And the Book Publishers decision to release the Senate Intelligence Committee Report on torture. For a complete Television Schedule booktv. Org. Booktv, 48 hours of nonfiction books and or authors, television for serious readers. Next on booktv, president george w. Bush discusses his biography of his father president george h. W. Bush with andy card who served as white house chief of staff for bush 43 and secretary of transportation for bush 41. This is about 40 minutes. [applause] today is a very special day in the life of the george bush president ial life foundation. It is special because we gather for the National Book launch of 41 a portrait of my father. Fittingly, on veterans day a. To wit, today we have both the author and subject, son and father, the 43rd and the 41st president s of the United States here at the bush library center. This morning will consist of a moderated discussion about 41. Our moderator served as depp canty chief of deputy chief of staff to the 41st president. He also served as chief of staff to the 43rd president of the United States and most recently as acting dean of the George Bush School of government and Public Service here at texas a m university. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the honorable andrew card. Andy . [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the 46th governor of the state of texas and the 43rd president of the United States, the honorable george w. Bush. [applause] thank you all. Mother. [laughter] thanks, mother and dad, for being here. Thank you all for coming here today for this distinguished author series. [laughter] i dont qualify. [laughter] [applause] anyway, i have written a book. Kind of a surprise to people in parts of our country that i can write, much less read. [laughter] but i thank you for your interest, be and i will just tell and i will just tell you right up front that this is a love story. Its not an objective analysis of president bush. Its a story about an extraordinary man who, in my judgment is the finest oneterm president our countrys ever had. And [applause] anyway, my old pal andy cards going to ask some, im sure difficult questions. [laughter] and im thrilled to be here, proud to be here with fred mcclure too and, ryan, thank you very much for serving. I see weve got some ambassadors here, the cobbs. Thank you all for being here, and thank you for serving our country as well. Mr. President , it is a thrill to have you on the campus of texas texas a m and bush school, the bush library the bush museum, this is all exciting for us because believe it or not weve got tremendous pride in you and your dad and your entire family. Thank you. And this book that you wrote is, its more than a love story. Its actually a story written about how to fall in love. Not only with people but with Public Service. And the bush school which is the greatest legacy your dad has left for the future is actually a place where the invitation to be a noble Public Servant is offered, trained and performed. And so its great to have you on the campus of texas a m at the bush school. But why did you write this book when you did . Well i wrote it when i did because i wanted dad to be alive. [laughter] to be able to see how much not only i care for him, but a lot of people care for him. Secondly, his presidency in many ways was overshadowed by his predecessor, and thats understandable. People are beginning to reassess the presidency of 41, and i want to be a part of that process. And i wanted him to know that the process was going to take place. And this guy was a great president. And since the beginning of people understanding that. I wrote it because David Mcculloughs daughter planted the seed. She told me one time at the ranch, you know, i wish my dad always wished he could have read a book by john q. Adams about his father, john adams. I said, well, i can do that. [laughter] and so thats why i wrote it. Its and thank you very much for your interest in it. Its a pretty good read. Weve got a big print version for some of you. [laughter] its funny you should mention john adams, john quincy adams. Your dad was actually born in massachusetts yeah. On add adams street. On adams street. Named for both of the adamss. Yeah. And your grandfather had a tremendous influence on your dad that ended up being an influence on you. Correct. So could you tell me what you think the legacy of love gave to your dad that allowed you to get the legacy of love that made well, its that Public Service matters that were blessed to be americans and that part of that blessing requires us to serve others. A real lesson. Plus, that if youre a lousy golfer, play fast. [laughter] he was a great golfer. Dad was a good golfer. Im not a good golfer. At any rate, prescott bush, very successful wall street guy. Ends up being the town moderator in greenwich connecticut. So a lot of his buddies were probably drinking martinis and drinking gin at the country club, hes working to help others. Im confident that set a profound example for dad, and his service set a profound example for his children, of which i was one. It was funny i remember when your dad was first running for president in 1979 he held a press conference right around when he announced his candidacy and he was in boston. I remember a reporter saying why were you born in milton, massachusetts . [laughter] and i was impressed with his response. He said i wanted to be close to my mother. Yeah. [laughter] thats kind of funny because when i was running for governor of texas, i kept asking mother how come i was born in connecticut. [laughter] but in this book youve written about the phenomenally