abby: well we of course are remembering and celebrating the beautiful life of barbara bush who died at 92. what a wonder full memorable life she lived. ed: a lot of coverage noon eastern on fox news. todd: goodbye everybody. neil: to texas and to focus on that funeral four presidents, 1,500 guests all descending on st. martin's episcopal church in houston to say goodbye to former first lady barbara bush. we are going to take you there. then to utah, and the focus on a key republican convention going on for that state, mitt romney facing his first big test in the race for orrin hatch's senate seat with 11 other candidates to put it mildly, it is crowded and for mitt romney it could get nasty, very nasty and then to washington where they may be circling around fired fbi director james comey and his number two guy for leaking all while there are signs of the

russia collusion probe could be unraveling, and look who has missile testing will this help convince some senate opponents that michael pompeo is indeed good to go for secretary of state. cavuto live starts now. welcome everybody i'm neil cavuto and we've got a busy two hours in front of us so let's get to it right now. the world reacting to kim jong-un blinking hard to say but this much we do know, he has made some remarkable concessions over the last 24 hours, that have surprised even those who claim to know him best in a dramatic about-face, he has changed his mind on a couple of key developments that used to be iron clad. we're going to get to all of that right now with jill ran turn erin washington with the very latest. jillian? >> hi, neil so in a dramatic turnaround north korea state run news agency has issued a

statement reading in part, from april 21, north korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles the north will shutdown a nuclear test site in the country's northern side to guarantee trans in suspending these nuclear tests and hours ago new reports surfacing that during mike pompeo's meeting with kim over easter the dictator floated the possibility of releasing three long-held american detainees as part of the pending sit down with president trump. the president himself weighing in earlier with a tweet reads " north korea has agreed to suspend all nuclear tests and close up a test site. this is very good news from north korea and the world. big progress, looking forward to our summit." so this morning all signs pointing to go for a trump/kim summit and things are looking for the tariff's plan to try and strike a deal that no american president has yet been able to do successfully. these developments all come just

six days before kim is slated to meet with his south korean counterpart and weeks before his hayley anticipated faceoff and this past week in washington talk of north korea was dominat ed by the politicals surrounding cia director pompeo 's pending confirmation as secretary of state. well the matt is still out on that. should he continue to produce results like the ones coming to light this morning? the tables on capitol hill may very well turn in his favor. neil? neil: jillian thank you very very much let's get a read on this with senate foreign relations committee member democratic senator ben cardon. senator thank you for taking the time. >> neil good to be with you, thank you. neil: let me get your take on this, michael pompeo had this meeting with the north korean leader at this delicate time a lot of people say given that meeting and given the fact that pierly he might have extracted

early negotiations sections with president trump now is not the time to muck around with his secretary of state confirmation. what do you think of that? >> well neil first we're all pleased to see progress with diplomacy and i strongly support the diplomacy and the president scheduling a meeting with kim jong-un and i also supported the fact that he sent the cabinet secretary to meet with him ahead of time the cia director. i think all that is very positive news. as it relates to mr. pompeo's confirmation support, recognize that many of us are concerned that when he's in those meetings , the fact that he believes it is okay for the united states to walk away from an iran agreement even if i ran is in compliance, will weigh in the discussions as to whether there can be reliability in entering into an agreement with america so that's going to be an

issue that i think will come up but i think we're all very pleased about the progress that has been made in north korea but we do need varification. neil: are you still as things stand now, senator, a no vote? >> fact that i will not support his nomination has to do with many different reasons. we will have a vote in the senate. i believe this week, and my expectation is it'll be on the floor of the senate later this week. neil: if i could switch gears and get to apparently james comey has a book out and what's come up in this and a little back and fourth with his former number two andrew mccabe is that someone might not be telling the truth. are you concerned that between mr. comey and mr. mccabe there's a serious question about the veracity of what either of them is saying. >> you know, my only concern is that mr. mueller will be able to complete his work and he can do that as quickly as possible let it lead where it may. i don't give a lot of weight to some of the specific issues that have been made available to the

public including mr. comey's book. that's issues that are sort of distracting from the underlying commitment we all need to make to allow mr. mueller to complete his investigation. don't interfere with him, don't interfere with mr. rosenstein, let's get the job done. neil: senator apparently rod rosenstein met with the president last week. we are told even though it's not confirmed that he told the president in the second time in as many months you are not the focus of target of this robert mueller investigation. do you believe that? >> i have confidence in mr. rosenstein. i have confidence in mr. mueller i want both of them to be able to do their jobs. i think the fewer comments we made about we make about conclusions, the better off we are. give them the space they need to complete this very important investigation. neil: is it your sense then, sir , that people have looked at this and wondered where the investigation is going and where

post the raid of the president's lawyer's office and home that it was veering in a very very different direction, is it your sense that it is that this is now way beyond talk of collusion to maybe other business matters? >> well, look, i don't know exactly how all these things come out but i know when you start investigations it leads to other matters that are referred out for separate investigation. it appears like that is what was done in regards to mr. trump's attorney, it's being handled by the prosecutor in new york. it's a separate issue. that obviously needs to be completed and we should let prosecutors do their independent investigations under the appropriate supervision and that's what has been done here. neil: whatever these development s and what you make of them, sir a lot of people have commented that there's little reason for the time being for the president to even entertain firing mr. mueller or for that matter rod rosenstein

on the fact that was an issue that i've raised with mitch mcconnell the senate leader who told me he was against this effort on the part of maybe yourself and some of your colleagues to guarantee his job and to keep him in that job and protect him. according to mitch mcconnell, the president isn't going to fire him and even if that legislation were approved, if the president would hardly sign off on it. your thoughts on that. >> well, i've said for several months considering the comments that have come out, that it would have been much better for us to make it clear that we protect the integrity of the investigation. i know there was bipartisan support on the judiciary committee by the chairman ranking member to look at legislation that would do exactly that. i thought that was the prudent course for us to take. the republican leader has made it clear that he supports the mueller and rosenstein remaining in office. he doesn't believe the presidents going to do anything to stop that, and that's why

he's not bringing the legislation to the floor. i disagree with them but i think we're all in agreement that we need to allow mr. rosenstein to remain in his position without intimidation and mr. mueller to complete his investigation. neil: do you have any doubt that that would happen anyway? >> i never liked to predict what the president of the united states will do, because he has surprised me many many times. i can tell you this, if he takes steps to dismiss mr. rosenstein or mr. mueller i think many of us on both sides of the aisle would consider him crossing the line and interfering in the investigation. neil: there are reports that jeff sessions would quit if rosenstein were fired. do you leave that? >> i think that that is certainly a possibility. i've disagreed with attorney general sessions but he has been very clear about the conflict here and about his support for mr. rosenstein and that his investigation needs to proceed without the interference of the white house. neil: elsewhere, sir on this spending measure this

$1.3 trillion spending measure as you'll recall the president was very critical of it blamed democrats and republicans for it mitch mcconnell seemed to chase at that and said the president or at least his people must have known what was in there and everyone agreed to it whatever the criticisms. what do you make of that and the president's move to rescind a lot of that spending? mitch mcconnell is against it, are you? >> i am too. i'm against the recision. there are things in that agreement i'd like to have seen handled differently but it did follow what i think is the process we should use in the congress and that is working together, democrats and republicans, and getting things done. that's exactly what we did on the omnibus bill. the president's team was part of those negotiations. i understand there is time when the president and his team are on different plateaus as to what is happening in congress but that omnibus bill represented i think the best process that we have democrats and republicans our committees working together and getting results for the

american people. it's good for the opioid crisis, responding to that. it's good for so many different issues, for infrastructure in this country, for funding our agencies. we did the right thing. neil: senator cardin, thank you very much very good seeing you again. >> thank you, neil. neil: meantime we had looking live in houston guests are arriving for former first lady barbara bush's formal funeral. mike emmanuel is there with the very very latest. hi, mike. reporter: neil good morning to you we are seeing early arrivals for first lady barbara bush's funeral including actor chuck no rris, trying to identify some of the other folks we're here but with security extremely tight and 1,500 guests obviously it takes time to get them all here to st. martin's church. among the dignitaries former secretary of state condoleeza rice, chelsea clinton, caroline kennedy, daughters of former president johnson, richard nixon and of course gerald ford and texas governor greg abbott. there was a touching moment

