asfar as the president, it is not democrats not liking the president, it is the stuff he does. he shoots himself in the foot all the time. one day after the mueller report, he goes and makes a deal to >> thank you. welcome. and i feel like i probably don't fellow introduce my panelists here, because everybody knows who they are. left we have texas land commissioner george p. bush ho is here speaking on behalf of the bush brand. [applause] >> susan page is the washington bureau chief for "usa today" and author of the recent and currently, i guess, still biography of barbara bush called "the matriarch." of itll be signing copies after this." [applause]

one ofmichael beschloss, the wonderful presidential who has written so many things, so many books. i will be asking you about some in my old f i found well-worn copy of "character all." the first thing i'd like to ask we lost barbara bush and george bush just so close kind of what reassessment do you think this country as for the to, you know, what the bush name for and, you know, what of significance really was all the work that they did in so public service? bipartisan well, looking back on now coming -- mr. bush: well, now."g back on it

it was world war ii generation. it wasn't about them as individuals. turning of the page of our country's history in many respects. was privileged to be asked to give the eulogy for my grandfather when we came to houston and really was a celebration of both of their lives. of one t a celebration individual. also a celebration of our heritage. think about aztecsans patch in and the midland after world war ii, the political ranks in texas. really, just a story of a couple eeking to achieve the american dream as it was defined. those simple values and that ethic i think was celebrated that week. i will say this, also, you know, different had a celebration, but in d.c., i thought it was refreshing that it, hree days, let's call the white noise of washington, d.c., just shutdown, and the

came together and it was really special to be part of and to witness. hope people will continue to recognize the contribution of that generation. page: i covered the 1992 campaign where george bush lost a second term and we know how discouraging that was him. even in that election there wasn't animosity toward certainly not and toward barbara bush. there was, i think, a feeling it for change after three terms of republican presidents. i do think there has been a of both bushes since that election. i think one factor that has -- i think there is a new appreciation for the skill and that which george bush handled the end of the cold war not a lead pipe. i think the administration of prompted trump has to appreciate the

civility, the bipartisan tone, talk across ss to party lines, the willingness to compromise. some of the qualities that president bush brought to the hite house i think are newly appreciated today in a way it wasn't appreciated previously. think, also, that barbara bush's reputation continues which was never bad. continues to get better as we understand more how influential was. mr. beschloss: and i agree with everything that's been said so far. looking for conflict, i think this is not the place to come for it. think we are all great admirers of both. if you go back to 1992, the year that george h.w. bush was defeated for reelection, the rgument that bill clinton was -- re-election, the argument making, l clinton was

his skills were out of touch. h.w. bush ended he cold war, the end of war, you could concentrate on the domestic side of american life. to me, shows something that's very profound about history and that is that i like think and i think other istorians mostly feel the same way that as history goes on you egin to change your views of people. as time goes on and as you get access to letters and diaries and also hindsight. because things don't look the sitting hey do a president as they would 10, 20, later.years preferably a later period of time. i think it allows more americans think about this to understand just as susan was

at all the as not cold war would end as it did. ended in 1991 on terms that harry truman and all presidents cold war could only have dreamt of. and one of the central reasons every cold war president made a contribution, ut, you know, i think we were protected by god when george during h was president the last years of gorbachev because if i went back through for and i was looking qualities in a president that will turn out to be important, i ould want someone with the human qualities and the diplomatic skill to build a gorbachev so ith that gorbachev could do things wall and the berlin allow the eastern european on toites to go and later join nato in a way that he did h.w. bush at george would make fun of them or, you

now, embarrass him in certain ways. and so that we now see i think we more clearly how lucky were to have him as president. and the other thing i'll say, ask particularly susan and karen about this have been h are and writing about first ladies, i've almost 40 this for years. i have written primarily about ladies. i've been writing about books with first ent ladies by and large and i have et a number of them, including barbara bush, i had the honor nancy also nanassistance far are you along? ms. page: getting there. thing i would one generally say about first ladies, and you all tell me if to you, georgeht would have to comment on this,

