Laura and George-The LHJ interview

'Free societies where people have hope, people have good education, people have 
health care, people have got a chance to realize their dreams, are societies 
that are less likely to produce bitterness, anger, resentment, suiciders and 
killers.'  -G.W.Bush



[Gosh, a free society sounds swell.  How many returnables do we need to save to 
get one? Well, I know you're dying to read it.  I won't say any more. -x]

http://women.msn.com/786535.armx?GT1=4529

Home on the ranch with President and Laura Bush
By Diane Salvatore
 
Ladies' Home Journal recently caught up with the 2004 presidential hopefuls, 
President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, and their wives. Here, in a 
condensed version of the exclusive magazine interview, the President and Mrs. 
Bush express their views on the war, terrorism, the American spirit, the 
meaning of faith -- and wanting grandchildren.

Also available on MSN Women, Senator John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry find 
time during one of their campaign stops to talk with Ladies' Home Journal. For 
the full interviews, pick up a copy of Ladies’ Home Journal’s August 2004 
issue, on newsstands now.

At the Ranch

When the First Couple, President George W. Bush, 57, and Mrs. Laura Bush, also 
57, met with Ladies' Home Journal, they were relaxed; being on home turf at the 
Bushes' Prairie Chapel Ranch and its 1,600 acres in Crawford, Texas, seems 
likely part of the reason. The rooms we saw at the ranch are serene and 
sophisticated: In a sitting room, there are moss-green fabric couches and sisal 
rugs over cool, cement floors; on the gray walls, framed line drawings of 
Spanish and Mexican horsemen throughout history.

  

Diane Salvatore for Ladies' Home Journal: Do you fantasize about the time when 
there'll be little grandchildren running around the ranch? 

President Bush: Yes, ma'am. 

Mrs. Bush: This big tree out here looks perfect for a picnic with grandchildren 
underneath it. 

Salvatore: Could you update us on the girls' plans? 

Mrs. Bush: We're very proud of them. They've had very distinguished college 
careers. [Jenna and Barbara Bush, both 22, graduated in May.] They are going to 
wait to get jobs till after the election, but Jenna's still very interested in 
teaching. And we'll see what Barbara's going to do. She has a lot of interests.

Salvatore: Among them?

Mrs. Bush: She's maybe interested in doing AIDS work, with an AIDS foundation; 
she doesn't know which one. 

Last Hurrah?

Salvatore: This is probably your last campaign together, and I wonder if that 
makes it a particularly poignant moment for both of you. 

President Bush: That's an interesting question. I think it will be. Be somewhat 
nostalgic. The truth of the matter is we spent our first year of marriage on 
the campaign trail. And this is the last campaign.

Salvatore: Do you think you'll do things differently on this campaign?

President Bush: I think it's important for Laura to be out there without me 
because she is such a strong advocate for what we're trying to do, and if we're 
both together it's not a good utilization of her time. So I hope she spends 
more time on the campaign trail alone.

Mrs. Bush: Although at the end, I love to travel with the President because it 
is a really sweet time for both of us. Like the President says, we spent the 
first year of our married life in the car by ourselves driving up and down the 
panhandle of west Texas. It's a great way to get to know your new husband.

Salvatore: Who's the better driver? [They point to each other simultaneously 
and laugh.] 

President Bush: She is. 

Mrs. Bush: He is.

Salvatore: Mrs. Bush, as you campaign, what is the most important thing you 
want the American people to know about your husband?

Mrs. Bush: Well, of course I know him in a way that nobody else does, and I 
want people to have the chance to know him like I know him. I know his 
characteristics in such a profound way. I know how disciplined he is. I know 
how steady he is. I know how strong he is. And this job is not for the faint of 
heart, there's no doubt about that. Really requires a lot of strength, 
especially in the challenging times like we have.

Mrs. Bush: But also, politics is a family business. If somebody in the family 
is in elected office, then everyone is involved in some way. 

Salvatore: Mr. President, what do you know now about being president that you 
didn't know before, that you would like to tell your younger self?