yesterday when we're told president george herbert walker bush and his daughter spontaneously decided to surprise folks who were paying respects to mrs. bush. they shook hands with the well- wishers and it gave them an opportunity to express their condolences directly to the bush family. >> barbara bush was just the greatest woman in my opinion. >> she was a shining star. >> pay our respects to a woman who influenced many lives, myself, my wife, our family. we just came out to support them and let the bush family know that we're here for them and we support them. reporter: there will be three eulogies delivered in the approximately 90 minute funeral service. one from her son jeb bush, the former florida governor. we understand mrs. bush selected jeb to do that eulogy on be half of the family. there will undoubtedly be some fears and laughter as mrs. bush was known for her great sense of humor and the other two eulogies will be delivered by a very close personal friend and a historian. neil? neil: mike, thank you very very

much. as we come back and forth over the next two hours, and back to houston it's a beautiful retrospective look at the first lady from no less than peggy noonan writing in today's wall street journal what her life spanned as a child she used to see a young pilot named amelia earhart who briefly lived nearby and scared by the kidnapping of the lindberg baby, she lived through world war ii as a navy wife, was a participants in history from china during the fall of the berlin wall and she was part of the whole shabang. a little more after this. tomorrow, it's a day filled with promise and new beginnings, challenges and opportunities. at ameriprise financial, we can't predict what tomorrow will bring. but our comprehensive approach to financial planning can help make sure you're prepared for what's expected and even what's not. and that kind of financial confidence can help you sleep better at night.

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how much money do you think you'll need in retirement? then we found out how many years that money would last them. how long do you think we'll keep -- oooooohhh! you stopped! you're gonna leave me back here at year 9? how did this happen? it turned out, a lot of people fell short, of even the average length of retirement. we have to think about not when we expect to live to, but when we could live to. let's plan for income that lasts all our years in retirement. prudential. bring your challenges. neil: all right, right now the theme in houston as we prepare to say goodbye to barbara bush today i'm reminded again i hate to keep mentioning but it's a beautiful piece by peggy noonan wall street journal, she said of barbara bush that she

was beautiful. she had no physical vanity and in fact mocked her look, the strings of pearls were to hide her neck wrinkles when her hair turned white, it turned white but the bones on her face were strong and delicate and her eyes sparkled. it is that sparkle, it is that life, it is that take me as i am that has captivated the nation these last couple of days. we have sadly had to share the news that the former first lady barbara bush is gone, but clearly, in this crowd, 1,500 strong in this houston church, not forgotten. we will be taking you there throughout this broadcast and of course, beginning at noon with shepherd smith and my other colleagues. in the meantime focusing on the political developments that now barbara bush has left and departed from this world, the justice department's inspector general now reportedly probing whether james comey's mep os themselves contain classified information, of course this

after the same ig recommended of andrew mccabe, a federal prosecutor to look into lying and whether that would be a criminal act. now again, each time you lied to a federal investigator and he lied at least three times according to the ig, that could put you in the slammer for five years. technically he lied four times according to the investigation but three times to investigators anyway the read on all of this is committee member florida republican member ron desantis. congressman thank you for coming >> good morning. neil: where do you think this ig investigation should go? it's going to be in the hands of a donald trump appointee to decide whether to act on that criminal referral, do you think she should? >> well look, with respect to andrew mccabe, i mean, you have a situation, neil the average american if they were to lie to the fbi and we see that a little bit in the mueller investigation with people like mike flynn, i mean, the fbi won't hesitate to nail them to the wall for that and so you have somebody like

mccabe whose the deputy director lying to the fbi, those are two sets of standards or is this something where we're all under the same laws and so i think that mccabe case is absolutely lie for criminal referral. i was involved in helping with that out of the congress as well and then with respect to james comey, i mean look, the leaking of those mep o memos was malicious, that was government information, those were conservations he had based on his position with the president and the fact that two of the memos had classified information i think comey has a lot of exposure here. i think this book tour has been an absolutely disaster and i think all of this has really blown up in his face, but neil, it's not just the memos that comey i think may be in trouble for. remember he testified in front of congress that he did not make the decision to exonerate hillary until after he interview ed her. well subsequent oversight by congress found those memos that

he wrote two months before he interviewed her where they were exonerating her so there's been a lot of things in his testimony too that have conflicted with subsequent facts so i think he's in some danger here. neil: separately want to go back to andrew mccabe for a second congressman. as you know he's suing the trump adminitration for defamation, wrongful termination, the dnc seems to be suing, well everybody, from the president on down. where are all these legal back and forths going? >> it seems to me those are frivolous. mccabe was terminated on the recommendation of the inspector general that was totally legitimate and what the dnc is doing it seems like they realize the whole russia collusion angle has petered out. there's not been evidence of collusion with trump's campaign so i think they're doing everything they can to recess it tate the narrative, throw as much against the wallace they can and hope something sticks

but i don't think it will work. neil: rod rosenstein apparently told the president last thursday after the michael cohen office raid that the president was not a target of the investigation. no one from his office has confirmed what was originally a bloomberg report but do you believe that? >> well, here is the thing, neil. you can say someone's not a target, that is something that that is very fluid. i have a lot of problems with how that cohen raid was done it was hyper aggressive and if the underlying offense is some campaign finance violation, i think that was way overboard for that and hears i think the thing that bothers a lot of americans is that level of zealousness, you didn't see that at all when the fbi and obama's doj was investigating hillary for the classified information in her e-mail server. in fact they weren't even doing subpoenas, using grand juries, they were doing immunity, so you know, are we going to apply the law equally or not?

neil: all right congressman thank you very very much. what if i told you that your money is at stake depending on how that investigation and we have the proof this week, after this.

neil: you know, i do want to focus on the markets and how they responded with the political developments in washington does happen a lot and what's interesting earlier in the week, when we got wind of this report that rod rosenstein had met with the president and said you sir are not the target of this robert mueller investigation well the markets went down for example, that day for example, over 200 points, and it continues pattern we've seen and this is very very similar to the one we saw during the bill clinton impeachment period that the worst thing for bill clinton and the worse things look for donald trump now stocks sell-off. the better it looked for bill

clinton and surviving that then and the better it looks for donald trump surviving whatever comes of this now, stocks do very very well. now you could argue that in both periods then as now markets are doing fine, the economy is on fire. these guys who are not red or blue, they're green they just love money and making it they don't want anything to disrupt of it so what to make of what's going on now in this movement to all thins political let's go go to fox business deirdre bolton and fox contributor john layfield and jessica tar love. what do you make of that? there's an uncanny connection. >> there is an uncanny connection which a few people have mentioned since we love to talk about bill clinton during the trump era. the uncertainty we've been following throughout all of the trump presidency it goes up and down and comes in waves and rod rosenstein coming out telling.that you were talking about congressman desant is, he said trump isn't a target of this but tom maybe a

whole new story. neil: we don't even know if that conservation actually took place >> which is an amazing thing, but it does make sense to me, in principle that it would be following this and if you feel like you're safe for a moment then it's good for the market but that could turn on a dime. neil: yeah, and you know, on a trillion dollars the market worth can go up or down deirdre but also they don't want anything disrupted going on right now and they like what's going on right now. >> they do like what's going on so there are already potential political upsets that we all seem to be moving on every 15 minutes but then there's fundamental news and we bring it back to specific market points but i know morgan stanley put out that note on apple saying maybe iphone sales aren't that great in the june quarter. neil: there are clearly other factors. >> we were talking about 10 year yields being at the highest level since 2014. there are just some market fundamentals that are shifting but then when you add in this