ask the first lady about something that you now they did during a presidency and they'll always essentially say, it wasn't me. it was the president. may have had some small influence. it was either his idea or he load on this. the give him the credit. and the more time you spend first ladies, particularly after they and the gone, you find how vitally important these both in theirere, own right and also in these president cis. -- presidencies. that the best example of would be bess truman. beth truman at the time was by the general public as someone who barely knew what er husband was doing professionally. spent a lot of time in the in missouri. was not even in washington to see these huge events that hairy

truman was -- harry truman was in the center of. korean war. integration of the military and so on. and then after they were both to get into began letters and diaries and so on, you saw how really essential she was, not only to him but to that presidency. youll i'm telling you is if hear a first lady in real time spouse, as man will i hope soon -- i really didn't have much to do with this. just give the credit to the president. be a little bit skeptical. two that sound right to the of you? ms. tumulty: let me pose an incredible difficult question to george p. bush. aids was an issue. behind the scenes she was influential. partner to ly as a george h.w. bush through his whole life.

indispensable to him. one of the questions -- ms. page: i interviewed about 130 people for the book. the interview by saying, if george w. bush had not married barbara pierce, would he have done everything he he, did, including becoming president? i asked barbara bush did and she said, of course he would have. h.w. bush and he thought about it and he said, yes, i think i would have. [laughter] by the way, if you're married, that's the wrong answer to give. in the husband's manual. ms. page: but almost every other not quite terviewed, everyone, but almost everyone said, no, he wouldn't have done he did without being married to barbara pierce. person to have responded would have said she's crucial. generation of the grandchildren, some of them did

not seem to understand the question. like, how could you ask that question? of course. so let me ask you, if george bush hadn't married barbara pierce, would he have done all becoming luding president? mr. absolutely not. she preferred the enforcer. the eschloss: actually, enforcer was sort of later in life. if silver fox, you tell me my memory was right, "time" magazine? fox which he gray seemed insulting. silver morphed into the fox. as the label came later it clearly reflected. mr. beschloss: and the entourage and family for sure. here's my question for george. i would assume that was because thought of as e the silver fox. lovely as she was. big side of her, family person, time but at the same

ater on as life went on people side.e she had a tough mr. bush: absolutely on point. mr. beschloss: i am sure you never saw that. bush: no. i was never the recipient. well, whether it was sitting up which i am not doing. mr. beschloss: she always loved her clothing. mr. bush: absolutely. required the skillset to raise george w. bush the way he raised. no. she clearly was the enforcer in the family and instilled the code. of service in all of us. she at times was the bad guy, if you will, in terms of executing discipline. and that started in the days of midland all the way to the 18 grandkids up in maine. we all respected my grandma. she made sure we sat up

straight, spoke with correct grammar. to speak correctly. we're going to miss her so much. that's the spirit that she had. i would say politically she was an advisor to my grandfather. she wasn't the one that ruled the roost internally within the family. she was the first person that gampy would ask advice on, particularly early on when he had two senate losses and other political challenges that faced him, from watergate on. ms. tumulty: sitting as we are in austin, texas, so the bushes come to midland as newlyweds and they are two kinds of exotic species. you didn't see much of in texas. they were connecticut yankees. and they were something that was even rarer at the time, they were republicans. later, after they moved to houston, your grandfather takes

over the republican party in part because there was a battle going on between the corporate republicans and the berkshires. i think the bush family is so -- so crucial to implanting the kind of d.n.a. of the republican party into texas politics. the kind of republicanism that you see today in texas in many ways doesn't really resemble that that much. or do you still sense that it's there? there could be a return to it, perhaps? mr. bush: sure. i'd say there is a silent majority of republicans that build their lives, raise their families, don't have the time to go and be as active as they want to be and look for solutions and leadership whether it's in austin or washington, d.c. regretfully, because of the conflicts that we have seen in texas within our own party, we've actually lost some of our

supermajority it's, particularly -- supermajorities, particularly in the state house. here i am on my soapbox saying i am one of the few republicans trying to bring people together, as we head into redistricting year here in texas which is decided by the composition of the house and senate that the stakes, this cycle, which you always hear from politicses, most important election in your lifetime, truly is the case. the state trends more blue. ms. tumulty: susan, one of the really interesting things you came across in your research, you asked mrs. bush, do you still consider yourself a republican? and what did she say? ms. page: well, the first time i interviewed her for the book in 2017, we came up on the one-year anniversary of president trump's election and it will stun you to say she was not a huge fan to president trump. it's been about a year. are you still a republican? she said, yes,ing if. what turned out to be the last

