♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. we are going to begin. welcome to this very special opening presentation of the 27 annual miami book fair at miami-dade college. we kindly ask you turn off your cell phones or place them in the silent position. thank you. and now, ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure and honor to introduce the co-founder and president of miami dade college. [applauding] >> good afternoon, everyone.

it is, indeed, a real pleasure for me to welcome all of you to miami dade college and the 26 edition of the miami book fair international. the official opening for the book fair. it will go for eight consecutive days. the street fair will take place friday, saturday, and sunday and next week. this is, without question, the finest and largest literary event in america. we are very proud at the college to be able to host this every year for 26 years. the community has been so responsive. visitors and members and residents of the keen to come together in a communion of books. the book fair has been labeled many different ways. my two favorite ones are tom wolfe, the american author the says miami book fair

international is the literary mecca of the western world, and the other nice label, if i should call it that way, is what former first lady barbara bush said about the book fair, she said it is an embarrassment of riches. so i love that one. you know, between now and next sunday we are going to have over 350 authors, some from different parts of the world for the delight of the miami public. during the weekend during the street fair we will have hundreds of thousands of people who will be visiting the fare as well as hundreds of thousands of books for people to buy. i like to, as a point of privilege, introduced three members of congress who are here today, good friends of miami-dade college.

the arlington, would he stand. his little brother, mario. [applauding] and indiana. [applauding] a proud alumna of miami-dade college. now, to introduce our very special guest today, someone who needs no introduction, someone who is a cultural icon in this community and who has done so much to bring books to life, to bring people together, and to bring the best of the world to

miami. please help me welcome in which kaplan. [applauding] >> thank you, edoardo. it is an honored to be introduced by one of my mentors, eduardo padron. we all know what he has done for this community. miami-dade college. this gift to the community, which is the miami book fair. this gives this college a huge round of applause as well. [applauding] also, as i stand up here i have to recognize, as we are entering a new book fair week the incredible work of the entire book fair team led by a remarkable woman, a good friend of mine has been the heart and soul of the book fair for many

years. that is the executive director of the florida senate for literary art, lena. [applauding] and it is an amazing week. each night this week we have an author coming and led by an entire weekend around the clock of author of fans. please pick up your fair goers died and go on line and find out what's happening here at the miami book fair. tonight is tonight. this afternoon it is an honor to be, sort of, welcoming this program to an traduced the president and also to engage the president in a discussion. it is my honor to bring of someone whose books are sold and our bookshops for many many years and it is a pleasure to meet him as well. that is michael barone, a graduate of harvard university and yale law school. spent two years at yale while

president bush was there, although their tracks did not cross that. he is the senior political analyst with a washington examiner and a resident fellow at the american enterprise institute. he is also a fox news channel contributor and co-author of the almanac of american politics. he has written for many publications including the economist, the new york times and the sunday times of london. previously a senior writer at u.s. news and world report and a member of the "washington post" editorial page. please give him of warm, warm welcome. [applauding] the below. >> they key very much. it is an honor to be here and then to be able to introduce the 43rd president of the united states, george walker bush. [applauding]

[applauding] >> thank you all. thank you. please be seated. michael, before we began i do want to thank him for his of the miami community college. i have the honor to give their graduation here when i was the president. i am thankful that you invited me back. i also want to thank you for promoting literacy. as a new author, it is in my interest that you promote literacy. i want you to know, i did recognize the fact that you have invited my mother, my wife, our daughter, and you finally got to

me. [applauding] and finally i want to thank you all for buying this book, which i personally signed. i understand after this is over you will be your copy. >> mr. president, your book is entitled "decision points." it is not really an exhaustive autobiography of your whole life tell us what you wanted to do with this book. >> i thought it would be kind of strange to start of what was born in a log cabin. wasn't exactly the case. i wanted to the -- michael, i wanted people to understand what it was like to be president. i made a lot of controversy decisions. i wanted to give the reader a chance to understand the process by which i made decisions. the environment in which i made decisions, the people i listened

to has made decisions. this is not an attempt to rewrite history. it is not an attempt to fashion a legacy. it is an attempt to be a part of the historical narrative. it was a joyous experience. an autobiographical portion. i put that in their to try to make the first decision of why i ran for president in the first place, of logical decision for the reader. i could not just say i decided to run without describing the person who was running. the book starts off with can you tell me a day in which you have not had a drink. it is the beginning of me quitting drinking it. i would not be sitting here as a former president had and still been drinking. >> to ask that question? >> believe it or not, it was my dear wife, laura. she was tired of me drinking. as the reader will learn, i

