Dad’s letter of September 21, 1996, to my daughter, Ellie, is from my own personal files; and the May 22, 1920, letter from George Walker to his sons and Dorothy Walker Bush’s inscription in Dad’s Bible are from my father’s personal files.
For insight into his years at Andover, I received many letters from his classmates and was able to interview Frank “Junie” O’Brien. My interview with Mr. O’Brien provided the quote that begins the chapter. The Phillips Andover Web site, www.andover.edu, was helpful in confirming facts about the school. The quote about Andover’s influence on Dad’s life came from his 1998 interview with David Frost, for the A&E Network special “George Bush: A President’s Story.” The early chapters of What It Takes, by Richard Ben Cramer, also helped me fill in specific details about this time.
The anecdote about Dad carrying Bruce Gelb’s chair is taken from Ambassador Gelb’s remarks at a conference at Hofstra University, April 17–19, 1997. Four books resulted from the transcripts of that conference, and Gelb’s remarks appear in the first book, A Noble Calling: Character and the George H. W. Bush Presidency, edited by William Levantrosser and Rosanna Perotti, under the panel discussion “Ending the Cold War.”
Chapter 2. A Wartime Wedding
First and foremost, I depended on my mother’s and father’s many memories for this chapter. Again, I relied on the recollections of Dad’s siblings, especially my Aunt Nancy Ellis, and friends such as Spike and Betsy Heminway and Junie O’Brien in describing my parents’ courtship and dating.
The reference to Dad joining the Royal Canadian Air Force came from an interview with Jim Nantz on CBS Sunday Morning, March 30, 1997. The information about Prescott Bush’s involvement in the founding of the USO was corroborated on the official USO Web site, www.uso.org.
Of course, my father’s discussions with me about his wartime experiences formed the backbone of this chapter. For additional details, I referred to the chapter on my father in Tom Brokaw’s book The Greatest Generation, particularly Dad’s description of his being charged with reading his crewmates’ mail and seeing a fellow sailor killed in a plane accident on deck. My interview with Jack Guy, a member of Dad’s squadron, was particularly helpful too. The letter to Jim Wyke’s mother is available at the Bush Library, as is the letter from Prescott Bush to Ted White’s mother. The letters between my parents and between my father and his parents are also at the Library.
The best eyewitness account my father has seen of his being shot down by the Japanese appears in F. Willard Robinson’s interview of Lt. (jg) Nathaniel Adams in Robinson’s 2004 book, Navy Wings of Gold. The details about reports of cannibalism on Chi Chi Jima also came from Robinson’s book. I relied on details from Lou Grab’s unpublished 1996 essay, “Fly Boy,” which was in Dad’s private files. Dad also discussed the cannibals on Chi Chi Jima in his 1998 interview with David Frost.
My interview with Paula Zahn was tremendously helpful, as was her making available to me the transcript of her 2003 documentary A Flyboy’s Story, about Dad’s 2002 return to Chi Chi Jima. I used a quote from my interview with General Norman Schwarzkopf to begin the chapter, and my interview with former Secret Service agent John Magaw provided the anecdote about his calling my father every year on September 2.
For the material on Dad and Mom’s years at Yale, I’d like to thank many of Dad’s classmates, especially Lud Ashley and Junie O’Brien, for sharing their memories with me (Junie went to both Andover and Yale with my father). The stories told to me by my Uncles Johnny and Bucky were also invaluable. I found a 1991 article from the Daily Princetonian by Dan Klein, “June 5, 1948: Yale Rips Tiger Baseball, 14–2. Pregame Ceremony Unites Bush with the Babe,” to be helpful too.
Chapter 3. Go West, Young Man
This chapter opens with a quote from Martin Allday, taken from the Hofstra University conference transcript titled A Noble Calling, under the panel discussion “Molding Presidential Character: The Bush Apprenticeship.”
Dad’s recollections of being locked out of his own bathroom came from his 1998 interview with David Frost on the A&E Network, George Bush: A President’s Story. His anecdote about the drunken Democrat voting in the GOP primary also came from this interview.
For the Odessa and Midland years, a letter to me from Earle Craig was very helpful, as was a good accounting of the Martini Bowl courtesy of John Ashmun. I relied on an article Dad wrote in 1986 for American West magazine (“Texas 1948: Some Fond Memories”) in which he described the culture surrounding the Odessa-Midland high school football games. Joe O’Neill’s letter to me about my father’s coaching of the Little League team was very useful.
