THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH !

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH !

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH !

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH !

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH !

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH !

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH !

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH !

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH !

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

Bush Keeps 'Em Laughing in First Overseas Trip After Presidency

Bush Keeps 'Em Laughing in First Overseas Trip After Presidency
Former President Bush spoke in China for the Boao Forum, an annual conference where executives hobnob with global leaders at a resort on the country's southern tropical island province of Hainan.

Former President George W. Bush cracked jokes about how he scoops up after his dog on neighborhood walks and then turned to more serious subjects like terrorism and the financial crisis Saturday during his first overseas trip since leaving office.

Bush -- in China for the Boao Forum -- also shared some of his most unusual moments with leaders, including the time he listened to former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sing "Hound Dog" while visiting Graceland mansion, home to the late Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee.

The stories drew laughter and applause from the audience in a huge banquet hall at the forum, an annual conference where executives hobnob with global leaders at a resort on China's southern tropical island province of Hainan. Security was tight and there were no protests.

Bush said after he left the White House and moved into his new home in Dallas, Texas, he decided to take his Scottish terrier Barney for a walk. To be a good neighbor, he said he carried a plastic bag so he could clean up his dog's droppings. The task seemed ironic to him, he said.

"I was picking up what I had been dodging for eight years," Bush said.

The former president said after he left the presidency in January, he plopped down on the couch and said, "Free at last."

But his wife, Laura, piped in: "You're free to do the dishes," he said.

After a few other jokes, Bush shifted to more serious topics. Although this was his first trip overseas since leaving office, it was his second speech in a foreign country. Last month, Bush spoke in Calgary, Canada.

On Saturday, he said he would not criticize Barack Obama and wished his successor all the best.

"He was not my first choice, but now that this election was made, it speaks volumes about the United States of America," Bush said.

He recalled that when the financial crisis began hitting America, he accused Wall Street of getting drunk and giving the country a hangover. Bush said he hoped a more sober economic order would emerge from the global slump.

"Maybe the next time around, there won't be enough booze," he said.

The crisis gives the world an opportunity to modernize financial systems, craft smarter regulations for complex financial instruments, create better banking standards and enact more efficient warning systems, Bush said.

"Our economy has been hit hard, but we have the resources and resilience to recover," he added.

Bush also urged global leaders to continue the struggle against terrorism and to support the young democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But he said the economic center of the world was shifting to Asia, which accounts for 55 percent of the global economy. China will continue to be of high importance to the U.S., he said.

"It's just mind boggling how this country has changed," he added.

During past visits to China, Bush urged Chinese leaders to expand religious freedom in the country. He mentioned the issue again Saturday in a low-key, oblique way.

"People who are allowed to worship freely in society," he said, "are people who are going to be peaceful citizens."



It will take the American people another 10 years before they catch up to President Bush and realize that he was one of the best Presidents this Nation ever produced. Once Presidential always Presidential. Though the American Leftists would never acknowledge but the reaction from the world leaders to Bush speaks volumes – they simply respect the man because contrary to Leftist propaganda machine world leaders recognize a leader who was no non-sense leader. Bush is a patriot who was feared by his enemies and respected by Allies (even when they disliked him for taking his job serious in preserving, protecting and defending America. Though Bush had much to say about the Leftist America which for the past eight years did nothing but tried to undermine his efforts at every corner; yet for the sake of his Nation he preferred to put America before politics; and he kept his concentration on doing the best he could for America instead of playing cat and mouse with the Communist Party of the United Stated a.k.a the Democratic Party. Thank you President Bush for caring for your Nation more than caring for Politics.
Bush was a president of integrity. He is a man who respected, and still does, the office of president. He honored our country, our military, and our citizens. He never apologized for who we were as a nation. I admire him still as he holds his tongue from damaging the “respect” others have for our sitting president. His restraint shows great character that others in office would do well to follow. Thank you Mr. President, George W. Bush.
I know it's a saturday night......I suppose you all have nothing better to do than to criticize former President Bush. So far, I've not seen one logical comment that actually had to do with this article. Bottom line......Bush has shown that he is a man of class.......and humbly tell things as they are! He's Not in office now.........Obama has his duties to do.........Plenty of Criticism there to go after!