became tired of me drinking as well. the book is very anecdotal, and it was really an experience to recreate the anecdotes. turns out the president has got a lot of historical records at his disposal. diaries for every minute of my life. there are notes of national security meetings. there are memorandum of phone calls i made it. it was interesting to recreate a lot of the decisionmaking process from the historical records. of course no historical record of how i felt or the emotions i felt as i tried to do my best to give the reader that sense of emotions during some of the very traumatic moment. >> your father was elected president in 1988. as in a future president you might have had a lot of opportunity for training at that point. what kind of a role did you play

what observations did you make in your dad's campaign and administration? >> well, first of all, obviously a vocal point of the early part of the book is my relationship with my father. i recognize there is a lot of psychobabble that was taking place during my presidency about the relationship between father and son, both of whom were presidents. the story is pretty simple. i love george bush. i adore george bush. he was an incredible inspiration for me. i learned a lot from him, obviously, as an observer. i learned structure and the white house. i never dreamt i would be president when i ran in 1988. very few people tramped up with the president. including my mother. including you. >> i remember interviewing you in the texas delegation. >> you weren't saying i'm

interviewing a future president. >> i thought governor clements might make it. >> you're just saying, i hope the boys stays out of trouble. >> well. >> but i -- here is what i learned. i learned -- i watched a gracious man the president. what is interesting is watching my dad the president was a lot harder than being president. in other words, i love the guy that says anything bad about him i would be angry. frankly, at times, i was reared. i say so in the book. i was defending somebody that meant a lot to me. so when i became president it was much easier to deal with the presidency having what some go through it. no comment in the name calling bother you? not really. it bothered me for my dad. billy didn't bother it me. >> tell us about the first time he pushed dick cheney for vice

president? >> he is referring to a story in the book. i had made up my mind that the cheney was the right person to run with me. to say you know, the vice presidential selection process is really the first indication as to how a potential president will make a decision. i had watched my dad made his decision, and it was a very thoughtful process. i asked dick cheney to be the person to be the process. the vice presidential pick also ought to say clearly that the future or potential president understands the most important role of the vice-president is to succeed the president if something bad happens. so after going to be exhaustive list i decided that he would be the right vice-presidential pick i like him, trusted his judgment i knew he would not be the kind of person that could be constantly second-guessing decisions. he could be president. would reassure the american people that i understood the

nature of the vice-president see . so i told my senior team. karl rove strongly objected. he did not think -- he thought that the vice-president would not help us with the electoral college. it turned out he was valuable. he felt like picking someone from my father's administration would look too much like, you know, a continuation. he was worried about his health, and he was worried about some of the policies that cut voted on when he was in the u.s. congress my management style was that to put carl and dig in the same room in the governor's mansion in austin and let carl bear out why he did not think they got to be on the ticket. what's interesting is that dick agreed with him. it took me awhile to persuade

vice-president cheney to join as on the ticket. there is a lot of speculation. i will tell you this. i'm glad i picked him in 2000. as i sit here in 2010 and glad i picked him in 2000. he was, in my judgment, a super buys president. >> a couple of people that were not eager for you to run for president in 1999 and 2000 were two people very closely related to you. there is some connection with what you state is your biggest mistake in the 2000 campaign. >> you are referring to my daughter's. you can understand why. they graduated from boston haskell, and the idea of their father running and winning and they go to college with secret service is really not appealing to them. michael is referring to the biggest political mistake of my

life, not revealing to the people of texas that i had been arrested for dressed driving. i had been up in maine. i went to a bar. he taught me how to drink beer out of the mob with no hands. [laughter] which means you bite the edge of the mod. i had too much to drink and was pulled over by a policeman in maine. i paid the fine and did what i was supposed to do. had been called for jury duty in austin, and it was a drunken-driving charge. as i was walking out of the core from a reporter said, have you ever been arrested for drunk driving. i said i had done a lot of stupid things when i was yelling that's all i said, and here's the reason. mike rose were fixing to drive. i felt strongly that baby boomer parents should not be visiting their sins against their children. i was deeply concerned that if i

