Transcripts For CSPAN2 SC President George W. Bush Decision

CSPAN2 SC President George W. Bush Decision Points July 12, 2024

It is indeed a real pleasure for me to welcome all of you to Miamidade College and the 26th addition of Miami Book Fair international. This is your official opening for the book fair. Eight consecutive days and the street fair that will take place friday, saturday and sunday of next week. This is without question the finest and largest literary event in america. We are very proud of the college to be able to host these every year, now for 26 years. The community has been so responsive to visitors and residents of the Community Coming together. The book fair has been labeled in many different ways. My two favorite ones, the american author who said miami Fair International is the literary makeup of the western world. The other label is what former First Lady Barbara Bush said about book fair. She said an embarrassment of riches. I love that one. Between now and next sunday, we will have over 350 offers. Some of them coming from different parts of the world. Doing the street fair, hundreds of thousands of people who will be visiting the fair. Hundreds of thousands of books for people to buy. I like to as a point of privilege introduced three members of congress who are here today. Good friends of Miamidade College and the fair and they are lincoln lincoln, would you stand. [applause] little brother mario. [applause] and eliana. [applause] a proud alum of Miamidade College. [applause] now to introduce a very special guest today. Someone who needs no introduction. Someone who is a cultural icon in this community and has done so much. A chair of Miami International to bring books to life, to bring people together and to bring the best of the world and leadership to miami. Please help me welcome in mitch. [applause] thank you. It really is an honor to be introduced by one of my mentors. We all know what eduardo has done for this community. With Miamidade College. This gift to the community which is a miamidade book fair. Lets give the college a huge round of applause as well. [applause] also, as i stand up here, i have to recognize as we are entering a new book fair week, the incredible woke of the entire book fair team led by a remarkable woman, a good friend of mine who has been the heart and soul of the book fair for many years and that is the executive director alina. [applause] as eduardo said, it is an amazing week. Each night this week we have an author coming in led by an entire weekend. A round the clock. Please pick up your fairgoers guide. Go online. Find out what is happening at the Miami Book Fair. It is an absolute honor to be sort of welcoming this program. To introduce the president and engage the president. An honor to whose books i have sold in our bookshop for many, many years. It is a pleasure to meet him. Michael. A graduate of harvard and yale law school. Spent two years at yale while president bush was there as well. Their tracks did not cross then. The senior political analyst for the washington examiner. A resident fellow. He is also a Fox News Channel contributor and coauthor of the almanac of american politics. He has written for many publications including the economist, the New York Times and the sunday times of london. Previously a Senior Writer of u. S. News and world report and a member of the Washington Post editorial page. Please give him a warm, warm welcome. [applause] thank you very much. It is an honor to be here. An honor to introduce the 43rd president of the United States, George Walker bush. [applause] thank you all. Please be seated. Michael, before we begin, i do want to thank you for the leadership of the Miami Community college. I had the honor of giving the graduation speech year when i was the president. I am thankful that you invited me back. Mitch, i also want to thank you for promoting literacy. As a new author, it is in my interest that you promote literacy. I want you to know that i did recognize the fact that you invited my mother. Finally got to me. [applause] i want to thank you all for buying this book which i personally signed. I understand that after this over you will get your copy. Mr. President , your book is entitled it is not really an exhaustive autobiography if you are full tell us what you wanted to do with this book. I thought it would be strange to start off i was born in a log cabin. [laughter] not exactly the case. Michael, i wanted people to understand what it was like to be president. I made a lot of controversial decisions and i wanted to give the reader a chance to understand the process by which i make decisions. The environment of which i make decisions. The people i listen to as i make decisions. This is not an attempt to rewrite history, not an attempt to fashion a legacy, it is an attempt to be part of the historical narrative. It was a joyous experience. There is an autobiographical portion. I put that in there to try to make the first decision. Why i ran for president in the first place. A logical decision for the reader. In other words, i cannot just say i decided to run without describing the person that was running. Can you tell me a day in which you had not had a drink. The beginning of me quitting drinking. I would not be sitting here as your former president if i had not quit drinking. Who asked you that question . Believe it or not, it was my dear wife laura. She was tired of me drinking. I became tired of me drinking as well. The book is very antidotal. It was really an interesting experience to recreate the antidotes. Turns out the president has a lot of historical record that his disposal. Diaries for every minute of my life as president. There is notes of National Security meetings. Memorandum of phone calls i made it was interesting to recreate a lot of the Decision Making process from these. There is no historical record of how i felt or the emotions i felt and i tried to do my best to give the reader the chance of emotions