President Bush: I didn't know a war was coming. I knew it was going to be a lot 
of work and a tough job. And I accept that and enjoy that. I enjoy making 
decisions, and I knew it was gonna be a decision-making experience. I didn't 
realize Washington was going to be so bitter. Austin [where the Bushes lived 
when he was governor of Texas] was not a bitter place. It was a place where 
Democrats and Republicans could get along pretty well and look after the 
state's interests. Washington turns out to be a lot different town than I 
envisioned it to be. I think it's a lot of zero-sum politics there. I'm not 
pointing the finger at anybody, I'm just telling you what it is. But one 
thing's for certain: When I look back at it, I'm glad I ran, and it's been a 
fantastic experience for both of us. It's been an opportunity to spread freedom 
and peace, an opportunity to put policies in place that will leave behind the 
likelihood that people are going to be prosperous, and that's really important. 
I've enjoyed it. I really have.

Salvatore: Do you think presidents ought to be able to hold office for as long 
as they could be elected?

President Bush: No.

Salvatore: So you would not be interested in running for a third term if you 
could?

President Bush: Not at all. I think two terms is plenty. I think in a democracy 
it's important that there be change and turnover. I think there are plenty of 
people with capable ideas. There's something refreshing about change in 
leadership. And there's something also very refreshing about knowing that 
change in leadership will come after having spent a lot of time trying to 
convince voters that you're the right person. 

Laura's Legacy

Salvatore: Mrs. Bush, where do you feel you've taken the role of First Lady in 
the first four years and where do you want to take it in the next four if you 
are, in fact, in the White House again? What would you like your legacy to be 
about?

Mrs. Bush: About education. That's my lifelong interest. I made a decision to 
be a teacher when I was in the second grade. I like children. I like to be 
around children. And I want the very best for American children. I also think 
that education is the single most important factor in making sure our world is 
free, that our country is prosperous, and that our people can live satisfying 
lives. And so that's what I would hope people would remember me for -- my 
interest in the idea of lifelong learning, not just for children, but for 
everyone.

President Bush: I also think she'll be remembered because during the attacks on 
our country, Laura was such a calm and reassuring voice to people. She 
encouraged people to talk to their children during this very traumatic time. I 
also know the effect she's had on women in places like Afghanistan, and my hope 
would be in the second term that the situation would be such that Laura could 
go to Afghanistan and speak to the millions of women who know that she cares 
about their freedom and rise above some traditions that kept them essentially 
enslaved to a backward philosophy. She one time did the presidential address by 
radio, speaking to Afghan women, and the response was really powerful. I can't 
tell you the number of people who've gone to Afghanistan, not the least among 
them Karen Hughes [Counselor to the President], and they say that people are 
really anxious for Laura to go because she represents such a strong symbol of 
the best of America.

Salvatore: Some questions about the character of the American people for both 
of you. What one feature do you find the most distressing about American 
culture today, and the most noble?

Mrs. Bush: Well, the most noble is how generous, how decent, Americans are. I 
met with a group of Afghan teachers who lived in Nebraska. The University of 
Nebraska has a big Middle Eastern department, so they had Afghan women come to 
train to be teachers so that they could go back home to Afghanistan and train 
teachers there. They lived with families in Nebraska, and you know what those 
families are like -- such solid American values in the heartland of our 
country. And those Afghan women were very surprised at how generous and how 
kind and how solid these families were. 

President Bush: I'd say the most disappointing thing about Americans is that we 
don't exercise enough, that a lot of disease could be prevented from just 
walking 20 minutes a day.

Salvatore: There's always a lot of discussion about the characteristics of the 
baby-boomer generation. When you both think about the generation that your 
daughters belong to, what contribution do you think they will ultimately make 
to the American fabric? 

Mrs. Bush: I know that they're very idealistic. I know that they want to do 
good things for their country and for their neighbors. I hear from young women 
and young men who are about to graduate college that all of them want to make a 
good impact on their country and the world and they want to help in whatever 
way they can. They are not particularly materialistic, maybe because they grew 
up with a lot of affluence themselves. One good example is the huge number of 
young people who apply to Teach for America, so many that they have to turn 
down a huge number of very qualified young people who want to teach in inner 
cities or underserved schools.

