- NAME – George Walker Bush
Library of Congress - NICKNAME(S) – W
- BIRTH / DEATH – July 6, 1946 New Haven, Cn.
- FATHER – ex-President
- MOTHER – housewife
- COLLEGE – Yale (History degree) / Harvard Business School (MBA)
- WIFE – Laura Welch
- KIDS – 2 twin daughters
- PETS – Springer spaniel (Spot – Millie’s puppy); Scottish terriers (Barney & Miss Beasley)
- RELIGION – Episcopalian
- ANCESTRY –
- AGE – 54
FIRSTS:
– first MBA
– first to visit Sweden, Peru, Iraq
– first to leave office with both parents still alive
MA AND PA: His father (the future President) came from a very wealthy family. He would be driven to school by the family chauffeur. He excelled at school and was big in sports. He played baseball, football, soccer, and tennis in high school. He was President of his senior class and captain of the baseball and soccer teams. On his eighteenth birthday, he enlisted in the Navy to fight in WWII. He was the youngest pilot in the Navy. He flew 58 missions as a dive bomber pilot, until he was shot down and rescued by a submarine. He returned to marry his sweet heart. He enrolled in Yale and his first son, George Walker, was born during this period of his life. After college, they moved west to be in the oil industry. Young George lived in 28 homes in 17 cities when he was growing up. They eventually settled in Houston and his father got into politics. His mother Barbara met his father at a dance when she was in finishing school. She was eighteen when they married upon his return from the war. She had grown up in a fairly wealthy family. Her father was a publisher (including McCall’s magazine). Her mother was a socialite who concentrated most of her efforts on Barbara’s more attractive older sister. Barbara was not physically attractive until she was a teenager. She also aggravated her mother with her tomboy ways and her love of sports. George Walker was born a year after their wedding. Tragedy struck when George’s three-year old sister died of leukemia. Barbara was devastated and since her husband was away a lot, her son took on the role of comforter. He was good at it and they became very close. He is much more like his mother than his father. She became a great political asset to both her husband and son. She was the first woman to witness the inauguration of both her husband and her son. A very popular First Lady and First Mom, she wrote several best-selling books and donated a lot of the profits to literacy programs. Parents
BACKGROUND:
– Air Force National Guard
– oil business
– part owner of the Texas Rangers
– 1994 – Governor of Texas
– 1998 – reelected Governor
FIRST LADY: Laura grew up in a middle class family and had an uneventful childhood until a tragedy at age 17. She was driving a car with a girl friend when she ran an unseen stop sign and rammed another car. The other car was driven by a high school friend who was the school track star. He died and she was devastated. Her strong Methodist beliefs helped her cope. Her dreams of becoming a teacher were fulfilled when she graduated from SMU and became a teacher in a predominately African-American school. Later, she got her master’s degree in library science and became a librarian. She was in her thirties when friends invited her to a barbeque specifically to match her up with another of their friends, a fellow thirtyish single called “Bush Boy”. They hit it off immediately although they were total opposites personality-wise. They were engaged in three weeks and married in twelve. Twin daughters followed, after problems in the pregnancy left her bedridden for months. As first lady of Texas, she started the successful Texas Book Festival. It contributed millions to public libraries. Later, as First Lady, she initiated the National Book Festival on the National Mall. Kelly 352-356
Library of Congress
TRIVIA:
– favorite foods were Mexican food, pralines, and ice cream
– loved to jog; he is the only President to have run a marathon. He completed the Houston marathon two years before becoming Governor in the time of 3:44.52
– when he was President, the salary went up to $400,00 plus $50,000 for expenses
– married Laura after knowing her for only three months
ANECDOTES:
THE SHOE INCIDENT – In December, 2008, President Bush visited Iraq after the American invasion. At a press conference in Baghdad, a young Iraqi journalist named Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw both his shoes at the President. Al-Zaidi said “This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq.” Bush ducked the shoes and Al-Zaidi was arrested. Throwing shoes is a sign of disrespect in Iraq. It is against the law and Al-Zaidi was sentenced to three years in prison and spent one before being let out for good behavior. Lists p. 2