Transcripts For CSPAN3 Barbara Bush Interview 20240712 : vim

Her life before being married as well as her public and private life after marriage. Barbara bush, with all the posts that you and the president have held over the years, was there one that best prepared you for the white house, and when you became first lady, did you feel prepared . The answer is did i feel prepared . Yes, i really did. First of all, i wasnt elected so it didnt make that much difference. I did notice, though, 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 president s wife, you have made the news. So that was a lesson i had to learn. Pretty quickly. But i felt very prepared because we had lived in washington off and on. Our my fatherinlaw had been a u. S. Senator. Although we lived in texas, i think i was very comfortable. I had a wonderful, loving family, and so did george. And i think we felt comfortable. So i liked being the wife of the Vice President best of all. Why is that . Because you could say anything you wanted and nobody cared and you could do a lot of good things. When i got to the white house, you could do even more good things. And the great news is that its continued on. I mean, charities and things im interested in, i can really raise money, raise interest that a normal much smarter person cant do. Going into the white house, what weas some of the best advie you got. Lets see. Going into the white house, best advice i got. Keep your mouth closed, i suspect. But nobody dared say that to me. I dont remember getting too much advice. You know, i had been the president of the Senate Ladies and had a lot of friends. I had done that for eight years. And i went to the senate wives meetings every tuesday morning. I went some tuesdays when they didnt have meetings and had to be hauled home again. I loved that part of it. I loved all my life. I have been a very lucky person. You open your memoir that you wrote in 94 by saying, i have been very privileged in my life. I have been. And i wrote that because my husband said, youre going to e highly criticized because people are going to say you have lived a life of luxury. Although i lived in a tiny, small house, which i would be glad to show you any time in new york, and my father and mother struggled, i think, sort of because i had a very loving, sick younger brother, but i did live a privileged life. They loved me. They loved my sister, my brothers. We just had a great household. And i hope others could do it. We were privileged. Maybe not as privileged as some, but more privileged than 95 of the country. Mrs. Bush, when did you first meet george bush . I met george at a dance in those days, rye and greenwich exchanged christmas dances. And i met him at a christmas dance. He cut in on me. He didnt. He asked someone to introduce us, really. And i had on a red and green dress that my mothers great friend had given her and said, i wonder if barbara would like this dress. It had belonged to some friend of hers, and it was pretty, i guess, because george asked to meet me, and i met him there. We went out he came the next night to another dance. The first was in greenwich. And cut in on me. And my older brother, he asked him if he would play in a basketball game. Prep school boys against the rye high school. And they were murdered, incidentally, by the rye high school, but george said yes, he would play. And asked me if i would meet him and go out afterwards. And every member of my family came to that basketball game to look at this boy that i had raved over. And when i would come home at night, my mother would say, what did you do, who did you meet, whatever, and my father would say, tell her in the morning. And mother would say they never tell you anything in the morning. And i, evidently, came home and said i met this heavenly boy named poppy bush. And my mother knew the next morning exactly who he was, who his family was. She should have been the head of the cia. She knew everything. And i must say, i feel the same way about him today as i felt then. I can breathe now, but then i couldnt breathe when i was with him, but i can breathe when im with him now. But hes just as fabulous as he was then. Throughout your married life, you moved a lot. 27 times. He couldnt hold a job. But its been fascinating. Really lucky, the things we have done. We lived in some pretty horrible places. And we lived in some pretty wonderful places. And i loved almost every one of them. I liked them all because he was there, but some of them were, as everybody knows, we lived in a house with three ladies. One was a child and the other two were ladies of the night. And we shared the bathroom with them, which seems inconceivable now. I cant imagine my grandchildren doing that. But they missed some great adventures. George and i had lunch yesterday alone, and we talked about the fact, we had a lot of adventures our grandchildren will never have because they really are privileged. They may not know it, but they are. And they wont have these adventures. Its too bad. I never met a texan until i moved here. I thought they were all like jane withers, who was the bad girl compared to shirley temple, who was the good girl. But anyway, it turned out i love texas. And we chose to live here. Did you know early in your marriage that you were going to become a cocampaigner for offices . No. Never dreamt. I dont think george knew, contrary to popular belief. I think sometimes, was i surprised when he announced he was running for president . It didnt just happen like that. It worked up that way. He was the county chairman, and he was a congressman. And he was a very successful businessman. It didnt just happen that he said to me one day, im going to run for president. It just was there. But long after we were married, in fact, when he came back from china to be head of the cia, that meant end of politics, he would never be president , because you couldnt be head of the cia and be president. Oh, yeah . You can. In your