Marriage & More

Salvatore: You may know that Ladies' Home Journal is the magazine of the "Can 
This Marriage Be Saved?" column. Do you recognize that title?

Mrs. Bush: Sure! Of course, he probably doesn't.

Salvatore: It's a 51-year-old column. And we profile only marriages that have 
been saved-

President Bush: Really? 

Salvatore: -because that's what people learn from.

President Bush: Sure.

Salvatore: But it also seems clear that the 50 percent divorce rate is pretty 
much here to stay. I'm wondering if you could both address what you think is 
driving that? 

President Bush: The first thing I thought of when you said, "Can a marriage be 
saved?" is, you know, all marriages require work. I mean, marriages need to be 
saved nearly every day. Seriously! I mean, it is an accommodation. It is a 
determination to make a sacrifice for something that is enduring. It's work. I 
haven't seen studies about why there's divorce, but it's got to be to a certain 
extent that some people just aren't willing to make the commitment to make it 
work. A perfect marriage is a marriage that is perfect after years of working 
together to make it perfect.

Mrs. Bush: People who have parents who were married for 50 years and longer had 
really great examples of what it's like to work on your marriage, and that's a 
huge advantage for children. And I think once we have children, it's good to 
remember that our children are always watching us. 

Salvatore: You mentioned Karen Hughes before. In her new book [Ten Minutes From 
Normal], she shines a light on the struggle that women face when they want to 
work and want to raise a family. What advice do you both give to your own 
daughters as you think about this question?

President Bush: My advice is get married first!

Mrs. Bush: I've felt like I was very fortunate to be able to do what Karen did, 
which is that I could stay home with my children and be able to be available to 
participate in all their activities. Not that he didn't also participate in 
their activities -- he did. He actually drove the car pool up until the time he 
was elected governor. But I also understand and appreciate Karen's dilemma, 
going from working in the White House to moving back to Austin because she 
wanted her son to be happy.

President Bush: I guess the way I approach it is, I would tell our daughters 
that having a child is the most important thing you're going to do. And it's 
your responsibility to love that child with all your heart. Therefore, use your 
best judgment as to how to achieve that most primary objective. And there are 
plenty of women who are able to do just that -- love their child with all their 
heart and at the same time have a career. There are some like Karen who thought 
they could do that and came to a point in their life and realized they 
couldn't, and were strong enough to go to the President of the United States 
and say, "I gotta go home." She was one of the most powerful women in the 
history of the country. Access to the president is power. And she had unlimited 
access. Not only did she have access -- she had my ear. And as Laura will tell 
you, I do a lot of things she thinks I ought to do, and sometimes I don't. 
Well, same with Karen Hughes. My advice to people is understand the importance 
of having a child, make those children a priority, and then adjust your life 
according to that.

Salvatore: Bigger and bigger proportions of our population are getting older 
and older. My readers are often the ones who do a lot of the caretaking. What 
score would you give us as a society for how well we have responded to handling 
the caretaking of older Americans? 

President Bush: America has done a good job by making a commitment to Medicare 
for seniors. It's a commitment that Lyndon Johnson first started and has been 
maintained since then, and America deserves a good grade for that. And I will 
argue that the modernization program I signed is going to make Medicare even 
better. The quality of nursing homes obviously varies from location to 
location, but where you find elderly people in lousy nursing homes, there needs 
to be an F. Something needs to be done about it. That is primarily a state 
responsibility. And there are some decrepit conditions where our seniors are 
kept, and that needs to be changed, and people need to be held to account for 
that. I think one of the interesting qualifiers about how seniors are treated 
is whether children assume a certain responsibility for their parents. I can 
tell you that in Laura's family, the care is an A plus, because she cares a lot 
about her mom, she's constantly checking on her mom. I suspect most people are 
really caring for their parents. Therefore, my answer would be I would give the 
society as a whole pretty darn good marks.

Salvatore: There seem to be a lot of indications that America is having a kind 
of spiritual reawakening. In your view, is there a kind of divine destiny for 
each of us individually and for America as a country?