close relationship that your dad had with his mother. Yeah. Very close. And, you know, i tell excuse me. I tell the story about so she passed away right after the 92 election which had to have made the 92 Election Results even tougher. And dad and daro, my sister, go to see ganny thats what we called her and he was actually reading a bible verse to her and out spilled these letters that he had written her from the war zone. They were very close. And shes an angelic person. Very competitive needless to say. Its kind of a runs heavily in our gene pool competition. [laughter] but, yeah a sweet, sweet lady. You know, i was fortunate enough to get to know her and, of course dad was really fortunate to be raised by her. Well and you were fortunate to be raised as well by mother . Well, you dont know, andy can. Youre stretching it a little bit there. [laughter] you know, i used to say in these campaigns i had my daddys eyes and my mothers mouth and youre learning why i said that. [laughter] but i was touched early in the book you describe how your dad wrote a letter to his girlfriend, and he said i want you to, basically, be the mother of my children and what wonderful children they produced. Well, im glad. [laughter] no, thats right. Dad theres letters that dad has written scattered throughout the book. Hes a great letter writer. And it seems to be a lost art. So maybe one of the things this book will do is remind people of how important writing letters are. But its and so scatteredded throughout the book scattered throughout the book is a series of letters some of which he wrote mom, some of which he wrote to all of us, some of which he wrote me when i was president. Andy was there and it mattered to be able to get these notes or phone calls from dad. Because in that he was president , he knew what the pressures of the job were like. And he knew moments can be, you know, very trying. And to have him interject some humor and or a love note really made a huge difference during my presidency. You know, look i recognize theres a lot of psychobabble about our relationship, and cha cha thats not exactly our long suit here in this family. Anyway, there was people cant possibly comprehend. And hopefully this book one reason ive written it, is to help people understand better that when you admire somebody as much as all of us admired george h. W. Bush any offers help and or comfort and he offers help and or comfort it means more than any advice he could give. Ive been asked during the presidency are you calling him for advice. In the book i make it clear that, you know, not really. And it shocks people to hear that. One reason why is had i said help i need your advice he would have said, send your briefers. This is a man whos made president ial decisions. He knows you dont make president ial decisions off the cuff. As andy will testify we got plenty of ideas off the cuff. When youre president , youve got enormous resources at your disposal to help you make informed decisions. Well, george h. W. Bush knew that better than anybody, and so his great contributions to my presidency was the comfort he provided. And by the way, i had to comfort hill at time at him, at times because our roles got reversed. I was miserable at times when he was president and didnt handle it very well. And more used to call me and say you need to call your dad. And id say i was president at this point why . Because he just read some editorial, and hes upset. So id call him x hed say can you believe what they said about you . Id say dad, dont worry about it, im fine. So our roles got reversed in kind of a unique way, and this book, i think will bring the life of the presidency from a father and son perspective to you. Its a story that only one person can can tell. This book is a biography of your dad yeah. A little wit of a a little bit of a biography of your mother. Its an autobiography of you yeah. But it is also a unique story about how to carry burdens, how to deal with failure how to be humble in success. And your parents had a lot of failure, they had a lot of struggle. Yeah, they did. And that had an impact on you growing up, losing a sister with yeah. Being involved in the challenges of moving and different jobs and whatever. Could you talk about some of that aspect in the book that youve well, so heres a guy who runs for senator of texas twice ask and loses and runs and loses and runs for president and ends up being a great father. Of defeat didnt define george bush. Theres something greater than life than chalking up political losses. It taught me and im confident it taught jeb that you dont need to fear failure. If you fear failure itll cause you to make decisions that, you know, probably prevent you from living life to the fullest. But george bush is a great risk taker. I mean, running for the senate in 64 was risky. Nobody even heard of the guy you know . Hes coming out of houston, hes running against ralph yarborough. Theres a lot of races you cant win. Its kind of like golf, if you dont get enough strokes, you cant win the contest on the 1st tee. The goldwater landslide johnson landslide against goldwater made it impossible to win but, nevertheless, he ran. Heres the thing that fascinates me about dad, a lot of things fascinate me about him, but catch this. So he is all world at yale. Hes fay beta kappa in two Phi Beta Kappa in two years. That part of the gene pool got diluted. [laughter] hes the captain of the yale baseball team. They came in second in the nation. Hes married with a kid, hes, you know, bigtime on campus. His fathers wall street his grandfathers wall street, and everybody says wall street. Finish