have said yes that my message to them what had been undermined. after all he became the governor i think we will drink and drive as well. it was a huge political mistake. five days before the election in 2000 the sealed records were unsealed and trust in the public arena. it was an easy thing to handle. anything that changes the discoursed with five days to go in a campaign is monumental. carl and i believe that revelation of the drunken driving probably cost 2 million votes. wait a minute. we don't need this. we thought he was one way and he is another. they did not. i obviously would have revealed that i had been drinking and

driving, paid my dues, quit drinking, and probably should have held the event had a mothers against drunk driving seminar. >> we are here speaking in florida. did you think -- was there any point when you thought you might not get florida's electoral votes at the 2000 controversy? >> this seems like we had to win the race by different times. i wasn't sure. i think about florida. there is one thing that really irritates me. i put this in the book. but the networks called the election. i'm confident it cost me a lot of folks. a lot of americans don't understand. so when they call the election at 7:00 eastern there are a lot of people. it was a very traumatic time. i am most grateful for one of my early decisions which was on

election day -- a couple of things. people were urging me to go to a clear victory, my brother took me aside and said inaccurate. secondly i woke up really early in the morning. asked jerry to come down here. my dad's tier friend. great public servant. worked out fine. it was an interesting time. >> as president you mad and dealt with many foreign leaders. you prayed about some of them in the book in various shapes and forms. you write have always been able to reach people. vladimir p. newton, when you first met him you said you got a sense of the soul. >> look in his eyes. >> later you told him he was cold-blooded. >> i did. >> did you read him wrong? the change? >> of course that me tell you this story.

connie and i are in a run in slovenia. thankfully they did not ask me to identify where it was when i was running in 2000. i now know where it is, and it's a fabulous country, by the way. one of the most beautiful countries. i am meeting for the first time in 2001. he is talking to me about soviet debt saddling the russian federation. after about five minutes i've been listening to him talking about the debt. is it true your mother gave you across that she had a blast in jerusalem? i had read about the cross in sc a briefing. the reason i asked him that is i wanted to learn more about the person. i needed to know the type of person i was dealing with. he then starts describing his mom and the cross. he tells an interesting story

about how he had come across. he told the workmen the only thing i really want you to find is the cross. and then he explained. the atmosphere in the room changed. he said it was as if it was meant to be. i said that is the story of the cross. so when i was asked the question the conversation went on from there. and when i was asked the question do you trust vladimir in front of a huge press conference after reading, my answer was, yes. i could have tried to at clever, trust but verify, but that would have sounded like plagiarism. i said yes. why? i looked into his eyes and saw his soul. in my memory at the time was how he -- the whole conversation changed when he was talking

about something that was precious. and then michael is talking about the last time i met him. i was mad. i had spoken to his successor and make it very clear that the united states was objecting strongly to the russian invasion in china at the opening game ceremony. as a dam after our conversation. we are both running. pretty tough. i finally said to have a have been telling you he's hot blooded. i'm hot blooded. i said no, you're cold-blooded. and so our relationship, and these two anecdotes and a lot of stories in between, introduced him to barney at camp david.

the scottish terrier. a little guy who i adore. and that then -- [laughter] i met with coogan. find kindly invited us over. he was a gracious host. would you like to meet my dog? sure. and out bounce this huge stock. as he says with a twinkle in his eye, bigger, faster, and stronger than barney. >> you had a day that changed your presidency. the morning of september 11th 2001, it take you a while to get back to washington. can you tell us something about what it was like to be president of the united states that they? >> my role became clarified. the priority of my administration changed from a child left behind are tax cuts or economic growth in dealing

with the dot com lost to protecting american. when this second plane hit the second tower we are staring at him children. my first reaction is anger. then my role became clear. the contrast between the evil and the attackers, children, made it clear my job was to protect the best record. i put in there that everything after that, the decisions i made , many of which were due to the attack the day. anyway, i tried to get down. frankly, urged not to come back. my instincts are to get back to washington. i flew around the country with two stops, louisiana and nebraska. i finally said i'm going home. this is services don't go. people a very uncertain about other attacks. i damn sure wasn't going to give a speech to the country from a

bunker in nebraska. that did not want to give the enemy the psychological advantage of seeing the president on the run. the only time in my presidency -- but there is another time. i overruled the secret service. it is important for the president. anyway, i got there. i gave the speech. we are in a bunker. and national security meeting which is four stories below the white house in a hardened bunker this is really going to stay. i said, show me the bed. so he showed me this thing that looked like it had been purchased by harry truman. i said i'm not sleeping down here. i needed sleep. if you're ever in a crisis it is essential that you get dressed in order to be able to clearly be -- think clearly. we went upstairs. laura is sound asleep.

