Barbara Bush: I Was Sick of Cocaine Question
NEW YORK -- "There is a myth in the United States -- you've
heard it many times. It says that all American mothers hope that their child
will grow up to be President of the United States," writes Barbara Bush in her
new book "Reflections: Life After the White House," excerpted in the October 27
issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, October 20).
The former First Lady writes that in her case, that certainly is a myth.
"But on January 20, 2001, even without having wished that one of our children
would grow up to be president, there we were sitting on the west side of the
United States Capitol, waiting for our son, George W., to be sworn in as the
forty-third president of the United States of America."
Afterward, Bush wrote down her thoughts during the inauguration. "I know I
should be thinking marvelous deep and lofty thoughts, but I find myself thinking
of Al Gore and what he must be feeling," she writes.
"I'm sure he thinks he won the race, and although I don't, I do feel sorry
for him. He is gracious, and a minute ago came over to shake our hands and to
meet Jenna and Barbara, George and Laura's twin daughters. We've lost and losing
is not easy."
Referring to campaign trail talk about George W. Bush's past, Bush writes
"The feeding frenzy over George's not answering the Big "C" question is driving
me crazy. I confess that I had to ask what "C" stood for and was shocked when
Doro [the Bushes' daughter] told me that it stood for cocaine. His dad and I
react differently. I am sick of it, yell at the tube, and go into another room.
His dad watches every holier-than-thou commentator and political
opponent...Incidentally, nobody has come forward to say he did use cocaine, and
I have not asked him, nor has his father."
Bush writes that on September 11, 2001, she and husband George were flying to
Houston via St. Paul, Minnesota, when the co-pilot reported that a commercial
plane had flown into one of the World Trade Center buildings.
"Like everybody else, we spent the day glued to the television ... We feared
for our children and grandchildren. We were no different from most Americans
with one huge exception-we had Secret Service, and so knew that George W. and
Laura and the girls were safe."
Bush writes that she thinks now she "didn't really understand" the
ramifications of the attack.
"I know George realized that day that the world had totally turned around and
upside down. I know he knew of the huge problems that faced our son, the
President of the United States. It took me much longer to realize that September
11, 2001 was the day the whole world changed; certainly for the United States of
America."
At 78, with one son in the White House and another in the Florida governor's
mansion, the self-described Bush family "enforcer" seems to feel less
compunction than ever about keeping a lid on her blunt assessments, writes
Contributing Editor Melinda Henneberger. Her new memoir was toned down
considerably by her editors at Scribner.
"Yes, Miss Frank over there," her husband says over lunch at their home in
Kennebunkport. To ward off libel suits, he says, "the publishers had to take out
a lot."
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