President Bush: My view of religion is that we've been given free will, and 
it's a gift -- like freedom is a gift-and with that freedom and free will each 
individual makes a choice as to whether or not there's a commitment to the 
Almighty. I do think people are a bit more religious in America, and I'm 
talking about Jewish people, Christians and Muslims alike. I do think the 
attacks on September 11th caused America to take a step back and really examine 
our views of other religions, which I hope is positive. One of the ideas I've 
tried to reject is that this is a war between Christians and Muslims, and it's 
not. It's a war between good people and evil people. Fortunately, there are a 
lot more good people than evil. That's why ultimately we will win.

Salvatore: Do you believe, Mr. President, that some people are irredeemably 
evil, such as Osama bin Laden?

President Bush: I absolutely believe that people can go from evil to good. 
There are people who recognize the influence of evil in their lives and choose 
to do something about it. I think it's too late for Osama bin Laden. As far as 
I'm concerned, there's nothing redeemable about him. He cannot redeem himself, 
as far as I'm concerned. I think this guy's soul is so corroded, there's just 
no way.

Time with the Troops

Salvatore: Mr. President, you have spent a good amount of time with the troops. 
Is there one American soldier's story that has stayed with you?

President Bush: I've spent a lot of time with troops, and I've spent a lot of 
time with families of those who have been killed in battle, been wounded in 
battle. I guess the most meaningful meeting I've had would be the time when we 
swore in a Marine, a Mexican citizen, to be a U.S. citizen as I gave the Purple 
Heart. It was really a powerful moment. He was weeping. His family was weeping. 
I'm going to do something next week that's interesting. I saw a kid lying in 
bed after he had gotten his leg blown off because of a mine [in Afghanistan], 
and I told him, he's gonna get out of bed and he's going to run with the 
President. I said, "You mark my words, one of these days, you and I are gonna 
run together." The question is, can I run? [On April 14, the President jogged 
on the South Lawn of the White House with Army National Guard Staff Sgt. 
Michael McNaughton, 33.] I will tell you that the families that I've met are 
very brave and courageous people. One message I get is: Do not allow my loved 
one to die in vain. In other words, don't let politics get in the way of 
completing the mission. It's an uplifting, difficult experience, but I come 
away a stronger person for having met with the families.

Salvatore: Mr. President, we have all experienced the upgrade in security at 
airports -- now there's more discussion about rail safety. In New York City, 
some 5 million trips are taken on the rails and subways every day. What are 
your thoughts about whether it is possible to really secure rails?

President Bush: Well, first of all, we'll never secure America 100 percent 
anywhere. We are a free country, we are a big country, we are a relatively open 
country, and if somebody wants to blow somebody up, it'll be hard to stop. Look 
at the Oklahoma City bombing. Now having said that, we're much more aware. For 
example, whenever we get any indication that somebody might try to do something 
on the subway, like they did in Madrid, we alert the subway people in New York. 
New York's got a good response system -- they're looking for strange packages, 
they're looking to put more people on the platforms, and the ability to 
communicate is much quicker than it's ever been, and much more seamless.

Mrs. Bush: I think the other good news is that the population is more vigilant. 
If there's something strange, people know to call authorities. When before we 
just all went about our own way, now people really are paying attention.

President Bush: We're doing everything we can to secure the homeland. If I had 
known this was going to happen on 9/11, I promise you we would have used all 
our assets to prevent it from happening. If we find out somebody is trying to 
attack somewhere in the United States, we will move. In the meantime, when we 
get threats that we think indicate that something is about to happen, we put 
everybody on alert now. I describe the situation we're in as like a war, a 
different kind of war, and we must use all our resources and assets and allies 
and friends to bring these people to justice. And we're getting good 
cooperation. There is a long-term strategy to deal with it, which is to promote 
freedom. Free societies where people have hope, people have good education, 
people have health care, people have got a chance to realize their dreams, are 
societies that are less likely to produce bitterness, anger, resentment, 
suiciders and killers. This is a vital struggle. It is a defining struggle of 
this century.



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