In writing about Robin’s death, I relied on not only my parents’ recollections but also those of their friend Lud Ashley, as well as a letter from Melinda Cox describing how Dad continued to teach Sunday school throughout this time. I also used excerpts from the previously cited 1998 David Frost interview.
Information on the Zapata companies came from the 1965 Zapata Annual Report to its shareholders (provided by Don Rhodes); Dad’s book Looking Forward; from my Uncle Johnny’s memories; and from information Dad recently recounted about his offshore drilling days. My brother George is the source of the story about my father meeting Lyndon Johnson.
My father’s memories of Prescott Bush’s Senate career formed the basis of that section. I also relied on Prescott Bush’s official papers, which came to me from the Bush Library, and on the official U.S. Senate Web site, www.senate.gov. My interview with Governor Michael Dukakis, while focused on the 1988 campaign, brought to light additional memories of my grandfather and the effect he had on Governor Dukakis’s career.
No account of my father’s life would be complete without the input of one of Dad’s best friends, James Baker. My interview with Secretary Baker followed up on a long letter he had written me about my father, and both were very insightful.
Chapter 4. Jumping into Politics
Herbert Parmet’s 1997 biography of my father, George Bush: The Life of a Lonestar Yankee, provided many of the details about Dad’s role in the 1968 Nixon-Agnew campaign, as well as background information on Texas politics and the race against Ralph Yarborough. I also used the Handbook of Texas Online, at http://www.tsha. utexas. edu/ handbook/online/articles/CC/fcosf.html, under the entry “Ralph Yarborough.” Pete Roussel’s memories of that period were taken from the Hofstra book A Noble Calling, although I personally interviewed Pete as well.
I relied on the 1965 Zapata Annual Report for the information on the losses attributed to Hurricane Betsy. I am grateful to Taylor Blanton for his responses and e-mails as I tried to clarify my own foggy memories throughout this chapter. Senator Alan Simpson was invaluable, as he recalled my parents buying his parents’ home in Washington, D.C., as well as many other stories used in later chapters. I am grateful to my old friend Olivia Crudgington for sharing the letter my father wrote her when her father died, which, until this book was published, had only been seen by one other person.
The account of Dad’s vote on the Housing Rights Act of 1968 came from a number of sources: a 1978 oral history of Jimmy Allison found at the Bush Library; a letter to me from Allie Page Matthews; and a November 18, 1968, Houston Chronicle article “Bush’s Life Threatened Over Rights Vote,” by Ken Sheets. President Bill Clinton’s memories of my father’s vote on that bill were also very insightful. I also utilized Dan Gillcrist’s letter to me about Dad’s visit to an African American church shortly after the historic vote.
I again relied on the oral history of Jimmy Allison for the stories about Dad selling his shares in Zapata and his writing to Paul Dorsey, the cancer patient.
I am grateful to Lady Bird Johnson for her letter to me recalling Dad’s attending the Johnsons’ departure from Washington. Hugh Sidey, Dad’s great friend and the longtime Time magazine correspondent, wrote to me about this episode as well, several months before he died.
The story about Dad visiting LBJ at his ranch came from my interview with my br
other George and appears in Looking Forward as well.
Chapter 5. Baker and Bentsen
Of course, for this chapter I utilized Secretary Baker’s recollections from his interview and letter to me, as well as remarks he made at the Hofstra conference found in A Noble Calling. I also relied on a letter to me from Senator Bentsen for his memories of the 1970 Senate race.
For facts on Texas politics in the 1970s, I relied on the Handbook of Texas Online, under entries for Ralph Yarborough, John Tower, and John Connally. I also utilized Herbert Parmet’s George Bush: The Life of a Lonestar Yankee for background information on Texas in those days.
My brother George shared many memories of the campaign with me in my interviews with him. The quote about Dad saying “We can win this race” and George learning from Mom and Dad that life goes on came from an article by David Shribman, “Casting a Long Shadow,” in the January 9, 2000, Boston Globe. Of course, my brother was the source of the story about taking Tricia Nixon to the Alibi Club.