extra spice of political volatility then yeah, you do get a market that all of a sudden in the last hour loses a lot of steam. neil: you know, john layfield i would say when you look at the environment in which things get nasty or investigations are ensuing with a president of any party that that back drop for richard nixon for example, was awful. you had soaring energy and oil prices, you had the economy tank ing into a recession and that back drop didn't help his cause. now i'm not saying that that wouldn't have been threatened to impeach or thrown out of office either way but the back drop now is very very different. the back drop for bill clinton at the time of his investigation very very different and i think that comes into play here. do you think wall street regardless of where this is going to be they want donald trump to stick around they like him. >> i think they do because he's been very good for the markets and you mentioned president clinton the markets sold off initially and then rallied significantly during that impeachment affair. same thing happened with andrew johnson sold off and a president

impeached and it rallied back. neil: i remember andrew johnson and that was a touch and go thing buddy i remember that vivd ly. >> [laughter] they never planned on him being president. they put him into win the south and ended up with a guy they didn't really want. neil: there you go. go ahead. >> look i think that the market wants president trump to stay in i think president trump will it almost impossible to impeach a president. you can impeach him but you can't convict him. it takes two-thirds of the senate to do that. i don't think that's within the realm of possibility. it's all about the market here. we could be at three point something unemployment rate at the lowest in 50 years if that's the case history could change and republicans could do decent in the mid-terms. neil: i don't know where this investigation goes, jessica, it's impossible to keep track of the lawsuits and the democratic party suing everybody and andrew mccabe is suing the president for defamation and a lot of republicans are calling for an investigation of those

originally investigating i can't keep track of it but i do wonder post-november what we're looking at here and does it get to be, does more investigations that the democrats take the house and the markets and that uncertainty will get into this just go crazy >> well i don't know if you follow what republicans are now using as their mainline of argumentation to win in november they're going the impeachment route to make sure we keep the house because democrats are gun ning for president trump at that point. neil: but also nancy pelosi wants to stick the tax cut. >> they are doing that but because the tax cuts aren't as popular as they expected them to be the new wall street journal nbc poll shows that there's a new line where they're obviously making the economic argument saying the things john did about how well the economy is doing but they are going for this impeachment angle and mitch mcconnell said to paul ryan i don't know if we want to pass more tax cuts because if the dems vote for that they get credit for it so what they

thought was going to save them. neil: he's worried about that because he's focused on the senate keeping the majority where they could boost. >> that's the thing there are 10 democrat senators in deep red states. neil: we don't know how that will play out but your thoughts? >> we don't know but there is this pr war and i know you were in d.c. for tax day, president trump wrote an op ed style piece in usa today so i think both parties are clearly trying to show either why tax cuts are great as the president laid out or why tax cuts are benefiting the rich and corporations and the trickle down effect will never work, right? so you have big voices on both camps really trying to gin up this language ahead of the mid-terms. i am still watching fundamentals neil you'll get the hook. neil: not at all. >> even trade, you know, in that friday session we heard of federal, fed governor come out and say hey if there a trade war don't forget this. that's going to be bad for our markets and our economy. neil: and a lot of goods and services go rocketing up in price. >> as usual we have the

politicians kind of fighting and on a side track we have very basic economic and corporate fundamental underpinnings that are also including along so i feel like it's cooking and cooking and you throw on more gas. neil: and then you have the north korean thing john layfield there's no way to factor in what you got to deal and broker an agreement that calls for him to denook and all that how is that going to be received? it's certainly unprecedented and of course he would have to stick to that deal and his father and grandfather were known for that kind of thing but what do you think? >> i think it's a black swan and the one thing that could swing the mid-term elections but if you get something historic done like that the president's party last 35 of 38 mid-term elections they've lost seats in the house so history is against in couple bens and there's an and i-incumbent wave in the northern hemisphere right now. i think if the economy continues to do well and unemployment gets lower they could change that but otherwise it's going to be a

blood bath for the mid-terms. neil: all right we'll see thank you guys. in the meantime mitt romney want to take your attention on utah in case you think he's a slam dunkin' that state you might want to think again. boy is he running into a buzz saw of conservatives, after this we're about to move. karate helps... relieve some of the house-buying... stress. at least you don't have to worry about homeowners insurance. call geico. geico... helps with... homeowners insurance? been doing it for years. i'm calling geico right now. good idea! get to know geico. and see how easy homeowners and renters insurance can be.

neil: all right, ann romney by the way is in texas for the funeral of barbara bush, her husband though in the battle for his political life to get that senate seat from orrin hatch, whose retired and look like this would be a slam dunk decision but it's not going to be an easy win as the party meets to convene today it's a conservative love fest here and they have mixed views of the man who is trying to gain salt lake city back to 2002 and got them back on track and he's facing 11 candidates here 11 very conserve a fifer candidates who want to deny him the 60% of the vote that means he would be cleared as the republican nominee which

in that state almost means being the next senator and the hills editor in chief bob cusack. i was amazed to find but i guess i shouldn't given what happened in the past in this state but when these conservatives gather, they can change things pretty quick, can't they? >> they can, i mean this could be a very difficult day for mitt romney. obviously he's the favorite but as you mentioned he needs 60% of the vote and these delegates are more conservative than the average utah voter whose pretty conservative so we're seeing claims of all remember romney care and conservative critics going after mitt romney. now he has enough signatures to actually even if he doesn't get the 60% threshold a couple months he would be on the ballot so in all likelihood he would get and win the nomination but we're not there yet and obviously, mitt romney wants to seal the deal today. neil: i think this is how mike lee came to power right? this conservative backwind, was

what propelled him past heavier favorites right? >> yes, that's right and remember years ago jason chaffetz knocked off an incumbent in the house and that's how he got to congress so this is a situation that these delegates as i mentioned are very conservative. these conventions can be very rowdy and it's something that i think is going to test mitt romney today no doubt about it and that's why he's saying i'm more conservative than president trump on immigration because he's trying to appeal to those delegates. neil: how is his rocky relationship with donald trump fared? obviously he was critical when he was a candidate for president , there was a time where donald trump was considering him for secretary of state but how is that relationship going and how is it deemed in utah? >> i mean, i think it's one to watch. romney is beloved in utah no doubt about it and that's why he is a favorite but at the same time, there has been a lot of

tension between trump and romney to say the least and remember, trump was trying to get orrin hatch to seek re-election because he didn't want romney in the senate, so but now they have talked since then so at least for now they're getting along but this is a relationship to watch especially if he gets to washington which i expect he will. neil: i'm amazed when you look back in history and richard nixon after losing to john kennedy two years later to become governor of california where he was favored and of course he lost, the famous you won't have nixons to kick around any more but others have come back in other venues, robert kennedy in new york making a run for senate there, hillary clinton as well if you think about it becoming a senator from north korea so how does the fame you add to the national figures sort out? i guess it depend depends on the statement i think it depends on the state and also if romney gets to

washington mitch mcconnell said he will not be the typical freshman senator he's going to get responsibilities that freshmen normally don't get remember romney is over 70 so i think this is a bit of a political come back and i think it's fascinating to see when he gets to washington there's been some speculation maybe he would challenge trump in a primary. i think that's unlikely in 2020 but in political neil you never know. neil: you never know. if we would have known that donald trump and mitt romney could watch things up after that campaign anything is possible my friend. bob very good seeing you thanks for coming on i always appreciate it. >> thanks, neil. neil: back to houston where mourners are gathering to say final goodbyes to one barbara bush, 1,500 strong including two former presidents and their families and romney will be there, this at a time, when the nation looks back to an era where both sides have talked to

each other, where first ladies would transcend as they usually do whatever the politics is of the moment remember this is the week we learned that laura bush in fact met with melania trump who will be in houston today only months after an election that was very divisive certainly between the trumps and the bushes so anything is possible and first ladies are a big reason, more after this. david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪

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neil: taking you back to houston , texas right now as the nation prepares to say goodbye to barbara bush, the very popular first lady among one of the nations most popular. 1,500 will be in that church and a good man it of them will be something passed along by our brain room folks here the bushes have 17 grandchildren, 14 by direct relation, three step- grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and eight great grand child was born two days after barbara bush's death.

