harbor and roosevelt was supposed to sign this document putting the allies against the axis powers. but roosevelt didn't like the word associated nations and wanted to call them united nations. comes wheeling in to churchill's room to help him the news. but churchill is just coming out of the bathtub and had nothing on. but churchill said oh, no please stay. the prime minister of great britain has nothing to hide from the president. so anyway, speaking of churchill, sticking his stomach out, i recognized there is no regular ritual day in the white house, but what amazed me about you is number one, the athleticism of you. number two, that you wrote a diary. we historians are so sad to think that in the future 200 years from now, people are not going to have diaries. it's my favorite. time when you wrote in the diary?

>> i wake up very early. i woke up at 6:00 this morning. >> and wake up lively? did you wake up lively? >> i don't talk to anybody. no, i wake up, put the dogs out, get the coffee, pick up the paper. but in those days, i really woke up pretty lively, and i just learned how to use a computer, and i -- i wrote a diary and actually jon meacham has been given permission only, because they're not to be open for 50 years because i'm pretty naughty. frank. >> frank is a good one. >> who would guess? >> not to my precious daughter-in-law. anyway, i wrote a diary, and he is allowed to read part of it. but i didn't -- i'm ashamed to say i did not write too much about we have a war going on. i really wrote more about i don't know what. i haven't read my diary in years. it's in the library and anyone who reads it other than john

meacham just a certain number of years will be shot. >> i guess as an historian, i i'm not going to be reading that. >> well, barb is so unbelievably disciplined. it takes a lot of discipline to write in a diary, and then she would go to the white house pool and swim laps. every morning. >> now i can't. since i have new knees, they sink. i'm in real trouble. >> what fun it must have been to live with you. >> i don't know as george thinks so. >> i think he does. >> so speaking of routines of the day, when i read your memoir, the funniest thing was when you talked about at the white house correspondent's dinner your nightly routine. will you tell these people about that? i loved it so. >> well, the white house correspondents dinner, have you probably seen it every year on television, but it's the evening

when all of the white house correspondents, the press that are assigned to the white house and their guests, and they always try to outcelebrity each other and invite lots of celebrities come to roast the president. as george said, everyone makes fun of the president, and then he stands up and makes fun of himself. so george was always very funny at every one of the white house correspondents dinners. but finely he said i have run out of ideas. why don't you surprise everyone and speak? so i had a very funny speech, i think. and george got up to speak to the crowd and kind of laughed and started telling a joke. and i sprang up and pushed him out of the way and said no, no, not that old joke again. and people gasped. i mean the people i was sitting with thought that i really had just jumped up. but then i talked about being a desperate housewife and how mr. excitement here was already in bed at 9:30.

and i said that one night lynne cheney and condi rice and karen hughes, who i think is here and i had gone to chippendales and i wouldn't even have mentioned it accept sandra day o'connor and justice ginsburg saw us there. but, you know, that sort of humor doesn't really translate to most countries, because most countries you can't roast the president like that. so for a year after that at least on foreign travel, heads of state when we were somewhere else would take me aside and say are you really a desperate housewife? >> humor is such an important thing. >> those things sometimes backfire. i can't remember which dinner, but there is a white tie dinner. >> the gridiron. >> the gridiron. >> where they take themselves, pardon me, so seriously, you press.

i decided it was on april 1st. i decided ah-ha, so i worked with my hairdresser. and i wore a red wig and came out in my evening dress. and george says you're not going like that, are you? i said, yeah, i am. so we went to the dinner. some people thought i had cancer. some people said who is that woman with the president? nobody thought it was funny. i had gone through great trouble to get this wonderful wig. any way, it backfired. people were saying how are you for days after that. >> and you were just fine. to what extent do the first ladies get involved in preparing the meals or menus that will be eaten just for your ordinary nights? >> none. >> ordinary night, no.

but the state dinners, they give you choices of different menus and actually, everything they cooked was so good. i do wish i was there again, only for the meals. >> we did have tastes for state dinners. we usually invited congressmen who weren't going to be invited to the state dinner over. >> you were much smarter than we were. >> to be the guinea pigs. but the white house chef would give us a weekly menu. if there was something on there we didn't think we would want, we would call and say don't fix that but they were pretty terrific. >> it was unbelievable food. and lovely people. >> i can imagine. one of the things i remember, of course, that your husband didn't like broccoli. and that became a famous moment. do you know fdr hated broccoli, too? >> oh, good. >> and his chef at the white house who was a woman, and she was really tough, would constantly serve him broccoli, because he should eat it even if he didn't like it. >> i read that in your book. >> exactly.