and he moves to odessa. [laughter] i mean its an extraordinary person to make that kind of decision. By the way its an extraordinary woman to have said im with ya. [applause] so as i say in the book we get out there, and dad finds us a place to live. And a duplex. [laughter] on seventh street with one of the few indoor bathrooms on the street, a bathroom we shared with two ladies of the night. [laughter] so much for the silver spoon stuff. [laughter] see, what happens is people develop myths about you in the public life and, you know, im sure those people have an image of dad that is not even close to reality. This book will help people understand what hes like. And is it objective . Not at all. No, not on [laughter] not even close. Well, there is a pretty objective part about little toy soldiers [laughter] tell us about the toy soldiers. Well, throughout book i try to explain how he disciplined me. And, by the way in contrast with mother, one time she caught me urinating in the hedges and washed my mouth out with soap. [laughter] dad, on the other hand, im playing with these little feeble looking little toy soldiers, and he said, whered you get those . And i didnt have a very good answer because id stole em. [laughter] the next thing i know im marching back, hes taking me back now, keep in mind im about 6, by the way, not 26. Laugh [laughter] so we go back to the store and, per his instructions, i walk in and apologize to the manager. It wasnt simply not just putting them back in this little bowl that id taken them out of it was apologizing and, you know learning responsibility. And that was it. There was no followup no harsh followup, no youll be confined to your room, none of this. It was like, this is what we expect. But his way he disciplined was instructive to me as a future father. But it also meant we were very stayed very close to him. We tested their patience, i can assure you. [laughter] i cant speak for my brothers and sister, but one of my favorite stories thats not in the book which speaks to dads leadership is the time mother says to me your dad and i would like to take you to dinner. Im 18 years old, and it didnt really happen that much. And so im saying to myself okay, lets see dinner with mother and dad sure lets go. We get there, she can barely contain herself, and she says, i discovered an ashtray under your bed. You smoke [laughter] and dad looked at her and said so do you. [laughter] and that was the end of the conversation. [laughter] i mean, very wise. Think about that anecdote for a while. Its, you know, hes a solid guy. [laughter] well, your dad has said a remarkable experience in life where he has, you know, joined the military right out of andover on his birthday, he goes off to war and the story of your dad writing letters back to barb, the story of your dad losing a friend yeah. And it ended up being the first of many letters that he had to send and that you had to send that you never wish you had to send once never mind thousands of times. Yeah. Tell us a little bit about that. Well, first of all youre the guy whispering in my ear second planes hit the second tower, americas under attack. And, you know, nobody wants to become a wartime president. Nobody should hope to want to be a wartime president. But i watched this good man become a great commander in chief because first and foremost, he cared deeply about the troops that served underneath him and their families. Which is essential if you end up having to be the commander in chief. And i he wrote letters a lot of great letter writer. One of my favorite stories in the book, so jenna asked him on his 90th birthday you might remember that moment when he dives out of of of a helicopter out of a helicopter at age 90 amazing feat says do you still think about the people with whom you served, he says he thinks about delaney and white all the time. Those are the two guys who died on the plane when he got shut down can. Its amazing he still thinks about delaney and white all the time. What i didnt realize is that dad had invited delaney and whites sisters to the oval office when he became president. In other words, it was still on his mind. Hes still thinking about how to help, you know, heal the wounds of these sisters that never really got to know their brothers. And, yeah thats just one of the most difficult aspects of the presidency, is to be the comforter in chief. And i learned at the knee of a master. Well here we are on veterans day, and we pay respect to all of those who did make sacrifices for us. But i also know that the burleds of the presidency are pretty great. You the burleds of the presidency are burdens of the presidency are great. 40 how did you help your dad . First of all he served as a great example. Look you never know what its like to be president until you get in there, but i had a seasons of what it was like particular oi sense of what it was like particularly to our family. I love america thats not a burden. Maybe you dont sleep as well as you should at times, but its not a burden. Secondly, if there was a worry, it was about barbara and jenna. I put in the book that when dad decided to run for president one of the things he never had to worry about a mother being able to handle the job. And laura gave me the same gift. Its a liberating feeling just so you know. And for me andrew, the burdens were how the experience would affect our girls. And they were not very happy about the fact that i was going to run for president. Its like, youve ruined our life [laughter] you cant win [laughter] you are not as cool as you think you are. [laughter] i heard it all. [laughter] but, you know, i