interview that i did with her in february, 2018, although we didn't know at that point it would be the last interview, i said, you know, the first time i talked to you i asked if you are still a republican, do you still feel that way? she said, no. no, i don't think i am. it doesn't mean she was a democrat. she didn't like democrats the an all. i think she felt she no longer had a home in the republican party. it's interesting that in the last presidential election they in, george h.w. bush voted for hillary clinton. hillarybush didn't like clinton much either. wrote in jeba bush bush's name for president. t says something about the couple that helped establish the g.o.p. in the state, neither of hem voted for the republican president or candidate in the last election of their lives. ms. tumulty: the other thing is, probably the t

accomplishment of george herbert get theush that he will biggest place in the history books for guiding, not just this but the whole world through the end of the cold war. footed.he was so sure e was also -- he had these relationships. the president talks about america first. george w. bush had relationships with -- george bush had relationships with the key went back decades. envoy to china. head of the c.i.a. do you think that this kind of internationalist strain of the exists or party still as donald trump taken it to a different place? mr. bush: well, he's the leader party so he is involved in foreign policy. f you look back on the time of my grandfather, whether it was being the first liaison to china diplomatically

recognized him, he viewed that posts of his favorite all-time. but in terms of his international relationships, he joke when he was vice president about the string of russian premieres that would soviet premieres, if you die, i fly, and he really frequent self on his lier miles in developing those relationships and making sure our national security objectives were being achieved. when he -- whenever you could get him to talk about olitics, which is very difficult to do as a grandchild, excitement when it came to foreign policy. again, they: michael, sure-footedness, the sure-footedness, the degree to which he based these rust, and the f the international coalition, going gulf war -- t

mr. beschloss: for sure. him.as very much not only the fact but he had a personality that was just designed for diplomacy. been ambassador to the u.n. since 1971. ou know, relatively early in life. and that's what you do up there. a lot of the people he knew bass doors -- as leaders that re some became president. just following up on something before.d about i have heard someone say -- and it sounds sort of right to me but the three of you, please if it sounds right to you, and that is that barbara nancy reagan, your two subjects, didn't have, susan, the closest relationship? common ave a lot in except the fact they went to smith college. was that they were married to people that were know, like to see friends, like to see the

best in people, and in that case if they walked into a room, i i would say this for both of them, and there was know, 18 rows back ho did not have george h.w. bush's best interest at heart, you know, barbara bush just had sense or sensing that person n the room that person was a danger or needed some work and i think nancy reagan did too. all of t sound right to you? any part of that? ms. page: i think par bra bush likely to remember an price. and to exact a whereas george h.w. bush was either to likely forget about it or to forgive. do you think that's true? mr. bush: absolutely. grandmother had a long-term memory. for it.he scars to show and that would be politicians. did -- , that so-and-so

back in texas. she was usually the first to prior political conflicts. mr. beschloss: that's what it was meant as the enforcer? mr. bush: yeah. mr. beschloss: do you think, george, that was something to is political career, would he have been able to exceed without it, did it go far sometimes? do you think? mr. bush: he obviously had great advisors along the way, but here's nothing like the spouse stepping in. mr. beschloss: no other agenda. agenda.: no other ms. tumulty: i think people forget. hen they look at the reagan-bush partnership for eight years, they forget how 1980 republican primary really was. mr. beschloss: debated in dallas. ms. tumulty: they really went at each other. r. beschloss: you want to remind us what happened in case everyone

voodoo blank? voodoo lty: there were economics. nancy reagan didn't forget that. beginning to end that primary was very, very difficult. but several people i've talked to about all of this suggests it's easier for the husbands to let go of this than the wives. let me just l, say -- mr. beschloss: or the candidates. ms. tumulty: well, yes. ms. page: there's a -- i don't want to identify this person who an terviewed for the book, elected official who's on stage now -- [laughter] s. page: during the -- mr. beschloss: didn't know that karen had -- ms. page: so i don't even know saying this.er we were talking about this very aspect of his grandparents' this -- i p and named -- unnamed elected it's al on stage said, either important -- not you -- but the person we are talking about. useful, ortant or sometimes necessary for the