i hear a guy breathing. mr. president, the white house is under attack. let go. i grabbed laura and a robe. i am in running shorts and t-shirt. we are back down about four stories below the white house. the young airman comes round the corner and says it was one of ours. an f-16 had been flying. the wrong radio code and is flying down the potomac, and everybody thought it was the five of like getting ready to hit the white house. >> three days after that you spoke at the national cathedral in washington and then you went out to visit the site of the attack in new york. >> the national cathedral speech was a very important speech to give at the prayer service. christian, muslim, jewish, religious leaders plan to heal the nation and more.

my speech was god is good. we can count on god, and we are going to go find the enemy. may have been the most important speech of my presidency. afterwards we flew up to ground zero. it's like walking into hell. so it was still in the air. i got down. there was palpable blood lust. these people didn't know me as president. firefighters and rescue workers had been desperately trying to pull out their friends. you know, i tried to console them, and they did not want to hear that. i got up on the fire engine. and reviewed the phone the other day. we are here. we pray for you. we love you. the misses they wanted to hear was we hear you, and those who knocked down these buildings will hear from us. i finally went, drove down to

the center on the way down the road. the road was lined with american flags and giuliani pointed out, none of them voted for you. the truth doesn't hurt. anyway, so i think the rescue workers from around the country and then went to be with the family still thought their loved ones were going to come out of the rubble. it was an interesting position to be in. i had just come from the rubble. it is awfully hard to believe anybody would come out of there. i did the best i could to be hopeful and reassuring. there is a 30 minute meeting. to a half hours later i left. the last person i met gave me the badge of her son, which i held up during the speech. >> in the months and couple years that followed you authorized the cia to use

enhanced interrogation techniques, or at least some that were proposed on suspects. this has been criticized as authorizing torture by many of your critics in this country and other countries. tell us your view. >> my view is that we fight a battle to protect ourselves against an enemy that is different from anyone we ever fought, an enemy that does not believe in the geneva convention and that highs in the soft underbelly of the country and will mercifully kill the innocent. the only way to protect assisted be able to get good information. so we captured. the chief operating officer of al qaeda. i don't know if they call themselves that. he was the man who slit any pearls throat.

one of the greatest statements of religious principle ever. he said my grandfather is jewish , my father is jewish, and i'm jewish. and then khalid sheikh mohammed slit his throat. we capture him. i'm told that he has done information that can lead -- that can prevent another attack. i also was told that the interrogation techniques that we were using at the time were ineffective. as a matter of fact, khalid sheikh mohammed said abel talk to you when i get my lawyer in new york. the cia said that they would like to take over the interrogation. they talked about techniques that were available to them that they thought would be effective in getting information from the skillet that could save lives. i then went through an

exhaustive legal review of their recommendations, understanding that there are laws against torture. i wasn't going to break the law to protect you. legal opinions came back, and i approved techniques including water boarding on three people. in my book and make two points clear. one, the information we receive from those on whom we used enhanced interrogation techniques saved american lives. secondly, i could not have lived with myself had i not, under the law, used the techniques to get the information so that our folks can react and prevent attacks. i'm fully aware at the time i made the decision that there would be a lot of controversy and a lot of blow back on this decision. but my job was to protect you within the law and within the constitution of the united

states. as i said in the book and later on in my presidency we captured somebody who had information. if we could have saved lives i would have done the same thing again. finally, to so you know i'll walk you through this capability, this tool passed by the united states congress. it is now available to any president to use should he or she choose to do so. [applauding] [applauding] >> abcaeight. mr. president, 2002 and 2003 you contemplated the possibility of military action against iraq and

the regime of saddam hussein. it was asserted by many intelligence agencies that he had weapons of mass destruction and programs to build them as he had in the past. some of that information turned out to be wrong. how did that happen the mac does it, in retrospect, would it have changed your point of view or decision on the iraq military action? >> that is one of those questions that i just didn't have the luxury of answering. you try to answer it, but it didn't happen that way. this book lays out how history unfolded. i laid out a doctrine that said -- of bush doctrine. order to protect the country we had to be on the offense and hold people in deal with threats before they're fully materialized. the lessons of the attack.