so much is said about these things and when anyone of a public note leaves this earth for example,, last famous funeral in this church was a couple years back the last man to walk on the moon, so it's an occasion to remember famous people and in this case, a famous first lady but barbara bush, like her husband, echoes to a time when you could reach across the aisle on both sides could find a way to get along with each other remember that very very divisive election in 1992 when george bush last to bill clinton and yet the clinton s and the bushes forged a very tight bond and a relationship that lasted, former hillary clinton chief strategist mark penn, mark i was thinking of you and looking at your thoughts on this and of course the relationship and the tight one at that between these two

families, bill clinton and hillary clinton will be there. i discovered this week my colleague maria bartiromo interviewing george w. bush and laura and it was revealed only a couple months after the trumps took office that laura bush was invited by melania trump to have to be at the white house to i guess talk about raising children in the white house and that surprised me but it shows that sometimes what you see in the headlines isn't always the case in reality. >> well there was a big moment actually after president clinton finished the presidency, he was somewhat under fire for the pardon and after katrina happened when president bush called him to do joint fundraising for katrina, that just changed, i think, both their relationship, the time they spent together, and actually, then turned around president clinton's image that had been kind of in the dumps until that moment so i think actually out of that phone call

and i happened to be there when it came, came a renewed bush relationship. neil: the one year between senior and i remember that was a very tough election, everyone thought it was impossible for george bush sergio marccione to lose so soon after the iraq war, 80% approval rating low and behold he loses to this arkansas governor and people are shocked and i'm sure there are a lot of hurt feelings all the way around both sides with the pageantry and passing of power and all that but then they really developed a bond that continued. i think president bush, his son george w. had said that he suddenly saw bill clinton as a brother. how did that happen? >> yes, well that, you know, look this is almost a different era than what we're facing now. presidents and former presidents see themselves as a member of a club. i don't know what's going to

happen here after president trump leaves office and whether or not that's going to continue but i think they find themselves in a unique lifestyle having served public service and a bond i think that forms among almost all the former presidents and their families. neil: for barbara bush and looking back at her and her style, her demeanor she was who she was, she was very frank, she let it be known, a great protect or of her husband, great sense of humor, when the other how important a role historically do you think she played coming as she did, after nancy reagan and the reagan revolution and all of that. >> well i think she played a very very strong role. i think she was seen very much as the mother and the grandmother of the country in many ways and i think she embodied really a true american spirit and i think that's what people look for. the role of first lady from jackie kennedy on became

elevated in so many different ways, whether it was glamour or whether it i think in the bushes case it was really kind of reassuring commitment to family. i think that became very important. i think in terms of comforting the country. neil: this outrage on the part of melania trump who will be at the funeral to go to laura bush to come and have tea with her at the white house and presumably talk about raising a child or children in washington d.c. in the white house more to the point, obviously that didn't happen despite all the friction you hear between he and jeb bush and all this. i'm wondering if we and the media overplay that, that it isn't nearly that bad or certainly she would not have made the trip. >> well, i think that underlying kind of the glare of the media and the images are

real people for whom i think these relationships actually count, and people have to understand the politicians don't do everything for politics. it's very hard to see what they don't do but i think particularly bringing up children in the white house, i mean, i really can't imagine what children go through today once they really understand the news and the kinds of what they get at school. it's incredibly difficult so i think this is a really very positive development that this is happening. neil: all right, mark thank you very much. i didn't want to talk about other things i'd be remiss if i didn't mention these other developments as well thank you for your understanding, mark penn, former hillary clinton campaign strategist. it looks at some of these little trends i don't know if some of the little trends includes human decency but there's a spark of it in houston today. more after this. hi, kids! i'm carl and i'm a broker. do you offer $4.95 online equity trades? great question. see, for a full service brokerage like ours,

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neil: alright quick heads up for you if you are all flying next week, you could be running into delays because of an faa emergency inspection following that deadly engine explosion on southwest airlines flight. deirdre bolton is back with more on that what's going on? yeah, neil, the faa's directive to inspect these engines is coming after that fan blade on that southwest airline is a boeing 737-700 snapped off mid flight. it sprayed shrapnel and punctured the aircraft fuselage and that killed a passenger and so now the national transportation safety board investigators are going around looking for signs of cracking and metal fatigue as where they saw in that engine that had the problem at the point where the blade broke so the faa says all of this kind of engine has to be inspected in the next 20 days

because it is one of the most popular engines in the world. more than 30,000 units have been produced since 1980 these engine s are everywhere in civilian aircraft in military aircraft and experts say they currently power probably more than 6,700 planes in the world right now so the ones that are old einto if to go through inspection would be about 20 years old and the faa wants to basically look at the 350 engine s they think are in the u.s. and about 680 worldwide. so going forward, this kind of engine is going to be tested every two years for signs of break down hopefully avoiding that incident that we saw earlier this week so right at this moment there are no airlines reporting any delays as a result of these inspections, but as i mentioned they're taking place over the next 20 days so that may change. i want to just mention this final note on that southwest air passenger who died. the company is giving passengers on that same flight $5,000 checks to the passengers who were on board that flight they

were equally frightened i'm sure the plane making an emergency landing, so the company confirm ing that earlier. here is the official statement from southwest saying that it had sent the checks along with $1,000 travel vouchers saying we can confirm the communication and the gesture are authentic and heartfelt. so neil as you know this is the first accident of this kind since 2009 but for the mother of two who lost her life i am sure that is of zero consolation to her family. back to you. neil: absolutely deirdre thank you very very much, taking it back to houston right now, where mourners are still gathering here, most have to be in place now within the next few minutes. other former presidents and their families, dignitaries a good number of the bush family also attending. some interesting retrospective back on barbara bush and the woman they are remembering, is her ways that i'm told will come up in jeb bush's remembrance of his mom. when asked that she might not

have been cut from first lady material, she said even so, i have a lot of fat white-haired ladies are tickled pink. more on barbara bush after this. but what a powerful life lesson. and don't worry i have everything handled. i already spoke to our allstate agent, and i know that we have accident forgiveness. which is so smart on your guy's part. like fact that they'll just... forgive you... four weeks without the car. okay, yup. good night. with accident forgiveness your rates won't go up just because of an accident. switching to allstate is worth it.

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so people watching will be like, "wow, maybe i'll glow too if i book direct at choicehotels.com." who glows? just say, badda book. badda boom. book now at choicehotels.com. >> all right. we are about an hour away from the nation paying its final respects to the former first lady of the united states, barbara bush. i'm happy to have with me former speech writer for president george h.w. bush, mary kate carey, on the phone and attending this funeral service today. and we're very honored to have you. thank you for taking the time. >> thank you. neil: you know, i was reading a great sort of remembrance from peggy noonen, no less, about the role that barbara bush played as a protector. said that mrs. bush, like mrs. reagan had sharp eyes and a certain skepticism about people's motives. they were good at spotting

dangerous in people and who thinks that the president is too good for the work. and in other words, they were always looking out. was she always looking out? >> boy, that's the truth and i have to agree with that. she did it in a way that was very behind the scenes. just a sharp look or one word, you know, we called it the enforcer and she could do it very, very behind the scenes, like i said. i didn't know you were getting taken down until it was over. neil: i remember being at an event and an interview, she was present with her husband. and she'd give you the once over. she'd know less about your background or what you were doing and the stories had been. the eyes would readily relay the concern for her husband. i guess everyone is like that when it comes to politics, but everyone talks about the big heart, mary kate, the big heart and if she had any regrets it

would be about not being nice to someone or forgetting someone's name. i always found some of these little insights and stories you hear remarkable. >> yeah, the one that-- the one that i like the best is when she went to the grandma's house in washington and height at the aids crisis before there was any sort of treatment and i remember, neil, people thought if you touched one in aids you would get it and die. neil: oh, sure. >> she was asked if she would old some abandoned aids babies at a shelter for them and i guess because she had lost her own daughter, robin at age three, it was sort of, you know, in her wheel house to be able to hold a dying child and not totally lose it like the rest of us would. so she said yes and she went and she got there and there was a man with aids who had been in the priesthood and when he got diagnosed, saying he was kicked out of the church and disowned by his family, so, he said to her, you know, eastern thinks that babies with aids are