candidate or the official to nearbyia -- amnesia, so it's easier to have someone who does not. if you want to govern, sometimes ou have to let bygones be bygones. you have to buildup your coalition. was not with son you when you ran last time. mr. beschloss: even jackie considered to be sort of the end of being husband's in her career, why are you being so to x? i forget who x was. i thought he did this terrible thing. well, he's done nice things during the weeks since then. through an't go politics if you are an -- you ave that in your mind all the time. but is it important to have who does have that in mind? that's a question. holder?ask the office mr. bush: absolutely. well, especially in the twitter

era, right? your comments, you'll usually receive incoming directions. but it's important to have somebody that can keep an honest appraisal, that can remove yourself, because as somebody in politics, whether my granddad, it's difficult to remove yourself. if that makes sense. that's a vital role my grandma throughout. honestly for that matter, so did the kids. know, and my uncle, you worked extraordinarily hard. make sure they were successful. but also give that honest whenever tough decisions were being made. one story i'll share, i remember 1988 when the time came wrapping up the nomination to who the vice-presidential ominee was going to be and my grandfather in maine i think talked to his political team but

y grandmother, of course, solicited conversation by saying who at the table wants to vote or this individual individual? and we had our vote and we had say. so she made -- she created a family would the weigh in, including grandkids, and that's a role that i think politicians, successful have.seem to ms. page: who won the family vote? mr. bush: duke. mr. beschloss: california. any other names that you remember that were raised? mr. bush: i think dick lugar. mr. beschloss: indiana. so you were looking at a senator from indiana but maybe not the it.who finally got anyone else, do you remember? mr. bush: i don't recall. history.loss: just for ms. tumulty: you have started to orge your own path, your own identity, you know, beyond your

kind of taking on the establishment. mean, when the entire texas establishment was behind david duherst, you backed ted cruz. famously you helped donald trump in the state. think this -- earlier this year the president was here for an event and he introduced you truly -- this is the only right.o got it how was that? mr. bush: well, when i entered in 2012, i'm not sure anybody in this room could have predicted what would happen 2016. i worked really hard for my dad when he ran. you know, as we were talking 1980, that being considered an ugly campaign, bad. 2016 was pretty if there's one of the lessons i earned in my family, it's politics can be a dirty sport. you know, things are said that know, sometimes

regret. but we all also have to move on. want to move forward in politics. i paid my own way. i supported the president. cycle.d to do so this but i've also stepped away from the party on a variety of white including nationalism, after the mass shooting in el paso, which was in "the atlantic." i stepped down on a variety of issues and i work on a pragmatic basis. a lot of lessons learned from my grandfather's time and grandmother's that i try to use service. imelds, me al storm to homes m went flooded after hurricane harvey community service, it was great to see church organizations, nonprofit groups the fight eading before the government did.

and en we were mucking gutting, i was thinking about my grandparents and what they would have done. many multy: i think in appreciationprorex of the bush name, you can't divorce that from sort of the contrast of the current occupant white house. i wrote our obituary of george bush for ""the washington post."" probably 180-inch story and i didn't mention donald third to me until a the last paragraph but i got all these emails from trump saying, you know, why did you slam the president in your story? just to write about george herbert walker bush's life. he comes to office with probably more experience in public service than any other president. least the breath of his experience, the fact that he out, as you pointed character above all. not on issues, not on

but on character. mr. beschloss: if i could interrupt. the most popular bush commercial in 1988 ended with the narrator saying, i think this is close to getting it verbatim, the more you know about george bush is the ore you know this is est prepared -- not quite verbatim -- no candidate has been better prepared to be president of the united states. guess who's one of the stars of that commercial. do you remember that one? an 88 on your back. ms. page: did you have to -- johnny.: one take mr. beschloss: you actually remember the day that was done? day.ush: not the actual mr. beschloss: it was up in maine, i think. was.ush: it ms. page: and that's why the was so re--election crushing because he did believe

in character above all and close to bill e clinton later on in life when they were both ex-presidents, at felt that oth bushes bill clinton did not have the character that george h.w. did surprised that americans didn't agree with them and barbara bush invited hillary clinton. this is a big point between her and nancy reagan. after the election, barbara bush invites hillary clinton to look at the family quarters. and when i interviewed hillary clinton for this book, she said when she walked in, barbara had not thoroughly processed the fact they lost. and she said i can't believe you are you?e surprised, and hillary clinton said no.

