Washington, Oct 22: Barbara Bush, former first lady and mother of the current US President, writes candidly about the different governing styles of her husband and son in her memoirs. Published yesterday, her book "Reflections: Life After the White House" says this about her husband and former president George Bush (1989-1993): "... The greatest thing he did was to teach us how to keep the peace by staying close to our allies."
In some 400 pages, the 78-year-old Barbara Bush recalls the years passed since she and her husband left the White House in 1993 to successor Bill Clinton.
In that time, her eldest son George W Bush climbed the political ladder to become governor of Texas in 1994 and US President in 2001. His younger brother Jeb, meanwhile, was elected governor of Florida in 1999.
Barbara Bush, who descends from US President Franklin Pierce (1853-1857), does not conceal her pride in being at the center of the Bush political clan.
"Suddenly, one out of every eight Americans was governed by one of our sons," she said after Jeb Bush's electoral victory in 1999.
While she greatly respects President George W Bush, she makes it clear her role as mother comes first . "Get your feet off the table," she scolded her son and already US President when he relaxed at the family estate in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Bureau Report