innocent and men with aids are guilty, and we could all use your embrace. and he was speaking metaphorically and she jumped up and hugged him in front of the camera and that picture went viral way before the internet existed. headlines all over the world that barbara bush had hugged a man with aids and lived. and that began a sea change in the way that people treated people with aids and i think that tells you volumes about her. neil: you're right about that. i do remember the stories afterwards, whether she was going to be physically safe and whether she would endanger the president. >> yeah. neil: it's hard to believe in retrospect how big a deal that was. that was unprecedented. the bush family, you were nice enough to agree to talk to us, mary kate. the bush family doesn't get enough credit in their role of addressing the reality of aids, but more to the point, focusing financially on helping worldwide

in terms of funding efforts, to eradicate it, to deal with it, that extended to her son, george w. bush, in fact, bono, the entertainer at the bush conference this week to talk about the role that the bush family played and more particularly the son and his presidency, in combatting this. >> yeah. i think some day they will get the credit they deserve, and, but-- and they would never say at that themselves. i heard of a figure the other day, neil, if you took all of the money that the bushes, between the two of them have raised over their lifetime, whether it's the tsunami relief with bill clinton or the points of light or md anderson or literacy, that it would total a billion dollars and that is an incredible number to me, but i did not hear that from the bush family and i can't imagine they're keeping track of something like that. neil: they're not known to brag. the whole family. i know as a representative of the united negro college fund,

she was actively involved in that, of course, the family not too keen on talking about that. you hear more that's self-deprecating stuff and i was reminding that, reading some of her remarks that come back because i can remember when she made them, talking about her looks and appearance and she said i won't dye my hair or change my wardrobe or lose weight, but i've got to think as someone who could probably do all of that, it got-- it's got to weigh on you, jackie kennedy or nancy reagan, this obsession with, you know, being a thin, supermodel, waif, i don't know what the inference was at the time. it had to chaffe, it had to bother her. >> i think in some ways, she almost wore it like a badge of honor. you know, i agree it probably did bother her internally, but didn't let on publicly. my suspicion is she never dyed her hair, the story is it turned

white she was 28 and it was a shock to her and i think for that reason alone she probably never died it over memories of robin. but i've got to tell you, everybody i'm seeing today is wearing-- of' got some on myself some $18 fake pearls, big old honkers and everybody is wearing them today and it's very sweet. the other thing i want to tell you, i just saw, standing out here, gabby gifford just walked in under her own power with a cane. neil: oh, wow. >> and the other thing is, the number of follow tears is amazing. there's only 1500 guests going into the service, but there's got to be 5,000 volunteers and clearly, they're not all needed they just want to be involved. it's so sweet, it's so heartwarming. the city of houston is really in mourning today and it's every, every corner is beautiful, all the flags, half mast, it's very moving to see how many people

want to be involved. neil: i'm not at all surprised. you're probably not surprised at all. mary kate cary, i know you've got to get there. >> get into my bob uecker seats here, and they're color coded we can't tell how bad until we get inside. neil: thank you very much. >> my pleasure. neil: thank you for sharing wonderful stories. here is another one that historians like to pounce on from barbara bush, always sort ever minimizing her role in her husband's administration dating back to when he first ran for congress and first shot at it, and did okay for himself as time went on. she said you have to have influence-- back in 1992, when you've been married 47 years at the time, if you don't have any influence then i really think you're in deep trouble. i want to get the read on that from presidential historian doug wheat who has written extensively about barbara bush, first ladies, presidents, you name it. one of the best i know. doug, thank you for taking the time. >> hey, thanks for having me,

neil. neil: looking back at her and that self-deprecating wit, i know a lot of women related to, i think the new york times said her realness. how about you? >> yes. she's very direct. she was very funny. i tried to think back over jokes she told. i can only remember a couple of jokes, so, it wasn't jokes, it was her wit. she was like an oscar wilde, and maybe a tad of rickles. [laughter] >> she could poke you. so, it was amazing. and she felt a little bit of the burden of that. i remember one day her saying, oh, yeah want to meet her. she says i'm funny, and she says every time we meet she says you're so funny. it puts pressure on. how can you make yourself be funny. so she knew. neil: you've written about this, but the role of first ladies, ultimately their protectors, and soon enough when the roles are

reversed and there are going to be first men and she writes today, sooner than you think. they will be in that same role for their spouse, but that they are great protectors in that regard. democrat or republican. she, too, of her husband, george h.w. bush, how much of a role did she play compared, let's say, to her predecessor, nancy reagan, and where does she stack up among those who looked out for their husbands and looked out for their history? >> well, she won't like this one bit, but i think she's one of the greatest women who ever lived, either that or the luckiest because two sons were governors, married to a president, and had a son who was president. there's never been anything quite like that. she's compared to abigail adams, but abigail adams didn't know it. she died in 1818. her son became president in 1825. and abigail adams did bury three of her children, one who died

young as an alcoholic, a young man and you can't compare her to eleanor roosevelt who had five children who had 19 marriages between them. she was not first mom, but here is a woman, barbara bush, everyone around her was successful. so, it's not an accident of history. she did some things right. neil: you know, you think about iconic american dynasties, families, whether you want to look at roosevelts, the kennedys, certainly the bush family would qualify there. they come from a great deal of money, barbara bush herself personally came from a great deal of money, and they could have chose and variety of other routes, but public service was sort of ingrained, and i'm wondering, that's a common theme among these patriarchal families. >> yeah, it is and they felt they had an obligation, that it was what they were supposed to do. i think the key in understanding

barbara bush and the success of her family is her relationship with her mother. her mother was very preoccupied with details and trivialities and easily hurt and held grudges and was just miserable, at least in the mind of barbara bush because she told me about it and wrote about it herself. and she decided she was going to lighten up. she was going to enjoy life and her revenge was to have fun. neil: yeah, she did. >> one exception is the books. i notice, you know, the whoet literacy thing. the one moment she could really feel loved is when her mother read books to her at night and i think that's at the heart of why she fell in love with books and read so many and then started this whole literacy thing. neil: it was amazing. i know you're going to be sticking around. i look forward to that, again, as a nation stops to remember a remarkable woman, whether republican or democrat, conservative or liberal, just herself deprecating wit and

humor. so many stories and doing a little bit of research last night preparing for this show, she once famously said, what you see is what you got. her husband immediately chimed in and said, and i like what i got. we'll have more after this. we've been preparing for this day. over the years, paul and i have met regularly with our ameriprise advisor. we plan for everything from retirement to college savings. giving us the ability to add on for an important member of our family. welcome home mom. with the right financial advisor, life can be brilliant. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. that's it? everybody two seconds!

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>> so many memories are flooding me today. bobs and george's lives were so intertwined for over 50 years when they both moved from the east coast to texas during the oil boom to make their fortune and then enter politics together. and i go back almost 30 years myself because i was a volunteer in then vice-president bush's office in houston and then later when he ran for president in 1988. so, i go back a long way as w l well. neil: it's amazing. you know, i was thinking about it, barbara bush from greenwich, connecticut, the toniest of of tony communities and one of the wealthiest as well. the bush family, well steeped in connecticut and northeast traditions and i always wondered

about that. your husband as well. you know, going to texas and essentially starting from scratch and feeling that entrepreneurial spirit, in in case in energy and in oil and it seemed crazy in retrospect. i mean, the security and everything you know in an area where you didn't have to leave. you had the status, the power, the influence. you didn't need to leave all that. in fact, it seemed crazy to even try. >> well, bob was the youngest child and his father was a rags to riches story, had made his money selling penny stocks on the curb exchange and later became a fixture in the new york stock exchange and had a seat as well. neil: right. >> and bob wanted to prove something to his father. and when he saw that there was a trend towards the oil business that was just beginning to

burgeon in houston, texas, bob volunteered and came down. he couldn't afford to hire an employee so he hired a secretary named betty ackerman as a temporary employee and she stayed with him for 55 years. he built a business from scratch something which president bush recognized, many qualities in bob that he saw within himself and they became fast friends and after bob lost his wife and was looking for a way to channel his grief, he began to get involved in politics and was involved in all of the campaigns for president bush by raising money and helping in any way he could. neil: you know, you think of how famously cautious the president was viewed, barbara bush was viewed, in fact, to hear it almost too cautious, lampooned on saturday life, not going to

