in a televised interview, she came forth and pretty much came out and said that shed been prochoice all along, but certainly she stayed away from it. When george bush had become Ronald Reagans Vice President ial candidate, both barbara and george had had to take a few steps back from their positions with regard to family planning. And she didnt speak about it. She felt that, certainly, gays should have rights. She was sympathetic. She was sympathetic to what was happening with the aids holocaust, but she wasnt particularly verbal about it. You know, she was there, she was talking about it, but her participation was somewhat muted. Well, and i dont think that we should let her role in the aids crisis go unmentioned, because she did a dramatic thing when she was only in her first weeks of being first lady. And she went to an aids orphanage and held up an aids baby, who subsequently died several weeks later. And the picture of a first lady holding an infant with aids was really quite shocking to people at the time, back at the time when people thought that people with aids should be shunned or should be put away. And consequently, this humanloving moment for her, of holding a baby, of holding somebody who needed help really helped people understand better that aids was not only not just a death warrant, but also not something that people needed to be shunned for. It was really a remarkably important cultural moment. Next up is william in hallandale. What state are you in, william . Caller im in florida. Welcome to the program. Whats your question . Caller thank you so much. And ive been enjoying your series so much, too. It was actually about what you were just talking about. I had recalled when barbara bush had attended ryan whites funeral. I also recall when the aids quilt was in the mall near the white house, when neither she or the president visited it or acknowledged it. But i do recall that she put candles in the window of the white house. And i was wondering if you could explain to me why they didnt visit, and if you want to elaborate further about what she did with people with aids, i would appreciate that, too. Thank you. Thank you for your call. I think it was a political decision, because it was the first few weeks of the administration. Im not sure that they even knew entirely what their position was yet. But she felt strongly about showing some support. And that led to her action of putting the candle into the windows and then, of course, the very symbolic act of going to i think it was mothers place i think so. And holding the aids baby at time when people werent sure about the transmission of the disease. And she was always very, very good at making solid political statements quietly, holding a baby, putting a candle in a window, and her rationale, for example, of ultimately explaining that she was prochoice was that she was not in favor of abortions, but she thought this is something that should be between a mother and a father and a doctor and the government didnt have a role in this. And so she was very, very keen to sort of set boundaries for where the government should intervene. And she wanted to take moral stands, but without interfering with her husbands political career, so she would them through very subtle, but strong statements. While were talking about domestic issues, len brown in scottsbluff, nebraska, sent an email saying, since today is Martin Luther king day in the United States, can you ask if barbara dealt with any race issues in segregated texas . And what did she do as first lady about race issues . Was it an issue she got publicly involved in . Not to my i dont believe that she not to my knowledge, no. Okay. Next is dennis in sheboygan, wisconsin. Go ahead, please. Caller hi, how are you . Good evening, welcome. Caller thank you so much for having this series. This is wonderful. During the 1980 campaign, i had a political radio show in california, and i got to interview both george and barbara bush. And i asked her what her relationship was with the reagans. And she said they were friends, good friends. My question is, what was their relationship once they got into the vice presidency . And then, second, did she encourage her kids to go into politics . Thanks again. Well, we covered this a little bit earlier. They had a cordial relationship, but not a warm relationship. And it was a working relationship. I think that george bush and Ronald Reagan were certainly closer than nancy reagan and barbara bush. Barbara bush definitely did not recommend that her children go into politics. When george w. Bush came to his parents and told them that he was going to run for the governorship of texas, i think barbara tried to talk him out of it. The same thing happened when he decided to make a run for the presidency. And as i think were going to discuss towards the end of the program, barbara has been not a particular fan of the idea of jeb running in the upcoming president ial election in 2016. So barbara bush became something of the public face of the Bush Administration. She spent a lot of time on the road. Was that time mostly spent talking about literacy . Or was she involved in political aspects of the presidency . I mean, how did she use her time on the road . She was well, she i think in my of