had seen family grow stronger, and i knew that would be the case. And so that burden wasnt a burden. In terms of dealing with the pressures, he helped a lot by just checking in on occasion. But i also know that if when you surround yourself with competent, compassionate, decent people, it helps do the job. You were chief of staff of a fine staff. By the way a very tough job, he had, but he handled it with great grace, and people loved andy in the white house. Thats a good transition to an uncomfortable time. [applause] yeah. On september 11th after i whispered in your ear yeah. Of. Those fateful words, a second plane hit the second tower, america is under attack, and you rose to phenomenal responsibility, and you led decisively with optimism. I remember being on the plane and you were telling us we were going to go back to washington d. C. , and i was suggesting that you really didnt want to make that decision at that time. And you i was hot. Yes, you were pretty hot. I made it clear i didnt like your recommendation. Correct. [laughter] however, i took it. [laughter] but i remember the phenomenal concern you had for your parents. Yeah. And younded up you ended up tracking your parents down, and they were in wisconsin or minnesota wisconsin. Wisconsin. Yeah. Tell us about i said, where are you . First of all the communications, as andy will attest, were terrible. Not as bad as he says. Well [laughter] either that or theyre denying me certain information, in which case you were terrible. [laughter] let me just say that i couldnt we had troubling making connections. We did. And finally found mother and dad. Dad got on the phone so comforting. Unbelievably thoughtful person. One of his really great strengths and one reason he was such fabulous president was because he could think about the other person. How does the other person feel. Thats why he was able to be so effective about gorbachev, for example. And so he was very comforting. Mother got on the phone i said you know, where are you . She said, wisconsin. I said, why are you there . She said, you grounded our plane [laughter] man, did i need to laugh at that moment. [laughter] and i think andy was in the room when i did that or in the cabin when i did. It was awesome, it was like, it was a moment of levity. One of the things dad taught me is that youve got to laugh in life. And im convinced that one reason why both mom and dad are have got such a wonderful sense of humor is because they dont take themselves so seriously that theyre not burdened by you know, doubt and that theyre able to i dont know if you remember mother you used to have a mat that said birds soar because they take themselves lightly. And it was i dont remember it, but anyways, i think it was a bathroom mat. [laughter] very thoughtful of you anyway. Well i have witnessed or been the brunt of many of the practical jokes that i learned are really a bush trait. I was surprised to read in your book about a rubber onion. Yeah. So in midland there was a guy who went to yale. Not a lot of yale graduates in midland in 1948. [laughter] and his name was earl craig very formal kind of guy from pennsylvania. Affectionately known as the earl of craig. And he used to love to take his martini and dramatically take the toothpick out and bite the olive in a very grand fashion. So dad puts the rubber olive on the [laughter] he very funny man. [laughter] you inherited the same trait. I dont know, yeah. He sent jokes in to annty at time. Andy would come, so in the book i put this one. Humor really helps. We had a joyful white house. We believe it or not, in spite of the pressures and traumas and stuff, we laughed and enjoyed each Others Company a lot. And for those of you running organizations or thinking about running organizations, id strongly suggest making sure theres a sense of levity where you work. And so i cant recall what it was, but andy gets this email from dad and comes in and cays this is from and says, this is from your father. A dad gets arrested for stealing a can of peaches and he and his wife go before the judge, how many peaches in the can, he says six. He says fine ill sentence you to six months in prison. Before the man could leave the wife raises her hand and says, and he stole a can of peas [laughter] one thing that you said when you were commander in chief that, quite frankly surprised me, and that was when you said and this was during the early talk of the greatest generation and you didnt want us to talk about the greatest generation as much. And you said we shouldnt use those terms. What was your thinking on that . Refresh my memory. Ive changed my mind. [laughter] on veterans day in front of world war ii vets, of course they were the greatest generation. [laughter] i dont remember that. Well i think we were saying that the greatest generations are also still ahead for this country. Oh, i got you. And there are servants out there every day. Got it. So we celebrated those who were being great every day. I appreciate that. Thats right yeah. 68 andrew. My memorys fading. [laughter] in your book you describe some of the traits of Decision Making that you learned from your dad right. And some of the decisions that you learned because of your dad. Right, right. You want to talk about some of the tough decisions that have to be made . Yeah sure. Look, in order to lead, first and foremost you have to know where youre going to lead. You cant be befuddled or doubtful. There has to be a certainty in vision clarity in vision and a certainty in purpose. And dad had that. This shall not stand. When he said this shall not stand, i remember watching on tv, this was saddam