YOU ARE REALLY REALLY MISSED !!

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

President George W. Bush and our troops ! AN AWESOME TELLING VIDEO !

Two Presidents meet the Marines.

And yes, I do consider the USMC a pretty damn good judge of character. Like Bush or not this is a telling video.


MAY GOD BLESS PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH NOW AND ALWAYS. THANK YOU PRESIDNET BUSH AND OUR TROPS FOR KEEPING US SAFE !! JOB WELL DONE.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

President George W. Bush Has Reunion On Monday April 13th, 2009 in Dallas

With a Reunion Planned, Bush Eases Back Into the Public Eye










President George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice will be there, so will Karen Hughes and Dan Bartlett and Michael Gerson.
The white house staff and some cabinet members are getting back together next week in Dallas for a reunion of sorts, the Bush team’s first since leaving the White House. On tap is a dinner with the former president and a daylong discussion of the future George W. Bush Policy Institute.

Barely 80 days after turning the Oval Office over to Obama, a tanned and rested President George W. Bush is emerging from seclusion to begin his post presidency. He has started giving speeches, joined an off-road bicycle club, thrown out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opener and scheduled a trip to China to speak at an economic forum.

More important, President George W. Bush is trying to map out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. Relatively young, at 62, and in good health, he plans to build a library, write a memoir and make some money, but he is also eager to use his time to promote the policies he cared about most while in the White House — and to help define his legacy.

Not coming to next week’s session is former Vice President Dick Cheney, who in the final days of the administration argued with President George W.Bush about his refusal to pardon Mr. Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., who was accused of perjury for his role in the leak of Valerie Wilson’s employment with the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Cheney later went on television to air his grievances with Mr. Bush, while also accusing Obama of endangering the country.

That is an approach President George W. Bush has rejected. “He thinks Obama deserves his silence,” said Mr. Bartlett, who was White House counselor. “He’s not going to be out there opining, second-guessing or flyspecking Obama’s decisions.”

Besides, he added, President George W. Bush is moving on. “He’s kind of getting a new cadence to his life,” Mr. Bartlett said. “He can hang out with a neighbor, go out for an evening and go down to Crawford if he wants.”

After about a month at their ranch near Crawford, Tex., President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, moved into their new 8,500-square-foot house in Dallas. President George W. Bush stopped by a nearby elementary school and talked to a class at Southern Methodist University, where his library will be built. He paid a surprise visit to a hardware store whose owner had offered him a job in a tongue-in-cheek newspaper advertisement. And he has been using e-mail for the first time in eight years.














President George W. Bush poses with Baylor cheerleaders just before the second half of a women's basketball game on Jan. 28, 2009, in Waco, Tex.

So far, he has delivered a paid speech in Calgary, Alberta, and has others scheduled soon in Michigan and China, though his office will not disclose his fees. (The Washington Speakers Bureau, which represents President George W. Bush Bush, says on its Web site that he shares “candid insights on his eight years in the White House, his experiences with other world leaders, the nature of public leadership and decision making, and a wide variety of domestic and international issues.”)

As for his legacy, President George W. Bush plans to tackle the most controversial moments of his presidency head on, both in his memoirs and in his library, aides said. At the library, instead of a chronological format, he plans to present his presidency through 20 consequential decisions, most notably his decision to invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein. And instead of a full biography, his book will focus on a dozen key moments in his life, from quitting drinking to picking Mr. Cheney as his vice president.

The idea, aides said, is to put the reader or visitor in President George W. Bush's shoes.

“People may conclude that they would have made a different decision, or maybe they’ll conclude they would have made the same decision,” said Mark Langdale, a longtime friend and president of the President George W. Bush Foundation. “We’re trying to take the tradition of presidential libraries and come up with a new twist on how they can be relevant.”

The foundation has chosen an architect and is raising the first of $300 million it needs to build the library and museum on 25 acres provided by S.M.U. The groundbreaking is scheduled for November 2010with hopes of opening in early 2013. Mr. Langdale declined to disclose how much has been raised, saying fund-raising is “going well” but has been constrained by the economy.