during the very dramatic moments. Your father was elected president in 1988, as a future president , you may have had a lot of opportunity for training, but what kind of role did you play . What kind of observations did you make with your dad and his administration . First of all, obviously, a focal point of the early part of the book is the relationship with my father. I realize there is a lot of babble taking place in my presidency about the relationship of father and son, both of whom are president. The story is pretty simple. I love george bush. I adored george bush. He was an incredible inspiration for me. I learned a lot from him. I learned structure and a white house. I never dreamt that i would be president when he ran in 1988. Very few people dreamt i would be president. [laughter] including my mother. Including you. I remember interviewing you in the texas delegation. That is right. I am interviewing a future president. I thought governor clemens maybe. [laughter] i hope he stays out of trouble. Well [laughter] here is what i learned. I watched a gracious man be president. What is interesting is, watching my dad be president was a lot harder than being president. Anything bad about him was said, i would get angry. Frankly, at times, i was rude and i say so in the book. I was defending someone that meant a lot to me. When i became president , it was much easier to deal with that having watched him go through with it. It bothered me with my dad, it did not really bother me. I made that point in the book. Tell me about the first time you pushed dick cheney for president. Referring to a store in the book where i had made up my mind that dick cheney was the right person to run with me. The Vice President ial Selection Process is really the first indication as to how a potential president will make a decision. I had watched my dad make his decision and it was a very thoughtful process. So going after the exhaustive list, i decided he would be the right guy for the president ial think. I like to my trust in his judgment i knew it was kind of person i would be constantly secondguessing decisions. It could be president. And would reassure the American People that i understood the nature of the vice presidency. And so i told my senior team down there in austin betting and they strongly objected. He thought the Vice President cheney would not help with Electoral College rated in terms of the they were really valuable. George w. Bush he felt like taking someone for my fathers administration would look too much like a continuation of president 41s administration. He was worried about his health. And he was worried about some of the policies they did get voted on when he was in the u. S. Congress. So my management style was to put carl in deck in the same room with the Governors Mansion and let carl air out why he did not think on be on the ticket. And what is interesting is that agreed with him. So it took me a while to persuade Vice President cheney to join us on the ticket. Theres a lot of speculation about my relationship with him. I will tell you this. Im glad i picked him in 2000. As i sit here in 2010, i am glad i picked him in 2000. And in my judgment he was a superb Vice President. A couple of people that were not eager for you to run for president in 1999 and in 2000, work to people very closely related to you. Theres some connection there with what you state is your biggest mistake in the 2000 campaign. With respect to the 2000 campaign. George w. Bush you are referring to my daughters. The idea of their father running in many of the go to college with secret Services Just not really appealing to them. [applause]. Michael is referring to the biggest political mistake of my life was not revealing to the people of texas that have been arrested for drunk driving. I had been up in maine and John Newcomen i went to bark. And tell me how to drink mayor, mug with both hands. [applause]. Image bite the edge of the mug. [laughter]. And two monks to drink just boulevard by a policeman in maine. And it was posted in a pay for print and i have been called for jury duty. And i wasnt drunk driving charge that had been dismissed from the jury. But as i was working out of the courtroom, a reporter asked me if i had never been arrested for drunk driving. And i said i did a lot of stupid things when i was young. And heres the reason. My girls were fixing to drive. I felt strongly the baby boomer parents should not be visiting their stance upon their children i was deeply concerned that if i wouldve said yes. My message to them wouldve been undermined. He just saying it right after all, he became the governor. I think we will treat and drive as well. That was a huge political mistake. Because five days before the election in 2000, concealed records were unsealed and dropped in the public arena. That was an easy issue to handle. And of course, i quit drinking but the problem is that anything that changes the discourse about five days going into campaign is monumental. And carl and i believed that revelation of the drunkendriving probably cost 2 million votes. It is people that we met we dont need this. We thought it was when the weight and there was another but they didnt spend time distorting the issue. It was a reaction. I was a huge political mistake and i if i had to do to begin, i obviously wouldve revealed it at the appropriate time that i had been drinking and driving. I had paid my dues. I quit drinking and probably shouldve held the at an event of the mothers against the drivers seminar. Were here speaking in florida. Is there any point we might not get floridas electoral votes in the 2000 controversy. George w. Bush it seemed like we had root when the race five different times. I wasnt sure. Nothing about florida. The one thing that we are to me was that up with this in the book. A rather gentle way. But the networks called the election. Im confident cost me a lot of votes. Most florida zone these are times and prayed with him