memoir, you write, and this is from your journal in may of 1986, george is obviously the most qualified person for the job of president. Do i want him to run . Absolutely not. Well, this goes to show you, i told my boys they could never be elected, and look at them. So i guess im the political doubter. I think its a huge sacrifice to run for office. And i think people are very critical of the congress. They may not be doing a great job, but they can do better at home. They would have one home, they would be home with their families. Many of them cant afford a home in washington and a home i just feel like its asking a lot. I thought he might lose. Of course, he did, the senate. But we moved on. How do you develop that thick skin, or dont you, for 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. Just dont like it, but i dont pay any attention to it. Dont dare criticize george h. W. Bush. Ever. During the 1992 campaign, there was a bumper strip that said annoy the media, reelect bush. I didnt write that, but i might have. I dont remember that. I do remember when george was running for i guess president , on the freeway going from new york to connecticut, i saw someone with a sign that said bush for president. I was so excited. And when i got in the car, i raced my car up to be close to it. Turned out to be our cousin. I thought, oh, it was a stranger, but nobody knew who he was. Mrs. Bush, did you enjoy campaigning . Yes. I really like people. And it was fun. I liked it a lot. Funny things happened. And i really enjoyed it. Partially because i know hes the best man. And i campaigned for george w. Knowing full well he wasnt going to win. And he did. You think theres room for another bush in the white house . I think this is a Great American country, great country. And if we cant find more than two or three families to run for high office, thats silly, because there are great governors and great eligible people to run. And i think the kennedys, clintons, bushes, there are just more families than that. Im not arrogant enough to think that we alone are raising, but were raising public servants, whether theyre feeding the poor like lauren is, who has f 68 million children around the world, or barbara, who is bringing Global Health to the world, or pearce, who is working for big brothers big sisters. But there are a lot of ways to serve, and being president is not the only one. And i would hope that someone else would run. Although no question in my mind that jeb is the best qualified person to run for president. But i hope he wont because i think hell get all my enemies, all his brothers, and there are other families. I refuse to accept that this great country isnt raising other wonderful people. Barbara bush, you walk in as first lady. Is it in a sense a blank slate where you can create your own agenda . Yes. I guess. Im not sure i know quite what that means, but people are overly nice to me, and i feel it truthfully every single day. My friends have to look for parking places. I dont have to look for parking places. My friends very often call me and say would you mind taking me to whatever it is were going to, because they have to do those things. They have to wait in line at the airport. Yes, you can create your own plot or plan. And its a great privilege. You ought to take advantage of it because you can help people. And how do you pick your causes . 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. We would 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 is such an easy project to pick. I admit, it took me about half a year to pick it because i had always worked, volunteered in hospitals, but just 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 necessitary if were going to compete in this world. Was there ever a day in the white house where you just wanted to say no more, im done, i quit . Never. How could you say that . You have, what, 90 people whos only aim in life is to keep you happy, and your husband is doing good things. And hes doing the right thing. He knew when he raised those taxes that he was going to lose the election, although he had been 90 approved. He did the right thing. Im very proud of my family that do the right thing, and george bush, both have done the right thing. Like it or lump it. 20 years since you have been in the presidency. A lot of talk in washington about acrimony between the democrats and republicans. Is it different than it was 20 years ago . A little bit, yes. Probably more polarized. But george says we have lived at times where the democrats are very far liberal, very far to the left, and it swung back to very far to the right, and then we get to where we should be, which is talking to each other and civility. And jeb is right about that. Republicans and democrats should be talking about what theyre for, not what theyre against. And i really believe that. And i believe they will again. The white house. The second floor. Can it be a home . Yes. Let me put it this way. If you had a home when you went into it, you have a home when you come out of it. Maybe you didnt have a home when you went into it, i dont know about that, but we had a very big, loving family. When we went back to the white house with george w. , there was all the same fabulous staff. And president obama, when we went this summer to the points of light luncheon he gave for us, in between the luncheon and the giving of the points, the 5,000 point of light, he had all the former staff come. It was like family. I mean, we were loving seeing all the butlers and all the ushers and the flower people. It was just like family. So yes, they are family. And we were just fortunate enough to have them there for us, for the reagans, and then georges presidency. And then for george w. Is there a sorority of a type among former first ladies . Sort of. I think some are closer than others. Lady bird is gone. Pat nixon is gone. Those i was especially close to those ladies, and of course laura, no question, was the