President George W. Bush does not plan to wait to open his policy institute, which is set to begin sponsoring activities and host its first fellows this fall. The meeting next week was called to brainstorm on ideas for the institute. About 20 people close to the president will dine with President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush at their home on Monday night and then spend Tuesday discussing the institute.

“It’s an opportunity to further the issues that he cared about, expanding opportunity across the world,” said Ms. Hughes, one of President George W. Bush's closest advisers since his days as governor of Texas. “He’s mentioned to me the idea of bringing staff from new democracies to the institute, people maybe from Africa who’ve worked on the AIDS initiative there. I think it will be a very vibrant and exciting place.”

In addition to Ms. Hughes and Mr. Bartlett, those expected to attend include Ms. Rice, the former secretary of state; Mr. Gerson, the former chief speechwriter; Dr. Mark R. Dybul, the former director of Mr. Bush’s international AIDS program; and Yuval Levin, a former domestic policy aide.

President George W. Bush started working on his memoir two days after leaving the White House, aides said, and gets up every morning around 5 or 5:30 to write for a few hours before heading to temporary offices in Dallas. He has written about 45,000 words so far with the help of Christopher Michel, 27, a former White House speechwriter, aides said; the book, tentatively titled “Decision Points,” is set for publication by Crown next year.

President George W. Bush has been welcomed home warmly by Texas. He received a standing ovation at the Rangers game this week, and, in posts online, people he encounters on the Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association trails have gushed about meeting him.

And he is beginning to get out of Texas, as well. After the gathering with aides next week, he will fly to Boao, China, where he will address the Boao Forum for Asia, a Chinese version of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.

“He’s doing great,” Mr. Langdale said. “He’s very happy.”

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

HAPPY EASTER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always





















Whether Democrat or Republican, for those of you who are interested in what George W. Bush says about his faith, I wanted to share his testimony with you. I will also include several other links which contain further information on our 43rd President.




Written by: George W. Bush
The seeds of my decision had been planted by the Reverend Billy Graham. He visited my family for a summer weekend in Maine. I saw him preach at the small summer church, St. Ann's by the Sea. We all had lunch on the patio overlooking the ocean. One evening my dad asked Billy to answer questions from a big group of family gathered for the weekend. He sat by the fire and talked. And what he said sparked a change in my heart. I don't remember the exact words. It was more the power of his example. The Lord was so clearly reflected in his gentle and loving demeanor.

The next day we walked and talked at Walker's Point, and I knew I was in the presence of a great man. He was like a magnet; I felt drawn to seek something different. He didn't lecture or admonish; he shared warmth and concern. Billy Graham didn't make you feel guilty; he made you feel loved. Over the course of that weekend, Reverend Graham planted a mustard seed in my soul, a seed that grew over the next year. He led me to the path, and I began walking.

It was the beginning of a change in my life. I had always been a "religious" person, had regularly attended church, even taught Sunday School and served as an altar boy. But that weekend my faith took on a new meaning. It was the beginning of a new walk where I would commit my heart to Jesus Christ. I was humbled to learn that God sent His Son to die for a sinner like me. I was comforted to know that through the Son, I could find God's amazing grace, a grace that crosses every border, every barrier and is open to everyone. Through the love of Christ's life, I could understand the life changing powers of faith.

When I returned to Midland, I began reading the Bible regularly. Don Evans talked me into joining him and another friend, Don Jones, at a men's community Bible study. The group had first assembled the year before, in spring of 1984, at the beginning of the downturn in the energy industry. Midland was hurting. A lot of people were looking for comfort and strength and direction. A couple of men started the Bible study as a support group, and it grew. By the time I began attending, in the fall of 1985, almost 120 men would gather. We met in small discussion groups of ten or twelve, then joined the larger group for full meetings. Don Jones picked me up every week for the meetings. I remember looking forward to them.

My interest in reading the Bible grew stronger and stronger, and the words became clearer and more meaningful. We studied Acts, the story of the Apostles building the Christian Church, and next year, the Gospel of Luke. The preparation for each meeting took several hours, reading the Scripture passages and thinking through responses to discussion questions. I took it seriously, with my usual touch of humor.

