Barbara Bush

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Barbara Bush (born Barbara Pierce; June 8, 1925 to September 17, 2018) was the first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993 as the wife of George H. Bush, the nation's 41st president, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

She served as the second lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989.

Jeb Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, and Jeb Bush, the 43rd governor of Florida, are among her six children.

Barbara Pierce was born in New York City and mother of another. Abigail Adams is the only two women to be both the wife of one president and the mother of another.

She married George Herbert Walker Bush in Rye, New York, in 1945, when he was on leave during his deployment as a Naval officer in World War II. In 1948, they moved to Texas, where George later began his political career.

Early life

Barbara Pierce was born on June 8, 1925, at Booth Memorial Hospital, which at the time was located at 314 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, to Pauline Pierce (née Robinson) and Marvin Pierce. She was born in Rye, New York, suburbs. Her father served as president of McCall Corporation, the publisher of the widely circulated women's magazines Redbook and McCall's. Martha (1920–1999) and James (1922–1993), as well as Scott (1930–2022). Thomas Pierce Jr., an ancestor of Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, was also an ancestor of Franklin Pierce Jr. She was Benjamin Pierce's fourth cousin, four times removed of Franklin Pierce and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Pierce and her three children were born in a house on Onondaga Street in Rye. She attended Milton Public School from 1931 to 1937, Rye Country Day School from 1940, and later the boarding school Ashley Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, from 1940 to 1943. Pierce was an athlete who loved swimming, tennis, and bike riding in her youth. She began reading early in life, and she recalled gathering and discussing with her family in the evenings.

Political life

George Bush was elected as a Texas representative in Congress in 1966. Barbara raised her children while her husband campaigned and occasionally joined him on the trail. George Bush was elected or appointed to a number of positions in the US Congress, executive branch, or government-related posts throughout the years, and Barbara Bush followed him in each case.

Barbara, the wife of a congressman, embedded herself in Washington, D.C., among many charities and Republican women's organizations. Despite her husband's second attempt to the Senate in 1970, President Richard Nixon appointed him as the United States ambassador to the United Nations, which allowed Barbara to begin establishing relationships with prominent diplomats in New York City. Nixon asked Bush to serve as Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973, but Barbara advised her husband not to accept because of the harsh political climate, but he accepted anyway.

Gerald Ford, Nixon's replacement, named Bush as the head of the People's Republic of China in 1974, and the Bushes relocated. She loved the time she spent in China and when riding bicycles with her husband to discover towns and regions that few Americans had never explored. Bush was recalled to the United States to serve as Director of Central Intelligence during a critical time of legal uncertainty for the department three years ago. He was not allowed to reveal classified information of his work with Barbara; her subsequent feeling of loneliness, as well as her belief that she was not achieving her goals when other women of her time were, pushed her into depression. She did not need professional assistance, and she did not need to look for someone to help. Rather, she began delivering speeches and presentations about her time in China's closed-off areas and volunteering at a hospice.

When she announced her candidacy for President of the United States in 1980, Barbara Bush defended her husband's skills and personal attributes. She caused a stir when she said she supported ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and was pro-choice on abortion, effectively ending her on the left wing of the Republican Party, led by California governor Ronald Reagan. Reagan received the presidential nomination for her husband, who later accepted Reagan's call to be his running mate; the team was established in 1980.

Barbara Bush's eight years as second lady gave her a household name. After her son Neil was diagnosed with dyslexia, she became interested in literacy and began working with many different literacy groups. She spent a lot of time researching and learning about the reasons that contributed to illiteracy—she suspected homelessness was also linked—and that the fight against both was ongoing. She travelled around the country and the world, whether with the vice president on official trips or by herself. C. Fred's Story, a children's book that chronicled a family's life as related by their cocker spaniel, C. Fred, 1984. All of the book's funds were donated to literacy charities by the author.

Bush was used to speaking in front of audiences by the mid-1980s and regularly spoke to promote causes in which she believed. She became known for her humour and self-deprecating humor. Barbara made news when she told the press that she could not say on television what she heard of vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro's name, but "it rhymes with wealthy." Bush said she did not intend to insult Ferraro after being chastised for the remark.