course, everything becomes political, doesnt it . I was going to say yeah. Over time, she becomes more popular in terms of Public Perception than the president , so her political role increases as her popularity does, as well. Uhhuh. And what was the source of her popularity . What did the public respond to . I think people could relate to her. I think people looked at her and said, boy, that looks like somebody who i know. And, you know, theres a wonderful advertisement, actually, that comes out for a furniture sale, i think at this time, where someone says essentially on the side of a bus, the advertisement says, get nancy reagan furniture at barbara bush prices. Now, barbara bush was a rich woman. She could afford a lot. But she had this image of being somebody who would just live down the street from you. The every woman, yeah, the every woman. Exactly. People said they felt like they could sit down and have a cup of coffee with her. And this was either an innate political sense or an innate sense of self. But in the leading into the campaign, advisers were saying you need to lose weight, you need to dye your hair, and she said we can do anything but you cant you cant make me lose weight, you cant make me dye my hair. But ultimately, the public responded to that. What was the dynamic there . I think it was very much an everywoman kind of persona. People really could relate to her, you know, because she wasnt a size two as nancy reagan, because she dressed nicely, but maybe not in the same high style. She just seemed like someone you could talk to. And i think, too, it was and it worked politically. It did. You know, and she also had the kind of demeanor where she seemed to be someone who would listen. And i think that all worked well. And speak frankly at the same time. You know, theres a wonderful incident, for example, where, of course, her husband famously doesnt like broccoli. And this becomes an issue during when the president says, im not going to eat an entire foodstuff, this becomes an issue. And so consequently, the broccoli growers of america send, you know, several hundred pounds of the stuff to food banks around washington, but also several cases to the white house, say, here, here you are, mrs. First lady, and she looks on them and says, thats a wonderful gift. Thats very nice. Hes not going to eat it. Hes not going to it. Not without controversy. You spend several pages in your biography talking about her invitation to speak at wellesley college. Thats right. What was the source of the controversy there . Well, she had been invited to be the Commencement Speaker in june of 1990. And a few weeks after she accepted, 150 of the 600 wellesley seniors who were graduating sent a petition saying they felt that she was an inappropriate speaker because anything that she had achieved in life was because of who she was married to. So there was a short period where perhaps maybe mrs. Bush thought this is isnt a great idea. But instead, she sort of finessed it, and she said, you know what . I was 21 once myself, and i questioned things, and i think that i have things to tell them. So she let them know that she was going to give the speech. She invited raisa gorbachev, the wife of premier gorbachev, who would be visiting at the same time, and the two of them went up to wellesley. We have a little clip from her address to the graduating class at wellesley that year. Now, i know your first choice today was alice walker. [ laughter ] guess how i know . [ laughter ] known for the color purple. Instead you got me, known for the color of my hair. [ laughter ] for over 50 years, it was said that the winner of wellesleys annual hoop race would be the first to get married. Now they say the winner will be the first to become a ceo. Both of those stereotypes show too little tolerance for those who want to know where the mermaids stand. [ applause ] so i want to offer a new legend. The winner of the hoop race will be the first to realize her dream not societys dream, her own personal dream. And who [ applause ] and who knows . Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps and preside over the white house as the president s spouse. And i wish him well. [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] i dont want to spend too much time on this, but in your book, you wrote about the fact that this was classic barbara bush she won over the crowd but ultimately something of a missed opportunity. Well, i think that she had the chance to possibly raise some other issues in that speech, and certainly not that the things that she covered werent important reading to your children, establishing personal relationships but possibly she could have gone a little further. She certainly had the audience for it and the interest the speech and her comment were on page one of every newspaper in this country the next morning. Maria is in miami and on the air. Hi, maria. How are you . Caller hi, how are you . I have, first, a comment that i currently, like, work with, like, the Barbara Bush Foundation, like, my school works with them to tutor children. So aside from, like, literacy, what would you say Barbara Bushs biggest legacy was . Thanks very much. What does the Barbara Bush Foundation do . Is it all to promote literacy . It funds literacy