do it, wouldn't be wise. he was the opposite of that and so was she, but we forget that, don't we? >> they were an amazing partnership. she carried herself with quiet strength and dignity and anytime she entered the room, she had a calming effect on him. he consulted with her on so many issues and valued her opinion and you know, she had a wicked sense of humor. i'll never forget when i was so upset because i had a-- there was a new york post page six and she said, now what? i like some people and i like many dogs better than a lot of people use the newspapers to line the floor for the puppy and don't let people get under your skin. and you talk of her as so much

scrutiny under so many years and she was the epitome of grace under pressure. and it only got to her when it had to do with a family member. i'll never forget on election night in 1999, bob and i were sitting with barbara and the president at their home in houston, texas, the four of us watching election night returns, and she had tears in her eyes and she was visibly nervous. and i saw not only the qualities of such a quiet, amazing woman, but also the fact that she was a mother first and she was fiercely protective of her children and god help anyone who criticized them. she'd eat them alive. neil: yeah, all right mica, very, very much. the billboards have been popping up around the houston area showing those famous pearls

that, of course, barbara bush made equally famous and there was a rush on them, the costume variety that mrs. bush made famous. women loved it. a nation loved it and her. the former chief of staff of the first lady laura bush, alita mcbride joining us on the phone. anita, thank you for joining us, i know you have to get in place. my reflections can't be anything compared to yours. my little exposure to barbara bush and her husband, would be in a receiving line, quite a long line to shake hands with the president and first lady. >> right. neil: it was too, too long and very, very late and i think some of the president's advisors were saying we can cut it off here, but barbara bush famously whispered in her husband's ear. these people have been here for hours, they want to shake your hand and we are going to finish this up. >> absolutely, absolutely, neil. it shows a lot about the character of barbara bush.

she was a people person and she loved politics because politics is about people and she appreciated what people did to help get her husband elected and a be a big part of their family life and in fact, i share that with you. my first encounter, true encounter with barbara bush was in a receiving line. i was dating tim mcbride, the president's personal aide and they were curious to see who i was so that invitation came in the form of an invite to a state dinner. talk about no pressure walking through the receiving line. those pictures are precious of them looking down the row at me. so, i completely, i share that experience with you. they are just special people. i'm honored to be here today, but, of course, with a heavy heart. neil: you must have passed the test, anita, that's all i can say. >> it's been 26 years. neil: that's baptisttism by fire, young lady. anita, you hear so many of these stories and i talked about that,

the self-deprecating wit and all and a lot of people said her husband had a great sense of humor and didn't show it often and guarded with her emotions in public. but she would bring it out and that was quite deliberate. >> of course, that's the playful part of their personality and i saw that with george and laura bush, too. i think when they're with each other, they bring out the best in each other and, yes, the playful, funny side and she was wicked funny and sometimes to the point of being blunt, but absolutely, you know, really, we all appreciated what we learned from her example and that is, too, she wanted people to find joy in life and that's how she lived hers. neil: you know, anita, the story shared by laura bush that she had met just a couple of months into the trump presidency with melania trump apparently, melania invited her to the white house presumably to talk about raising children in the white house. what did you make of it? i had not heard that, maybe others knew about it, i

certainly didn't. didn't mean anything, but given that what had been, you know, a pretty nasty campaign, and the so-called bush-trump family thing, it surprised me. >> well, you know, first ladies rise above all that generally anyway and as laura bush would always say and i learned that, you know, having a front row seat to watching her through some very consequential and controversial times in the bush years, politics is politics. when it's over, this is a small club of people who really only understand what it's like to be in each other's shoes. so, yes, i did know about that visit with mrs. trump, it was lovely for mrs. bush. mrs. trump had the former staff that worked for the bushes staff waiting for her when she got there and she's bringing several of the residents staff today who worked for 41 and 43. so there's a connection between people and families that have lived in that house that's very

different than anything that happens on the campaign trail. neil: well said, anita. i think it was michelle obama who said it best, her daughters, these kids are not democrats or republicans, they're just scared kids in a big old house and it's a scary house. >> that's right, that's right. well, neil, i respectfully ask to go in to pay tribute. neil: absolutely. >> i appreciate being able to share a few words about barbara bush. we loved her. neil: beautiful words. >> and thank you. thank you so much. neil: enjoy the service, anita. >> bye-bye. neil: outside of that fine church my friend shepard smith will be kicking off coverage in a little more than a half hour. some of the stories are so funny and warm and get back to the core, because at our core, we're people, you know? >> you couldn't say it better, neil. i have been speaking to a few friends of her from church, so sweet to give us a little space in there from when it rained and dana perino and i and to a man

and a woman, i've been told today, don't forget, barbara bush would want you to have fun and also, don't forget, george-- barbara bush wants to reminds you about it's reading. and talk about it and she'll smile at you from the pearlie gates. i'll do whatever she wants. neil: and in our business, you can make fun of yourself and laugh at yourself and certainly she did that enough and there was so much focus on the pearls and all of that stuff that she doesn't comport to the sort of supermodel idea of what a first lady should be and she didn't seem to care, but i always would think that when she would kid about it that there was a little bit of-- why do they keep talking about this stuff, you know? >>. shepard: i've always thought about it, there is is little bit there or you wouldn't be kidding about it in the first place. and she didn't care in the fact that she would do it barbara

bush's way, i don't think the family would have it any other way. but maybe it got under her skin a little bit, but not nearly as much as if you needled at one of her children or someone else in the family or god forbid millie. don't mess with the bush children, i've heard it over and over and over again today and thankfully i don't think either of us have been accused of that and i'm glad. neil: i hear you. one. things that revealed, laura bush talking how melania trump had invited her to the white house to talk, i guess, about raising kids in the white house, not an easy thing to do and all the first ladies have wrestled with this and usually talk to their predecessors about it. but that one surprised me because given the bad blood between the trumps and the bush family and specifically donald trump and jeb bush, it shows how first ladies play a different role that goes beyond that politics, you know. shepard: they certainly do, and always have.

and you can take the same analogy going back to the clintons. it wasn't as if everybody got along peachy keen and hunky dory and they were bitter political enemies and barbara bush said you're the black sheep of the family, but you're in our family. speaking of bill clinton. they became so tight and famously close in later years. so, these political ideas and the moving of the overton window that has pushed us all apart so much, i'm not sure that these families that are in charge of everything have it to the degree that we do. at least they don't on a public face. when bill clinton and the bushes can get along and the trumps and the bushes can get along, there's a little something for all of us there. there's going to come a time again when we can agree to disagree and move on with our lives and think about our kids and think about our families, think about how we're going to get to church on sunday and get the kids to soccer practice and all the things that really matter and sort of put aside

these political differences. barbara bush was certainly not one to forgive and forget, but she understood that there were things more important and really, neil, i think that's an important lesson. neil: i think you're exactly right. shepard, thanks for taking the time. i know you're going to be very, very busy and have been already preparing. i'll see you in a half hour, my friend. thank you. shepard: all right, thank you. neil: all right. as the nation prepares to say goodbye to barbara bush, just some remarkable insights coming from democrats and republicans, conservatives, liberal, business titans, those in the oil industry, banking industry, wall street. when you think of what barbara bush put on the line to join this naval aviator who was all of 18 who join world war ii and become a fighter pilot, and the risks and moved up the ladder, eventually our ambassador to china, she would say of these experiences they were great fun for the children, great moments and for me, a great challenge, a