plus we spread freedom as an alternative to the ideology of those who murder the innocent. the world saw saddam hussein as a threat. i literally mean the world. i felt it was important to deal with them because the biggest danger facing america is weapons of mass destruction in the hands of come in this case, a surrogate to do us harm. one thing is clear. i tried to make diplomacy work. there was an exhaustive attempt to convince saddam hussein, one, that we meant what we said at the united nations security council. there was a debate in my administration as to whether i should have gone at all. i want you to that debate. some members said, no, you don't need to. give it 20 or 40 days to disarm. >> your position, as you say in the book.

legally he was in violation of previous -- on the other hand, what is interesting that they will interest people. i wanted there to be a coalition of freedom loving nations who were willing to confront saddam so that he would understand that it's just not the united states that was demanding that he disclosed or allow the inspectors said. it was a lot of nations. those cannot act without the u.n. security council resolution . i wanted to build a coalition. we passed a unanimous resolution . on the one hand we had a diplomatic track in the other we had a military track trying to send signals that if you defy the free world again there will be consequences.

and, you know, in terms of the weapons of mass destruction what i think people forget is that prior to my arrival congress overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for regime change. and after september 11th congress overwhelmingly passed a resolution authorizing me to use force necessary to protect the american people. the difficulties began after the liberation. people began to change their mind. that sometimes happens in politics. it can't happen if you're the commander in chief. [applauding] [applauding] anyway, it is a painful experience. drolen offensively when not

equating it to the pain that people feel when their child gets sent into combat. it's a difficult decision. no president should never commit our troops without serious thought about the consequences. >> mr. president, president obama spoke in his post-election press conference about the strength he has done from speaking with families of military members and families of people that have fallen. >> i've read about this a lot. i want the american people who read this book to understand the incredible strength of character of our military families. i tell the story. her husband was one of the early casualties. i get to see she and her two children. i talk about killing eye-level with the children to tell them how courageous their father was.

i've fought back the tears because i did not want them to see a we be commander in sheer white. and one after the meeting valerie handed me a pamphlet. she says something to the effect that if anybody questions this you show them this. on the pamphlet she wrote john did his job, you do yours. there were a lot of meetings like that. the strength of character of our people come out. we are blessed nation. we have incredibly brave and courageous people who volunteer in the face of danger and families to support them. [applauding] >> mr. president, some of my friends in london did not think that you would get along very well with the british prime minister tony blair.

>> is that what you were suggesting a? >> i'm just saying what some of my friends in london said. >> and tony blair and i became fast friends. i admire him a lot. i admire him because he's a courageous person. when he gives his word, he keeps it. i admire his sense of humor. we spend a lot of time with he and surely him. a made a lot of friends in the international arena. i would say tony and i ended up with the very fast. i found it to be unusual to find politicians or people in elected office to be able to look beyond the horizon. i felt tony could do that in a way that was very strategic and abroad. i believe heads a state need to be strategic and there's a lot and have a long-term view of fish used.

tunney had that. >> he did have a few debates. >> i did. one of them on the death penalty and will. she was objecting to my position when i was governor of texas of supporting the death penalty. justice is there and swift. the death penalty saves lives. she did not agree. >> you were reelected with the majority of the vocal line. the first time that a presidential nominee get a majority of the popular vote. political capital. you went in on the social security issue first and one and only later in 2006 pushed for changes in our inland immigration laws. those were not successful. what have you learned from that? >> well, if i had it to do over again i would have run the immigration plan first. and i didn't.

i placed on social security card the jew to the matter is congress did not want to the altar social security. hands congress is more reactive than proactive. i did not give support from either party. nevertheless a postcard. at think it is essential whether we reform the social security. i went there to deal with problems and not shy away from them because there might be bad political consequences. so social security failed. comprehensive immigration reform , which was wildly praised after i gave the speech in the oval office. the issue got away and became -- the rhetoric on the issue was very difficult.

