Free Republic

Craig Shirley, a prominent conservative consultant and close ally of Ronald Reagan, has just written a superb insider's account of Reagan's return from the political wilderness in 1980. Entitled "Rendezvous with Destiny," it is full of anecdotes that have never been published before. Here is Shirley's account of the pivotal moment in the bitter GOP presidential primary battle between Reagan and former Texas congressman and CIA director George H.W. Bush. To order the book, click here. Rendezvous with Destiny.bmp The thirty-five days between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary during the 1980 presidential campaign were the most important...

Remarks to Students and Faculty at Alice Deal Junior High School 1991-10-01 Thank you, Ms. Mostoller, and thanks for allowing me to visit your classroom to talk to you and all these students, and millions more in classrooms all across the country.You know, long before I became President I was a parent. I remember the times that my kids came up with a really tough question or a difficult decision. I tried my best never to shut them down with a quick ``no.'' I would simply say those three magic words that made that problem disappear: ``Ask your Mother.'' [Laughter]Let...

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine - Former President George H.W. Bush marked his 85th birthday on Friday the same way he did his 75th and 80th birthdays: He leaped from a plane and zoomed downward at more than 100 mph in freefall before parachuting safely to a spot near his oceanfront home. Bush made the tandem jump from 10,500 feet with Sgt. 1st Class Mike Elliott of the Army's Golden Knights, who guided them to a gentle landing on the lawn of St. Ann's Church.

Today President Bush visited privately with the White House Communication Agency and the White House Transportation Agency, and later met with the men and women stationed at Bolling Air Force Base, where he thanked them for their service over the past eight years. Tomorrow, President & Mrs. Bush will attend the commissioning ceremony of the USS George H. W. Bush in Norfolk, Virginia, along with former President George H. W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush. It was just a little over two years ago that the aircraft carrier—the 10th and final of the Nimitz class—was christened by the former President’s...

Today President Bush welcomed former President George H. W. Bush to the Oval Office. A disbarred lawyer, a failed peanut-farmer and a former ACORN employee were also in attendance. (Transcript) President Bush: All of us who have served in this office understand that the office transcends the individual. Translation: Playing “president-elect” is a lot different than actually being president, Barry. First Lady Laura Bush unveiled the official George W. Bush State china plates this afternoon during a press availablity in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House. (Transcript) The 320 plate service was designed by Mrs. Bush and...

The Navy's newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George H. W. Bush will be commissioned Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, during an 11 a.m. EST ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. President George W. Bush will deliver the principal address. Dorothy "Doro" Bush Koch, daughter of the ship's namesake, is the ship's sponsor. In the time-honored Navy tradition, she will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!" The lastNimitz-class aircraft carrier is named to honor World War II naval aviator and America's 41st president George H. W. Bush. Born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Mass., Bush began...

The Navy’s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George H. W. Bush will be commissioned Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, during an 11 a.m. EST ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. President George W. Bush will deliver the principal address. Dorothy “Doro” Bush Koch, daughter of the ship’s namesake, is the ship’s sponsor. In the time-honored Navy tradition, she will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!" The lastNimitz-class aircraft carrier is named to honor World War II naval aviator and America’s 41st president George H. W. Bush. Born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Mass., Bush began...

This morning President Bush traveled to Landover, Maryland and toured Man And Machine Inc., a company that makes computer accessories for hospitals, medical laboratories, and industrial environments. Afterwards, the president joined a roundtable discussion of healthcare initiatives and how they should benefit the individual, not the government or insurance companies. (Transcript) President Bush returned to the White House this afternoon and met with the Import Safety Group. (Transcript) First Lady Laura Bush took part in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards ceremony in the East Room of the White House. (Transcript) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with senators on Capitol...

This Fourth of July, President Bush spoke to the West Virginia Air National Guard 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, WV (Transcript) Former President GHWB and Mrs. Bush were welcomed by Tiger Woods to the AT&T Earl Woods Memorial Pro-Am today in Bethesda, MD. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

Today the President met with former President of Lebanon in the Oval Office He also joins Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff during a briefing at the department of homeland security. Defense Secretary Robert Gates attended a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Seville, Spain. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill and also met with former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel at the State Department. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A cousin of President Bush is involved in a crash that takes the life of a Connecticut police officer. Police officer Dan Picaglee died Saturday night, four days after being struck by an SUV. The driver who struck that officer is a cousin of former President Bush, and he is also a federal judge. Reports indicate a DUI test was not given to this man after the accident. Officer Picaglee was with that police department for 17 years.

