The Presidency

By Hugh Sidey George Bush

For the past few weeks the world has taken a cool look at George Bush as he neared a milestone: his first 100 days in the Oval Office. Bush has gazed back at the people and the country and has formed impressions of his own. Listen to him:

Mainly the children now. We were in Union, N.J. We went up there to visit with the best achievers. And for some reason through this complicated mail system a letter had floated to our attention from a young girl who said, "There are others of us. There are some of us who work the hardest. I'm in a class for slow learners." And so we arranged for the motorcade to stop, and this girl had been positioned out there with her teacher. When we drove away -- just tears streaming down her face, the tears. I read her letter, kind of choked up. It was a beautiful thing that the girl had petitioned her President and that in some way we were at least able to respond. When I mentioned her later in this big auditorium full of the cheering best and the brightest, I could see some of the parents nodding. The President can give some encouragement to somebody like that.

There are some differences ((between being Vice President and President)). When you go up to Pennsylvania you see the people out along the streets clapping. Not for George Bush, but out of respect for the presidency. Something very moving about that, and that's different. There's still a certain respect for the institutions in this country. In this job you feel it more.

I went with ((Hosni)) Mubarak walking down the ((White House)) stairs, and I said to him, "I want you to see a little touch of our democracy. This house is the people's house." And we walked. I said, "Let's not go in the elevator. At this time of day there are tourists. I don't know who they are, but I'll guarantee you they're from all over our country." And I stopped on the stairs and said, "This is the President of Egypt." The ((people)) were calling, "Hi, George."

King Hussein was with us at Mount Vernon. It was wonderful to see him participating in our democracy by shaking hands with the school kids and teachers. They were yelling, "Hey, King!" It was a marvelous thing.

One thing I like to share with people is the Truman Balcony. You're looking across at the ((Washington)) Monument and at the Jefferson Memorial. And you see the people sometimes. If we were there right now, we'd see the people looking up past those beautiful flowers and fountains. You see the people's house symbolized by the people looking in. It's not some naive view. We're talking about the people's house, and a continuity. I said to Prime Minister Zaid Rifai,* "You guys have to come out here and see something before you leave."

Then one Sunday we were out on the third floor in the solarium up there. There was some kind of kite festival or kite tournament, and they had every crazy-looking Chinese kite and American kite and airplane kite. That's why I like to sit out. You've got to see the changes.

I've told you how I feel about going across this country, which we've done to some degree in this job. You look down and just think about the wonder of our land, particularly after you've had visits from people from abroad. You think of the tremendous diversity of our country, its strength, its decency. It's a pride that you take every time. I do every time I go outside.

FOOTNOTE: *A day after returning to Jordan from the U.S., Rifai was sacked last week by King Hussein in the wake of riots over price rises.