Vice President George Bush declared his candidacy for president over President Reagan in 1988. Barbara had two presidential campaigns by this time, but she broke new ground by becoming the third candidate's spouse to address the national party convention where her husband was nominated (after Eleanor Roosevelt in 1940 and Pat Nixon in 1972). She told voters that she would be a traditional first lady and that she would campaigned for her husband. At times, the campaign honed in on the wealthy Bush family and compared her to incumbent first lady Nancy Reagan by emphasizing her interest in domestic staples such as church, gardening, and time spent with family while less focused on style sense and fashion; she pointed to both her popular white hair and disinterest in wearing designer clothes. During the campaign, she largely avoided discussing political topics, particularly those concerning her husband's hesitance, and those closely involved with the campaign, who have confirmed that she was actively involved in campaign policy. Bush was first elected in November 1988 and sworn in on January 20, 1989.

Barbara Bush's cause as first lady, and she referred to it as "the most important issue we have." She became involved with many literacy groups, served on literacy committees, and chaired numerous literacy associations. She later helped establish the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She continued to work toward ending the illiteracy cycle in America by funding activities where parents and their young children are able to participate together. Statistics from the early 1980s showed that 35 million adults could not read above the eighth grade level and that 23 million were unable to read beyond a fourth-grade level. Mrs. Bush appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to address the situation and also spoke regularly on Mrs. Bush's Story Time, a national radio service that stressed the importance of reading aloud to children. Jeb Bush and Dorothy Bush Koch, both of her children, are co-chairs of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Mrs. Bush remained active in the foundation and served as honorary chair throughout her lifetime.

Mrs. Bush spoke out in favor of abortion rights, LGBT rights, civil rights, and AIDS awareness.

"Among [Mrs. Bush's] greatest accomplishments" during her death, then-President Donald Trump made a tweet announcing that literacy is a fundamental family value that needs nurturing and protection."

She was involved in the White House Historical Association and helped revive the White House Preservation Fund, which she renamed the White House Endowment Trust. The trust raises funds for the White House's ongoing renovations and restoration. She achieved her target of raising $25 million for the endowment. Barbara Bush was identified as the friendliest and most likable of the First Ladies with whom they had worked.

Barbara Bush became the first woman to be a winner of the Henry G. Freeman Jr. Pin Money Fund, earning $36,000, the majority of which went to favorite charities.

Bush was known for her love for her pet English Springer Millie, and she wrote a children's book about Millie's new litter of puppies. Millie was even included in her official White House portrait, which was painted by Candace Whittemore Lovely.

Every day, she and her husband were bombarded by "how much have changed" since they became president and first lady. Bush tried to travel by train and commercial plane in lieu of a limousine. The Secret Service's leadership was partially opposed to her wishes; the agents admitted to the little car but did not endorse commercial air and train travel. At that time, the number of assaults against the first lady was much higher than that of the vice president. Despite the Secret Service's opposition, Bush decided to use public transport. The fact that her flights would be delayed was put her off, was put off, as agents checked out the planes and luggage. After her daughter Robin died, Bush's plane on which she travelled was named "Bright Star" in honor of the leukemia foundation her husband and Hugh Liedtke established after her daughter's death.

In 1990, she delivered the Wellesley College commencement address; her address was ranked #45 in American Rhetoric's Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century, ranked by rank.

Barbara Bush said during her husband's 1992 presidential campaign that abortion and homosexuality are personal matters and that the Republican Party should not take a stand on them, adding that "the personal stuff should be left out of," says the Republican Party's spokesperson. Her personal views on abortion were unknown, but her coworkers said she "strongly supports abortion rights" at the time. "I hate abortions, but I could not make that choice for someone else," she said.

In March 1989, she announced that she had Graves' disease, which is also a hyperactive thyroid ailment; the disease also affected her husband. Two biologically unrelated people in the same household are unlikely to experience Graves disease within two years of each other. President Bush said of his wife that "She is doing just fine." And I suspect her doctors would say the same thing. Grave's disease has been under control, and she has the ability to treat it.