Laura and I were active members of the First Methodist Church of Midland, and we participated in many family programs, including James Dobson's Focus on the Family series on raising children. As I studied and learned, Scripture took on greater meaning, and I gained confidence and understanding in my faith. I read the Bible regularly. Don Evans gave me the "one-year" Bible, a Bible divided into 365 daily readings, each one including a section from the New Testament, the Old Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. I read through that Bible every other year. During the years in between, I picked different chapters to study at different times.

I have also learned the power of prayer. I pray for guidance. I do not pray for earthly things, but for heavenly things, for wisdom and patience and understanding. My faith gives me focus and perspective. It teaches humility. But I also recognize that faith can be misinterpreted in the political process. Faith is an important part of my life. I believe it is important to live my faith, not flaunt it. America is a great country because of our religious freedoms. It is important for any leader to respect the faith of others.

That point was driven home when Laura and I visited Israel in 1998. We had traveled to Rome to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter, who was attending a school program there, and spent three days in Israel on the way home. It was an incredible experience. I remember waking up at the Jerusalem Hilton and opening the curtains and seeing the Old City before us, the Jerusalem stone glowing gold. We visited the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. And we went to the Sea of Galilee and stood atop the hill where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It was an overwhelming feeling to stand in the spot where the most famous speech in the history of the world was delivered, the spot where Jesus outlined the character and conduct of a believer and gave his disciples and the world the beatitudes the golden rule, and the Lord's Prayer.

Our delegation included four gentile Governors-one Methodist, two Catholics, and a Mormon, and several Jewish-American friends. Someone suggested we read Scripture. I chose to read "Amazing Grace," my favorite hymn. Later that night we all gathered at a restaurant in Tel Aviv for dinner before we boarded our middle-of-night flight back to America. We talked about the wonderful experiences and thanked the guides and government officials who had introduced us to their country. Toward the end of the meal, one of our friends rose to share a story, to tell us how he, a gentile, and his friend, a Jew, had (unbeknownst to the rest of us) walked down to the Sea of Galilee, joined hands underwater, and prayed together, on bent knee. Then out of his mouth came a hymn he had known as a child, a hymn he hadn't thought about in years. He got every word right: "Now is the time approaching, by prophets long foretold, when all shall dwell together, One Shepherd and one fold. Now Jew and gentile, meeting, from many a distant shore around an altar kneeling, one common Lord." Faith changes lives. I know, because "faith has changed mine."

> I could not be Governor if I did not believe in a divine plan that supersedes all human plans. Politics is a fickle business. Polls change. Today's friend is tomorrow's adversary. People lavish praise and attention. Many times it is genuine; sometimes it is not. Yet I build my life on a foundation that will not shift. My faith frees me. My Faith frees me to put the problem of the moment in proper perspective. Frees me to make decisions that others might not like. Frees me to try to do the right thing, even though it may not poll well.

The death penalty is a difficult issue for supporters as well as its opponents. I have a reverence for life; my faith teaches that life is a gift from our Creator. In a perfect world, life is given by God and only taken by God. I hope someday our society will respect life, the full spectrum of life, from the newborn to the elderly. I hope someday children will be protected by law and welcomed in life. I support the death penalty because I believe, if administered swiftly and justly, capital punishment is a deterrent against future violence and will save other innocent lives. Some advocates of life will challenge why I oppose abortion yet support the death penalty. To me, it's the difference between innocence and guilt.

Today, two weeks after Jeb's inauguration, in my church in downtown Austin, Pastor Mark Craig, was telling me that my re-election was the first Governor to win back-to-back four-year terms in the history of the state of Texas. It was a beginning, not an end. People are starved for faithfulness. He talked of the need for honesty in government. He warned that leaders who cheat on their wives will cheat their country will cheat their colleagues, will cheat themselves.

Pastor Craig said that America is starved for honest leaders. He told the story of Moses, asked by God to lead his people to a land of milk and honey. Moses had a lot of reasons to shirk the task. As the Pastor told it, Moses' basic reaction was, "Sorry, God, I'm busy. I've got a family. I've got sheep to tend. I've got a life." "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? The people won't believe me, he protested. I'm not a very good speaker. Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person," Moses pleaded. But God did not, and Moses ultimately did His bidding, leading his people through forty years of wilderness and wandering, relying on God for strength and direction and inspiration.