greatest first lady. But were friends. I am a great respecter of mrs. Obama, Michelle Obama and what shes doing. Obesity is a huge problem in our country, and shes working on it. And shes getting criticized for it. Government shouldnt tell you what to eat. Well, somebody has to tell these people what to eat. These children cannot be obese at a young age. Its just not healthy. It costs the country. Its a horrible thing. And we have got to make ourselves brighter, smarter, educated, and along with that, we have to educate our people on what to eat. Shes growing vegetable gardens and so i have respect for that. What about your predecessor and your successor . My predecessor, nancy reagan, is a wonderful lady, and she worked very hard on drugs. And my successor, of course, was a great secretary of state. So what did she work on . I guess secretary of state. Maybe she worked on my boy bill, who knows. Your husband and bill clinton have become good friends. Thats right. My husband, bill clinton, and i have become great friends. Bill visits us every summer. We dont agree politically, but we dont talk politics. And i think you would have to understand, i read someplace before youre critical of someone, you should remember that they did not have the advantages you had as a child. A loving mother and father. Bills father wasnt around. And i think that he thinks of george a little bit like the father he didnt have. And hes very loving to him. And i really appreciate that. When they went on that long tsunami trip, george told me bill insisted he stay in the bed, and bill insisted that he was taken care of. And that was really nice. I love bill clinton. Maybe not his politics, but i love bill clinton. Barbara bush, you brought up your daughterinlaw, laura bush. When we interviewed her for this series, we talked about a speech she had given where she compared you to don corleone, and windmills . No, from the godfather. Thats nice. You have been referred to by some family members as the enforcer of the bush family. What do you think about that reputation . Im not sure im thrilled at 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, no question about it. Do i like that role . No. Would i rather he had done it . Yes, but it doesnt work that way. 1990, wellesley college. Mmhmm. I was there. What was the speech you gave . Wellesley, you say, is not just a place but an idea. It was a difficult speech in that they objected to my speaking because i had never done anything in my life, that i just had a free ride, and they were right. And incidentally, it happened that rice and gorbachev were coming, and i couldnt leave her, so i invited her to come speak with me. And i got highly criticized, saying she doesnt dare come by herself, and shes bringing her as a protector. And it was a difficult speech. It turned out that there was one student at wellesley from south america who we were treating to this great education, and a girl from maine, and a day or two before the speech, the girl from maine called and said im so embarrassed, mrs. Bush, this is built into a great thing. I was getting calls from president nixon saying you tell those girls to go to the devil and whatever. I mean, i had a lot of people for me. But i didnt want to get into a spitting fight with the girls. But there it was. And rice on the plane going up, which was ridiculous, she didnt speak any english. We had an interpreter, and i said do you mind if i work on my speech a little bit . And she said, oh, youre giving a speech . And i said, well, you are, too. She said, oh, i am . And she went into the ladys room. I said to the interpreter, doesnt she know shes giving a speech . He pulled the speech out of his pocket and said she knows. But i was very lucky with that speech. We worked very, very hard on it. But i had given it at four or five other colleges that same spring, university of pennsylvania, university in st. Louis, a community college. Nobody gave a darn. But because of the controversy, same ending, same everything, but it made me, the speech. No question about it, because of the controversy people paid attention. Margaret thatcher wrote me and said it was the greatest speech she ever heard. George heard it in the white house. I mean, it was that highly because of controversy. Isnt that too bad . But anyway, i became a great speaker that day. You know, somewhere out in this audience might 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. You brought down the house with your closing line about political spouse and you wish him luck. I do. What would be your advice for a first spouse, a first husband . Same thing i would give a first wife, just be yourself. And watch your mouth. I had trouble with that. But i would say just be yourself. And take advantage of the opportunity. I mean, i had lunches for foreign children, heart, arthritis, cancer. Nobody paid any attention except in the home town where the doctor came from or the sick child came from or and then you get great publicity out in the country. Thats where it counts. Who cares what sorry the broadcasts say or something . What you care about is that the people know theyre being helped. Barbara bush, what should, in your view, people know about the first lady and her role that we dont know . I dont know what you dont know. Seems to me i know everything about the first lady. I think the first thing the first lady ought to know is she was not elected president. Nor was i elected president. Nor was i elected congressmans wife. I think you ought to know that youre not an elected official, but that you have an opportunity to do a lot of good things. And you ought to take that opportunity. And in fact, in your book, you write that, i am not too sure the American Public likes the spouse to be too front and center. Well, i think thats probably true. We didnt elect her. But i think they like her to do good things. And im not too sure they want her to be too front and center. She wasnt elected. Contrary to