Thanks, patty. Just looking at him quells the
angst in my heart ... miss him SO much and all
he humbly provided to this nation in his time
when it was most needed.
What we wouldn’t give to have him back ...
~~~~~~~~
Another speech report excerpt:
Over the course of an hour — first in a formal speech and then in a more informal audience question-and-answer session that found a frequently joking Bush reclining in an oversize lounge chair — the nation’s 43rd president was, by turns, reflective and defensive in discussing his eight years in the White House.
Appearing before a crowd of 1,800 who paid $225 to hear him speak, Bush stayed well clear of electoral politics, ducking a question from chamber Vice President Gene Barr about whom he is backing for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
“I’m going to vote for our party’s nominee,” he said.
Chamber officials did not disclose how much Bush was paid for his speech. The New York Daily News reported in May that Bush has earned $15 million in speaking fees since leaving office. He commands $100,000 to $150,000 for each appearance, the newspaper reported, citing a study by the Center for Public Integrity.
Though he stayed away from commenting directly on politics, Bush did offer comment on policy, speaking of his frustrations in trying to reform Social Security. He also stuck hard to his belief that it is up to the United States to spread freedom across the world.
“I believe freedom is a gift from the Almighty,” he said.
When Bush was asked how he felt when he learned of the death of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, who eluded American forces during his two terms in the White House, the former president said he “wasn’t joyous,” and cracked that he’d been eating crab soufflé at a Dallas restaurant when he was informed of bin Laden’s death.
“I was pleased,” he said. “I was proud of the work of our intelligence and our special [forces]. He [President Barack Obama] sent the best we had and they did the job. I knew exactly the process … I congratulated him.”
Bush often sounded less like the commander-in-chief than he did the motivator-in-chief, as he reminded a crowd primarily composed of business executives of the importance of strong leadership and putting the right people in the right jobs.
“You’ve got to be reassuring as the leader of an organization,” Bush said as he reflected on the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that defined his administration. He said he tried to do that for the country.
The dinner marked Bush’s second trip to Pennsylvania in less than a month. On Sept. 11, Bush traveled to southwestern Pennsylvania to observe the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks that sent jets into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and a field in rural Somerset County.
The actions of the passengers on United Flight 93, which went down in Somerset County, “will go down as the greatest act of courage in the history of the United States,” he said.
Although Pennsylvania boasted a popular Republican governor in 2000 in Tom Ridge, Bush lost the state to Democrat Al Gore. And he lost the state to U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., during his 2004 re-election campaign.
Bush acknowledged that Monday, joking to Barr that he enjoyed the support of “48 percent” of the crowd.
But the joke came only after a more defensive Bush told the crowd he believes it will take years before historians will be able to evaluate his legacy.
“There’s no such thing as accurate short-term history …time has to lapse … there has to be enough time for people to analyze,” he said.
And another report
http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/09/george-w-bush-finds-friendly-crowd-pa-dinner
Thanks so much for the photos, patty (he looks GREAT!), and the articles on his speech, STARWISE.
What we wouldn't give to have him back....
Amen, STARWISE! AMEN!!