"People are starved for leadership, Pastor Craig said," starved for leaders who have ethical and moral courage." "It is not enough to have an ethical compass to know right from wrong," he argued. "America needs leaders who have the moral courage to do what is right for the right reason. It's not always easy or convenient for leaders to step forward," he acknowledged. Remember, even Moses had doubts. "He was talking to you," my mother later said. The pastor was, of course, talking to all of us, challenging each one of us to make the most of our lives, to assume the mantle of leadership and responsibility wherever we find it. He was calling on us to use whatever power we have, in business, in politics, in our communities, and in our families, to do good for the right reason. And his sermon spoke directly to my heart and my life.

There was no magic moment of decision. After talking with my family during the Christmas holidays, then hearing this rousing sermon, to make the most of every moment, during my inaugural church service, I gradually felt more comfortable with the prospect of a presidential campaign. My family would love me, my faith would sustain me, no matter what. "During the more than half century of my life, we have seen an unprecedented decay in our American culture, a decay that has eroded the foundations of our collective values and moral standards of conduct. Our sense of personal responsibility has declined dramatically, just as the role and responsibility of the federal government has increased. The changing culture blurred the sharp contrast between right and wrong and created a new standard of conduct: 'If it feels good, do it,' and 'If you've got a problem, blame somebody else.'

"Individuals are not responsible for their actions," the new culture has said. "We are all victims of forces beyond our control." We have gone from a culture of sacrifice and saving to a culture obsessed with grabbing all the gusto. We went from accepting responsibility to assigning blame. As government did more and more, individuals were required to do less and less. The new culture said: 'if people were poor, the government should feed them. If someone had no house, the government should provide one. If criminals are not responsible for their acts, then the answers are not prisons, but social programs.'

"For our culture to change, it must change one heart, one soul, and one conscience at a time." Government can spend money, but it cannot put hope in our hearts or a sense of purpose in our lives." "But government should welcome the active involvement of people who are following a religious imperative to love their neighbors through after school programs, child care, drug treatment, maternity group homes, and a range of other services. Supporting these men and women -- the soldiers in the armies of compassion -- is the next bold step of welfare reform, because I know that changing hearts will change our entire society."

"During the opening months of my presidential campaign, I have traveled our country and my heart has been warmed. My experiences have reinvigorated my faith in the greatness of Americans. They have reminded me that societies are renewed from the bottom up, not the top down. Everywhere I go, I see people of love and faith, taking time to help a neighbor in need. These people and thousands like them are the heart and soul and greatness of America. And I want to do my part. I am running for President because I believe America must seize this moment. America must lead. "We must give our prosperity a greater purpose; a purpose of peace and freedom and hope. We are a great nation of good and loving people. And together, we have
a charge to keep.
~A CHARGE TO KEEP~
A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
A never dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.
To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill;
O may it all my powers engage,
To do my Masters will!















George W. Bush has kept hanging in his office a beautiful oil painting by W.H.D. Koerner entitled A Charge to Keep. The painting was inspired by the above hymn written by Charles Wesley. It pictures a horseman determinedly charging up what appears to be a steep and rough trail. The painting and hymn have been an inspiration for George W. Bush and the members of his staff. A Charge to Keep calls us to our highest and best. It speaks of purpose and direction.













George W. Bush started his Texas gubernatorial inauguration day with a church service. A Charge to Keep I Have was one of the hymns that he selected. In many hymnals, it is associated with the following Bible verse.
Moreover it is required in stewards
that one be found faithful.
1 Corinthians 4:2

"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God's mercy upon them, and give thanks. Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, for He wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth."
1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NLT)

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

President George W. Bush goes from Pennslyvania Avenue to a more simpler live in the Lone star state

President George W. Bush goes from Pennslyvania Avenue to a more simpler live in the Lone star state.

























