All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings

  10 A young, aggressive, bright congressman from Georgia.

  11 Sarah Brady had been active in the antigun lobby since her husband, Jim, was shot the same day as Reagan. I had great respect for them, but we did not agree on gun-control issues. She and Jim eventually supported Governor Bill Clinton in 1992.

  12 I had just appointed Bill Bennett head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a newly created position that still exists today. As “drug czar,” his job was to coordinate our efforts on the war on drugs.

  13 Richard Darman, head of the Office of Management and Budget.

  14 The Gramm-Rudman bill was passed in 1985 and set maximum budget-deficit levels for each year. When those levels were met, the legislation provided for automatic cuts across the board, although some programs such as Social Security were off limits.

  15 By this I meant when I said, “Read my lips, no new taxes.” If I could take back that one statement, I certainly would.

  16 This was a secret code for family and friends to put on personal mail, to make sure it ended up on our desk.

  17 I had appointed Dr. Burton Lee to be White House physician.

  18 Barbara’s very able chief of staff for both the vice-presidential and presidential years.

  19 Pastor of the First Congregational Church in Kennebunkport, which we attend in the winter, spring, and fall months. Our other church in Maine, St. Ann’s, is open only in the summer.

  20 I had invited François Mitterrand to visit us at Walker’s Point since we were both scheduled to speak at Boston University’s commencement. That visit was a turning point in our relationship personally and helped improve the relationship between the two countries.

  21 Marlin Fitzwater, my press secretary and also a good friend and key adviser. I had of course called President Reagan, along with all the other presidents. Will’s information was wrong.

  22 NATO secretary general.

  23 The “formulation” was a detailed plan on how to negotiate with the Soviet Union on both nuclear and nonnuclear weapons.

  24 My national security adviser. I always suspected Brent would have preferred to have been secretary of defense, but I needed him at my side in the White House.

  25 Domingo Quicho was the faithful Oval Office steward.

  26 The dissident Fang had taken refuge in the American embassy in Beijing. Eventually China expelled him and he came to this country.

  27 Much to my disappointment, the Supreme Court had just ruled 5–4 that the Constitution did not protect the flag from being burned. Justice Scalia was in the majority opinion. His wife feared I might be holding it against him, which of course I did not. However, I did immediately call for a constitutional amendment banning flag burning.

  28 I had long talks with both Lech Walesa and General Jaruzelski during my visit about the importance of their working together as they tried to navigate these exciting but still potentially dangerous times. Freedom was most important, but so was stability.

  29 Walesa took us to the shipbuilding town of Gdansk, where Solidarity was born. We first had lunch at their modest home, then went to the town square.

  30 After Tiananmen Square, I had suspended all military sales and contracts between our countries.

  31 Javier Perez de Cuellar, the secretary general of the United Nations.

  32 Merle sent me a song about patriotism and the flag.

  33 Robin Higgins, also a Marine, and a courageous woman. I saw her again in April 1999, when I attended the commissioning of the USS Higgins, a fitting tribute to a fallen hero.

  34 Ranger was really Marvin’s dog but eventually he became mine.

  35 He was then Gorbachev’s most outspoken critic and a leader of the opposition.

  36 My daily classified intelligence report contained reports of Noriega’s continuing bullying of people in Panama, including Americans who were stationed in the Canal Zone. His continued narco-trafficking and his aborting of the results of the last election in Panama made me more determined than ever to bring him to justice.

  37 The International Monetary Fund, which we had asked to help Poland with its financial crises.

  38 Now that East Germany appeared to be collapsing, Moscow was worried about a unified Germany again. Actually, it wasn’t only Moscow, but almost all of Europe, whose memories of World War II were still rather raw.

  39 I gave Lech the Medal of Freedom.

  40 Lane, president of the AFL-CIO, and other union leaders had been supportive of the Solidarity movement and deserved a great deal of credit for its success.

  41 Senator from Maine and Senate majority leader. He and I tangled a lot, and although I respected George, I found him partisan and therefore sometimes difficult to work with.

  42 One of Gorbachev’s advisers.

  43 These were the key words of Gorbachev’s reform movement. Glasnost stood for more “openness”; perestroika simply meant “reform,” in this case, economic reform.

  44 Marvin and Margaret’s daughter who was adopted.

  45 Brent’s deputy at the NSC. I would later make Bob director of Central Intelligence.

  46 The uprising ended without major incident.

  47 Leftist rebels had been engaged in civil war in El Salvador for ten years.

  48 One of our aircraft carriers, the USS Forrestal, was also in the waters off Malta.

  49 Everybody was a little excited, especially the Secret Service, watching the President of the United States transferring from one boat to another with swells almost overtaking our launch boats. It didn’t bother me a bit, but I felt bad it caused such a furor.

  50 Most Favored Nation, a term used to describe the status given to our best trading partners. Congress had enacted legislation making it available to the USSR and other communist countries, but only under special conditions.

  51 Daniel Ortega, the dictator who ruled Nicaragua and head of the Sandinistas, a communist.

  52 Doro’s daughter.

  53 Organization of American States.

  54 Guillermo Endara had been elected president and Guillermo Ford had been elected vice president back in May, but Noriega had overturned the election results.