somebody who was nervous. i can understand why. we ought to enforce our borders. but automatically labeling any plan as instant amnesty made it very difficult to get people to pay attention. i have no regrets in trying both issues. that is what you do, you try and solve problems. in both cases i was unsuccessful . >> mr. president, you have a chapter on iraq which goes into 2003 and a little bit of 2004. then you have a chapter on later in the book of the surge where you talk about how in the spring of 2006 you came to believe that our strategy in a rock was failing and that he needed to make changes that resulted in the search strategy, which i think is generally agreed to be -- to have been successful. how did you -- why did you

change your mind? how did you turn the government around? >> well, first by changed our mind because i felt we were beginning to lose. the loss in iraq would mean a major blow to the security of the united states. it would have meant that the sacrifices that had gone on prior to that moment would be in vain. wimbledon enemies in sending shockwaves throughout the middle east. i have always believed in the universality of democracy. freedom exists and everybody sold. if we can get the right strategy to bring security in place then people would be given a chance to express their desire to live in a free society. the problem is that the politics -- we push politics first. we are very successful initially in terms of the constitutionality. but the comes a point where democracy could not take hold. i decided it was just -- it would have been catastrophic, as

far as i was concerned. i asked my national security adviser to get some options. it took awhile to implement. i walked the reader through why. >> but you talk about changing your mind on strategy in the spring. >> beginning during the spring. i needed to see options. >> the announcement comes in january of a seven. >> that's right. i needed to see options before we could make a move. that took a while to develop. then i needed to convince people in my own administration. and then as donald trump sold told me, you know, we need is. the truth of the matter is i needed in order to make the plan work i had to have a new secretary of defense. people would not have believed it was a new plan unless there was somebody else saying there was an implant. it was introduced to bob gates as an option.

hedblom that led to needing new generals. so a lot of things happened. really what happened was that he does a six campaign interceded. i feel strongly the commander in chief should not be making key military decisions in the midst of a political campaign. you are being used for political purposes. that would be a major mistake. and so one of the lessons for future presidents should they choose to read this book if you, unfortunately, our commander in chief, don't play politics with military strategy. [applauding] >> mr. president, three more questions. >> okay. >> getting ready to put the hook on me. >> and the book you account have you had experience in handling hurricanes in florida in 2004

and 2005 were you say you have a competent governor. [applauding] and -- >> what did you expect me to say >> then, sir can katrina in 2005. you were accused by a singer of not caring about black people. >> yeah, look. it was not just one person. it was an opportunity for people to use the response to katrina as a way to label me a racist, and i did not like it one bit. i expressed significant displeasure. you know, you can call me names, which they get it. being labeled a racist is something that i could not stomach the then or now. it's unbelievably unfair. katrina was, you know, a case.

i prided myself on making decisions. it was just a delayed decision. i took too long. flew over new orleans. picture on air force one. they put that in the newspaper. looked like to people that i did not care. looking at the deal from 20,000 feet or however i will work. i do remind people that the federal response started initially after the storm hit. 30,000 people schley's were saved by the united states coastguard. as i say when i went down to new orleans, there was not one helicopter pilots were rescue coastguardsman that said, i'm not taking you of that route because you happen to be black. they were picking people up all colors, races command ages to save lives. the question is should i have put federal troops without the capacity to protect themselves in new orleans.

we probably don't have enough time. my advice is read the book. i walk you through. basically says the president cannot put troops for law enforcement in the net is states without either declaring the situation insurrection or being asked to do so by the governor of a particular state. if i had to do it -- and i was weight, so you know, by the broadcast of the area where there was shootings and snipers and all the things we had heard about, many of which turned out not to be true. you know, if i had to do it over again, which you don't get to do, i would put the 802nd airborne without the capacity to defend themselves. at think it would have changed the psychology of that whole situation quickly. >> mr. president, i don't recall you speaking of a lot about africa or aids issues in your two dozen campaign. your administration did a lot on

that. at think a lot of people aren't aware of that. >> well, early on when i was getting to know in courting her to try to become a national security adviser. i talked a lot about africa. you think about africa at that point in time. he have to think about the pandemic of dates. in a policy maker could not say how want to do something with africa and not immediately go to the aids issue. i did. i walked the reader through some very poignant scenes about what laura and i saw when we went to africa. also the strategy to spend your money that ultimately save millions of lives. why did he do that? i think there are two reasons why. one, national security reasons. kigali record hopeless people. i think there has to be nothing more hopeless than a child