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smarter business tools for the world's hardest workers. quickbooks. backing you. >> all right, remembering barbara bush right now. a standout among first ladies, depending on what holes you look into, and the first ladies man, a good way to describe the author of "unusual for their time, on the road with america's first ladies", andrew, thank you for taking the time to join us. >> thank you for the opportunity to memorialize and celebrate such a great first lady, american and human being, really. neil: you know, when you look at first ladies and the role they play and so much depends on the time in history, at the moment what's happening, the person they're married to, obviously, but how does she stand out? i never like to compare one better or worse than another. i always think that's a little risky, but where barbara bush stands? >> well, when you look at first

ladies over the course of time, there are few that spent so much time in the public arena, giving public service as barbara bush and the key to her, she did it while also preserving her family and that tight knit family that we keep hearing so much about. she's the matriarch of one of the most powerful american political dynasties and families in american history, but did so much good and selfless work and not quietly, but not going after the spotlight. she was very humble. very grounded, very down to earth and i think that contributed in a large part to the success of her philanthropies and good work. neil: and the roles that the bush family played, whether it was richard nixon, cia director and later on ambassador to china and of course, a bush was on a ticket, if you think about it, you know, from 1980 and you know, when the son was moving on after that, and you had almost

every four years a bush was there. it's remarkable. >> it really is. and there's -- first lady is a hard role. it's one of the most powerful unelected and unpaid women in the world, but then to have the scrutiny of yourself, your husband, your children, multiple times, and be in that spotlight is very difficult. and she handled it so gracefully with a self-deprecating humor. she talked about the pearls hiding her neck she wasn't fond of. in recent interviews, she said i'm okay looking if you like wrinkles. i think this sense of self and knowing her place in her life, in her family's life, in the world, allowed her to be so genuine and people gravitated to her. neil: the pastor is going over the rules, make your cell phones

are off and your own priest, rabbi or minister would remind you before the service would begin. stepping back from this and the role she played in the bush family and fiercely protecting her children as shepard smith was pointing out, that's when it mattered and i'm wondering how she took the divisive campaign either for her husband or for her sons, they got to be pretty divisive, they got to be pretty nasty. we know that first ladies try to get above that and invariably have higher pole numbers than their husbands. how did she handle that? >> in the recent election before jeb threw his hat in the ring, she said in an interview, i think that america should be able to find someone with a last name not bush or clinton. she was not terribly excited when he got in. when jeb joined in, she stood up, as she did over the years, time and time again to ferociously and appropriately

support her family and i think she dealt with it in a genuine way. she was criticized early on in her husband's presidential career for not being one of our most attractive first ladies and she said i'm a fine looking lady, i just don't dress very well. so she was able to deflect the criticisms while still supporting the family in a genuine and effective way. neil: i do remember when jeb and his campaign brought her in to bring in reenforcement, but to bring in the big gun and they brought in barbara bush. and it was new hampshire-- i believe it was new hampshire, hope i've got it right, it didn't help, but it's a reminder how highly the family counted on barbara to deliver the goods and the votes because she was by far the most popular bush family member, wasn't she? >> yes, neil. you hit the nail on the head. most of the first ladies are more popular than their husbands. we turn to them for hemlines, hair styles, how to raise our children and barbara bush had

that motherly and grandmotherly appearance and sense of being in our lives for so long. you know, a lot of people don't know that she was a scrapbooker. she kept scrap books from the time that she dated george h.w. bush until her final days. and the number of people, that we think we know so well in the family setting. think if people were to look through your family photo and what they would see. thanksgiving dinners, and teaching your kids to ride a bike, and around the thanksgiving dinner table, making faces and she was a remarkable lady, kemping-- keeping the family as tight as she did and the remarkable management. i can't say enough about her. neil: settle a bet for us.

we know about the bush's famous modesty, pounded into their heads, you better not boast about yourself. who pounded that, papa bush or barbara bush. >> it was barbara bush, i think that everyone fell in line with her way of thinking and agreed. i don't think it was a tough sell on mrs. bush's part, but her namesake, barbara bush, her granddaughter, won a tennis match or something along those lines and did a little bit of show boating and she promptly, after her display, got a scolding from her grandmother and she said it's not what we do. and she very famously also said it's not the awards, it's not the accolades, it's not the titles, it's not passing the test or the degrees, it's the time you spend with your family and your loved ones that you will look back on and be appreciative of how much time you did give to your family. and for someone to spend as much time in the public eye and still be able to give as much to her

family as exemplified in those scrap books in texas at the bush museum, it truly is remarkable. when you leave politics and no one can say a bad thing about you, that's unheard of, unprecedented and that's barbara bush. neil: let your life speak for yourself if you're pumping yourself up, maybe it isn't. andrew, thank you very much. i appreciate the time you're taking. in the meantime here as you look at some of the dignataries who arrived, including many members of the bush senior and junior cabinet there, i noticed condi rice and melania trump and all of this around the st. martin's episcopal church. so they're all getting in place and it's quite a crowd to shuffle in, isn't it? >> no question about it, you've got very close people close with the 41 family, the bush 43 family, two presidential teams,

basically, over the years, and so a lot of v.i.p. guests early this hour, former president george w. bush held a reception, and we've seen guests coming in, actor chuck norris, former congresswoman gabby gifford. karl rove, our former colleagues at fox and tight security at st. martin's church and everything has been orderly in terms of bringing people in on buses and people seem to be respectfully rolling with it and getting to the church and getting to their pews. yesterday, of course, was a very public portion of this honoring of mrs. bush and a lot of people told us they loved her because she thought she exuded class. as a tribute, many folks wore mrs. bush's favorite color blue or perhaps some pearls and we've seen pearls on tomorrow women going into the church today.

and a lot of people said they respected and admired the way that mrs. bush carried herself. neil: a story i believe in the wall street journal there's been a sudden surge ever costume jewelry, pearls, more to the point, over the last couple of days since the death of barbara bush. i wonder if there's a parallel there. they didn't put exact percentages on it. and ann romney seated right now, herself of course the former first lady of massachusetts and her husband is busy in utah today trying to nail down the nomination to replace orrin hatch, he could be running into a buzz saw there. and we've got a former attorney general under george w. bush on the phone right now and james baker, former secretary of state and treasury secretary, along with other dignitaries to pay a final tribute to barbara bush. attorney general, thank you for

taking the time. so many people have talked about the influence that barbara bush had on her husband and what about extension on her son and administration and the two bush administrations? >> well, you know, i introduced barbara bush at a function in houston -- in texas a few years ago and you know, of all the things that are said about her and there are so many wonderful things to say, in my introduction, i thanked her for the job that she had done in raising her son, george w. bush, that someone like george w. bush would give someone like me so many wonderful opportunities in our nation and that really is, i think, a person's greatest legacy is the children that you leave behind and i think there's no question that all of her children are people of dignity, of class, and i think it's probably the most wonderful legacy that she leaves behind. i'm a huge, huge fan of the entire bush family and i think

they've done great service to our country and i'm delighted to see all of the accolades and all of the wonderful things that are being said about barbara bush. she truly was a remarkable woman. neil: you know, i was saying when you were coming on and we had so few great political dynasties or families, i don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but you can think of the roosevelts, the kennedys, of course the bush family, but as far as influence and number of governors who ran and became president, in the case of her son, of course, the president you worked for, and jeb bush and all of this, the bush influence and family lineage going back to prescott bush in connecticut and what have you, it's quite long. isn't it? >> oh, it is. i think that it sets an example of the value that they placed on public service and i think that that's very, very good for america, quite frankly, to-- i think to instill in children today, young people today about the value of public service.

when i travel around the country and speak to young people, which i really enjoy doing, i talk about the fact that america still remains the greatest country on the face of the earth. it only remains so with people willing to serve and sacrifice and leave a portion of their career over half of america and to step into the arena and serve publicly and i think that that's a very valuable lesson that barbara bush's life is an example of. neil: you think about it, they don't check your political lineage when you leave this earth. i don't know when you get to the pearlie gates, depending on your beliefs, whether anyone is finding out whether you're republican or democrat, but barbara bush is famous for saying the imprint you want to leave is the greater good. >> i think it's at the top of the class. she-- look at her legacy, it's a remarkable legacy and it's going to continue obviously in george

p bush in texas and i've got someone with great faith in him to continue the legacy and all the children are terrific people. i've had an opportunity to spend time with them. one of my favorite memories, marvin and i playing horseshoes against andy card and george bush, and martin and i were better players. and you get the sense of the kind of people they are and i think that's why their influence throughout society and throughout various generations is so influential and so powerful. neil: alberto gonzales, thank you so much. and it's the risk takers that the bush family were, of course, steeped in northeastern wealth and meritocracy, leaving all of