popular belief. What do you remember about your first day in the white house and your last day in the white house . My first day in the white house, youre walking in from the receiving, you know, the parade. I remember, we had huge family. And i remember the twins, theyre not going to like this, but going with the babysitter down to the Bowling Alley and ordering a meal. We were getting ready to go to the balls, and we had the whole family gathered for a very large sort of buffet meal. And i said, where are the twins . Were all eating. They said theyre in the Vice President<\/a> s wife and the president s wife is huge because the Vice President<\/a> s wife can say anything. Nobody cares. The minute you say one thing as president s wife, you have made the news. So that was a lesson i had to learn. Pretty quickly. But i felt very prepared because we had lived in washington off and on. Our my fatherinlaw had been a u. S. Senator. Although we lived in texas, i think i was very comfortable. I had a wonderful, loving family, and so did george. And i think we felt comfortable. So i liked being the wife of the Vice President<\/a> best of all. Why is that . Because you could say anything you wanted and nobody cared and you could do a lot of good things. When i got to the white house, you could do even more good things. And the great news is that its continued on. I mean, charities and things im interested in, i can really raise money, raise interest that a normal much smarter person cant do. Going into the white house, what weas some of the best advie you got. Lets see. Going into the white house, best advice i got. Keep your mouth closed, i suspect. But nobody dared say that to me. I dont remember getting too much advice. You know, i had been the president of the Senate Ladies<\/a> and had a lot of friends. I had done that for eight years. And i went to the senate wives meetings every tuesday morning. I went some tuesdays when they didnt have meetings and had to be hauled home again. I loved that part of it. I loved all my life. I have been a very lucky person. You open your memoir that you wrote in 94 by saying, i have been very privileged in my life. I have been. And i wrote that because my husband said, youre going to e highly criticized because people are going to say you have lived a life of luxury. Although i lived in a tiny, small house, which i would be glad to show you any time in new york, and my father and mother struggled, i think, sort of because i had a very loving, sick younger brother, but i did live a privileged life. They loved me. They loved my sister, my brothers. We just had a great household. And i hope others could do it. We were privileged. Maybe not as privileged as some, but more privileged than 95 of the country. Mrs. Bush, when did you first meet george bush . I met george at a dance in those days, rye and greenwich exchanged christmas dances. And i met him at a christmas dance. He cut in on me. He didnt. He asked someone to introduce us, really. And i had on a red and green dress that my mothers great friend had given her and said, i wonder if barbara would like this dress. It had belonged to some friend of hers, and it was pretty, i guess, because george asked to meet me, and i met him there. We went out he came the next night to another dance. The first was in greenwich. And cut in on me. And my older brother, he asked him if he would play in a basketball game. Prep school boys against the rye high school. And they were murdered, incidentally, by the rye high school, but george said yes, he would play. And asked me if i would meet him and go out afterwards. And every member of my family came to that basketball game to look at this boy that i had raved over. And when i would come home at night, my mother would say, what did you do, who did you meet, whatever, and my father would say, tell her in the morning. And mother would say they never tell you anything in the morning. And i, evidently, came home and said i met this heavenly boy named poppy bush. And my mother knew the next morning exactly who he was, who his family was. She should have been the head of the cia. She knew everything. And i must say, i feel the same way about him today as i felt then. I can breathe now, but then i couldnt breathe when i was with him, but i can breathe when im with him now. But hes just as fabulous as he was then. Throughout your married life, you moved a lot. 27 times. He couldnt hold a job. But its been fascinating. Really lucky, the things we have done. We lived in some pretty horrible places. And we lived in some pretty wonderful places. And i loved almost every one of them. I liked them all because he was there, but some of them were, as everybody knows, we lived in a house with three ladies. One was a child and the other two were ladies of the night. And we shared the bathroom with them, which seems inconceivable now. I cant imagine my grandchildren doing that. But they missed some great adventures. George and i had lunch yesterday alone, and we talked about the fact, we had a lot of adventures our grandchildren will never have because they really are privileged. They may not know it, but they are. And they wont have these adventures. Its too bad. I never met a texan until i moved here. I thought they were all like jane withers, who was the bad girl compared to shirley temple, who was the good girl. But anyway, it turned out i love texas. And we chose to live here. Did you know early in your marriage that you were going to become a cocampaigner for offices . No. Never dreamt. I dont think george knew, contrary to popular belief. I think sometimes, was i surprised when he announced he was running for president . It didnt just happen like that. It worked up that way. He was the county chairman, and he was a congressman. And he was a very successful businessman. It didnt just happen that he said to me one day, im going to run for president. It just was there. But long after we were married, in fact, when he