>> i did. >> and then every morning he served her oatmeal every single morning. he finally cut out cornflakes, 19 cents. post toasties. couldn't i have something other than oatmeal? he said he was getting chicken six nights a week. he said his stomach was rebelling so much that he bit a foreign power. so texas is so fortunate to have had three first ladies in recent history. tell me about your feelings for lady bird johnson who i had such enormous respect for and so lucky to have known her when i was 24 years old. >> we adored her, truthfully, both george and i. and i felt so badly, probably shouldn't say this. when we went to washington i was so offended by the attitude of the kennedy people who would say to you oh, i wish you had been here in the good times instead of these awful texans. and finally at a dinner one night i said, you know, i'm a texan. and they said no you're not. you're from the east.

i said well, then my five children are. we stopped doing that, we stopped going to those dinners. they ridiculed her accent. she was the most wonderful lady. she did more for beauty in this country, and she was so generous and genuine. i loved her. and until laura, she was my favorite first lady. >> i also really admired her. i was at graduate school in texas. when president johnson died and his body lay in state at the lbj library. and i lined up. they were there, lady bird and linda and lucy, greeting every single person that came through. but i did get to take her on a tour of the white house the last time she came to the white house, linda brought her and she was in a wheelchair. and she had lost her speech by then from a stroke. she was still so expressive with her hands. if she saw a painting, i showed

her president johnson's painting again. and she put her arms out to him and when we met her at the door, the doorman was -- had been the mater d, he had come back from retirement when the johnsons were there, and he sort of fell into her arms and they hugged. so it was really a wonderful pleasure to get to show her the white house that last time. >> she came to the white house when we there were too. and told me a story about the picture of the little grumpy girl. >> thomas aikins? >> that's right. a group standing look agent it, and someone said, maybe lady bird, said, isn't she grumpy? and a voice in the back said she wasn't always. i married her. you know the picture? the little grumpy girl. >> you know, what it shows is when we often talk about first ladies, and i'd like to talk that in a minute. we talk about what they've done

and you have both done so much on literacy and reading. but the relationship with the president is such an important thing. and jbj was such a character. he would go off at times. and she could put a hand on the knee and say lyndon, you don't really mean that. there was just an's that came into her. and that relationship of whatever you do in your marriage, in your life and your partnership, that's the real power that i think besides all the things you do in the world at large. but let's start with you and literacy. i mean, i know what you've done. and how did it happen that you chose that? >> i jogged around memorial park one year, knowing george was going to run. granted, nobody else thought he was, but anyway, i tried to think of something. i had worked in hospitals always as a volunteer, and then i decided i should do something that helps the most people and cost the government less money. i didn't want to be controversial. i got problems with that anyway. i wanted to keep it down.

it comes naturally. but i picked literacy, because there is no question in my mind and now i've gone into family literacy, because if you have a mother or father or caretaker who can ride, read, they can follow their child in school and help them. if they can't, then the child doesn't have any inspiration. statistics in our country are shocking. the number of children who do not graduate from high school and who just drop out of the system. and so we're working very hard still. i have turned my foundation over. they don't seem the take it as well as they should, but jeb andorra are doing nationally, and neil and maria who are here are doing texas. and george p. and mandy under them are doing ft. worth and dallas. but they keep saying oh, mom, just sign this letter. i'm glad to do that. but i want them to take over. i'm 80 -- almost 87. and i'm delighted to be here,

