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

  36 Then Senator Al Gore of Tennessee and now Vice President of the United States and running for President.

  37 Republican senator John Danforth of Missouri.

  38 Kitty Kelley was famous for writing scathing books about people, including Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, and Jacqueline Kennedy.

  39 Senator from West Virginia.

  40 Dick Gephardt, Democratic congressman from Missouri and majority whip.

  41 I was leaving for Moscow in just a few days.

  42 We visited the Gorbachevs in their country dacha.

  43 Marvin had sat next to Princess Diana at a big Washington charity fund-raiser. He refused to dance with her, and we’ll never stop teasing him about it. Diana did sign the photo and referred to the fact Marvin refused to dance.

  44 Jack Danforth knew Clarence Thomas well. Clarence had worked for Jack when Jack was attorney general of Missouri.

  45 Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts was the first to enter the race.

  46 Dmitri Yazov, the defense minister, and one of the coup plotters.

  47 By this time Boris was president of the Republic of Russia. He was defending Gorbachev and trying to keep the coup plotters from taking control.

  48 By this time the coup had failed and he was temporarily back in power.

  49 Toward the end of Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearings, a former colleague of his, Anita Hill, came forward to accuse Clarence of sexual harassment. He vigorously denied the charges. Eventually, Clarence was confirmed and he now sits on the Supreme Court. I am proud that he had enough courage to take the confirmation heat. I have never regretted selecting and standing by him.

  50 King Hussein of Jordan.

  CHAPTER 15

  1 A photo of the five living Presidents—Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and me—taken a few months earlier at the dedication of the Reagan Library.

  2 My nephew, Nan’s son.

  3 Danny Philbrick was rebuilding our home in Maine. For Christmas, all of the family had sent us “something that plugs in,” a brilliant idea organized by my cousin Susue Robinson. The idea was to help us restock the house in Maine.

  4 Pat Buchanan was the only GOP challenger in the primaries.

  5 My longtime friend and supporter is now the governor of Massachusetts.

  6 Buchanan received 37 percent of the vote in New Hampshire, and some pundits said his “strong” showing was a “win.” New Hampshire was his high-water mark, although he hung in until the last primary.

  7 A good friend and supporter from Detroit. Heinz, who came here from Germany, is a great entrepreneur and gained fame by inventing the sunroof.

  8 Our administration had worked hard, and successfully, at getting permission for Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel.

  9 Trammell Crow, a good friend and successful businessman from Dallas.

  10 Republican senator Jim McClure of Idaho.

  11 Perot had decided he wanted to be President. They were right and I was wrong. In the final analysis, Perot cost me the election.

  12 By this time it was obvious Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas would be the nominee. I was convinced I could beat him.

  13 Previously secretary of transportation, Sam was now my chief of staff.

  14 Ann Devroy was a reporter for the Washington Post.

  15 National Republican Congressional Committee.

  16 Jerry Brown, the former governor of California, was running for President. He had the reputation of being a child of the sixties. Patricia Ireland was head of the National Organization of Women.

  17 Prout’s Neck, Maine, where the Bells had a house. Ethan Shepley was a friend of ours from St. Louis.

  18 Many of my friends and supporters felt my campaign was in disarray. Part of the problem was I was too darn busy trying to be President.

  19 In retrospect, Phil Donahue was mild compared to today’s Jerry Springer types.

  20 We were baby-sitting the kids while they were on their honeymoon.

  21 For a CSCE conference on arms control.

  22 I had decided my presidential library would be built at Texas A&M.

  23 Al Gore was now Clinton’s running mate.

  24 At that time Slobodan Milosevic was president of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia.

  25 Franjo Tudjman, leader of the ruling party in the newly independent Croatia.

  26 He said he would always be my friend.

  27 I was watching his “good-bye” statement at the State Department.

  28 Meaning House of Representatives.

  29 Democratic congressman from New York who had lost his primary election.

  30 In the final days of the campaign, Iran-Contra reared its ugly head again. The special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh brought a politically charged indictment against former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger just five days before the election. That in turn raised old questions about my involvement. There is no doubt in my mind that this indictment—written by Walsh’s deputy, who was a large contributor to Democratic campaigns—stopped our forward momentum.

  31 Mary was deputy campaign manager and one of my most loyal campaign workers and friends. After the campaign, she married James Carville, who ran Clinton’s campaign.

  32 Deke DeClementi, my old basketball coach at Andover. He went on to become the athletic director. He was a great influence on my life and I still keep in touch with him.