Pete Roussel’s memories of the 1970 Senate race came from the Hofstra conference, published in A Noble Calling under “Molding Presidential Character: The Bush Apprenticeship.” The newspaper article that reported on me crying in the corner was titled “Bush Concedes, Wishes Bentsen ‘Best of Luck,’” from the Houston Chronicle of November 4, 1970.
Chapter 6. Eloise at the Waldorf
The chapter opens with a quote from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who wrote me a wonderful letter with a number of very good anecdotes about Dad. I’m grateful to her taking time from her busy schedule to help me. The fact that Dad had performed the hat trick of attending U.N. sessions as president, vice president, and ambassador came from a memo on the U.S. Mission to the United Nations dated January 4, 2000, at the Bush Library.
The letter from President Nixon to my grandparents on their fiftieth wedding anniversary and my grandmother’s eulogy of my grandfather are both from family files and are now at the Bush Library.
Perhaps more than any other source, General Brent Scowcroft was exceptional in his support of this book. His remarks about Dad’s service at the U.N. came from the Hofstra book A Noble Calling, under the panel discussion “New World Order: Nationalism and Internationalism.”
Dad’s friend Spike Heminway provided the story about going to the Mets game, as referenced in the text; Tom Lias and Arthur Fletcher recalled key votes in the United Nations General Assembly in their 1978 oral histories at the Bush Library; Dean Burch’s 1978 oral history was also critically important and was the source of all quotes from him. The information on the Overrated Party came from Dad’s personal files.
Chapter 7. The Titanic Boiler Room
The above-referenced oral histories included one from Congressman Bill Steiger, who has since passed away; I excerpted from it for the opening quote. I also used Arthur Fletcher’s remarks about Watergate from those histories later in the chapter, as referenced in the text.
For the facts and chronology of events that took place during Watergate, I relied on an Associated Press document, “Watergate Break-in to Pardon: A Chronology,” published on Houston Chronicle Interactive, June 7, 1997. Information about John Connally came from the Handbook of Texas Online, and the account of Congressman Whitehurst submitting Dad’s name for vice president came from his 1978 oral history. I utilized a Washington Post article by Carroll Kilpatrick, “Nixon Tells Editors, ‘I’m Not a Crook,’” published November 18, 1973, for background information on that day. I also consulted President Ford’s memoir, A Time to Heal.
I’d like to thank my brother Marvin for his excellent recall of his photographic adventure at Jeb and Columba’s wedding; the letter about Watergate to my brothers from my father is from his personal files.
Dad’s Watergate diaries are available at the Bush Library. I am grateful to my friend Liz Grundy for her recollection of carpooling the day after the Saturday Night Massacre.
I found a fascinating account of the Watergate era on the Arizona State University Web site, http://www.asu.edu/lib/ archives/ rhodes/essay4.htm. Along with original newspaper articles, it contains a 1995 essay by former House Minority Leader John Rhodes, “I Was There” (augmented with 1974 notes kept by his press secretary, Jay Smith). Rhodes’s memories of the day Dad learned about the “smoking gun” tape came from that essay. Dean Burch’s memories of the “smoking gun” tape, of the final Nixon cabinet meeting, and of his observations afterward all came from the 1978 oral histories. The late Caspar Weinberger’s letter to me was very useful, and I appreciate the assistance of the Nixon and Ford libraries in verifying the various accounts of that final cabinet meeting.
Dad’s letter to President Nixon urging him to resign is at the Bush Library. His anecdote about Bob Strauss’s phone call about making love to a gorilla came from Dad’s 1998 interview with David Frost.
Chapter 8. Land of Contrasts
The quote from General Scowcroft that opens this chapter came from A Noble Calling, under the panel discussion, “New World Order: Nationalism and Internationalism.” For recollections about the day that Gerald Ford asked Nelson Rockefeller instead of my father to be vice president, Pete Roussel and Spike Heminway were very helpful, as was my interview with former president Ford. Dean Burch’s memories of Ford’s decision came from his 1978 oral history.
I appreciate the information shared with me by Harry Thayer about the brunch my parents held for Chinese diplomats and, later, the incident involving the Vietnamese-American diplomat. James Lilley’s memories were also very helpful, as was his essay “The Unlikely Alliance: On the centenary of Deng’s birth, memories of his bond with a U.S. President,” published in Time Asia on August 30, 2004. For background information, I used “The Beijing-Washington Back-Channel and Henry Kissinger’s Secret Trip to China, September 1970-July 1971,” edited by William Burr and found in the National Security Archive on the George Washington University Web site, www.gwu.edu.