mr. bush: it took my grandfather about 18 months and the reason i say that, i was going to school and one of the reasons i applied is to be close to my grandparents and gave me a tench ex-mex. and it took a while. i'm here to tell you as well, he built a great relationship with him after. it speaks to his character that he was able to let it go and serve and continue that service, whether raising $100 million for the tsunami in indonesia and working on katrina. my uncle tapping both of them to come together. and the friendship reached such appoint where i think my dad and uncle called bill clinton a son.

ms. page: i was on a trip with your father early in the 2016 campaign where it appears if you had the smart money that was going to come down to arrays between jeb bush and hillary clinton and sitting in a beer garden and someone asked about close relationship between the surrogate son. and he said i haven't gotten it soft. mr. bush: if bill clinton comes over again he will go on and on about himself. she wasn't much of a fan. but my grandfather was all about bill clinton and they knew together -- and probably a message for current politics when you are working in divided

government, you can accomplish things. ms. page: bill clinton's biological's father died before he was born. and there is psychology toward the end -- after their presidencies that george bush became the father he never had and he has done oral histories at the university of virginia and i don't know what's in them. but one of the people involved in that said he talks in a compelling way about that aspect of his relationship with george h.w. bush. two presidents, one defeated the other from re-election and ended up so close that it could have been the father that one of them never had. mr. beschloss: what do you think helped your grandfather to get out of his state 18 months after

the election? mr. bush: houston. he would go to a steakhouse and people would stand up and give a standing ovation and he would go to astros' games and from that point forward, they attended as many baseball games as they could. and you get rejected, -- politics is ultimately personal. >> and we are seeing his son defeat bill clinton. and what was it like for your grandfather trying to figure out how to manage the relationship with his son in the white house, because here he is is somebody who understands the pressures he

is under and the kinds of decisions he is making better than anybody two other people in the world, but how does he manage both being there to help him and advise him with sort of backing off and being his own president? mr. bush: i think he led by saying i'm a father first and president second. and that meant that i love you unconditionally, son. and if you have any questions or advice. and i'm certain he did during the tough times particularly as d.c. to we met up in during holidays and got together. a lot has been written of him opining and he had some of his subordinates and others within his administration that critiqued foreign policy which i

will leave the historians to legitimate. when it can came to that decision after he was sworn in and comes into the oval office, my grandfather is right there and that photo of just tremendous provided, it's the provided of a father, not the pride of a former president. ms. tumulty: your generation has sort of gone off and found their way in so many different directions. could you talk about that. it seems like everybody has found their own niche of how they are going to serve. mr. bush: it is a generation of public service. jena with her work abroad in addition to barbara creating health core which is addressing global health care needs in poor

countries. lauren and pierce who runs the big brothers, big sisters effort. when you talk to my grand parents of public service and points of light, it's not about actually running for office, but serving other people and that can take so many different forms and impact the libes of so many people. and i think particularly in this time, people say to me the problems today aren't going to be solved by d.c. but in community levels in churches and synagogues and community groups and the healing will take place at a local level. and i'm not sure it will happen in d.c. that's the legacy that they leave for us. ms. tumulty: ms. page: the title of my book which will be available for sale is barbara bush and the american

making of a legacy. and she didn't like the word dynasty because she thought it meant entitlement. mr. beschloss: reminded her of another family which was -- sounded like the contendies. ms. page: she didn't like the title of the book. she said i would like it called the fat lady sings again." i meant a broader view of what a dynasty comprises and the thing that barbara bush was most proud of were her grandchildren and the course they had taken. anybody who has watched cable tv knows how much the rich and famous can have trouble getting through life and that has not characterized that generation of the bush family which has done

amazing things and pierce is running for -- mr. beschloss: you must have some news. ms. page: pierce may be running for his grandfather's congressional seat. as george-p bush was saying, they do something to give back. and that reflects in such an incredible way of the legacy of both their grandparents. ms. tumulty: this is a great breaking off point. we have a microphone here.