came back from china to be head of the cia, that meant end of politics, he would never be president , because you couldnt be head of the cia and be president. Oh, yeah . You can. In your memoir, you write, and this is from your journal in may of 1986, george is obviously the most qualified person for the job of president. Do i want him to run . Absolutely not. Well, this goes to show you, i told my boys they could never be elected, and look at them. So i guess im the political doubter. I think its a huge sacrifice to run for office. And i think people are very critical of the congress. They may not be doing a great job, but they can do better at home. They would have one home, they would be home with their families. Many of them cant afford a home in washington and a home i just feel like its asking a lot. I thought he might lose. Of course, he did, the senate. But we moved on. How do you develop that thick skin, or dont you, for 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. Just dont like it, but i dont pay any attention to it. Dont dare criticize george h. W. Bush. Ever. During the 1992 campaign, there was a bumper strip that said annoy the media, reelect bush. I didnt write that, but i might have. I dont remember that. I do remember when george was running for i guess president , on the freeway going from new york to connecticut, i saw someone with a sign that said bush for president. I was so excited. And when i got in the car, i raced my car up to be close to it. Turned out to be our cousin. I thought, oh, it was a stranger, but nobody knew who he was. Mrs. Bush, did you enjoy campaigning . Yes. I really like people. And it was fun. I liked it a lot. Funny things happened. And i really enjoyed it. Partially because i know hes the best man. And i campaigned for george w. Knowing full well he wasnt going to win. And he did. You think theres room for another bush in the white house . I think this is a Great American<\/a> country, great country. And if we cant find more than two or three families to run for high office, thats silly, because there are great governors and great eligible people to run. And i think the kennedys, clintons, bushes, there are just more families than that. Im not arrogant enough to think that we alone are raising, but were raising public servants, whether theyre feeding the poor like lauren is, who has f 68 million children around the world, or barbara, who is bringing Global Health<\/a> to the world, or pearce, who is working for big brothers big sisters. But there are a lot of ways to serve, and being president is not the only one. And i would hope that someone else would run. Although no question in my mind that jeb is the best qualified person to run for president. But i hope he wont because i think hell get all my enemies, all his brothers, and there are other families. I refuse to accept that this great country isnt raising other wonderful people. Barbara bush, you walk in as first lady. Is it in a sense a blank slate where you can create your own agenda . Yes. I guess. Im not sure i know quite what that means, but people are overly nice to me, and i feel it truthfully every single day. My friends have to look for parking places. I dont have to look for parking places. My friends very often call me and say would you mind taking me to whatever it is were going to, because they have to do those things. They have to wait in line at the airport. Yes, you can create your own plot or plan. And its a great privilege. You ought to take advantage of it because you can help people. And how do you pick your causes . 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. We would 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 is such an easy project to pick. I admit, it took me about half a year to pick it because i had always worked, volunteered in hospitals, but just 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 necessitary if were going to compete in this world. Was there ever a day in the white house where you just wanted to say no more, im done, i quit . Never. How could you say that . You have, what, 90 people whos only aim in life is to keep you happy, and your husband is doing good things. And hes doing the right thing. He knew when he raised those taxes that he was going to lose the election, although he had been 90 approved. He did the right thing. Im very proud of my family that do the right thing, and george bush, both have done the right thing. Like it or lump it. 20 years since you have been in the presidency. A lot of talk in washington about acrimony between the democrats and republicans. Is it different than it was 20 years ago . A little bit, yes. Probably more polarized. But george says we have lived at times where the democrats are very far liberal, very far to the left, and it swung back to very far to the right, and then we get to where we should be, which is talking to each other and civility. And jeb is right about that. Republicans and democrats should be talking about what theyre for, not what theyre against. And i really believe that. And i believe they will again. The white house. The second floor. Can it be a home . Yes. Let me put it this way. If you had a home when you went into it, you have a home when you come out of it. Maybe you didnt have a home when you went into it, i dont know about that, but we had a very big, loving family. When we went back to the white house with george w. , there was all the same fabulous staff. And president obama, when we went this summer to the points of light luncheon he gave for us, in between the luncheon and the giving of the points, the 5,000 point of light, he had all the former staff come. It was like family. I mean, we were loving seeing all the butlers and all the ushers and the flower people. It was just like family. So yes, they are family. And we were just fortunate enough to have them there for us, for the reagans, and then georges presidency. And then for george w. Is there a sorority of a type