  55 The plan was for the democratically elected leaders to immediately be sworn in and take power.

  56 Noriega gave himself up to American authorities shortly after the New Year and was brought here to stand trial. He was found guilty on drug-trafficking charges and is serving a 120-year sentence.

  57 Bar was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, which affects the thyroid, but she was doing better on medicine.

  CHAPTER 13

  1 I also sent notes to George and Jeb, asking them to visit wounded soldiers in their areas.

  2 The Scowcroft Award was a highly coveted recognition that I handed out upon occasion to cabinet members and White House staffers. It went to the person who could fall asleep in a meeting but make a good recovery and act as if he or she had not been sleeping. It was named for Brent, who was the champion at this. (I should add here, Brent fell asleep only because he worked impossible hours and cared for his invalid wife.)

  3 Members of the ranking committee, whose sole job is to judge the tennis-playing ability of friends and family, are secret. Their meetings are closed to the public. The ranking-committee chairman, also a secret, is all-powerful.

  4 Daughters of the American Revolution, located just down the street from the White House.

  5 He had written his mother telling her, “I have never been afraid of death but I know he is waiting at the corner . . . do not mourn for me . . . revel in the life that I have died to give you . . . remember I joined the army to serve my country and insure that you are free to do what you want and live your lives freely.”

  6 Gorbachev had sent in troops to end ethnic violence between the Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

  7 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and Conventional Forces (nonnuclear weapons) in Europe.

  8 All of the Baltic states, but especially Lithuania, were c
lamoring for independence.

  9 The program focused on drug problems and poverty in Mexico.

  10 Timberwolfe was my Secret Service code name.

  11 Marvin and Margaret had adopted their second child, Walker, who was born in November 1989.

  12 Director of the Secret Service.

  13 Colombian president Virgilio Barco, who was fighting a courageous battle against the drug lords.

  14 Brian Mulroney was prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. He was a close friend and wonderful ally, and I depended a great deal on him for advice.

  15 Dan is a great friend and a great author of books such as Semi-Tough, Life Its Ownself, and Bubba Talks.

  16 We had agreed to give NBC special access for one day so they could do a “Day in the Life of the President” with Tom Brokaw. I was not thrilled with the idea but then enjoyed the program.

  17 Peggy Say is the sister of Terry Anderson, the AP reporter being held hostage at that time in Lebanon. She wrote us a heartbreaking letter about their ordeal. Terry, along with all the other hostages, was released in 1991.

  18 This would be actor William Conrad, who had moved to Hawaii during his TV series Jake and the Fatman. He had agreed to be commissioner of Roach Bowl III.

  19 Our friend Fred Zeder, who has a home in Hawaii, knew these charity cockroachers and was responsible for my involvement with their causes.

  20 National Endowment for the Arts. They were under fire for underwriting an art exhibit that featured a controversial painting of Jesus.

  21 Barbara had been asked to be the commencement speaker for Wellesley College in Massachusetts. A group of seniors objected loudly because she wasn’t a “career woman.”

  22 I can’t even remember now what they were, so they must not have been too serious.

  23 Lithuania had been annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 against its will.

  24 Many world leaders were urging Lithuania to go a little slower, including suspending their declaration-of-independence resolution.

  25 Tom Foley from the state of Washington was now Speaker of the House.

  26 Barbara was a smash and the speech is still quoted today: “What happens in your house is more important than what happens in the White House.” She took Raisa with her, which was also a hit.

  27 Tim McBride, who was my wonderful personal aide.

  28 Helen is dean of the White House press corps. I respect her professionally, and like her personally, but I don’t miss her yelling at me during events.

  29 We had a biannual horseshoe tournament at the White House that included teams from the household staff, the medical unit, the uniform division of the Secret Service, groundskeepers, Marine I and Air Force I staffs, and of course my team—Marvin and me.

  30 Ron Jones, Buddy Carter, and George Haney, all members of the residence staff.

  31 Gulf Cooperation Council.

  32 Up until this point I had tried hard not to criticize the Democrats on the budget negotiations. I truly wanted to work together in a bipartisan spirit. However, they were pounding me in the media, and I had had it.

  33 Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He was secretary of commerce under Clinton until his tragic death in a plane crash while visiting Bosnia.

  34 Saddam Hussein was calling for “elections” in Kuwait. His plan, of course, was to install a puppet government.

  35 The federal fiscal year ends September 30. Without a new budget, we would be forced to shut down all nonessential federal offices on October 1, which we did end up doing for a few days.

  36 Jim was a Republican congressman from Iowa.

  37 This is in reference to Newt Gingrich, who led us to believe he would support the budget deal, then revolted against us in the eleventh hour and convinced other Republicans to join him in voting against it.

  38 Lou was secretary of Health and Human Services; Connie Newman, director of the Office of Personnel Management; and my old friend Art Fletcher, chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.