  33 I am referring to the controversy surrounding Clinton and the Vietnam War and how he got out of the draft.

  34 He offered us his yacht, to use whenever we wanted to get away. We took him up on his offer in the summer of 1993.

  35 The efficient head usher at the White House, in charge of the residence staff.

  36 With few mild exceptions, I feel I’ve stuck to this pledge.

  37 We tease each other in our family about how easily we cry. It’s called the bawl patrol.

  38 He did a rather whacky impression of me on the show.

  39 Her cottage at Walker’s Point.

  40 A rumor was sweeping the White House that I was so despondent from losing the election that I was going to resign. That made the surprise even more fun, which definitely did help lift staff morale. A year or so later, I tried to help Dana in return by doing a guest spot for him on Saturday Night Live.

  41 Ironically, the economy grew by 3.9 percent during the third quarter and 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter. We were well on our way to economic recovery, heading straight to robust. That is probably the greatest gift an outgoing President can give the incoming one. I must confess to certain angst when I heard President Clinton take 100 percent credit for a healthy economy.

  42 Probably the most destabilizing weapons in the superpower arsenals.

  43 Unfortunately at this writing there is a lot of tension between Russia and the United States concerning the Balkans.

  44 I pardoned Caspar Weinberger before leaving office.

  CHAPTER 16

  1 A Memoir by Barbara Bush came out in the fall of 1994 and was an instant best-seller.

  2 Rose ran my congressional office back in 1967–70 and was with me at the RNC. I asked her to come to the White House where she was director of White House Operations and for the last year was also in charge of the Oval Office staff.

  3 Bob and I were friends and classmates at Andover. He has spent his life helping others through his wonderful AmeriCares relief organization.

  4 I was devastated when Ranger died of cancer just a few months after we got back to Houston. Leave it to Fred Zeder to make me smile about it.

  5 Some Desert Storm veterans were complaining of strange, unexplained illnesses.

  6 John was deputy secretary of defense and had just been nominated by Clinton to be CIA director.

  7 Jean Becker, who became my chief of staff after Rose Zamaria retired. Up until then, she had worked for Barbara.

  8 On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb exploded outside the federal office building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, including a number of fe
deral law enforcement officials.

  9 The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

  10 Willis was one of four federal agents killed in an unsuccessful raid on the Branch Davidian cult headquarters near Waco, Texas. When federal agents tried to end the standoff fifty-one days later, the compound caught fire and burned down, killing seventy people inside. The Oklahoma City bombing was on the two-year anniversary of Waco.

  11 The Forum for International Policy, Brent’s foreign-policy think tank.

  12 George and Jeb both ran for governor of their respective states in 1994. George won; unfortunately, Jeb lost to the incumbent, Governor Lawton Chiles.

  13 Margaret was my scheduler in the 1980 campaign and then went to work for James Baker. She probably is best known for being the spokeswoman at the State Department during my administration.

  14 The new dog at Doro’s house. I really sent this letter to Sam.

  15 To President Clinton, in the 1996 presidential campaign. Jerry Ford and I traveled with Bob for a few days the week before the election.

  16 Danny was then a member of the Golden Knights, the Army’s elite parachute-jumping team. Chris is a former Golden Knight, now retired from the Army and running the United States Parachute Association.

  17 We were having some work done on our house.

  18 His Royal Highness Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States. We became good friends during Desert Storm.

  19 Colin was now retired from the Army.

  20 Although the jump was sponsord by the U.S. Parachute Association, I wanted to jump with the Golden Knights, thus the involvement of the Army.

  21 The Army base in Yuma, Arizona.

  22 The Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

  23 Tiger’s coach was Butch Harmon, who was the pro at Houston’s men-only Lochinvar course.

  24 Pro golfer Fuzzy Zoeller, known for his down-to-earth sense of humor, had teased Tiger about not asking for “fried chicken and collard greens” at the Masters Champions dinner, which is held the following year for the returning champion. Some people interpreted the remark as racist.

  25 One of my teachers at Andover.

  26 I was writing him from Kennebunkport.

  27 A World Transformed was published in September 1998.

  40 Millie’s Book, published in 1990, earned more than $1 million for the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

  28 The Monica Lewinsky scandal had just broken.

  29 Ash Green at Knopf edited A World Transformed.

  30 Woodward’s book about Desert Storm.

  31 Since we left the White House, Doro and Bobby had blessed us with two more grandchildren, Robert and Gigi.

  32 Sadie, our current English springer spaniel.

  33 Michael Dannenhauer, my chief of staff.

  34 North American Aerospace Defense Command, based in Colorado.

  35 Quincy Hicks, who used to work for us and now is at McGraw-Hill in New York; Brent Scowcroft; Ron Kaufman, who supported me in 1980 and then worked for me during the vice-presidential and White House years as a political adviser and advises me still today on politics; Kathy Super, whom I first met at the RNC and who has worked for me off and on for years. She was my scheduler at the White House and still does all my scheduling.

  36 One of my Maine fishing buddies.

  37 For several summers I have taken the entire family on a Greek cruise, thanks to Greek shipping magnate Captain John Latsis, who lends us his beautiful ship, the MY Alexander.

