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Laura Bush Opens Up About Crash
NYT ^ | 042810 | Anahad O'Conner

Posted on 04/28/2010 5:47:44 AM PDT by Artemis Webb

Laura Bush has finally opened up publicly about the mysterious car accident she had when she was 17, a crash that claimed the life of a high school friend on a dark country road in Midland, Tex.

In her new book, “Spoken From the Heart,” Mrs. Bush describes in vivid detail the circumstances surrounding the crash, which has haunted her for most of her adult life and which became the subject of questions and speculation when it was revealed during her husband’s first presidential run. A copy of the book, scheduled for release in early May, was obtained by The New York Times at a bookstore.

On several occasions in the book, Mrs. Bush admonishes her husband’s political adversaries for “calling him names,” and she pointedly rebuts criticism of some of his key decisions. She suggested that his highly criticized fly-over of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina was in the best interests of the victims and aid workers on the ground.

“He did not want one single life to be lost because someone was catering to the logistical requirements of a president,” she says about the Katrina fly-over. “He did not want his convoy of vehicles to block trucks delivering water or food or medical supplies, or to impede National Guardsmen from around the nation who were arriving to help.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: georgewbush; laurabush
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1 posted on 04/28/2010 5:47:44 AM PDT by Artemis Webb
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To: Artemis Webb

I’m not sure of what to make of her explanation.


2 posted on 04/28/2010 5:52:25 AM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: Artemis Webb

I miss Laura -- particularly when she's compared to the Wee Wee's Wookie

3 posted on 04/28/2010 5:53:59 AM PDT by Zakeet (Will Rogers never met the Wee Wee)
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To: Artemis Webb
He did not want one single life to be lost because someone was catering to the logistical requirements of a President.

Believe whatever you will about his policies while in office, but George W. Bush was a good, caring, unselfish man who brought honor to the Presidency. "Miss me yet?" Yes, Mr. President, more than I can say.

4 posted on 04/28/2010 5:54:18 AM PDT by Genoa (Luke 12:2)
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To: pnh102

I think she handled it poorly but she was 17 at the time.


5 posted on 04/28/2010 5:54:54 AM PDT by Artemis Webb (DeMint 2012----Remember May 20th is "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day")
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To: Genoa

Agree. I take exception to the belief that he didnt care or is racist. That is just stupid. Quite frankly I am in the camp that thinks he did just fine, a little slow but.. just sayin.....


6 posted on 04/28/2010 5:55:59 AM PDT by GoCards ("We eat therefore we hunt...")
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To: Artemis Webb

She made a mistake. She ran a stop sign. It happens. There are many in the country, even on this board, who believe that every accident is a crime and someone should always go to prison. I wish my life were that perfect.

The press loves to wallow in sanctimony.


7 posted on 04/28/2010 5:57:37 AM PDT by stinkerpot65 (Global warming is a Marxist lie.)
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To: GoCards

Slow? He was the only one engaged from the get-go. He had to call the Governor of LA while he was resting Waco to get her to call for an evacuation. He got federal agencies on board before the hurricane even hit and the Coast Guard and Navy were out rescuing people before the storm subsided. He did more than his own job.

ALL of the failure lies with the Governor and local authorities who failed to follow their own procedures and disaster plans and blunted the federal response... and then whined to the cameras.

I lived on the coast down there and Katrina initially took a bead directly on my house... I watched the process intently from beginning to end. I don’t go for historical revisionism.


8 posted on 04/28/2010 6:02:17 AM PDT by pgyanke (You have no "rights" that require an involuntary burden on another person. Period. - MrB)
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To: stinkerpot65
The press loves to wallow in sanctimony.

Of course, a much older Ted Kennedy also killed someone with his car, but the press gives him a free pass for that.

9 posted on 04/28/2010 6:02:22 AM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: pnh102

What would you like her to say?