programs all over the country. And does it do is there something to her legacy, the caller asked, in addition to literacy, barbara bush . I think she would say her family. I think she would say the fact that not only does she have two sons, of course, who went into politics, but she, you know, talks about all of her children. And george bush famously said that, you know, we know were doing something right because the kids keep coming home. And she looks at them as her lifes work and, really, as their accomplishments as her accomplishments. Well, the caller asked about literacy. Lets listen to barbara bush in the interview she gave to us, to cspan, in october of this year talking about her interest in literacy. Well, because i know truthfully that every single problem in america would be better if more people could read, write and comprehend. I just know that. Wed be able to compete with the rest of the world. We wouldnt have these children who are committing crimes because their families dont have jobs. They dont have jobs because they cant read. They cant write. They dont understand. So that was such an easy project to pick. I admit it took me about a halfayear to pick it, because id always worked and volunteered in hospitals, but theres no question in my mind. And i think every thinking american is coming to that conclusion. We have got to educate our children, and weve got to educate their parents. Its not just a whim. Its a necessity if were going to compete in this world. One of the avenues during the white house years, mrs. Bush wrote a book about her beloved dog, millie. You might remember that if you were around at the time. And that book generated over 1 million in proceeds that were given to charity. Also, legislatively, it resulted in the National Literacy act of 1991, which did what . How important was that . Oh, it was tremendously important. It really helped funded literacy programs, which for the Barbara Bush Foundation were really quite crucial, not only for helping people within school, but also helping people beyond school, helping Adult Literacy programs, and helping people who would otherwise go through their entire lives without this crucial skill. You had a point you wanted to make about literacy . Well, actually, about her legacy, because i think something that went handinhand with literacy was the fact that mrs. Bush encouraged volunteerism. And she was such an advocate for it, and i think that she would say, if she encouraged a generation of people to go into public service, then she really would have been successful. You mentioned earlier the broccoli episode. We all think about george bush and his aversion to broccoli. We have a clip to play and to show about how sometimes this relationship with the press becomes focused on things that dont seem very important. Lets watch. It marks the start of an Ongoing Program by the Postal Service to help focus attention on the need of every american to be literate. Dont you think, though, hes setting a bad example for the children out there who he ate broccoli until he was 60. Tell them to eat broccoli until theyre 60. Now, we should be talking about literacy. Come on. But in addition to the 10,000 pounds thats going to be donated to people of need in the washington area, were also leaving these several boxes of the product here for use at the white house. Thanks. Along with some very good new recipes, which you might use that you just might intrigue the president to take the plunge into the Wonderful World of fresh broccoli. Im going to tell you the honest truth. The president is never going to eat broccoli. Did you ever think this would become this big of a deal . No. If id known that when he said it the other day, i might have spoken to him first. As a student of the white house, what is your reaction when the press corps sometimes get caught up in these nonstory stories . Well, the problem is that this was what people want to know about, that theyre not only nonstories because the press is looking for something to write about, but also because people want to know whats going on behind the scenes, behind the fences, behind the doors, and it really gives an insight into the human beings that are living there. These people actually do have ups and downs over the course of their alive. They have deaths in their family. They have marriages. They have births in their family. And people want to understand that, as well. Unfortunately, sometimes the Human Interest can trump what the policymaker or, in this case, the first lady is really trying to say, which is, lets focus on something that we can change, not whats just interesting. From a family dynamic, the Bush White House was always filled with children and grandchildren, and ultimately greatgrandchildren. There were lots of toys around the white house. It was really a familyoriented place. Occasionally, there were some stories that were not so pleasant for their families. And some of our viewers remember rumors of the president having an affair with someone by the name of Jennifer Fitzgerald. Weve gotten several tweets about it. And im wondering about how that played out with the first couple, particularly the first lady. Well, Jennifer Fitzgerald had been an assistant to george bush when he was in china. And then