Heartbeat: George Bush in His Own Words (Lisa Drew Books) - Hardcover

3.64

25 ratings by Goodreads

9780743224796: Heartbeat: George Bush in His Own Words (Lisa Drew Books)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743224795 ISBN 13: 9780743224796

Publisher: Scribner, 2001

A seminal selection of writings, including letters, speeches, public papers, interviews, and other excerpts offers an intimate portrait of America's forty-first president that conveys many of his private beliefs and fundamental values in such chapters as "Friends," "Family," and "Faith." 100,000 first printing.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Jim McGrath studied journalism and government at the University of Maryland before joining the White House as a writer and editor in 1991. He is a partner at CEO Communications and lives in Houston, Texas.

Introduction

by Barbara Bush

I first knew George Bush was the most articulate man I had ever met way back in 1941. I was sixteen, he was seventeen, and although we did not know each other, we were attending the same Christmas party. When he walked across the room and asked me if I'd like to dance, they were without a doubt the most brilliant words I had ever heard.

After fifty-six years of marriage, I haven't changed my mind. I could be accused of being prejudiced, but George is one of the funniest, wisest, most caring people I know. I know this because I have listened carefully to everything he's said all these years.

That is why I was thrilled when our friend Jim McGrath told me he was thinking of compiling a book of quotes from George's speeches. Several years ago George published a book of letters, All the Best, which revealed a very private side to a very public man. The letters showed that through the ups and downs of his life, George never lost his sense of humor, his sense of purpose, or his sense of honor. I felt that Jim's idea would be the perfect follow-up to the letters book, this time focusing on the spoken word.

Heartbeat is a wonderful record of how an American President led his country -- and the world -- during an interesting time in our history. Whether it was George speaking about the challenge of Desert Storm, or the somewhat sudden peaceful end to the Cold War, Heartbeat provides insight into how a President tries to both reassure and inspire.

And whether it was George's declaration "I hate broccoli" or his words explaining away the stomach flu in Japan, Heartbeat serves as a reminder that our Presidents are, after all, just plain people like the rest of us.

Unlike his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, George was never accused of being the Great Communicator. He was always too impatient to fine-tune his speech-giving skills, which once in a while resulted in a twisted syntax or two. (I'm sure you all remember the media teasing him that English was his second language.)

But after reading Heartbeat, I think you'll be reminded of an American President who felt the issues deeply, stood by his principles, never forgot the importance of honor, and never lost his sense of humor.

Best of all, Heartbeat is George Bush doing what he does best, speaking from the heart.

Compilation copyright � 2001 by Jim McGrath

Chapter One: 1989: A New Breeze

At 12:05 P.M. on January 20, 1989, standing on the U.S. Capitol's West Front, George Herbert Walker Bush addressed the American people for the first time as the forty-first President of the United States. Declaring that a "new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn," the new President launched an administration that would indeed see the winds of change remake the face of Europe and Latin America within the year. The Wall fell in Berlin; the dictator Manuel Noriega fell in Panama; and the superpowers charted a new path of cooperation at the historic Malta Summit. Meanwhile, closer to home, the President announced a new war on drugs, convened an Education Summit, and confronted the Savings and Loan crisis; and Millie, the Bushes' dog, had puppies.

Commenting on his Inaugural Address the next day, President Bush dictated to his diary: "The speech went about 20 minutes, and it was well received. Congress liked it. We've got to find ways to do this compromise, 'kinder, gentler world'"

FAITH, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS:

Values That Remain, Ties That Bind

We are not the sum of our possessions. They are not the measure of our lives. In our hearts we know what matters. We cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account. We must hope to give them a sense of what it means to be a loyal friend; a loving parent; a citizen who leaves his home, his neighborhood, and town better than he found it.

Inaugural Address, U.S. Capitol West Front,
January 20, 1989

ONE NATION UNDER GOD

Never wanting to appear "holier-than-thou," as he would often say, President Bush walked a fine line throughout his Presidency between referencing his deeply held faith and "preaching" too much in public...

I freely acknowledge my need to hear and to heed the voice of Almighty God. I began my Inaugural Address with a prayer out of a deep sense of need and desire of God's wisdom in the decisions we face.

Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast, Washington Hilton Hotel

International Crystal Ballroom, Washington, D.C., February 2, 1989

__________

During their visit to China, the Bushes returned to the church where their daughter, Doro, was baptized...