  38 James Ramsey and George Haney of the White House residence staff.

  39 I used to be President of the United States of America—no kidding, I was!

  CHAPTER 17

  1 Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska); Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont); Congressman David Bonior (D-Michigan); Congressman Ben Gilman (R-New York).

  2 Queen Noor, King Hussein’s widow, was born in the United States, Lisa Najeeb Halaby.

  3 My White House chief of staff John Sununu and press secretary Marlin Fitzwater.

  4 Benjamin Netanyahu was the prime minister of Israel and a member of the conservative Likud Party. Thirteen years later, he is once again prime minister.

  5 This refers to the Monica Lewinsky incident.

  6 United States Secret Service.

  7 Boris Yeltsin resigned as President of Russia at the end of the year.

  8 My aide at the time.

  9 Linda Casey Poepsel is director of correspondence in my office, and Jean Becker is my chief of staff.

  10 Our grandson George P. (son of Jeb and Columba) had been one of the convention speakers.

  11 Karl Rove, George’s no. 1 political adviser.

  12 Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex.

  13 David was a longtime reporter and columnist for the Washington Post and a friend.

  14 President of the United States.

  15 Protests during a meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999 had gotten totally out of hand.

  16 Domingo was the Navy steward in charge of the Oval Office when I was President and had also been with me when I was Vice President. He died in 2003.

  17 Kirbyjon, a friend of all Bushes, is pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston.

  18 Soon everyone was referring to George W. as No. 43 and to me as No. 41. It was the only way to keep straight to which President Bush you were referring. It stuck. Eventually we called Bill Clinton No. 42.

  19 Secretary of State Colin Powell.

  20 Offutt Air Force Base has the most sophisticated command-and-control center outside Washington.

  21 Bin Laden of course later “took credit.” He was killed by a Navy Seal team in May 2011.

  22 Former President of Panama, whom I had removed from power as President. Many years earlier he was a CIA source.

  23 Commander in Chief, Pacific Command.

  24 It actually was Iwatake.

  25 The man’s named was Warren, not Vernon. I am not sure how I got these names so wrong.

  26 Warren Iwatake, with author James Bradley, came to visit me in Houston a few years later. He has since died.

  27 James accompanied us to Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima and was instrumental in arranging the trip. His father was one of the seven men who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi.

  28 A shooter had killed ten and wounded three others over three weeks in October in the Washington, D.C., area.

  29 This is in reference to Saddam’s cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was blamed for gassing thousands of Kurds.

  30 White House butler James Ramsey. Everyone calls him Ramsey.

  31 My Kennebunkport fishing buddy.

  32 Our beloved and loyal household staff: Ariel De Guzman, a former Navy steward who became our chef and house manager in 1995; Paula Rendon, who has been with us since 1959; and her daughter Alicia Huizar.

  33 The Army’s elite parachute team.

  34 Michele’s then boyfriend.

  35 Teresa is another of Paula’s daughters. She worked for us in Maine one summer.

  36 Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.

  37 This is campaign angst. I have great respect for Senator Kerry and we have exchanged pleasantries since the 2004 election.

  38 My White House political adviser and longtime friend.

  39 Joe was deputy chief of staff; Condi was national security advisor (she would become secretary of state in the second term); and Al was attorney general.

  40 A reference to liberal author Michael Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.

  41 Neil had married Maria Andrews in March. She added to our family three wonderful step-grandchildren: Lizzie, Pace, and Ale.

  42 New York Times reporter and columnist.

  43 United States Agency for International Development.

  44 The President had sent the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, along with several other Navy vessels, to assist.

  45 My aide Tom Frechette and
Chief of Staff Jean Becker, who accompanied us on the trip.

  46 President Clinton was headed in a different direction to give a speech or two before heading home.

  47 His name is Roberto Naldi.

  48 President Clinton was with us.

  49 Prime Minister Berlusconi turned out to be rather controversial and resigned in 2011.

  50 He had just undergone a second heart surgery. I confess I encouraged him to make the trip as I thought it would be fun to have him along. It was.

  51 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

  52 Now Pope Benedict XVI.

  53 Very popular lobster place in Kennebunkport.

  54 There is no Peebles Fish market or Peebles Award. I made the whole thing up.

  55 President Clinton and I did go to Houston that Labor Day, and visited with hundreds of refugees. However, the Secret Service would not allow us in the Astrodome.

  56 Kevin worked for the United Nations as an expert in disaster relief. We also took with us Mark Ward of USAID, who had been very helpful in our tsunami work.

  57 Paul Lariviere, my boat repairman, whom everyone calls Wazoo.

  58 Our dogs are all buried on the lawn at Walker’s Point.

  59 Former governor of Texas. He was with JFK the day he was shot.

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