husseins invasion of kuwait. You know i knew he meant it. And the purpose, of course was the defend an ally from a ruthless thug. And he defined that in terms of our national interest. And it was a clear, clear position. And he didnt waver, you know . There was a lot of angst and pressure. Curiously enough, when it came time for congressional authorization which neither of us needed to get but both of us decided to and, frankly his decision to do so was instructive to us at the white house, it was a close senate vote. 5248 or manager like that. I mean or Something Like that. It wasnt an overwhelming sentiment to supporting this shall not stand. But they went. And achieved the objective. To show you with how things have changed in the post9 11 world, like dad, we decided to go to the the congress. Unlike the vote when he was proposing to get saddam out of kuwait, our vote was overwhelming to authorize the president to deal with saddam hussein. Overwhelming. Matter of fact, a lot of people now currently in the administration were strong supporters of that referendum. Thats right. So, and tactically i learned a lot from dad. Strategically, i learned a lot from him. I mean, from a strategic perspective, youve got to understand your national interests, define em and act on em. Tactically, youve got to learn how to achieve objectives. You set the goal and what tactics are necessary to achieve the goal. And in the book youll see that theres a constant comparison between types of decisions we made and lessons i learned in making those decisions. One of the great experiences that helped to give you a better perspective was your involvement in your dads successful run for the presidency. Yeah. Yeah. And you hadnt been that engaged in his other campaign for the presidency. You were peripherally involved. Yeah. Id just gotten shellacked running for congress, and i was kind of wasnt quite ready to fire it back up again. [laughter] came in second in a twoman race andrew. [laughter] but you played a significant role on the campaign. And in the book you talk about some of the roles you plaid. Yeah. Well, what happened was i merged my independent Oil Exploration company into a Larger Company we got some liquidity and was kind of figuring out what to do. Dad had a big meeting at camp david to introduce us to his Campaign Staff to be in 1987. So i flew up there, laura flew up there with me, brothers and sisters, very thoughtful of george and his brothers and sisters, by the way. Hes got the family there, making sure everybodys included in the process. And so lee atwater, the hot shot political consultant, is there you know . Id been reading about how lee had allegiances maybe elsewhere. And so had jeb. And so lee finishes his presentation, any questions . I said, yeah how can we trust you . [laughter] jon said, jeb followed up and jeb followed up and said what hes saying is if theres a grenade, we want you on it first. [laughter] and its, it was loyalty matters. And purpose matters. And so lee wisely approached both jeb and me and said if you guys are worried, why dont you come up here. And i mentioned it to dad, and he thought it was an interesting idea. So there was a so laura and i and the girls moved up as kind of an adventuresome moment. We moved out of midland sold our house bought one in washington. And so i was in the campaign. No title. But as dad said you dont need a title. I mean, proximity to power is power. Its the way it is in the white house, its the way it is in life. So i was there as kind of a loyalty enforcer. Surrogate, you know, i did a lot of things. And it was a great experience to watch him. He ran a great campaign. If anybody ever wonders how to become the nominee of a party from Vice President to president , how to succeed a president , read this book. Because he handled the timing superbly during the campaign. President reagan first of all, you know these midterms and all this stuff, reagan lost, the party lost eight seats in 86. A fact people forget. In the book i put in there that people get kind of tired of a president after six years. [laughter] im an expert on that. [laughter] not as tired as you get of the chief of staff. [laughter] andrew please. [laughter] and so there was big pressure on dad to distance himself from reagan, you know . But he would never do that to a friend. He but he also had the wisdom necessary to know that in a campaign you wanted to make sure the person with whom youre affiliated with is as strong as possible going into a general election. Not weak. And so the its a classic case of understanding human nature in politics. Well, when your dads term as president ended and he moved back to texas yeah. That was the beginning of a transition for you as well. Correct. And you started to think about what you might be doing. Tell us a little bit about the conversation of entering the political arena again. I know you ran for congress, but yeah, thats right. Well, there wasnt much of a conversation because he knew that on a decision like this whether it be for governor or president , youve got to make up your own mind. And theres no question, hed say im for you. It wasnt one of these things that i had to try to convince him that running for office was the right thing to do. His attitude is think about it, and once you make up your mind, im not going to tell you what you ought to do. Once you make up your mind, im with you 100 . On the other hand, i called up mother when i decided to run against ann richards. [laughter] hey, mom, im going to run against ann richards. She saids youre not going to be able to she said youre not going to be able to beat her shes too