among former first ladies . Sort of. I think some are closer than others. Lady bird is gone. Pat nixon is gone. Those i was especially close to those ladies, and of course laura, no question, was the greatest first lady. But were friends. I am a great respecter of mrs. Obama, Michelle Obama<\/a> and what shes doing. Obesity is a huge problem in our country, and shes working on it. And shes getting criticized for it. Government shouldnt tell you what to eat. Well, somebody has to tell these people what to eat. These children cannot be obese at a young age. Its just not healthy. It costs the country. Its a horrible thing. And we have got to make ourselves brighter, smarter, educated, and along with that, we have to educate our people on what to eat. Shes growing vegetable gardens and so i have respect for that. What about your predecessor and your successor . My predecessor, nancy reagan, is a wonderful lady, and she worked very hard on drugs. And my successor, of course, was a great secretary of state. So what did she work on . I guess secretary of state. Maybe she worked on my boy bill, who knows. Your husband and bill clinton have become good friends. Thats right. My husband, bill clinton, and i have become great friends. Bill visits us every summer. We dont agree politically, but we dont talk politics. And i think you would have to understand, i read someplace before youre critical of someone, you should remember that they did not have the advantages you had as a child. A loving mother and father. Bills father wasnt around. And i think that he thinks of george a little bit like the father he didnt have. And hes very loving to him. And i really appreciate that. When they went on that long tsunami trip, george told me bill insisted he stay in the bed, and bill insisted that he was taken care of. And that was really nice. I love bill clinton. Maybe not his politics, but i love bill clinton. Barbara bush, you brought up your daughterinlaw, laura bush. When we interviewed her for this series, we talked about a speech she had given where she compared you to don corleone, and windmills . No, from the godfather. Thats nice. You have been referred to by some family members as the enforcer of the bush family. What do you think about that reputation . Im not sure im thrilled at 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, no question about it. Do i like that role . No. Would i rather he had done it . Yes, but it doesnt work that way. 1990, wellesley college. Mmhmm. I was there. What was the speech you gave . Wellesley, you say, is not just a place but an idea. It was a difficult speech in that they objected to my speaking because i had never done anything in my life, that i just had a free ride, and they were right. And incidentally, it happened that rice and gorbachev were coming, and i couldnt leave her, so i invited her to come speak with me. And i got highly criticized, saying she doesnt dare come by herself, and shes bringing her as a protector. And it was a difficult speech. It turned out that there was one student at wellesley from south america who we were treating to this great education, and a girl from maine, and a day or two before the speech, the girl from maine called and said im so embarrassed, mrs. Bush, this is built into a great thing. I was getting calls from president nixon saying you tell those girls to go to the devil and whatever. I mean, i had a lot of people for me. But i didnt want to get into a spitting fight with the girls. But there it was. And rice on the plane going up, which was ridiculous, she didnt speak any english. We had an interpreter, and i said do you mind if i work on my speech a little bit . And she said, oh, youre giving a speech . And i said, well, you are, too. She said, oh, i am . And she went into the ladys room. I said to the interpreter, doesnt she know shes giving a speech . He pulled the speech out of his pocket and said she knows. But i was very lucky with that speech. We worked very, very hard on it. But i had given it at four or five other colleges that same spring, university of pennsylvania, university in st. Louis, a community college. Nobody gave a darn. But because of the controversy, same ending, same everything, but it made me, the speech. No question about it, because of the controversy people paid attention. Margaret thatcher wrote me and said it was the greatest speech she ever heard. George heard it in the white house. I mean, it was that highly because of controversy. Isnt that too bad . But anyway, i became a great speaker that day. You know, somewhere out in this audience might 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. You brought down the house with your closing line about political spouse and you wish him luck. I do. What would be your advice for a first spouse, a first husband . Same thing i would give a first wife, just be yourself. And watch your mouth. I had trouble with that. But i would say just be yourself. And take advantage of the opportunity. I mean, i had lunches for foreign children, heart, arthritis, cancer. Nobody paid any attention except in the home town where the doctor came from or the sick child came from or and then you get great publicity out in the country. Thats where it counts. Who cares what sorry the broadcasts say or something . What you care about is that the people know theyre being helped. Barbara bush, what should, in your view, people know about the first lady and her role that we dont know . I dont know what you dont know. Seems to me i know everything about the first lady. I think the first thing the first lady ought to know is she was not elected president. Nor was i elected president. Nor was i elected congressmans wife. I think you ought to know that youre not an elected official, but that you have an opportunity to do a lot of good things. And you ought to take that opportunity. And in fact, in your book, you write that, i am not too sure the American Public<\/a> likes the spouse to be too front