Barbara Bush Remarks on Family, Lessons

WASHINGTON — It hurts far more to hear criticism of your son than of your husband, President Bush's mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, said Friday during a wide-ranging discussion.

She was interviewed in front of an audience of nearly 300 by Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, as part of the American Conversations series at the National Archives.

Here is some of what she said:

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On Jenna Bush's bridal shower and friendship: "Family and friends and faith are the most important things in your life and you should be building friendships. At our house now, the White House at this moment, Jenna has 10 girls at the house ... because we're having a shower for her tomorrow.

"She's a perfect example ... they're going to be friends for life. Value your friendship. Value your relationships."

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On the difference between being wife of President George H.W. Bush and mother of President George W. Bush: "It hurts much more if your son's president. My husband ... he's in agony half the time."

"You hear people say things that are untrue and unfair. It really hurts. George W. doesn't watch the press. He'll call us ... (and say) 'I hear the TV, turn it off.'"

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On her husband: "He does a lot of things, although he just had a back operation and he's recuperating. I used to always say I wanted more quality time with him — not any more."

On his parachuting hobby: "It's a joy for him and he loves doing it."

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On Tony Blair: "I like Tony Blair very, very much, and I think he suffered a lot because of his support of the United Sates, but till this day he feels he did the right thing and I think he did too."

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On being a first lady: "The White House is so staffed with loving, caring people, and if you're lucky you have a great staff yourself and your husband does. ... You try to do something every single day that will help an American or maybe someone overseas."

"I love the way Laura has gone to Afghanistan and has gone to help women in Pakistan and all over the world ... And she's wise enough to do that."

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When asked what about her husband first caught her eye: "He was the most beautiful creature I ever saw."

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On her son, President Bush: "I'm very, very proud of him and he's the most disciplined person I know. I got there yesterday afternoon, ... we had dinner with friends and then he went to bed early and he was up and gone by the time I got up at 8 o'clock."

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On former leaders in other countries: "We treat our former presidents much better than other countries. Half of them kill them. The other half put them in jail. ... It's astonishing to me, the British, the day of the election, they're out and they don't have help. They're just gone. ... We're so generous in our country."

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On her father: "He was the most honorable man I've ever met except for my husband. He never hurt people, he had no dark side. He was just a wonderful man."

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On why she focused on literacy programs during her years in the White House: "I decided I ought to pick a project that would not be controversial, that would not really cost the government a lot of money."

"I just decided if everybody could read write and comprehend, so many our problems ... could be solved. ... Thirty percent of our children drop out of high school. ... It's terrible."

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