she was also an executive assistant i think to him when he was Vice President. And rumors did circulate that possibly there was an affair going on between the two of them. In my own research, i found two possibilities, and i think im going to come down on one a little more strongly than the other, and that is Jennifer Fitzgerald played the role of office wife. She was that kind of woman who was found in the upper echelons of corporate america, maybe corporations around the world, who did some of the dirty work for the boss and made some maybe personnel decisions that he didnt want to try to have to step into. And then theres the possibility that maybe there was an affair. The historians that ive spoken to feel that, after these many years, theres no absolute proof of it and, therefore, i would say i and many others would probably concur with the image of jennifer as office wife more than anything else. And also, on the family front, during the white house years, mrs. Bush was diagnosed with graves disease, which is a thyroidrelated problem, and then the president himself was diagnosed with a similar affliction, and the first dog and millie. And the dog, as well. Millie, the dog, so much so that the government actually did testing of the water inside the white house and at camp david. What do you about that whole period . Its very unusual for three people to develop this type of autoimmune disease, basically at the same time, two people and a dog, to get it. In fact, president bush joked that we wouldnt have this problem if we would just stop drinking out of the dogs bowl. They went back and tested everything. They tried to figure out why this could possibly be, and no one has ever been able to determine any particular environmental link for why this happened. But this did significantly affect the president in his last year in office, because he had lost weight, he had lost a lot of energy, had a lot of trouble, you know, with his handwriting during this period. And really, some of his aides at this time have commented that, you know, as he went forward into the second bid for the white house in 92, he just didnt seem to have the energy that he used to have. And in large part, i think thats because of the medication he was taking to deal with this affliction. Weve talked about the clintonbush dynamic during the 1992 campaign. There was also another factor, and that is ross perot getting into the race and ultimately having a doubledigit showing. How did that dynamic change the race . What was mrs. Bushs reaction to having a fellow texan get into the race . What can you tell us about that period . She was annoyed. She felt that again, that her husband had been a superb president , and she had already started to focus on bill clinton, and then perot said he was going to enter the race because he didnt think that either candidate was particularly good. So she was annoyed by it. And then, with his success, that annoyance i think really moved to concern. Her personal popularity at that point didnt translate into enough votes for george bush. Why not . It didnt, and largely because both perot and clinton had a singular line of attack against president bush, and that was that he was more concerned with Foreign Affairs than domestic. And ive got to tell you, i think for the most part, by the end of his administration, the president was primarily concerned with Foreign Affairs. And with good reason. Theres a lot going on at this time. Theres the fall of the berlin wall, the fall of the soviet union, tiananmen square, the gulf war, all kinds of things that would attract a president s attention. And president bush even writes in his diary at this time, you know, i really do like Foreign Affairs more than domestic. And with the economy beginning to slip a little bit, the public perceived this. Bill clinton said were going to focus on the economy, its the economy, stupid. And ross perot said were going to focus on the budget. Both of these essentially opened up a vulnerable flank for the president s reelection bid, and ultimately i think it did him in. Weve talked about this in every program, so before we leave the Bush White House years, how did they use the white house as an to entertain to achieve their goals . Well, i think they used it very effectively. They were really considered to be a tremendous host and hostess, very friendly. The white house was very accessible during their time there. They were already into a period where decisions had to be made about which state dinners to hold. But apparently whatever they chose, they chose wisely. So, in our 15 minutes left, we have to move on to a very long postwhite house years. The question from one of our viewers really sets the stage for this. Denied a second term in the presidency. How did mrs. Bush switch gears into postwhite house life . This is from brian watkins. Well, part of her was really relieved. She wouldnt have been unhappy if they had left politics in 1980 when he lost the republican nomination to Ronald Reagan. But i think she slipped into it very gracefully. She wrote her autobiography, her first. She was enjoying seeing her family and the children. They were back in texas. She was back with friends and on more familiar ground. And then george w. Bush decided he was going