but george is -- >> [ applause ] >> george needs me. he needs me. his legs have said no more. will not move and it makes a huge difference. what's more, i am loving having him to myself. i'm loving it. >> about time. >> about time says his cousin. but he's -- he's wonderful, he's loving and sweet. and he adores if the children are all great. neil and maria live across the street. which is certainly something i never would have done. she built a house across the street from us. i loved my mother-in-law. i would no more have lived within six blocks of her. but their children come by. and it's just great. >> i can imagine. >> we love our life. we have a lot of good friends, and he needs me. >> wow. >> so reading for you, the book festivals and eventually afghanistan and burma and speaking. i remember once you said you never thought you would have to

give a speech. look at you now. >> i didn't go so much as barb did, thinking one specific topic, because i had been first lady of texas and worked on the number of issues, including, of course, education. george had run on education as a campaign, you know, policy issue that he campaigned on. so i knew we would spend a lot of time on education. i hoped we would. because i started the -- texas book festival when we were in austin, it just seemed natural and actually james billington, the library of congress came straight to me as soon as george was elected. the very first day that we lived there, i walked downstairs and saw dick mo, the head of the national trust on historic preservation, on his way across the downstairs cross hall towards the west wing to meet with george and -- i told him that i wanted to continue to work on save america's treasures which hillary clinton started.

when she was first lady before me, just because of my interest in historical preservation. so just -- and then i think things just sort of presented themselves. obviously women's rights and women's issues became very important as everyone in the world really turned to look at afghanistan. and saw how women were treated there. and i think american women were really horrified. the idea of a government that would forbid half of their population from being educated was really shocking to us and i noticed, i could tell, american women really felt very strong sense of sisterhood with women in afghanistan and wanted to do whatever they could to help. and so, you know, a lot of other things, too, as well. >> i wish they would show that picture of you with all the saudi arabian ladies. when you went. they had no idea about cancer and women's -- >> breast cancer, yeah. >> you did 100 things. >> i did a lot of things.

>> it must be an extraordinary feeling to know you have a pulpit and you can use to it make a difference. >> well, i knew that, obviously, from watching bar and from lady bird's famous line about the first lady has a podium, and she said for herself and i choose to use it. but i didn't -- i don't think you really, you know, you know it intellectually but don't really understand it emotionally. when i gave the radio address about the taliban and right after that, we were at our ranch when susan was talking about the photographs when i was giving the radio address and went into austin and jenna was in college, a freshman in college in austin. and i went in to see her and went shopping with her at the department store. and the women selling the cosmetics said thank you so much for speaking for the women of afghanistan. that's really when i understood the people really did listen to the first lady. and that, you know, they -- they

really did hear me. >> you did a lot, though, in africa with aids. she and george had the most extraordinary reach for helping others. there are more little george bushes in africa than you can shake a stick at. [ laughter ] we think they are after your father, of course. but we know they're not. but he also -- i mean, they did things for ailments that were curable. i mean, you ought to talk about that because you really did. >> well, in -- that was one of the things that was really very lucky for me is i got to -- george would make the policy with his side. a lot of it i got credit for even though no one wanted to take credit.

but it would really be his oils issues. but then coy do travel for that -- for those policy issues. so i went to africa five times, two times with george. the first time and the last time. then -- while we -- while george was president we just went again, as you all probably, many of you know. because the bush institute just announced our global health initiative in last fall, and then in early december, george and barbara and jenna and henry and i went to africa for george to speak at the international conference on aids in africa in ethiopia. and announced the -- our global health initiative which is adding the testing treatment and vaccine for cervical cancer to the platform that was already set up, the aids platform already set up. [ applause ] >> and you did something for malaria too. >> and then the president's malaria initiative. >> i shouldn't have to be prompting you on these.