>> meaningful and i want to continuity. >> can i ask you a political question. texas once it became a republican state thoonchings to george and barbara bush and democrats continue to hope that will not always be the case. they see a state that could become more of a swing state, demographic and other reasons, if you look ahead just a little bit, look ahead a decade, where will texas be when it comes to

the landscape of the grounds of politics here? >> we are a majority-minority state. heading into redistricting gain four congressional seats and second behind california and that is changing texas politics. in austin, 100 people moving here a day. regardless of your politics. you know that it's changing the politics. our state house, which i think is the most reflective of any form of government in our state, we have 150 states. our margin is only nine seats. my good friend who is running the state house effort for the democrats says we will raise 20 million most of it nationally. and the vulnerable districts are there is a texas and hispanics and

millenals. >> what do you think the party needs to do? mr. bush: we need to get out of the ivory tower and talk to people. we have taken so granted to have a republican state that we haven't engaged the general election or studied the demographics or the changes in the suburb answer. rural texas that saved. i was the second highest vote getter behind the governor and he did a better job among and ics, millenals suburban women. if you look at williamson county, we have a better grouped game in reaping out. that's the battle ground. nd we haven't spent time

>> we have several questions back that way. >> i understandings one of you is a partisan politician, i get that. how do you maintain your objectivity and writing stories nd i'm sure you have a political leaning but how do you ensure you are objective as possible when you are writing about history? ms. page: about a year and a half ago i became a columnist for the opinion section of the "washington post." after decades of being paid for being objective, i'm being paid for my opinions, which is a bit of an adjustment for me. in both cases, i try to base on

what i'm writing and seeing. susan is in a different situation. > i'm a reporter and i'm not a commentator. i don't think my opinion of things matters but what i find out by doing reporting and offer context and analysis. but i think if you have really strong pips or have a clear partisan tilt, you shouldn't go into the field you want to, because you should go and do something else. u should be an activist or commentator because i think it is so important in our democracy to have outlets that everyone believes is telling them the truth and that is something that has faced in the mainstream media has eroded and terrible

for the mainstream media and bad for us as a country. so reporters, what i try to do and other reporters try to do it is like you are working a muscle. it is easier for me to be as carefully objective and fair than it was with the first story i ever wrote. this is the discipline of being a mainstream journalist who is trying to offer people not what i think, but what i see and what sense i can make of what i see. mr. beschloss: in my case, history is more objective is not the word i would use, but so much easier when you are writing about dead people because she are not in politics.

his later meeting with l.b.j. >> the more colorful, the better. george h.w. bush was thinking to run for the senate in 1970 and at a time when he assumed his remember - how many the name of ralph. who was liberal but state was going conservative so george h.w. bush wanted to run to his right and didn't turn out to be oyd bentsen and ended up

winning. went to the l.b.j. ranch whom he had known back to the senate days of his father prescott who was close to l.b.j. who was a republican and he said, mr. president, do you think i should run for the senate or stay in the house and l.b.j. said i can't quite tell the story where we are sitting. george, the difference between running for that senate or the house is the difference between -- en salad and [laughter] ms. page: speaking of lady bird. barbara bush really liked lady bird. they had a good relationship and

credited her with giving her advice of being first lady and having a cause and have a platform. i forget what year lady bird died. mr. beschloss: 2006. ms. page: barbara bush goes to lady bird's funeral. she goes to the funeral and says, i love lady bird and nice funeral. mine will be shorter. she didn't want a thing that went on and on and on. and she focused on designing her n funeral which she designed and put -- i interviewed jeb bush as he was working on a eulogy before she was passed away. and one of the things she was worried about was the strict

time limits that his mother had put on him for the eulogy and he was determined to stick to. one other thing that tells you about barbara bush, when they were planning the funeral for st. martin's church, very large church in houston, she asked her aides if they should plan it for the main sanctuary and that many people want to come and do it for the chapel. every seat was taken in the sanctuary. ms. tumulty: the first few days of mourning is when she was lying in state and george herbert walker bush, who was very frail at that point, shows up to sit there in his

wheelchair and greet the mourners who were coming through. e courtesies, the plightness that was wired into, he was not going to have all these people show up and he not be there to acknowledge them. it was such an act of love for your grandmother. mr. bush: again, similar to my grandmother, they didn't think people would camp out. so the casket was there and it was closed but the church was open for visitors and greeters to come from houston at-large and 7:00 p.m. and doro and gampy were in the house. said dad, let's go. and rolled them out.