  39 Head of the European Community.

  40 We had started telling each other jokes at Camp David, but to avoid an R rating on the book I can’t share them. Joke-telling is a great icebreaker and I really think it helped our friendship.

  41 The Air Force visit was to a military airlift-command base in Dhahran; the Army base was miles and miles into the desert.

  42 General Norman Schwarzkopf was in charge of the allied troops.

  43 We were asking the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution approving the use of force to get Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. On November 29, with Jim Baker chairing the meeting, the council approved the resolution by a vote of 12–2—Cuba and Yemen voting against; China abstaining. The resolution gave Hussein a deadline of January 15.

  44 Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz.

  45 Shortly after getting back from the Middle East, I visited Mexico, then went to South America. The timing was terrible, but when I became president, I had promised not to neglect our southern neighbors and the trip had already been postponed once.

  46 They had testified on the Hill about the situation in the Gulf and had indeed done an outstanding job.

  47 Government officials cannot accept gifts valued at more than $100.

  48 I must have been psychic. We had only twelve grandchildren then; we have fourteen now.

  49 Hussein had decided to let the foreign “guests” leave Kuwait and Iraq.

  50 I had discussed Pan Am 103 with Assad during our meeting and suggested he could be helpful in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

  51 His congressional district in Chicago.

  52 Four-star-general Max Thurmond was the commander of the Panama forces. At this time he was dying of leukemia and I called him in the hospital.

  53 In wallyball, which is volleyball played in a racquetball court. The walls are “in play.”

  54 They had spent Christmas with their father. Doro and Billy had divorced earlier in the year.

  CHAPTER 14

  1 They voted on January 12 to authorize the use of force. Although a number of Democrats supported us, I was disappointed that the entire Democratic leadership in both the House and Senate opposed the resolution. It is ironic that many of those who opposed use of force then are now among the strongest advocates of President Clinton’s policy of using force in the Balkans.

  2 A CNN reporter who stayed in Baghdad.

  3 Saddam had launched SCUD missiles at Israel, hoping to draw them into the conflict, which would put the Arab members of the coalition in a difficult position. Anticipating such a move by Saddam, we had sent Israel Patriot defense missiles, which were helping. But I sent Larry Eagleburger to Israel as well to convince them not to retaliate. Prime Minister Shamir did not, which took a great deal of courage on his part, since it was an unpopular decision at home.

  4Unfortunately several allied pilots had been shot down and were being held captive. Eventually, they all returned safely.

  5 Killed in action.

  6 Our code word for the start of the ground war.

  7 Civilian leaders micromanaged the Vietnam War and second-guessed the military leaders.

  8 My friend and former partner was dying of cancer.

  9 Terry Moore was a glamorous movie star, a native of Lubbock, Texas. She used to play on the Lubbock team when she was around. Glenn Davis was an all-American football hero at West Point who was also from West Texas.

  10 David Boren was a Democratic senator from Oklahoma, and Lee Hamilton was a Democratic congressman from Indiana.

  11 Turgut Ozal, president of Turkey and a wonderful friend and ally. His support before and during Desert Storm was crucial.

  12 Florence Gantt, Brent’s loyal secretary.

  13 Dick literally handed me a note during church saying things were going well.

  14 Fort Sumter, in South Carolina.

  15 She had just bought a house in Washington.

  16 Dave was vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and an i
mportant member of our team.

  17 Andy was a longtime supporter and friend who was deputy chief of staff. In a few months I would name him secretary of transportation.

  18 We were working hard on Fast Track legislation, which would give me the authority to negotiate international trade agreements and send them to Congress for approval as is. Congress would not be allowed to tack on any amendments.

  19 Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

  20 David Demarest, director of communications.

  21 Secretary of the Treasury Nick Brady.

  22 Gary Sick, an NSC staff person from the Carter administration, had just written a book speculating that a hostage deal had been made. Congress investigated and Sick was proven wrong.

  23 Lee was the former chief of protocol and the wife of our good friend and former ambassador to Great Britain Walter Annenberg. She was one of eight people at Table 8.

  24 NBC’s White House correspondent. I called her “Barbara,” as in Walters, by mistake.

  25 A White House key chain.

  26 I shocked everyone—even the Queen, I think—when I took her to a Baltimore Orioles baseball game. I thought she would enjoy the national pastime.

  27 A historic typo. This note is to Mikhail Gorbachev.

  28 Yevgeny Primakov, a senior Soviet official.

  29 Robert Zoellick from the State Department.

  30 The Golan Heights was a major sticking point in the Middle East. Once Syrian territory, it was now held by Israel.

  31 Secretary of education.

  32 Secretary of labor.

  33 The Malibu home of Jane and Jerry Weintraub.

  34 While on vacation in Kennebunkport, I announced that Clarence Thomas was my nominee for the Supreme Court. My first had been David Souter, in 1990, who was quickly approved and already doing a good job.

  35 We are painfully aware today just how complicated the situation in Yugoslavia is. As of this writing in July 1999, the NATO military operations designed to end ethnic cleansing in Kosovo have ceased, though the problems are not solved. It’s a troubled part of the world, with ethnic hatred dating back centuries.