panhandle dozens of times and pretty when they called the election at 7 00 oclock eastern, theres a lot of people, no need for me to vote. It was very dramatic time. I am most grateful for one of my earlier decisions that was on election day. Couple things. People were urging me to declare victory. And he took me aside and he said dont do it. His judgment was right. And secondly, i woke up really early in the morning and asked jimmy baker to come in here. My dads different. One of the great Public Servants ever. And worked out fine. But that was an interesting. Is president , you met and dealt with many foreign leaders. Write about them in the book. In various shapes and forms printing you write, ive always been able to reach people. Vladimir putin. When he first met him, he said that a sense of his soul. George w. Bush a look in his eyes i saw soul. And later you told him that he was coldblooded. George w. Bush yes, i did pretty suet what can you tell us about that. George w. Bush the meeting of the story. We were in the room thankfully they did not ask me to identify where was one is running in 2000. [laughter]. [applause]. I dont know where it is and is a fabulous country by the way. Really one of the most beautiful countries. That is meeting with putin for the first time. In 2001 and he is talking to me about soviet settling the russian federation. After about five minutes of listening to him. He was talking about the date. I said is it true that your mother give you cross that she had blessed in jerusalem. I had read about the cross and his mother and a cia briefing. There is asking that is i wanted to learn more about the person. But i needed to know the type of person i was dealing with. He then starts describing his mom and the cross prayed in natos interesting story about how young the cross on the doctrine of her down. Until the workmen the only thing that i really which are defined as the cross. And then he explained the company with the cross. And then the atmosphere in the room changed. He said, as is if it was meant to be. And i said, thats the of the cross. So when i was asked a question the conversation went on from there. But when i was asked the question, we were in front of a huge press conference and my answer was, yes, i saw him. And he couldve tried been clever like ronald ragan with the great answer but it wouldve sanded like plagiarism so i said, yes right in the reports of wine i sent is a look into his eyes and saw his soul. And in my memory at the time, and sell the whole conversation changed what he was talking something as precious as his mom and the gift. In the michael was talking about the last time i met him. Rush had just invaded georgia with the olympics and i was mad. And spoken to his successor. And made it very clear that the United States was objecting strongly the russian invasion. And in china at the opening game ceremony any signs down and listen to him. Have a conversation which we both were winning. Yet the conversation was pretty tough because we are on international tv. If i listen to him. Ive been telling you for seven years, the president of georgia. Put in said i hotblooded. I said no vladimir. You are coldblooded. So our relationship, these two anecdotes and theres a lot of stories in between. Like a classic came when i introduced him at camp david. Partners had full scottish terrier. And he can adjust him and i then. [laughter]. And then with latimer. , he kindly invited stuff over and he was a gracious host by the way. And he said would you like to be monogamous interpreted how malthus dog. Huge dog. And he said bigger faster and stronger than party. [laughter]. He changed. Michael be changed. You had to change your presidency to paris to florida on the morning of september 11th 2001. It took you while you back to washington. He tell us something about what is like to be president of the United States today. George w. Bush my role became clarified. Priority in my administration change from no child left behind are tax cuts or Economic Growth were dealing with that something to protect americans. And when the second plane has said that and the second tower in america was under a Second Attack i was staring at Young Children my first reaction was anger. Then my role became clear. The contrast between the evil of the attackers in the innocence of our citizens. Starting with the children made it clear my job was to protect. In a put in their then everything after that, the decisions i made. Many of which did that attack and i was quickly urged not to come back to washington. Its like flu louisiana and nebraska. And i finally said im going home about for an afternoon. They said theres a war and they were very uncertain about other tax credit but hampshire was not going to give a speech of the country from a bunker in nebraska. It did not want to give the enemy a psychological advantage of seeing the president on the run. So the only time in my presidency. Overruled the secret service. Their job is to protect you. Make your job easier or harder. I said im going home. When a bunker and it was about four below the white house. Hard bunker. And they the sweet boy to say. An essential me the bed. So show me the thing that looked like it had been by gary truman. [laughter]. And ice and im not slipping down here. Because i knew i needed sleep party did favorite crisis, it is essential that you get rest in order to clearly, think clearly. So we went upstairs. Laura is sound asleep. Another sleep. And here by breathing heavily. And they said the white house is under attack lets go. So grab laura. And robe. [laughter]. Henneman running shorts and a tshirt. I grab the dog. It will back down there. About four stories below the white house. Young airmen comes on the corner and said it was one of ours. The 16th they had been flying over the city. And the wrong signal the wrong video claude and was flying back to them to the potomac and everybody thought it was the final plane. Getting re

© 2025 Vimarsana