and i think he was there for a good hour just shaking hands. m trying to think of said ga mmppmpymp come down, this is going to be a long weekend, because we had other celebrations and other events we scheduled in houston, but what a great moment. ms. page: and i had a scheduled interview with barbara bush and she fell and broke her back and went to the hospital and never fully recovered and i never saw her again sadly. when she came home to the hospital to hospice care, one of the final nights they had together, they got together in the den of their house, which was small tv den right off the living room and one of the things that -- i don't think barbara bush was worried about dying.

in all the interviews i did with her she knew she was at the end of her life, but worried about dying before he did. and they had this amazing in that final night where he said -- she said, i'm not going to worry about you george. and he said, i'm not going to worry about you barb. she gave him permission to live and gave her permission to die and then had a drink. mr. beschloss: gives you a sense of the book, because i don't know many books that have been written this quickly after the subject has passed with this kind of detail and just the surprise on every stage. eally great job.

ms. tumulty: maybe a couple of more questions. >> excluding yourself going back to the history, who enjoyed campaigning the most? mr. bush: who enjoyed campaigning the most? mr. bush: my uncle. over i was a big clinton gram ps and i met your uncle and i love him. he just absolutely amazing, he loves reaching out to people. he doesn't know a stranger and also enjoyed. he ran for congress in his early 30's and made a run at politics at an early age and always engaged. any time i visited with him, he knows the latest box score in

every race. and he is a political animal. he loved the political side. >> goes all the way back to prescott bush. your grandfather was the second generation of bushes in politics. mr. bush: prescott was dragged into politics. they had to pull him into that race several times. and ultimately when he did serve develop relationships. and now is the time when things re collegial in the senate before the filibuster rule. but also say that different era for sure, but prescott had a beautiful family. he was in connecticut. had a lucrative business career

but service eernted through his church and saw the opportunity to serve and had a relationship with germ eisenhower and saw this as an opportunity to get in there. >> at barbara bush's funeral there was a great photo of the obamas and clintons and melania trump. what is the significance of that photo given our political climate now. mr. beschloss: i love seeing photographs like that always and particularly now at a time ta we are so divided. ms. page: i agree. mr. bush: i thought it was very special. it was actually at the church and it was taken right before the actual ceremony. nd what i enjoyed about it was

i believe it was president clinton that pulled everybody in nd -- we have to grab a photo. i believe president carter was unable to make it because of his health. but you know, it speaks to the greatness of the country when we have reunions of our presidents. the l.b.j. school has featured that. the bush school hopes to do that. e did it after hurricane harvey. one story i will share on the current president. when my grandfather did pass and the d.c. ceremony, melania, first lady trump invited the family to come over to the white house to check out the white house which was an incredible gesture and my uncle invited the president to come over to the blair house. i didn't personally witness that. a few members of our audience

were and i'm looking over at one of my grandfather's aids and they exchanged a few jokes. there is much made about the politics out there but behind the scenes, it was a moment and it's a shame that it requires a death to make that happen. that's what i loved about the d.c. part of it, tune out the white noise, but it's good for the country to have that for 72 hours. it's good for the soul. ms. tumulty: do we have anymore? we are out of time. thank you so much for being with us today. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org

>> we'll hear from former national security adviser susan rice. live coverage starts at 5:00 p.m. two republicans are challenging president trump for the party's nomination, former massachusetts governor bill weld and bill walsh discuss the trump's presidency. that's tonight at 8:00 eastern

over on c-span 2. hear day night on c-span, from editor of the book "presidential misconduct" and one of the historians who worked on the report on the impeachment inquiry into richard nixon. >> john who had been appointed general counsel fought of the utility of a report like this nd turned to his member of the faculty and asked for commander of chief of a project of preparing such a report which was unprecedented as van said. the introduction to the original volume. and he asked three people to be his field germs and they identified and recruited 12

historians to write one, two or hree sketches of that many presidencies and i was chosen to be one. we had eight weeks to do it and it was before fax and email and done by telephone and mail and weeks. to do it in eight and six weeks later the president resigned. >> watch sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's exunche and a.