10 posted on 04/28/2010 6:02:36 AM PDT by netmilsmom (I am Ilk)
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To: stinkerpot65
I caused a major accident once. Closed the highway. Medic copters flying in. I was in my early 20s, two days before Christmas, on my way to the laundromat. I was inching out to make a left, you know how people inch out when the light is green, and if the traffic flow never stops, they wait until the light turns red and then scoot across the oncoming lane? That's what I did. 2 lanes stopped. One lane I didn't see coming, a flash of white, and then blammo.

I felt horrible. I remember a lawyer friend of mine at the time said "That's why they call them accidents." Since then, I don't inch out on left turns anymore. I stop at the line, and I wait, and make sure traffic is clear and that I have the right of way.

11 posted on 04/28/2010 6:02:48 AM PDT by Huck (Q: How can you tell a party is in the majority? A: They're complaining about the fillibuster.)
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To: pgyanke
ALL of the failure lies with the Governor and local authorities who failed to follow their own procedures and disaster plans and blunted the federal response... and then whined to the cameras.

On top of that, contrast that idiot governor's bungling to the more competant leadership provided by the governors of Mississippi and Alabama. They had evacuations done well before the storm hit and while there was a lot of property damage there were far fewer deaths.

12 posted on 04/28/2010 6:04:49 AM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: Zakeet

The first wookie reminds me of the Incredible Hulk. Except she isn’t green.


13 posted on 04/28/2010 6:05:08 AM PDT by dennisw (It all comes 'round again --Fairport)
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To: pnh102
I’m not sure of what to make of her explanation.

How so? It seemed perfectly clear and logical to me.

Also of interest considering the same thing may have happened to GHW Bush in Japan.

Mrs. Bush also suggests, apparently for the first time, that she, Mr. Bush, and several members of their staff may have been poisoned during a visit to Germany for a G8 Summit. They all became mysteriously sick, and the president was bedridden for part of the trip. The Secret Service investigated the possibility they were poisoned, she writes, but doctors could only conclude that they all contracted a virus. After noting several high-profile poisonings, she wrote, “we never learned if any other delegations became ill, or if ours, mysteriously, was the only one.”

14 posted on 04/28/2010 6:05:27 AM PDT by Mind-numbed Robot (Not all that needs to be done needs to be done by the government)
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To: Mind-numbed Robot; netmilsmom

True... I drank more coffee and re-read it. I am guessing she was very lucky to not have been charged with a more serious crime for causing an accident.


15 posted on 04/28/2010 6:08:23 AM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: pnh102

I agree.

Some mistakes we make when we are young are stupid and we gloss by them.
Some are very serious and we live with them forever.

I’m glad no one holds me accountable for what I did when I was 17.


16 posted on 04/28/2010 6:10:51 AM PDT by netmilsmom (I am Ilk)
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To: Zakeet
"the Wee Wee's Wookie"

Good one!

Might qualify for moniker of the day ... stay tuned.

17 posted on 04/28/2010 6:10:57 AM PDT by knarf (I say things that are true ... I have no proof ... but they're true)
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To: pgyanke

Dubya’s main mistake in handling Katrina’s issue was that he voluntarily owned it, by saying “I’m responsible for some of the failures.” He’s a nice person, and felt deeply sad about what happened, but I don’t think that’s a good move, politically. His poll numbers started to spiral down since then.


18 posted on 04/28/2010 6:10:58 AM PDT by paudio (Are you better off today than in 2006, when the Democrats took over the Congress?)
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To: Mind-numbed Robot
...“we never learned if any other delegations became ill, or if ours, mysteriously, was the only one.”

Doesn't seem too hard to learn if other delegations became ill.

19 posted on 04/28/2010 6:11:16 AM PDT by decimon
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To: Artemis Webb

Talking about Pres. Bush flying over the area of the Katrina disaster so as not to disrupt the rescue efforts with his entourage and security. I bet if the 0ne was POTUS at the time, I am sure he would be on the ground and disrupting the efforts to make himself look good.


20 posted on 04/28/2010 6:12:09 AM PDT by CORedneck
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