watching their parents die of aids and nobody helping. we had the capacity to help. i think it is important to live by certain principles. to whom much is given, much is required. as a nation we are better for. so a chapter called lazarists because many people were talking about after the program, after it was implemented many people, people like lazarus, rising from the dead. so a different and second chief of staff after my dear friend was the of the chief of staff says donald. you're going to meet on now. you do know movie is? and i said, yeah. a famous irish rock star. jeff says, and used to be

married to share. and i kept my poker face as long as possible. there are a lot of moments of humor in this book. believe it and not my administration in the midst of trauma was pretty light hearted at times. we got along well. there was a lot of joy and it's the grief. >> finally, mr. president, there are two older women to appear at various points in the book. i'm wondering if you could tell us which one was more formidable ? >> well, my mother -- i put in there that -- well, i tell a lot of stories about my mom. i used to tell people when i ran for governor of texas i have my daddy's eyes and my mother's mouth, which will generally get

a laugh. it's true. my mother is formidable. when i told her i was going to run again stan richards reaction was you can't when. thanks, mom. she is unbelievable. >> what did she tell you? >> oh, yes. after my dad lost in '92 i decided that i'm going to run out my frustrations by train for and running the houston marathon. at mile 19 the church, st. martin's church was there. it just so happened i go running by the church right about the time the 930 service empties out and, you know, my dad. is my boy. mother says, there are 35 people had a few.

[applauding] >> that is not what you heard for the queen? >> no. laura and i went to buckingham palace. a majestic stay. i asked the queen if i could see they came and. beautiful dogs. very well behaved. i used to myself, of course, thankfully barney is not here because he would be barking for scottish independence. let me conclude by one story. thank you very much for being here and think you all for your interest. there are a lot of stories in the book. [applauding] i was giving a speech, you remember the one i gave at duke amassed.

just before i got up to the podium, a couple hundred thousand people. they were here to hear the american president welcome. big deal for people who had just come out from underneath communism to know that an attack on one was an attack on all, which is article five of the nato treaty. there was of little balcony. drizzle of the day. i said what is that? that is the balcony with the tyrant had given his last speech. it was a memorial to freedom. and the president introduces me. a full randall appears. a startling moment. i stepped back to take in this rainbow and then said god is smiling on us. the reason i did is because the rainbow ended exactly behind the

balcony where the tyrant had given his last speech. thank you for coming. [applauding] [applauding] [applauding] >> thank you. thank you. what a great way to kick off the book fair. thank you all for coming as well. we hope to see you throughout the week. if you pre purchased a book they will be available outside. i think there will be a line or something that you can get into. if you have not repurchased one it will be some for sale right

outside. thank you all. we will see you this week. [applauding] ♪ ♪ >> if you would like to comment about former president bush's book, "decision points," log on to c-span.org and click on the live social section where you can continue the conversation using social media. add to the c-span.org live social page you will find a

twitter feed and his presentation at the miami book fare as well as a chance to add your own comments on facebook. this program will reach here this evening at 10:00 p.m. eastern. laura bush also published her mignonne this past may. from the tenth annual national book festival, the former first lady presents spoken from the heart. mes birogram is just under 30 minutes. >> laura bush who is first lady brought the concept of the laurh national book festival tof washington from her home state of texas where she had conductex . [applauding] chico hosted the national book s

festival throughout her years[ap here on pennsylvania avenue. she is a former librarian. [applauding] she is a teacher, and author ofc multiple books including her latest, "spoken from the heart." madam, former first lady, you speak to the heart of all of us. reading from her book and then take questions. microphones are on either side. please keep your questions brief and non. she honors us by taking time out from her extraordinarily busy schedule continuously inut fighting. please join us in welcoming the woman i have been able to call, i think, with full force and continued conviction leader in

chief of the united states oferf america. [applauding] [applauding] >> thank you all. thank you so much. of thank you very much. yhank you for all your good worr thank you for being such a greak partner for the national book festival. thank you for continuing to for build this national booknd than festival.k f this is the tenth national book festival, which i think is so terrific. is th feal whie looking around the stand and all around the festival there is a hugelyerric popular theme. thank you all for coming and thank you for the warm welcome.c i especially want to thank david rubenstein who is sitting here on the front row for yourk davi ubenstus gift to the library of congressei which will ensure thg the book will continue. thank you very much.