that to risk it all in texas and start anew, so far from the cautious, not going to do it representation that bush, sr. certainly had. there was an adventurous spirit there and barbara bush was a big part of that. peggy noonen writes, a part of the first lady to dignify for first ladies, and they know the institution that they represent, the american presidency, at height, they portray that height each day by behaving with patience and humor and kindliness. presidential historians doug on that and the daunting very, very tall figure that is barbara bush in that memory. what do you think, doug? >> yeah, i think one thing missing the last couple of days in all of this discussion, neil, is how bright she was. when i met her she was reading two or three books a week and then she made that horrible transition to audio books

because she could no longer read. imagine someone consuming that many books. the discussions you could have on art, and on history, and on culture, she was amazingly well informed. one of my fondest memories was going to disney world together. we ended up going to epcott center so george could eat chinese food and barbara and i talked about books all night and the other thing missing is the love affair between george h.w. bush and barbara bush. this is a marriage that shouldn't have worked. they were married too young, they had too much grief with the loss of robin. they were separated too often throughout any one of those throw would cause divorce in most marriages, but barbara and george were able to reinvent their relationship over the years. they decided to stay together, to work things out, and it made all the difference in the world, contributed to this great success of all of their children and i remember one night in michigan out on a tarmac in the middle of the campaign, we're sitting in the limousine, late at night, exhausted and she's

going to go on a separate jet for another location, i'm going back with the vice-president on air force two. and they're sitting in the limo together. i said i'm out of here. barbara snapped, you stay right where you are, i'm the one that's leaving and i sat in the car and there's george and barbara bush tenderly holding hands and whispering like teenager in agony over the fact they were going to have to separate for a night on the campaign trail to get elected president of the united states. they loved each other. and he was holding her hand, when she passed away. neil: amazing. you know, i don't know how true the story is, it's certainly funny to me and would ring true, that he desperately wanted to ask her out and she loved to dance, and at their first dance, he didn't want to dance. so instead, they talked at the table and that's when she says she fell in love with him. i knew he had two left feet, but i thought he was a great guy. and history scored there.

and i wish i would have gotten away with that with my wife and it was sad afterwards with the dancing and everything else. do you think, doug, when we look back and we remember prominent first ladies, historical figures, she's a historical figure just being the mother and the wife of the president, to say nothing of others and their public service and it continues in the media and for their grandchildren. this is a family that has, you know, played a very prominent role in our culture and our politics, on our media, to this day. that's remarkable. >> it's remarkable and some day your great-grandchildren will be on the sitting on the floor, looking it up, whatever the tv will be or netflix of that time and 20 part series on barbara bush and they are going to stay did you know anything about barbara bush? because the impact of her children and her life, the--

what she made happen, she was the fountainhead of all of this and the source of all of this. and the secret to me, of her life, was lighten up. don't take yourself so seriouslily and your goals and your plans so seriouslily and don't take life so seriously. and i think the bushes were able to achieve so much because she took that pressure out of the equation. neil: melania trump arriving right now. you know, doug, we look at this and the unique crowd this has gathered from barack obama, michelle, hillary clinton. melania trump's arrival is interesting because we learned that melania trump and laura bush and being see mimi -- michelle obama arriving with the former president. and it's remarkable despite the attention that gets in the media

friction between the bushes and trumps, that it might be overstated. melania trump sat down with laura bush months after her husband was president. i wonder if the media overstates that. >> the politicians have to forgive. and she forgave me, and when a & e did the birthday of barbara bush, she had me to come on to do some commentary. >> what was the dust up? >> it was the taping, the taping of the family and the bush family, which i did with permission, but then continued on without permission and it was a mistake, but it was healed because of her. because of her reaching out. i remember once in the white house, george h.w. bush, there was a feud going on. he said if i can sit down with gorbachev, he says you guys ought to be able to sit down and

figure this out. i remember how bitter they were over the clintons. i had phone conversations with bush members, including the two bu presidents and upset with president clinton, and based on moral grounds and they wound up becoming great friends. you can't succeed in politics and hold a grudge and i notice it with donald trump, sitting with rubio and ted cruz and i wouldn't be surprised if this heals. neil: and donald trump, far more pragmatic as led on and not nearly the grudge holder that sort of carries on. thank you, doug. so so much. a former aide, tom, thank you for taking the time. thank you for having me, neil. >> obviously, you've heard the reflections and you've had a chance to do many of your own and go back to that time. the barbara bush that i hear about was the woman who was always grounding her husband,

grounding her family and that was a big job, wasn't it? >> it was an enormous job. her family was paramount to her and she had a very large family, not just her family that were known as the bushes, but everyone who worked in that white house, that assisted them in what they needed to get done, from secret service to the porters, to the chefs, to everyone who worked there, she considered them family. it was just a wonderful way to be treated and i know the secret service just loved to work for her. neil: you know, tom, i was thinking of you as well. i can remember-- i'm so old i can remember the incident of her holding that aids child and then, you know, the gentleman riddled with aids and the fear that they would be harming themselves and catching aids. that was a legitimate fear back in those days as hard as it is to believe now. >> she didn't care. and i can't stress enough how unusual that was.

and i'm wonderings, as a secret service agent, i mean, was the better side of caution to not do that, to advise her, you know, smile and wave, you know, mrs. bush and move on? and she chose not to. >> yeah, and with every perspecti protectee we give our best advice on research and problems that could arise with these things, but we can't prevent them from doing something they feel passionate about. as we know, passionate is a very good way to describe mrs. bush. i mean, she was passionate about people and literacy and we could give our advice based on the best knowledge out there at the time, but mrs. bush was going to do what she thought was best and she really made decisions from the heart as much as she could. she really was a very compassionate person. neil: you know, thom, maybe she was a little more ready for it because her husband was the cia director, ambassador to china, vice-presidency. she was ready for the secret

service, different when you're president of course. a lot of them, democrat or republican chafe at the notion of being so protected and shielded from the rest of the world. jeb bush and family members, including george bush, laura bush and the rest of the family. how did she deal with that? >> yeah, and you bring up a great point. i mean, even before secret service protection, i mean, she-- the bushes have had secret service protection for 40 years, but even before that, like you mentioned, cia director, they were accustomed to some form of security. so, they handled it in the way that their predecessor should all take note and that was to embrace them. this is part of our life now. yes, we try to give them as much privacy and as much freedom as we can, but obviously there are certain circumstances we can't do that and we just tried not to

overburden them. we tried to let them do what they can, especially when they're on the white house grounds. if they want today play tennis or do something, we'd give them as much room as possible and they respected that. they knew that we had a job to do and we respected their privacy as best we could. and that's how the secret service operates. we really try to find that fine line between what is a potential danger and fending off, and what is a time where we can let them just be themselves and relax. neil: you know, no presidential couple was married longer, 73 years, and apparently they shared that and i think of president bush and what he does now. what he thinks now. what do you-- >> yes, i think of him often and this is going to be a tough, tough time for her, but i know he's surrounded by his family and they're going to keep him upbeat and keep him moving on

and they'll, of course, think about the memories and think about the many years together, but he's a strong man and he'll persevere. neil: thank you, and i'm sure as the family protector, you know known, they thank you and remember you very, very kindly. thank you for taking the time. >> n thank you, neil. neil: we're only a couple of minutes away. i don't want to blather on. i think of the words and music coming from the church the bushes regularly attend. and they spent half the year in kennebunkport and half in texas. and this was called the bushes home, their retreat and it was their chance to just be themselves and to think of their greater purpose and their greater calling that went beyond the ego of office, with the stripes of service. it is uniting a nation and let us leave you with a nation that's united today to remember.

our continuing coverage that will begin one minute from now with shepard smith as the nation says goodbye to one of its most popular first ladies who would probably be a little surprised at this outpouring of emotion and once famously said, you know, i wasn't the big deal, my husband was. but truth be told, i helped him a little bit. she did. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> and welcome to our viewers on fox news channel as well as fox television stations and my network stations across the nation. i'm shepard smith outside st. martin's episcopal church in however. today, family and friends gather to remember and celebrate the life of the former first lady barbara pierce bush. her funeral service was scheduled to start at 11:00 central daylight time this morning, but as has been the case for the bushes for decades they began a few minutes early. so without further interruption, the celebration of the life