Back in Texas, A More Simple Life for President George W. Bush

In Insular World, the Negative Is Left Behind

Saturday, April 11, 2009

DALLAS -- The new couple at 10141 Daria Place accepted an invitation to a neighborhood dinner party last month. The guest list totaled eight. The main dish was chicken potpie. George and Laura Bush left their cul-de-sac in the back of a dark sedan, exited through a Secret Service checkpoint and rode down streets bordered by lawn signs adorned with gigantic W's to welcome them home.

It has been a good week at 10141 Daria Place. The Bushes shared stories over dinner about their return to Texas after eight years in Washington. They had improved their sprinkler system and hung custom-made green drapes. Neighbors had brought over homemade cookies and a potted houseplant.

Not until late in the dinner party did the former president speak in any depth about his two terms in the White House. He told one of his favorite stories, about a trip to Bucharest, Romania, in 2002. More than 200,000 people had come to hear him speak in a town square, he said. The sky turned dark. A cold rain fell. The Romanian president introduced him and -- look at that! A huge rainbow emerged on the horizon, and the Romanians burst into applause.

"Magical," Bush said.

The presidency that is remembered on Daria Place bears little resemblance to the one that most of the country continues to blame for its problems. Bush left Washington on Jan. 20 with two-thirds of Americans disapproving of his job performance -- one of the worst ratings ever for an outgoing U.S. president. In his return to private life, he has maintained tranquility by adhering to a basic philosophy:

He lives squarely in the remaining 33 percent.

Bush works with a dozen aides from his administration, socializes with friends he has known for decades and lives in a conservative neighborhood that voted for him -- both times -- by a ratio greater than 2 to 1. And while the rest of the world mulls and debates his legacy, Bush has told friends that he prefers not to use the "L word." He dismisses analysis of his presidency as premature, regrets little and refrains from engaging in the snippety back-and-forth between the Obama administration and Bush loyalists such as Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. Bush feels content with his presidency, friends said. Now he will try to explain his two terms by writing a book and building a presidential center at Dallas's Southern Methodist University so that history will have the means to judge him fairly.

"Over the course of being president for eight years, you become, in some respects, immune to all the noise out there," said Dan Bartlett, who was a senior aide to Bush for more than a decade. "He's secure in the place he's in. He's confident in the decisions he made. There's none of that 'Shoulda, woulda, coulda.' "

His security is maintained by a daily routine that, intentionally or not, barricades him from the disapproving two-thirds of the nation. The 43rd president spends most weekends with his wife at their isolated ranch in Crawford, Tex., where he likes to wake up early, roam the 1,600 acres with a chainsaw and cut new bike trails. Most of his weekdays are spent 95 miles north, in Preston Hollow, an upper-class section of Dallas where he lived for seven years before becoming governor of Texas in 1995. He has declined to give interviews, except to discuss baseball or his book, and neighbors remain silent so as not to violate his privacy.

About once each week, Bush travels to give a speech or raise money for his $300 million presidential center, but he always moves inside an insulated bubble. On a trip to Calgary, Alberta, last month, he flew into town on a private jet and ate in a private room at a restaurant with three friends and the Secret Service. Eighty police officers provided extra security and closed streets for his motorcade so that he could cruise through downtown to a luncheon where 1,500 guests had paid $400 to hear him talk about "eight momentous years in the Oval Office," according to the invitation. The 250 protesters who waited to catch a glimpse of Bush instead settled for hurling their shoes at his picture.

In Washington, Bush spoke longingly of a quiet post-presidency that would allow him to bring Laura coffee in bed and meander into work around 9 a.m., but he has struggled to slow down, friends said. Bush almost always arrives at his Dallas office by 7:30 a.m., a few minutes before many of his employees. He works on his book with the help of a speechwriter, leaves for a late afternoon bike ride and spends his evenings reading or watching televised golf or baseball. Neither he nor Laura likes to cook, so they have relied on food brought by friends or prepared meals from EatZi's, a local market.

Their 1.13-acre property -- valued at about $2.4 million -- is cocooned by 40 acres of private land and a trout-filled lake. Two oak trees shade the front yard. The Secret Service occupies a house next door. Entrance into the cul-de-sac is restricted by a barrier of orange cones, two police cruisers and four Secret Service agents who scan the perimeter with binoculars. The Bushes plan to install a permanent gate outside the cul-de-sac later this year.