to run for governor. So, they were back into it again. She also stayed on the lecture circuit and was quite popular and made money at it. Yeah, she did. And as an author, her book sold so she was bringing in income during that period. When did they begin work on the library . Immediately. Most president ial administrations like to work on them during the second time. This began working on the bush president ial library almost immediately after losing their reelection bid. This became one of focal points for the postpresidency working down at texas a m as the place that the bushs felt comfortable. President bush was once asked why he chose there instead of back at his alma mater at yale and he said essentially would you put a library in a place where they hung you . This didnt happen at texas a m. And the bushs would be fixtures on campus. You would see them at basketball kbams. You would see them Walking Around the lake behind the bush school there. Its really a place they came to frequently. Lynn is in fayetteville, tennessee. Hi lynn. Caller hello. How are yall . Great, thank you. Whats your question for us . Caller question is were on the eve of dr. King actually dr. Kings anniversary of his birth. And, you know, the bushs were big proponents of dr. Kings birthday celebration. And i wonder why yall havent talked about the fact that even reagan didnt want to sign the legislation but the bushs were very much in favor of it and were there throughout the presidency, even showing the king center. So, i wanted to talk about the fact that they were involved in commemorating dr. King. Okay. Thanks very much. They were. And president bush, we have to remember, came up in texas politics at a time when segregation was really quite a crucial issue. But he was not from texas, and this was something that his critics would never let him forget. He was from connecticut and really had a different sense of racial politics and of racial morality than many of his fellow southern republicans at the time. And in fact, he very famously as a congressman went off to vietnam and came back and began working for equal housing legislation which was really third rail for texas politics at the time. But he simply said, i saw black men and white men and brown men fighting in the rice paddies, how could i deny them equal treatment when they came back home . In the postpresident ial years their eldest son became involved in politics, first as governor of texas and made it to the white house in the year 2000. And we have a clip of george w. Bush talking about this historic role that barbara then assumed of being wife of a president and mother of a president. Lets listen. This is from 2001. As you can already tell lately my dad has been calling me 43. I call him 41. Its kind of shorthand we have in our family. And we have a nickname for mother as well. To show you where she stands in the power structure of this family, we call her number one. [ applause ] and so im going to turn the stage back to number one and then close the program with some remarks of my own. Its really great to be back in houston and to return bearing the proudest title ever been given to me, son of barbara and george bush. [ applause ] will you comment about her relationship with the younger bushs when they were in the white house, how they approached that period of time, those eight years . Well, she tried to keep them close. She tried to maintain lines of communication as was said earlier. She always thought that one of the great achievements was that the children all came home. I think that she really worked to try to make sure that the children i mean, they were older, of course, but still that things were as normal for them as they could be. And did she occasionally get involved in politics herself, for example, sarah palin. She commented on sarah palins candidacy. How has her approach been to the Republican Party, and whats been happening politically for the party sf. I think shes more than willing to speak her mind. She was always willing to speak her mind. And as one reaches a certain age, theres very little filter she feels she needs to put on herself. I think like many people in the party she is i suspect, i actually dont know. I suspect she is uncomfortable. I think one of the reasons is its very hard to imagine george bush, sr. , 41, its hard to imagine him getting elected by todays Republican Party. Its hard to think of him as a republican for most of the stances he took throughout his career. I think that caused discomfort within moderate circles. Donald blaine wants to know i would like to know about the relationship with the clintons. After that tough campaign that denied them the white house, are they friendly today . They are friendly, particularly bill clinton and george h. W. Bush, theyre good buddies. Theyve partnered on a number of important projects. But certainly the relationship between barbara bush and Hillary Clinton has seemed to be cordial. Theyve shown up at some of the same meetings together. Its polar opposite of 1992. For that caller who asked earlier about mrs. Bushs faith, we promised you we would have a clip of her talking about that. As we get close to the end here, here is barbara bush, again from a recent interview, talking about the role of faith in