popular. [laughter] go figure. [laughter] i know dad leaves office, i could not have run for governor had he been reelected. Imagine trying to beat a popular incumbent, and i would have been spending as much time if not most of the time defending decisions he made or distancing himself myself from decisions he made and it would have been very difficult to get the kind of traction one needs in order to, you know, draw a contrast. And so in an interesting way his defeat empowered both jeb and me to run for office. And that year was the year that jeb ran and you ran. Right. And the expectations were a little different than some people thought. You know, i dont know. I dont Pay Attention to any of that. [laughter] i thought i could win. And, you know, i really did. And, you know, i was hoping jeb would win. But, yeah. I mean, people draw conclusions for the wrong reasons. Anyway, in the book is a story about election night. I called dad and said im getting ready to go declare victory, and he said, congratulations, son mom and i are really proud of you. But it was clear his heart was in florida because jeb had lost. And one shouldnt be surprised. Once you get to know george bush by reading this book it shouldnt surprise you that he cares more for the person whos hurting than for the one whos you know winning. And anyway, sweet, sweet moment. Its all the psychobabblists that make a big deal out of that. Obviously, it reflects some kind of love for one and not the other, expectation for one and not the other. Read the book before you say it again, and then youll get a better feel for what youre talking about. Family makes all the difference in the world to the bush clan, and they are, im going to say the best example of unconditional love. You have experienced the unconditional love of your parents. Yeah. Especially your dad. And tell me how you see that impacting how you love your children. Well, it was a great example. But you never know what unconditional love means until your daughters turn to be teenagers. [laughter] then you learn. And so in the book i put this i love you, theres nothing you can do to make me not love you so stop trying. [laughter] that was of a great quote. [applause] youre not going to answer this, but im going the tell you anyway. Whats another great quote in the book . Okay, its this [laughter] its about george bush and his faith. Preach is the sermon preach the sermon daily, and if necessary, use words. [laughter] summarizes the man. Well, there is a debate taking place now in america that you have been party to and your mother has been party to. And it relates to a very close relative of both of yours george p. [laughter] yeah. Moms got look remember, the one who said i youre not going to win, shes too popular. So keep that in mind andrew, when youre thinking about her wisdom. [laughter] do you want to share any familial insight into whats happening today . Yeah. I mean, obviously theres a lot of speculation on jeb. I can tell you that i can speak for 41 when i say this, he ought to run for president and would be a great president , should he win. [applause] on the other hand like secretary of state clinton hes got as good an insight into what its like to be president. These are the two most qualified people at being able to tell you what its like to be president. And so jeb is making a very personal decision. You know, we can pressure him all we want its not going to matter. Because he knows the consequences of his decision. First of all he doesnt fear failure or success. And so hes, as he said, hes going to make sure its the right thing for his family. And thats, that should be his priority. And so hes going to the make to make a very informed decision. People are always saying pester him to run. Well, you cant pressure somebody on such an important decision. I mean, its not going to cause him to think positive or negatively if we all harass him. Only he can decide. And thats what hes in the process of doing. And, you know, i dont know the timetable, andy. Its, you know well see. And it would be, you know, awesome if he runs, and if he doesnt, we all love him. Well you and one time, by the way [laughter] i heard him say he doesnt like the idea of a political class, the idea of bush, clinton bush obama, bush troubles him which speaks to his great integrity. I said, well how does this sound bush, clinton bush, obama, clinton . [laughter] the point is, you dont get to pick the environment in which you run. And so his decision is very personal decision. He doesnt listen to all that kind of stuff about, you know anyway. Well, you and your family have had a long history of nicknames for a lot of people. Your dads nickname kind of growing up was have half. Yeah, because hes such a generous person. Mine was all half. [laughter] ellie the elephant. I had never heard that until i researched the book. Yeah. Evidently, because he buzzed, in his avenger buzzed a circus and the elephants went wild, so his crew mates called him ellie the elephant. He was the chairman of the party. Yeah. By the way during watergate its amazing that he came out unscathed. This was a miserable period for baby boomers, by the way. And i was going to harvard at the time which is kind of a tough place to go when your dads the head of the Republican Party during watergate. I was on the ballot. Yeah, you were on the ballot. You won though. I won. Anyway its an interesting so Party Chairman cia in china. No president has ever had one of those jobs much less all four. Well, he also wrote a letter to president nixon he did yeah. And it was a courageous letter for a chairman of the Republican Party to