President Bush and Mrs. Bush joined former President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush for the christening of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush CVN 77. Click here for a transcript of the GWB’s remarks. Also in attendance at the ceremony were Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, General Peter Pace, Virginia Senator George Allen, Doro Bush Koch and Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Enjoy your Saturday visit to Sanity Island

President Bush and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan held a press conference in the White House East Room today. First Lady Laura Bush spoke at fundraisers for Republican congressional candidate Joy Padgett in Granville, Ohio and for Ray Meier in Utica, N.Y. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice met with Indonesian Vice President Muhammad Yusuf Kalla at the White House. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived at Mother Teresa airport in Tirana. He will take part at the meeting of defense ministers of southeast Europe that will be held on September 27 in Albania. Enjoy your Tuesday...

Questions About Miers that Bush Needs to Answer by Phyllis Schlafly Posted Oct 14, 2005 If John G. Roberts' confirmation hearing is any guide, we won't learn anything from Harriet Miers' confirmation hearing. So here are some questions we would like President Bush to answer. You said, "Trust me." But why should we trust you when experience proves we could not trust the judgment of President Reagan (who gave us Justices O'Connor and Kennedy) or President George H.W. Bush (who gave us Justice Souter)? Are you more trustworthy than Reagan or your father? You said, "She's not going to change.......

Age 80--What's it like? Let me help you with that one. Maybe other old guys can learn something from this octogenarian. Maybe as they ache and repeat themselves and tilt when they walk and wonder how others cope, they will see they are not alone. That should encourage them to head more confidently toward the finish line. First of all, there are a lot of changes when you get to be 80. In my case, I still feel like charging ahead and living life to the hilt, but my body lags behind. My mind is out there on the playing...

Former UN diplomat and Republican presidential contender Alan Keyes of Maryland is warning that "pressure from Democrats and RINOs is building on President Bush to nominate Sandra Day O'Connor as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and hand liberal special interests everything they want -- on a platter! In a letter to "Defenders of Justice," Keyes writes: "You've seen Ted Kennedy's filibusters against conservatives federal judges set the stage for a national disaster. "Because every contact I have tells me that President Bush's political "advisors" are pressing him to make "safe" Supreme Court appointments. That is, appointments the liberals will...

Conspiracy Conspiracy fans can have a field day if Sen. John Kerry wins the Democratic nomination for president, as it appears at this time he will. Conspiracy buffs can say that, once more, the Establishment has won. Both the Democrat and the Republican nominees will be Establishment types — both are rich guys, both are Yale graduates, and both are members of the secretive and elitist Skull and Bones club at Yale. And the outsiders (Howard Dean, John Edwards and Wesley Clark) remain outside. By now, I'm used to this state of affairs and don't put a lot of stock...

A Strategy for Kerry January 29, 2004 After the first President Bush betrayed conservatives by raising taxes, in spite of his promise never to do so, many conservatives didn’t bother voting for him in 1992. This was one of the reasons he lost to Bill Clinton, who re-energized the conservative movement and brought about a Republican takeover of Congress in the 1994 elections. In the meantime, Clinton’s ambitious national health-care plan flopped. Principled conservatives should hope that history repeats itself in 2004. If John Kerry wins the presidency, Republicans may start acting a bit like conservatives again. Under the current...

Election-Year Forecast January 15, 2004 Secretary of State Colin Powell now admits, or acknowledges, or however you want to put it, that he hasn’t seen a “smoking gun” proving that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction or terrorist connections, though he says it was nonetheless “prudent” to suppose so “at the time.” The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has concluded that the Bush administration misrepresented the “threat” from Saddam Hussein. Paul O’Neill, President Bush’s former secretary of the Treasury, says Bush was determined to depose Saddam Hussein as soon as he took office, long before the 9/11 attacks, and...