>> thank you. >> lincoln said one of the great things about the -- sort of the regular routine of the white house being so demanding was that you didn't have time if you got mad at somebody to keep it up. that you just -- i just have sufficient time for a temper. was that true? if hurtful things were done, or there were things bad happening outside, were you able to just put them aside or did they hurt? >> no. i mean, they -- you know, of course, you didn't like to have your husband be criticized. but i knew from the way the election was in 1992 that what happens in the united states is that our presidents and our first ladies for that matter get characterized in a way they are not a lot of times. and george and i were so miserable in 1992 when president bush lost. it was really the -- terrible for us to see our father who we loved criticized in a way we thought was unfair. so i was very aware that's just part of it. that's just something you put up

with. you do. you are right. you are so busy and there are so many issues and so many things you are working on. plus, you know a lot of times better than the people that are criticizing you. you really do. you know more about the issue than they're -- you know, it's easy to stand from the back row and criticize without really being as informed, obviously, as someone who is briefed every day is. and so i think you just -- i think you are too busy to spend a lot of time on it. i did, i will have to admit, i loved to call bar and commiserate about certain reporters. [ laughter ] >> who will remain nameless. >> that's right. >> speaking of '92 when we lost, and -- our children all went away because they couldn't bear to go through the thing, we went home and we went home on the plane with all -- many friends which was great. we loved that. and i really should mention the

day we got elected jenna and barbara plugged air force one's toilet. but other than that -- they were young. but anyway, we went home. i felt terrible for george. there was a great welcome. while driving home, there was a beaten-up truck. people standing on it and a great big banner that said "welcome home, george and barbara." and we were home. >> and you were home. >> that made it okay. i'm going to weep over it, but it made it okay. we have loved being home. i probably more than george. jimmy baker and susan are -- as close friends as he has. but his are dropping off a little faster than they should. passing on. i have a lot of friends there that i really love. but the first time in my life i work in the church on monday

morning doing kneeler, meeting new people. they are so great. they do -- they do prison -- they go to the prisons. they do under the bridge which is the homeless. they feed them. they are the most wonderful people. i had a great time with friends. >> i loved what you said in your memoir. after it was over, you said hooray, life after politics. which is one of the extraordinary things about our country that one day you are the president and the first lady living in this mansion, most powerful people in the world and next day you are private citizens and it is a miracle that that happens here. in so many other countries in the world, it doesn't happen. it's great. >> in england they are beaten and thrown out of number ten the next day. they are out. that's not easy. >> you have been around a little while. >> come on. you don't have to be ugly. [ laughter ] >> all i was going to ask you was does it seem to you as it

does to me as an historian that times are coarser in terms of critiques today? i'm sure maybe things -- we were talking about this before were terrible prior to the civil war. you had a senator who was hit on the head with a cane and didn't recover for a couple of years. and yet, there's something about the language, the negative and dysfunction of washington now that i've never seen in my lifetime. >> never, ever. it is -- you don't have to be you a round long to see that. but it has been -- i think the worst campaign i have ever seen in my life. i just hate it. i hate the fact that people think compromise is a dirty word. it is not a dirty word. [ applause ] >> absolutely. >> you, you haven't been around long enough. but you can speak. >> well, i think -- you know, obviously i thought when george was being criticized that things were really worse than ever. but then we went to the lincoln library in springfield with richard and saw those terrible cartoons about lincoln and you

realized it is just kind of part of american politics. the great news is we do elect somebody and they do serve for four years and then if they are re-elected they get four more. if they're not, they move out and somebody else moves in. i think it is just an example for the rest of the world. >> you are much kinder than i am. i think the rest of the world is looking at us and thinking -- what are you doing? why aren't you getting along? why aren't you working together? i'm sort of sad that we are not doing better. you are much more optimistic than i am. >> realistic. >> i'm optimistic but i would like this campaign to be over. >> i think once upon a time when people stayed in washington on the weekends before travel was easy, before they had to go home to raise the money for the ridiculous amounts the elections cause, friendships were form aid cross-party lines. they would play poker together. get together on weekends.