and center. Well, i think thats probably true. We didnt elect her. But i think they like her to do good things. And im not too sure they want her to be too front and center. She wasnt elected. Contrary to popular belief. What do you remember about your first day in the white house and your last day in the white house . My first day in the white house, youre walking in from the receiving, you know, the parade. I remember, we had huge family. And i remember the twins, theyre not going to like this, but going with the babysitter down to the Bowling Alley<\/a> and ordering a meal. We were getting ready to go to the balls, and we had the whole family gathered for a very large sort of buffet meal. And i said, where are the twins . Were all eating. They said theyre in the Bowling Alley<\/a>. They ordered hamburgs. I said get them up here. The enforcer. We dont order food away. They came right up laughing. But i remember being surrounded and seeing everybody off to the balls and how pretty they looked. And what fun they were having. I mean, they were tailing all over the white house, those children. What about your last day . Last day. Our children left town. Local. They did not want to be around for that. But it was very moving. And saying goodbye to the white house staff was difficult. We never dreamt we would be back. And it was hard. But life goes on. We got on a plane with all our friends and family. And flew back home. And the welcome here was unbelievable. We passed a pickup truck on the highway where there were two people standing on the back with a sign that said welcome home, george and barbara. That brought huge tears on my part. But they have been great to us ever since. You have been here in this house 20 years now. Uhhuh. In houston. And when we moved in, we lived two doors down in a great friends house that he was going to tear down and build a house. He built next door, the next property was his old house. And we moved in there. And the neighbors all planted the garden, so we came home to a garden. It was wonderful. It just was very nice. Unpacked, the boxes all unpacked. Perfect. Mrs. Bush, how important were camp david and kennebunkport, especially in the white house years . Camp david made such a difference because its there the president can really meet with people without a lot of fanfare. A lot of people came up. Businessmen, cabinet members, i remember a Big Education<\/a> group coming up and talking to george. I just remember every weekend we had meetings. And then the afternoons, he would take a nap and might watch a movie or we would go bowling. They played a game called volleyball when we were up there, which they played against the marines. And its a game sort of like squash and sort of like volleyball. Not quite sure what, but a great competition. That was fun. And then horseshoes. But it was there that george entertained president gorbachev and many other foreign leaders. John major, i remember he had just come into office, and he and norma came up to camp david, and i remember him saying to george, well, im with you. And that was very important then. But just a lot of times. We were up there when noriega was caught finally. Made our vacation because it we had all the family for christmas up there. Easter. George w. Did the same thing. And i think maybe i would throw this in, too. I remember hearing that one of the first ladies said it was so costly being the wife of the president. Its not costly at all. You dont pay your telephone bills. You dont you do pay, i guess, you pay for your food. We had guests all the time. And it would say, so and so, one egg, 18 cents. I mean, you never could live as cheaply as you lived at the white house. So it cost, i mean, 90some people taking care of you. You did pay, i think, for your dry cleaning. And we had someone we took to live with us, 91 now, still doing our ironing and washing. And she lived there. And we did take care of those things, but i mean, it was great to entertain at the white house. And at camp david. And it gave a chance for family. And kennebunkport is just the best. Trouble is it keeps getting blown down by bad weather. But if we can live through one halloween the house left us, but i hope it will stay with us. If you ever wanted to give advice or talk about policy with your husband, how would you do that . How would you approach that . If i wanted to, i would 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. I have 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<\/a> s house, at home. I just did not get into his office affairs. And i dont think anybody would tell you i did, because i really didnt. I had something i wanted him to know, i would tell him, but i really didnt. I mean, think of the advisers he had. He had jim baker, just more good, wonderful people. Nick brady. I shouldnt do this because they were in the cabinet. They knew what they were doing. They were friends of ours. You know, for a long, long time, and george trusted them. And so did i. Barbara bush, in your memoir, you talk about faith, family, and friends. We have talked about friends. We talked about family. What about your faith . Its very private. And im a huge believer in 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. And i dont question it. Im not as good as my children, but from your children you learn. Certainly darla is she has a prayer group that gets on the phone for 30 minutes a night and prays for all over the country. I mean, i have learned a lot from her. And from george. And from jeb and neil and marvin, too. All of them. But i have no fear of death. And i think thats very comforting. You write about marvin, that he does not like politics. At all. But who was georges comfort the whole time he was in the white house . Marvin. Who was the one, i mean, to this day, marvin was one of the three people who raised the fund for his library. My oldest boy and my youngest boy are the closest to each other. But yet, jeb certainly is the biggest