write. Yeah. Of which is get out of office. You need to leave. And, you know, he couched it, of course in much gentler terms you know . Your contributions will be recognized and stuff. But the letter was, you know time for you to go. And that next day he went. The interesting thing about george bush is that he never you know, it would have been easy the start thumping your chest during that period and saying, you know, i told him to go. Because, you know, this was a very tumultuous time, and it would have been politically expedient to have claimed credit for one of the reasons nixon left office. But he wouldnt do that, of course. Thats not in his nature. But ultimately, history sorts things out, and the truth becomes revealed, and this is part of the process of getting people to see the truth of his presidency and his life. And your dad also frequently was invited by president s to take on responsibilities. Correct. And sometimes those responsibilities ran counter to the expectation. People were suggesting maybe he shouldnt do things like that. Yeah. But i was struck in the book how the noble servant gives the invitation that if the president wants you, you should find a way to say yes. Correct. And that seemed to be how he lived his life and practiced well so one anecdote in the book is this. Mother and dad are riding their bikes in china, beijing. And a messenger comes up with a top secret message. And its, turns out it was gerald ford asking george bush to come back and run the cia. And, in other words reenter the swamp of d. C. This was an ugly period for the agency. Postwatergate, you know, a lot of acrimony and very low morale. And, you know, as i understand you wept, mom wept when she knew that the person she loved dearly was heading back in. But he wrote in the book is the letter that he wrote kissinger and ford, ford and kissinger and talked about, you know, if the president asks, you know, i have the responsibility to do. And that has defined and i asked, by the way, i asked him and clinton to run the tsunami relief and they did. And did well, by the way, and ended up in one of the most unique friendships in our history. The guy who beat george bush in 92 would tell you that dad has become like a father figure to him. Which speaks volumes for both. Bill clintons Great Respect for george h. W. Bush and george h. W. Bushs great humility, that he wouldnt allow an election to intercede in a what is a unique friendship. I think its remarkable. I really think its, you know, an amazing story. Has that friendship [applause] has that friendship spilled over to you so that yeah. Is there well he calls me w. , and i call him bubba. [laughter] no yeah, we get along fine. Were the only two baby boomer president s. And, you know, he was born in august of 46 i was born in july of 46. We were both governors of, you know southern southwestern states, you know . We both like retail politics. Were both, you know, we both can talk a lot. [laughter] now were both grandfathers. And so we have, you know, a lot in common, and we both are members of this very exclusive club, and that is and you both love the same man. And we both love george h. W. Bush, we really do. And ive been a witness to that. I watched a very memorable trip to the popes funeral yeah. That was great. So we set up a delegation. You were on it, andy but you werent the official delegation, sadly. The official delegation was laura, me tad clinton dad, clinton and condi. And, like, you were an alternate. [laughter] you made the plane but, of course [laughter] since you set the manifest. [laughter] anyway, yeah, we got along fine going there. And it was a good experience. Hes a bills an interesting guy. Its safe to say i i call him friend and dad calls him friend too. Well the relationship that your dad has had with a fellow who was not only his political adversary, but beat him and the dialogue that they have has become so respectful and loving yeah. That its a great example of what should be happening in america today. Do you think theres any chance that america will get back to the day of yeah, i think so. I think the worlds been somewhat polluted by the anonymity on the blogosphere where people can say anything they want with no seasons of responsibility. No sense of responsibility. But, yeah, it has to, i mean, at some point in time. Well see. Its kind of hard to watch only because you want to make sure decent people in our country say Public Service is worthy and its noble. And, you know, its not a sacrifice. Im afraid a lot of people look at the harshness in the arena and say why would i want to do that, or why would i want to put my family through that . For the good of the cup weve got to tone for the good of the country, weve got to tone it down. Well, youre a living example of a legacy that your dad gave to america by allowing you to answer the noble call of Public Service. And i i was impressed in the book how the roots of that im going to say trait that you love america enough to to give it all started with your grandfather and your grandmother and the fact that youve never practiced brag attorney shah yeah. Well maybe you have a few times, but your dad hasnt. [laughter] i never would have gotten to be governor of texas, you know . [laughter] well its a great gift and and we are thankful that you told us the story of not only 41, but your dad and your mother and your siblings and your love for this great country, and you give us a chance to have some insight as well to a great family who gave us much more than we are willing to acknowledge. Thank you very much. [applause]
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