Until then, some neighbors have decided to treat 10141 Daria Place as just another house in Preston Hollow, despite all indications otherwise. The day after the Bushes arrived, the local Cub Scout troop visited their cul-de-sac as part of its annual drive to collect canned food. The troop's supervising parent, Nancy Burke, drove over to Daria Place a few days in advance to ask the Secret Service for clearance.

Sorry, the agents said.

Burke stopped by twice more and received the same answer before finally winning approval from a scheduling aide in Bush's office. An hour before she took the boys to Bush's house, Burke met with them to discuss logistics. Only 30 people could enter the cul-de-sac. The Scouts, ages 7 to 11, needed to wear their full uniforms. A raffle determined which two children would receive Bush's cans. Burke taught them how to talk to the media: "Think about their question before you speak." She demonstrated how to shake a president's hand. "Look him in the eye and shake firmly."

Just after 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 21, two nervous Cub Scouts approached Bush's front drive. As he opened the door, the former commander in chief could have been any Preston Hollow retiree donating cans that Saturday morning: 62, gray hair, loose slacks and a plastic bag filled with canned carrots. Except Bush wore a blue windbreaker with the presidential seal over the left breast, and Burke noticed the Secret Service agents eye the Scouts as they wrapped their arms around Bush and posed for pictures.

* * *

The Bushes departed Washington less than 90 minutes after Obama's inauguration. They boarded a helicopter and flew to Andrews Air Force Base, where 4,000 invited guests and military families waited in an airport hangar. The crowd waved American flags as Bush stepped to the lectern and said, "We served with conviction." Then he disappeared onto a charter plane, where about 75 friends and family members greeted him with a standing ovation.

As the plane flew toward Texas, the entire party jammed into the conference room to watch a video tribute. Beneath the clouds, television stations replayed Obama's inaugural address, a somber assessment of a country in "the midst of crisis." At cruising altitude, Bush's guests watched for 20 minutes as leaders including Bill Clinton, Barbara Bush and Tony Blair retold their fondest memories of Bush's presidency. White House staff members testified to his kindness; longtime friends recalled his courage and fortitude.

"There were a lot of people that got teary-eyed," said Israel Hernandez, a close friend of the Bushes. "It was emotionally overwhelming."

Bush landed in Midland, Tex., his home town, for a rally attended by 20,000 supporters and then spoke to 4,000 more in Waco. He told them that, when he looks in the mirror, he will "be proud of what I see." Then a helicopter took Bush to his ranch in Crawford, where he arrived just after dark.

"Since the moment he got back home, you can see that he is a much more relaxed, lighthearted person," said Jim Francis, one of Bush's closest friends. "He's in a place where people appreciate and understand him, and a lot of the stresses of being president are not things he's going to miss. The relief is visible to anyone who knows him. This is where he's comfortable."

The Bushes coveted a house in Preston Hollow because they remembered their previous stint in the neighborhood as idyllic, friends said. From 1988 to 1995, the couple lived on a block lined with oak trees and single-story houses, nice but unpretentious. Their twin daughters attended a private school nearby. Bush jogged outside in the morning, frequented the local pizza joint and hosted the neighborhood's annual Halloween party. At night, as the owner of the Texas Rangers, he attended baseball games with friends and contemplated an underdog run for governor. Why not? He had a famous name, popularity and his own booming career.

"Everybody -- everybody -- just loved him," said Mark Langdale, a former next-door neighbor who now oversees planning for Bush's presidential center.

Late in 2008, Laura found the couple's new house less than a mile north of their old block, in what Langdale described as a "stepped up" part of Preston Hollow. Laura loved the floor-to-ceiling bookcases that lined the hallways, the fireplace and the large windows with views of a football-field-shaped back yard. Bush never visited the property; on Laura's advice, he agreed they should buy it.

Late in 2008, Laura found the couple's new house less than a mile north of their old block, in what Langdale described as a "stepped up" part of Preston Hollow. Laura loved the floor-to-ceiling bookcases that lined the hallways, the fireplace and the large windows with views of a football-field-shaped back yard. Bush never visited the property; on Laura's advice, he agreed they should buy it.