“George and Barbara Bush: A Breezy Yankee Style in Peking,” from People magazine May 5, 1975, and “George Bush Is Picked to Carry the Flag to China,” also from People magazine September 23, 1974, were very helpful.
I’m grateful to Spike Heminway for his memories of our spending the holidays with their family that year, as well as my brothers Neil and Marvin for their accounts of our trip on the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
Dad’s China diaries are available at the Bush Library.
Chapter 9. A Year at Langley
I thoroughly enjoyed my interview with Bob Gates, former director of the CIA and now president of Texas A&M University, home of the Bush Library, for his insights into Dad’s tenure at the CIA. Ambassador Lilley was also very helpful in this chapter, as was Hank Knoche, Dad’s former deputy and a longtime CIA employee. I appreciate Mr. Knoche taking so much time with me, and I also relied on his 1978 oral history for additional details from that time.
My father’s letter to Bill Steiger was in Dad’s personal files, now at the Bush Library. Secretary Baker and General Scowcroft were insightful about President Ford’s “Grand Shuffle,” which resulted in Dad being named CIA director. I also quoted from Dean Burch’s 1978 oral history about that time.
The quote about nervousness inside the Agency came from an interview with Angus Thuermer, a former public affairs officer there. Former U.S. attorney general Bill Barr, who used to work at the CIA, was very helpful in explaining the work of the Pike and Church Commissions, and the effect their hearings had on morale. The quote from the anonymous government official came from Alexander Cockburn and James Ridgeway’s article “George Bush” in Rolling Stone magazine, March 20, 1980.
Former congressman Rob Portman’s letter to me was very helpful, as were his remarks on the day that the CIA headquarters building was named for my father.
Chapter 10. An Asterisk in the Polls
For this chapter, I relied heavily on the memories of many of Dad’s longtime political friends and advisers, including Andy Card, David Bates, James Baker,
Margaret Tutwiler, Karl Rove, Pete Teeley, Joe Hagin, Tom Collamore, and Becky Beach. Each of them was very generous with their time as I conducted long interviews and asked many questions, and I appreciate their support. My Uncle Bucky and brothers Jeb and Marvin also were very instrumental.
The story of the 1977 trip to China was enhanced by the contributions of Ambassador Lilley. My brother George and his wife, Laura, were very helpful in taking time out of their busy schedules to share stories of their marriage and his 1978 congressional campaign.
Dad’s stump speech, “Why I Want to Be President,” first delivered in Union City, New Jersey, on February 8, 1979, is in Dad’s private papers at the Bush Library. The quote from Hugh Sidey about Dad’s qualifications to be president came from his remarks at the Hofstra conference recorded in A Noble Calling under “Ending the Cold War,” which was a panel discussion. I’m grateful to Newsweek editor Jon Meacham for his terrific insights and historical expertise.
The details of the “I am paying for this microphone” incident came from President Reagan’s autobiography, An American Life, and from contemporaneous accounts in the Los Angeles Times and Newsday. The story of Dad’s rule about not kissing babies without permission came from John Magaw, former head of Dad’s Secret Service detail. I appreciate the many anecdotes John shared with me for the first time ever. Bernie Shaw, the former CNN anchor, was also very generous with his time and memories of this campaign. Ron Kaufman and Vic Gold provided the stories about Dad raising money to pay employees after the campaign ran out of funds; John Magaw and Becky Beach helped with the stories about the day Dad withdrew from the presidential race, as stated in the text.
Chapter 11. Out of the Clear Blue Sky
Again, my interviews with Vic Gold, Andy Card, Margaret Tutwiler, Pete Teeley, David Bates, and James Baker provided the bulk of the information for this chapter, and I hope they know how much I appreciate their generosity. I have tried to accurately reference their contributions throughout the text of this chapter. Most important, my brother Jeb’s memories of the night at the Detroit Convention when Dad was asked to be President Reagan’s vice president were crystal-clear, and a great help to me. The source of the joke President Reagan told on the elevator—“Charlie, can you change the heads on 13 and 14?”—was David Bates, in his interview with me.
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