we have the 41st president of the united states as you've never seen him before and he tells his story many his own words in a revealing and deeply personal new documentary. let's take a look. >> i've seen what crosses that big desk. i've seen the unexpected crisis that arrives in a cable in a young aides' hand and so, i know, that what it all comes down to, this election is the man at the desk and who should sit at that desk, my friends, i am that man. >> the film is called "41." by jerry weintraub. it's a fascinating documentary. there's so many things about this man you didn't know. i was like, i didn't know that happened to him. i didn't know about all this. i saw all sorts of stuff. pictures, images, revelations from his own mouth with wire are really startling. >> you know why you don't know it and most people don't know all that is because how never bragged about himself and he never felt that he was going to be an imperial president. that he was designated to be president of the united states. he was doing a job. and his mother and father, early on as you saw in the film, told him, don't brag about yourself. don't talk about yourself. don't be a big shot. just go ahead and run your life. have your life. and that's what he did. and even in the best of days and in the worst of days, he didn't sit around the living room and say, look what i just did. look what i just accomplished. look at me, look at me, loog at me. it was never that. it was about service to the country. >> an extraordinary moment and i want to show a clip and -- this is him in the war. he's a pilot. and they've run into heavy fire and they go down. and he crash into the water. incredibly, it's all on video and you have this remarkable sequence. let's watch a bit of this. >> sure enough, it was a rescue sub. and they came up out of the sea alongside of me and i want up and we went down into the submarine and next thing i know we're under the water. >> particularly appropriate i think, in the week where it's the anniversary of d-day. you see that footage there and you see the man who was to become president bush. but in that moment, he's dragged out of the water after this life or death moment as he crash into the sea and they just leave him to walk up the deck. that's the reality of war. and in that moment, you can live or die. and he just shrugs himself down and gets on with it. it's no surprise to me when you see that footage that this forms the character that we see as president. a man who, whether you liked him or not or agree with his politics, no one ever questioned his integrity. >> and he was frightened when he went down. it was a life-and-death situation. he was as close to death as you could get. he got shot out of the air and he was very upset and concerned about his crew. that's what was on his mind. and he knew that he was -- it was do-or-die. when he, later on, had to send kids to war, he knew what war was and he knew what life and death was in an airplane. >> and he's very powerful sense of him understanding it because of what you see earlier on with that footage and him telling a evocative terms. he doesn't hide the fact that he was terrified and lived with it. he said lnl every day he thinks about this. the rest of his life. never knew what happened to all of his colleagues. and another moment which i found very powerful is when he's working with president nixon. and he believes him when president nixon looks him in the eye and said, i had nothing to do with this, he keeps believing him and keeps believing him and then the moment comes when out comes information which makes it clear that the president nixon has been lying and he says that he, in that moment, sat down and wrote to him and said, you must resign and then he talks about his personal heartbreak at this disillusionment that he felt of this president lying to him. and again, you get a sense of that forming how he, then, was as a president. really interesting. >> i happen to be close by when he got the news and he was going on, i think it was on "face the nation" or on "meet the press" he was a heavy rnc at the time. and he was crushed when it happened. he liked nixon and he thought nixon had done a great job in a lot of ways for the country. and he forgave him later on and helped him with hus library and so on as time went on and things healed but i don't think he ever got -- i don't know this for a fact. he never said it to me. i doubt he ever got over that moment and the fact that he was lied to. >> and probably reconciled in himself, that if he ever was in that position, he would never do that. >> oh, he wouldn't be in that position. he would never have been this that position. >> he comes over as a fundamentally very decent man. >> he's not only a very decent man, he's a great man. and as history is telling now, and it's happening, i've watched it the last few years, they're really writing the story about this guy because he didn't -- he doesn't talk it or do it himself. he doesn't get out there and do it. he doesn't do a lot of interviews and he won't sit around and say we did this and this hour and this at this moment. and all that stuff that some presidents do and some secretaries of state. he was just doing a job. when he was the ambassador of the united nices he was doing a job. when he was the head of the yci he was doing a job. when he was the liaison for nixon, he was doing a job and one job led to another and when you look at his complete body of work, no other man was as well prepared for the presidency in the united states of america as george bush. no other man. >> let's take a break. we'll come back and talk about the family which has been the rock of his life. from his wife to the daughter that i didn't realize he had lost at the age of 3, a terrible tragedy in his life. and the son who went on to also become president. if you made a list of countries from around the world... ...with the best math scores. ...the 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[ flo speaking japanese ] [ shouting in japanese ] we work wherever you work. now, that's progressive. call or click today. >> what was it like to see you son electedment? >> very emotional