>> what robert says, but when she was a child and her parents were friends with people -- because you live there and you went to the little league games together with your children. no matter what side of the aisle you were on. >> now they run home on thursday nights and come back on tuesdays and there's -- a real tribal sense of who is on what side. >> we were great friends with rostenkowski. george called him in jail. and bob strasburg. [ laughter ] we had great friends. we really did. but on the other hand, the press in those days did not -- if a senator or congressman fell under the table from drink, nobody mentioned it. >> right. >> but today they're pretty tough. >> no, i mean, i think about the fact when franklin roosevelt felt in 1936 coming to the democratic convention and his braces unlocked, he fell on the floor, his speech sprawled out,

and they finally -- get me together. he gets up to the podium. he delivers a speech which is one of the best speeches in history. and the press never mentioned he had fallen. there wasn't a picture of him falling. they just talked about the speech. >> well, i do think the press is part of the reason it looks so acrimonious. because any little thing is repeated a million times. where before nothing, you know, you wouldn't ever have been repeated or most people wouldn't have heard it. >> there is a sense in the older days that the private lives of our public figures were relevant only if they affected their public responsibilities. so there was a certain kind of cushion of tolerance for people's lives to have some privacy. that's what i worry about whether people are going to be willing to enter public life now. >> why would they? intercontinental. >> yeah. >> well, because it is still -- as you know, looking for all the difficulty, you wouldn't change it for the world, right? >> no. except i would -- i think people would have a very hard time running for public office. for the presidency.

these people have -- they are exhausted. and it's act monthious, if that's a word. and it's sad. >> it used to be it would be from september until november. because you had the brokers at the conventions. maybe that's what we need to go back to. good-bye, primaries. come back to those days. what extent does humor help to allay those difficulties? like for example, i know you had dana carvey to the white house. what a brilliant maneuver. tell me how that happened. >> george. george. the whole white house when we lost was in the dumps. nobody smiled. bless their hearts. they were looking for jobs. you know. three months to do it in. and everybody was in the dumps. so george invited dana carvey to come. we went to, i think, the kennedy center honors the night before. he sat way away. nobody knew he was there. stayed at the white house. and then we went down, gathered george gathered everyone together.

and they went, you know, and ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. in walks this tiny little funny man. and everybody -- he was wonderful. he imitated george and then introduced george. george imitated him. it changed the whole feeling of the -- it was so sad. very sad. i mean, all looking for jobs. all in tears. but it cheered up. george is very funny. >> i remember this is one famous moment when somebody said to lincoln, you're two-faced. he looked back he said if i had two faces, do you think i would be wearing this face? that seems missing in politics today, too, the sense of looking at yourself from the outside and laughing. you know. it just -- it seems -- >> he must have been a wonderful man. >> i loved living with him. >> most embarrassing thing is one time i was on jon stewart. i fell so in love with lincoln. i said on jon stewart, i said i think he was really sexy, too. but that's not what you think of

for abraham lincoln. but there is this picture of him before the beard when he had this real ragged hair and he looked great. after that, you think lincoln was sexy? okay. what do you think is -- how do you memorize the things that you need to remember? you're in these state dinners. i know somebody tells you the name of the person when you come in. you have to remember stories about people. do you cultivate memory? i know your husbands have to, but you must have to as well. >> it is a matter of concentration. yeah. i think you get better at it. for sure. >> the good thing about being a woman is you can kiss a woman and man. you may not know them. they think you know them. george could not kiss the men. that works for me. still. if i kissed you, you know i love you and know you. i don't know your name. but i love you. >> do you remember the story you

told in your memoir about helen hayes? this is a great story of helen hayes talking about would old women at a bridge party. >> oh yeah. >> mrs. bush told this. do you want me to tell it? >> yeah, you tell it. >> they were at a bridge party. the one old lady said i really like playing bridge with you but i'm so embarrassed. i have been playing a while. i can't quite remember your name the other old lady said, could you give me a few minutes to try to think of what the name is. >> we are at that stage in our lives. >> so how -- how hard is it to leave the white house? i mean, what is it like when -- you know you're going to camp david for the last time. you are going to see the troops for the last time. tell me about camp david. i feel always so terrible one time lyndon johnson invited me to go. i wept out with my stupid boyfriend to the movies instead. so i have never seen it. what is it -- >> we love camp david. all the bushes did. we went all -- a lot when president 41 was president. we went for all four years from christmas and then they came