her life. Barbara bush, in your memoir, you talk about faith, family and friends. Weve talked about friends. Weve talked about family. What about your faith . Its very private, and im a huge believer in the loving god. I pray. George and i pray every night out loud. And sometimes we fight over whose turn it is, but we do. And i have no fear of death, which is a huge comfort because were getting darn close. And i dont have a fear of death for my precious george or for myself because i know that there is a great god. And im not worried about that. I dont like it for young people, but i know well see robin again one way or another, and our families. So, i have no fear of death. I have a great faith. That sounds so arrogant. Why . Well, im a big shot. I have a faith in god. I do have a faith in god. I dont i dont question it. Mrs. Bush, 88 years old now. And just before around the holiday holidays we saw she was hospitalized briefly but generally in good health. How do she and the president spend their time . I think they really they spend half the year in houston and half the year in their home up in maine. And i can tell every social and athletic function that they can. President bush was just at the duke basketball game over the weekend. And its really to see them is to see people who really not only enjoyed their life, but i think its a good job to be an expresident and i think that they know it. Harry is watching us in troy, new york. Hi harry, youre on the air. Caller hi, susan. Enjoy the show immensely. Susan, i havent heard any mention yet of Vice President dan quail. I was wondering what contribution, if any, if any comments the first lady or the president have regarding his contribution in the election, the 92 election. Thank you susan. Keep up the good work. Thanks so much. Dan quail and second lady marilyn quail. That was, i think, a place where we see a real tension for president bush looking over his presidency because he is above all things a gentlemen and would not want to say ill things about people who worked for him and more specifically with him. I think the president has alluded from time to time would agree that was a strained and not helpful choice. There was a lot of discussion of course of whether quail should be dumped from the campaign in 92. He wasnt bringing anything to the ticket, they argued. That was the place where president bush said that would be the wrong thing to do, especially as the former Vice President. This is an area he did not want to revisit while in the presidency. But it is one the historians look back on and have to shake their heads a little bit over that decision. Paul, boston. Youre on. Hi paul. Caller hi, its paul from boston. I would like to know was there a Public School named after barbara bush . Thanks so much. There are a few schools named theres one in kenny bunk port. Yes, i think so. If not there there, there are a number of schools. And what does Kenny Bunkport mean to the bush family . I think it means everything to them. Its solace, its quiet, its family. And its got a long history at this point going back to george bushs grandparents. So, theyve watched their children grow up there and their grandchildren, and now their three great grandchildren and another on the way. So, its really the center of perhaps the bush universe. And what has been the continuing legacy for the family in term of politics . Weve got jeb whos still uncertain, his own political future. But how about the next generation, the grandchildrens generation . I think george p. Bush, jebs son hes running for statewide office in texas. Yeah, is running for office. I dont know that ive heard too much about the other bush grandchildren, but stayed tuned. Next is tom who is in philadelphia. Hi tom, you are on. Welcome to our discussion about barbara bush. Caller good evening everyone. I would like to say the clintons and the bushs, i find them to be first of all im a very bipartisan person. The clintons and the bushs, i believe they are very Close Friends. From the last 14, 15 years, i watched behind the scenes, and i find them to be very Close Friends from what i see and hear. George w. Bushs library, they opened it, his wife actually said that my husband george and bill had more conversations on the telephone in his second part of his election. And that turned out to be very true. Its a shame that more reporters dont really say the truth today, which it is. Thank you very much. You know, that actually that reveals a really crucial thing about understanding the presidency more broadly in that this is a job unlike any other. The pressures of this job are multiplied beyond what anyone else could fathom. Consequently the people who experienced that pressure know what its like to be in the room. Theres only a very few small handful of men alive today who know what its like to live in the white house and send u. S. Troops into combat and deal with congress and deal with the entire pannopli of the nation and they consult with each other and talk to each other. They know what its like and can confide with each other and seek advice from each other and know how to keep that advice quiet as well. We have just a little bit of time left. I wanted to put both of your books on screen and talk a little bit about what we