Our family has always felt that church is the place to seek guidance and seek strength and peace. And when you are away from home, you realize how much that means. This church, in a sense, was our home away from home. It's a little different though. Today we came up with twenty motorcars in a motorcade, and I used to come to church on my bicycle, my Flying Pigeon.

Remarks at Chongmenwen Christian Church

in Beijing, China, February 26, 1989

__________

I am convinced that faith and family can help us honor God in a most profound and personal way -- daily, as human beings -- by the conduct of our lives. They teach us not only to revere but to practice the Golden Rule. And they also help us reflect the internal values of decency, humility, kindness, and caring.

Remarks on the National Day of Prayer,

White House State Dining Room, May 4, 1989

__________

The pupil-turned-President returns to his old school...

I can speak very briefly of my time here. I loved those years. They did, indeed, teach me the great end and real business of living. And even now its lessons of honesty, selflessness, faith in God -- well, they enrich every day of our lives.

You remember, I'm the guy that said Pearl Harbor Day was on September 7. I want to clear that up -- [laughter] -- because it was right about here, where that guy in a red coat is standing, that I heard our country was at war on December 7, 1941. And it was over there, in Cochran Chapel, that in June of 1942, a graduate of Phillips Academy gave our commencement address -- Henry Stimson. He was then secretary of war, and he observed how the American soldier should be brave without being brutal, self-reliant without boasting, becoming a part of irresistible might without losing faith in individual liberty. I never forgot those words.

For 211 years, Phillips Academy has embodied these qualities that Secretary Stimson alluded to. And it has shown we are "one nation under God." It has inculcated into its sons and daughters a sense of service to others -- each day I'm reminded of this. This is the message of our years here and the message with which I close. Without God's help we can do nothing. With God's help there is nothing we cannot do, for our children and for the world.

Remarks at the Bicentennial Convocation of Phillips Academy,

Samuel Phillips Hall, in Andover, Massachusetts, November 5, 1989

MILLIE

The Bushes' dog, Mildred Kerr Bush, was the subject of much media interest throughout 1989. Here, amid questions on terrorism and aid to the Nicaraguan contras, the new President is pressed for details about their dog's pregnancy...

Q. How many puppies are you going to have?

The President. If I had to bet -- and we've done no sonograms -- I would bet six.

Q. Are you going to keep any of them?

The President....I don't think so. A tremendous demand out there, Tom, enormous demand for these puppies. And I'm particularly interested in the op-ed page in one of the great newspapers the other day, where they had two English spaniel breeders saying this was the most outrageous thing they'd ever seen -- the attention to having these puppies here in the White House. And then, offsetting opinion, counterpoint, came by an eighty-five-year-old woman who has written a book on English spaniels, who announced that this was one of the greatest things that had ever happened. So, it's causing a very lively debate, much like the AK-47 debate -- [laughter] -- a tremendous interest in this.

Q. So, you'll be happy when it's over.

The President. Yeah. It's changed my life....Can I tell them what Barbara told me on the phone?

Mr. Fitzwater [Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater]. Sure.

The President. She said, "Tonight, you're in the Lincoln bed, alone." I said, "Well, why?" She said, "Well, Millie had a very bad night last night, thrashing around, and you would be irritable." So I am being sent down the hall, which just suits the heck out of me.

Q. Who's in the doghouse? You or the dog?

The President. The dog refuses to go in the doghouse is the problem. There's a beautiful pen made for her to have this blessed event in. It's wonderful -- little shelf built out so that the puppies can scurry under there and not get rolled on by the mother. I never thought we'd go through something like this again, after the six kids and eleven grandchildren. But it's a whole new thing.

Q. Is this worse?

The President. In a way, it is. In a way, it is. It's mainly because of Barbara's abiding interest in it. She can't move without the dog being two feet away from her. But it's exciting, and we're real thrilled. Millie's mother gave birth on the Farish [friend Will Farish, who gave Millie to the Bushes] bed at night. He woke up, and he heard a little squeak, and there were three pups and more arriving -- right on the bed. So we're trying to avoid that. It's wonderful -- [laughter] -- great new dimension to our lives.

The President's news conference, aboard Air Force One
en route to Washington, D.C., from Colorado Springs,

Colorado, March 17, 1989

__________

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.