defender of george, and george is the biggest defender of jeb. And neil is the spark that keeps us all going. And at kennebunkport, when neil leaves, something leaves because he every night says to everybody on the point, and there may be 20 people, im taking the boat over for ice cream. Who will come . Everybody goes. Not george and i, but the others all go. And hes the one who gets the ball games going and gets the bonfire going. Hes the one who goes down and has coffee downtown with, i dont know, people hes met. He and maria have met. So everybody has their thing. And the one thing they have is loyalty to each other. Thats hugely important. And they know that the one request i have is that they stay loving siblings. And so far so good. And ill be looking down, so behave yourself. Mrs. Bush, whats been your involvement with the George Bush Library<\/a> at texas a m . Not really very much. Now, laura has done tons, not only the environmental part, but in their library. I really didnt do very much add our library except the apartment, maybe. But i just just wasnt on my plate. My literacy does a lot up there and they have a wonderful literacy component to the library and that part im interested and active in, but as far as building or planning or plotting, i have a wonderful rose garden up there that someone else put in, in my name. Thanks for that wonderful gift, and i love the library. I love taking the dogs up there, and letting them chase around the pond. And i love meeting the people. I really enjoy the library a lot. Speaking of dogs, theres two right here in the living room with us. Who are these two . This is, this is bibi. George and i used to call each other bibi when we were first married. So we have three bibis in our house. If i yell, bibi, what do you think about so and so, george says, which one of us are you talking to . And this one is mini me and shes feisty and jealous of bibi. And shes my shadow. I cant move without her. And she is known to nip at people. But bibi protects george. So shes very active protecting george, and they are a huge comfort to me. Youve always had dogs. These arent springer spaniels, though. I know, but this is a leash city and you cant walk your dogs without a leash pap springer spaniel and squirrel goes by, im flat on my face on the ground. So these, i can hold, but theyre theyre theyre good. Im not sure theyre dockgs though. They may be people. Theyre very spoiled. We go over to the polo club, were not members but nobody says you cant come, so i walk them at the polo ground [ barking ] and they bark a bit. And youve kept the journal still all your life. Still. Still. Will those papers go to the library . Theyre all there, and theyre not to be opened for 50 years. So i can say what i want. Thats i im getting very forgetful, and that really helps to have the, the memoirs to remember things. But it makes it easier to write a book. Doesnt it . Barbara bush, when you think about your legacy as first lady what would you like it to be, and what do you think it will be . Never thought about it. I i hope it will be that s she i hope it will be that her children are her legacy, and her grandchildren and now three greatchildren and forthcoming. I hope family. Certainly family is crucial, and id like to see the American Family<\/a> 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 stamford or yale or princeton it means just the best education that you can find. Youre the first teacher. The best education you can find. And to 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. And all of this baloney about george competing with his father. Its just ridiculous. I mean, they are 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 the, i raised along with george a great family. With the help. Barbara bush. Thank you. Thank you. Thats it. Girls if you enjoyed watching first ladies pick up a copy of the book first ladies influence and image featuring profiles of the nations first ladies through interviews with top historians. Now traavailable in paperback, d cover or as an ebook. Tonight on American History<\/a> tv beginning at 8 00 p. M. Eastern a look at the lives of Hillary Clinton<\/a> and laura bush. Cspan in cooperation with the White House Historical<\/a> 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<\/a> 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 oral histories an interview with civil rights activist cortland cox covering his time at howard university. His involvement in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee<\/a> and serving at the general for the sixth panafrican congress. On sunday, at 4 00 p. M. Eastern on real america the 1963 nbc news report the American Revolution<\/a> of 63. A program on the status of the Civil Rights Movement<\/a> with protests from albany, georgia, birmingham, alabama, cambridge, maryland and in the cities of inglewood, new jersey, chicago and brooklyn. At 7 00 p. M. , a discussion on congress. Political parties and polarization with historians edward heirs and joann friedman as well as political scientist norman earnstand and 7 30, andrew cone talks about his book and john f. Kennedy and the 4 hours that made history an june 10th and 11th, 1963 defining jfks response to the Nuclear Arms Race<\/a> and civil rights. Watch American History<\/a> tv this weekend on cspan3. Up next, a look at the life of former president george h. W. Bush after he left office. His postpresidency chief of staff jean becker worked for mr. Bush up until his death in 2018. The Kansas City Public Library<\/a> hosted this program. Good evening. Im steve plea berg at the librarys Public Affairs<\/a> staff, and first of all before we","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia601909.us.archive.org\/32\/items\/CSPAN3_20200709_151100_Barbara_Bush_Interview\/CSPAN3_20200709_151100_Barbara_Bush_Interview.thumbs\/CSPAN3_20200709_151100_Barbara_Bush_Interview_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240716T12:35:10+00:00"}