would learn from barbara bush that we havent tonight thats inside your book. I think shes an american classic. Shes someone who is still tremendously popular, and shes wise and shes smart and she brought that common sense approach to the white house. I think that shes also, as many of us has been through a great deal, the death of a child and the races for the many offices and living all over the country. I think what we would learn from her is the importance of flexibility. And she is someone to be admired. This is Jeffrey Engels book, china diary of george h. W. Bush, and youre working on another. Im working on a full study of george h. W. Bush and the end of the cold war. I would argue more happens in his four years in office and he was confronted with more difficult decisions than any other president with the exception of Franklin Roosevelt during the height of world war ii. These are things that look simple. The end of the cold war seems obvious and determined. The gulf war seems obvious. Of course we were going to win a massive victory in that conflict. At the time nobody knew how those things were going to turn out. President bush adopted a strategy of prudent skepticism. Behind the scenes the entire time was barbara bush who in a period of great tumult, in a period of great turmoil, and president bush out front every day trying to calm international tensions, she was behind the scenes helping him keep calm and i think thats an important legacy. As weve worked our way through this series, some first ladies have changed or expanded the role of first lady. Would you say she did in any way . I think she solidified it. I think she did a marvelous job of establishing that the presidency was about more than just the man. It was about the family. She allowed the American People to see her family without simultaneously peering too much behind the curtain, having a respectful distance, if you will. I want to say thanks to both of you for being here tonight. Were going to close with barbara bush herself when we ask her the question of what she would like the legacy to be. Youll hear the family themes coming strongly. Thanks for being here tonight. To our viewers as always, thanks for your comments. Heres barbara bush on her legacy. I hope it will be that her children are her legacy and her grandchildren and now three great grandchildren and a fourth coming. I hope family, certainly family is crucial. And id like to see the American Family come back strong. We had a great family. And my dad said to me once, only three things you can give your children. You can give them the best education. That doesnt mean stanford or yale or princeton. It means just the best education that you could find and you can help. Youre their first teacher. The best education you can find. And set a good example. Thats very important. And all the love in the world. And i hope weve given that to our children. I know george w. , ive heard him say several times that his dad has given him unconditional love. Thats true. All this maloney about george competing with his father, its just ridiculous. I mean, theyre devoted to each other and there was never any competition. And my george is putty in their hands, i must confess. But i think they feel loved, and i hope if i have a legacy other than being the enforcer, that it will be that i raised, along with george, a great family. If you enjoyed watching first ladies pick up a copy of the book first ladies influence and image featuring pro files of the nations first ladies through interviews with top historians. Now available in paperback, hard cover, or as an ebook. Tonight on American History tv beginning at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, a look at the lives of Hillary Clinton and laura bush. Cspan, in cooperation with the White House Historical association produced a series on the first ladies, examining their private lives and the public roles they played. First ladies influence and image features individual biographies of the women who served in the role of first lady over 44 administrations. Watch American History tv tonight and over the weekend on cspan3. American history tv on cspan3, exploring the people and events that tell the american story every weekend. Coming up this weekend, saturday at 2 00 p. M. Eastern on ororal histories an interview with civil rights activist courtlynn cox, serving as the secretary general of the 1974 sixth panafrican congress. On sunday at 4 00 p. M. Eastern on reel america the 1963 nbc news report the American Revolution of 63 a program on the Civil Rights Movement with protests from albany, georgia, birmingham, alabama, cambridge maryland and the northern cities of engelwood, new jersey, chicago and brooklyn. A discussion on congress, Political Parties and polarization with historians edward airs and jo an freeman. And 8 00 p. M. On the presidency, author andrew cohen talks about his book two days in june john f. Kennedy that made history about two days that defined jfks response to the new clear arms race and civil rights. Exploring the american story. Watch American History tv this weekend on cspan3. Former First Lady Barbara Bush passed away in april of 2018. She was 92 years old and had been married to george h. W. Bush for 73 years. We talked to her