Bush rarely talks about his successor and he vows to support him. At his luncheon speech in Calgary, the former president said: "I'm not going to spend my time criticizing [Obama]. There are plenty of critics in the arena. He deserves my silence."

But Laura has one curiosity about the Obamas that she cannot shake, friends said. Before leaving the White House, she spent her own money to have two of her favorite chairs reproduced as a gift for the new first family. The original chairs, on loan from her friend Anne Johnson, are armless and chic, and Laura thought Michelle Obama would love them.

"Laura keeps asking about those chairs," Johnson said. "She's saying to me, 'Do you think they're using them? Do they like them? Oh, how could they not love those chairs?' "

* * *

Bush has said that he expects to live at least 20 more years, and that he does not want to spend all his time dwelling on an eight-year presidency. He has placed the hopes for his future in plans for a 207,000-square-foot presidential center, which will feature a library for his archives, a museum and a policy institute.

The center is scheduled to open in 2013, but the policy institute will offer preliminary programs starting this fall. Bush plans to host scholars and world leaders who will ruminate about freedom, the economy and keeping the country safe. He and Laura will participate in their discussions regularly, aides said.

But first, Bush will focus on writing a book that explains his presidency in detail. He thinks his two terms will ultimately be judged on a series of major decisions: going to war with Iraq, selecting Cheney as a running mate and directing the response to Hurricane Katrina. The museum will offer an interactive tour of those key moments, so visitors can experience the decisions as Bush made them. His book, scheduled for release in 2010 by Crown, will focus on about a dozen major choices and the reasoning behind them, aides said.

Bush has already written more than 25,000 words, and a research assistant has been dispatched to the warehouse in Lewisville, Tex., that is temporarily storing his archives. In explaining the book to friends, Bush has reinforced that it is at least partly intended for future historians who will examine his presidency with fresh eyes. Bush told former White House press secretary Dana Perino that he had found comfort reading several biographies of George Washington. If the first president still required analysis, Bush joked, then what could the 43rd president have to worry about?

"There's a comfort that comes with knowing you probably won't be alive to see the real verdict on your presidency," said Kirbyjon Caldwell, Bush's friend and the pastor at Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston. "There's only so much he can control."

Bush is less concerned about the opinions of his current critics than those of future generations, Caldwell said. Last month, Bush visited an American government class at Southern Methodist University to lecture to a group of 19- and 20-year-olds, people who were not old enough to have voted for or against him. His appearance was planned one week in advance but kept secret until the moment he walked into a classroom flanked by the university president, vice president, three personal aides and the Secret Service. The 30 students were instructed to turn off their cellphones and put away their cameras until the end of class.

Bush spoke for the first 10 minutes about his presidential center and his new life in Dallas. The students, most of whom had described themselves as conservative on a class questionnaire at the beginning of the semester, treated Bush with respect, even reverence. He asked for questions. One student raised a hand.

How did you make your decisions in office?

The classroom windows were covered with white paper to prevent outsiders from peering in. Secret Service agents were standing guard. The students were too star-struck to take notes. Bush stood at the center of the classroom, at home in the 33 percent, and offered an early summation of his presidency.

You make your decisions based on principles, he said. And you never worry about popularity or polls.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH THROWS OUT THE FIRST PITCH !

Back At Home… In Texas APRIL 7TH, 2009

Former President George W. Bush waves to the crowd before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch during the Texas Rangers game on opening day.










Former President George W. Bush tosses the first pitch before Monday's opener. Bush, who owned the Rangers in 1989-94, got a rousing ovation.

President Bush’s presence must’ve been good luck for the Texas Rangers, who decimated the Indians 9-1 in the Opening Day showdown. When President George W. Bush, threw out the first pitch, the fans went wild. THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. YOU ARE A DECENT AND MORAL MAN AND I RESPECT YOU GREATLY !

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always

THANK YOU PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH FOR KEEPING US SAFE. You will always be my PRESIDENT. Job well done ! God bless you and your family always