for me. very proud father. first time it's happened, i guess, in the history of our country or except for the adams'. it was mind boggling. it was enormous and a source of great pride for the family. >> a proud father and former president on his son winning the white house. clips from the new hbo documentary "41." what a moment. i mean, to be a president and then see your son become president, in the modern era, in particular. >> twice. >> extraordinary. >> twice. and another son who was governor of florida at the same time. pretty extraordinary stuff. and he took it in stride. and but he was so proud of his sons. so proud of his sons and he also led his son run the country. >> there isn't much on his son in the movie. predominantly about george bush sr. and he doesn't really address. i suppose the one thing i thought would be interesting to hear him say is all the criticism that poured on his son's head which he didn't have to deal with, anything like the same level of vitriol. >> i think he felt badly for his son when his son was criticized. but he didn't get involved in his sons' administration. that was his son's administration and his son, as far as i knew, he wanted his son to run his ownership. you know? that's the way that that family was. >> obviously -- and still is. amazing marriage to barbara. 67 years, one of the longest marriages i've heard of. >> she's a very, very strong woman. but -- and everybody knows that. she's a very strong woman and you don't really want to cross swords with her but the fact of the matter is he's the boss. has been the boss. they have a fantastic partnership. they love each other to death. and they'll be together forever. she was a beautiful, beautiful woman, is a beautiful woman. >> you ski the pictures there. >> here's what i was struck by. really powerful moment in this movie when -- i didn't know this story. they have a daughter who is about 3 years old and she gets leukemia and they try everything to save her life and prolong her life and in the end they fail and the doctors run out of ideas. and as president bush tells the story, you know, you feel tears welling up watching him. never mind how he must be feeling and yet he tells it with such eloquence and such emotion and you can see that, today, it's as raw to him, having to talk about it, as it must have been at the time. >> i think it is as raw for him today. he's not somebody who feels sorry for himself. he feels blessed. and so does barbara. they're blessed people. they've had a wonderful, wonderful life. that was a big jolt. but there are jolts in life and that was as big as it gets. it doesn't get worse. >> he said he couldn't talk about it for a long time afterwards and the footage you have is so poignant. it's this biefl little girl, and she dies before she's even 4 years old and it's heartbreaking. and yet, they have joy at the end. they have another daughter. and you know, he said he wasn't sure how he would feel but when the daughter came, it was just this great, huge, enveloping of love for her. >> he had twice the love. >> yeah. clearly. >> but the whole family is like that and when you go back to his dad and his mom, i knew both of them in kenny bunkport. they were strong and gave him a sense of family and service. this was -- that family is like that. they are totally committed to the family and to life and to love and to doing the things right. >> how have you managed to stay his big buddy for 45 years, given everyone in hollywood has probably been opposed to his policies and his sons. >> i don't care about any of that. i don't care what people say in hollywood. first of all, he came to hollywood when he was president of the united states and barbara when she was first lady and we had parties for him at the house. every big hollywood star came. every left wing. liberal, progressive, whatever they call it today. everybody's got a title. they call came to the house. george bush loved looking at the pretty girls. barbara boish loved dancing with warren beatty. no problem with that. so it was -- they came and they were respected. the office of the presidency is above all that. and he didn't use it as a political tool -- >> who would you get if you were casting a movie, who would you get of all the people you've worked with or seen, to play george bush sr. >> i don't know. i'd have to think of it. right off the top of my head -- if i name somebody i'd lose five more of made stars. >> clint eastwood? >> clint? >> what age? >> even when he's younger, there's a certain dash to the hollywood movie star to the young president bush? >> i think he'll like hearing that. >> when he was younger. >> when he watches that tonight he'll -- maybe he'll come back and do a detective series. >> that would be fantastic, wouldn't it? >> it's a great documentary. it's a movie. and as i say, very revealing. very surprising and he just overall, comes off as authorly good chap who put the service to his country before his own interests and i think for that he should be greatly appreciated. jerry, it's been a pleasure. thanks for coming in. on hbo on june 14th, called "41." and i warmly recommend it. a fascinating film. coming up next, chas bo know talks about his fascinating new life as a single man. not what he expected when he was growing up. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. in here, great food demands a great presentation. so at&t showed corporate caterers how to better collaborate by using a mobile solution, in a whole new way. using real-time photo sharing abilities, they can create and maintain high standards, from kitchen to table. this technology allows us to collaborate with our drivers to make a better experience for our customers. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ i'm don lemon. here are your headlines this hour. heavy artillery reined down on saturday and witnesses say syrian forces shelled a mosque and a church and at least 26 people reported killed in holmes including the mayor of this neighborhood. across the country, we're told at least 96 people were killed in street fighting in artillery fire. there was even a street clash in the center of damascus where rebels killed 17 troops loyal to president bashar al assad. most of europe is in a debt crisis but it's all about spain. spain's government will ask the european union to bail out its banking system possibly to the tune of up to $125 billion. the cash injection is meant just for the banks and is not a full bailout for the government. huh. a man wanted in the deaths of 9-year-old twins and their 73-year-old baby sitter. deandre marquis lee. and the bodies of twins jordan and taylor and their babysitter, jack gerdner were found on tuesday on a dirt road. those are your headlines this hour. i'm don lemon keeping you informed. cnn, the most trusted name in news. ated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. 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[ male announcer ] you plant. you mow. you grow. you dream. meet the new definition of durability: the john deere select series. with endless possibilities, what will you create? ♪ learn more about the new select series x310 with power steering at johndeere.com/x310. >> when i talked about chas bow no. and a breakup with his girlfriend and his controversial turn on dancing with the stars. the author of "transition. chaz, how are you? >> good. >> i'm good. how are you doing? >> i'm just trying to think back to our last encounter and what an extraordinary twist to your life has gone on ever since. i thought then had been a huge turn of events, and now suddenly everything's changed all over again. >> yeah. you know, everything just kind of steamrolled since the last time we saw each other. and you know, everything in my life is just going really well. >> let's play a little clip from that last interview we did. you were with jen then. >> okay. >> i want to just play what you were saying to each other then. >> i was raised catholic. and i -- >> like me. >> -- i still -- i feel that i need to be married by some religious figure. a rabbi, a priest. someone. someone with a connection to god. i don't know. but -- >> yeah. i'm not -- >> he's not like that. >> i was never religious. i actually really want my stepmom to do it. >> so there you were, chaz, talking very openly, the pair of you, about getting married. and obviously the nature of your relationship had changed fundamentally. you'd gone from a woman and woman relationship to a woman and man relationship. >> right. >> and since then sadly you've broken up. how much pressure did the fact that you had decided to become a man, how much pressure did that put on the relationship, do you think, looking back? >> i mean, i think it put some pressure on the relationship. but ultimately, you know, the reasons why we split up had really nothing to do with that. it was issues that we were dealing with and just stark differences in the people that we are and what we ultimately wanted out of life. >> yeah, i mean i get that you say that, but there must have been for her i guess a huge sea change in the nature of the relationship. you know, there she was originally with a woman, like i said. and it is a fascinating twist, isn't it, that she then has to cope with you becoming a man. for you it was a huge change, but one that you were wholeheartedly embracing. did you feel that she ever fully embraced what you were doing? >> you know, i think that she did. but of course, you know, i have changed a lot. and you know, here's the -- it's really the internal changes that i think are the bigger changes. and i went from being, you know, really uncomfortable and kind of damaged for my whole life to suddenly not being that way anymore. and as -- you know, as i started to feel so much better and my confidence rose and everything, i think i was probably less able to -- you know, i wanted to live the best life that i could. and i wanted my partner to be able to, you know, kind of do that with me. and there were, you know, deep-seated issues around substance abuse and stuff like that that had been really a problem almost since we first got together. and again, we just, you know, wanted different things out of life. >> i mean, you also made this reality show, didn't you, "being chaz," which she seemed to feel uncomfortable about. do you regret doing that with hindsight? >> i mean, it wasn't a pleasant thing to do, you know, honestly. but i don't know -- you know, it couldn't have been predicted. i mean, we made the documentary, and jen was, you know, thrilled doing it. and this was something -- doing the follow-up special was something that she said she wanted to do. and then once we were in the middle of it, you know, she decided that she hated the process. but at that point, you know, there wasn't really anything we could do about that. >> have you managed to stay friends? >> yeah. i mean, i think we both care very deeply for each other. i want absolutely nothing but the best life for jen. it was just -- i couldn't do it with her anymore. but you know, i really hope that she gets everything that she wants. >> now, you, chaz, are in the very unusual position for you of being a single man about town. how are you finding that? >> well, i'm not the most outgoing fellow. so -- i'm not one of those guys who can just walk up and start chatting up a girl that i find attractive. so you know, that really hasn't changed. and you know, the world is i guess full of possibilities when you're single. but mostly i'm just kind of enjoying the time on my own and with my friends and how, you know, being single at least for me forces me out of some of, you know, my bad habits, which is to, you know, isolate and not really be social. and now i've had to really change all of that. and so i'm just kind of enjoying the process of it and really -- i would say for the first time in my life i don't feel like i have to be in a relationship, that i'm incomplete if i'm not in one. and that feels really good. >> let's take a short break, chaz. when we come back, i want to talk to you about the other women in your life, cher, your mother, and your congresswoman stepmother, mary burnham mack, who i've had the pleasure of talking to. and i'll chat with you about them and their reaction. also how the public are reacting to the new chaz. 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