At Texas A&M University, she became an alumna initiate of the Texas Eta chapter of Pi Beta Phi in 2002. Due to the location of her husband's Presidential Library, Bush chose this university. She was a member of the Junior League of Houston.

It was revealed in March 2019 that she no longer identified herself as a member of the Republican Party at the time of her death.

Bush's husband died in his bid for re-election to Bill Clinton in the end. The couple lived at the River Oaks neighborhood in Houston, Texas, and the Bush compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, after leaving the White House. Bush called January 20, 1993, the day Bill Clinton's inauguration, a "tough day" for her and her husband. The two families were visited by George W. Bush's son after returning to Houston, and at that point, Bush discovered that she hadn't cooked in 12 years. She had trouble driving a car on her own, and she didn't drive far from home for a long time; her husband told people to get out of the way if they saw her car. Bush was surprised when her husband booked them on the Regal Princess, a month after her husband left office in February 1993. Bush and her husband dined breakfast with Margaret Thatcher, the former British Prime Minister who was on an American speaking tour in April 1993. At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Thatcher referred to the most recent commemoration of former President Ronald Reagan's birthday, where he orated the same card twice. Bush talked about the incident after Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which she described as a "tragedy for both" the Reagans.

In the 1994 gubernatorial election, Bush tried to convince her son George W. Bush not to run for Governor of Texas. She was conditioned that he would not beat Ann Richards, but the election was carried on. Several days after being sworn in as Governor of Texas, Lady Bird Johnson attended a Distinguished Speakers Function at the LBJ Library. There, she was welcomed by her son, the new governor of Texas, and the following day, she received a letter from him, in which he said he would not have been governor if it wasn't for her and George H. W. Bush. Both she and her husband were "moved" by the letter, according to Mrs. Bush. The Bushes went to Vietnam on September 3, 1995. Barbara said it was "unbelievable" to her because she had "never meant" to set foot in what had been North Vietnam. The Bushes were first taken to Hanoi and then to Ho Chi Minh City. They met with President Lê c Anh and party secretary Mái. The Bushes traveled to Portland, Maine, on September 28, 1995, for the opening of the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. "Long after I am gone this hospital will be here with my name," Bush said. Mrs. Bush started to miss her daughter Robin after seeing them at the Bushes. Early in the month, the Bushes returned home.

After he declared his presidential bid in June 1999, Bush campaigned for her son George W. Bush. She traveled around the country with women who endorsed his campaign, but she remained skeptical about her chances of winning. With her rejection of any criticism of her son that was mentioned in her presence, the resentment toward the campaign vexed. In comparison to her husband, who was keen to listen and watch every debate, she refused to attend any of the debates. This caused friction between the two people.

Several schools have been credited to her: three primary schools and two middle schools in Texas, as well as an elementary school in Mesa, Arizona. The Barbara Bush Library in Harris County, Texas, and the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, were both named for her. She served on the boards of AmeriCares and the Mayo Clinic as well as the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

She replied:

When Bush told the radio program Marketplace, she was visiting a Houston relief center for people affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The remarks sparked controversies. Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush–Clinton Katrina Fund in 2006 on the understanding that the charity do business with an educational software firm owned by her son Neil Bush.

Barbara Bush and her partner George opened the "George and Barbara Bush Center" on the University of New England's waterfront Biddeford Campus a few miles north of Walker's Point on October 3, 2008. Barbara Bush's history in Maine is based on the George and Barbara Bush Center's "The Bush Legacy Collection," which includes memorabilia on loan from the George H. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University. Particular attention is paid to the family's New England roots and Barbara Bush's love for Maine.

Bush was interviewed by Larry King in November 2010 about former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. "I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful, and I think she's very happy in Alaska, and I hope she'll stay there." Palin replied, "I don't want to know that we have to get used to this kind of thing" because the majority of Americans don't want to participate in the navy—and I say it with all seriousness because they love the Bushes—but, rather than allowing competition to pick and select their winners, the blue-bloods, who want to select and select their winners.

Bush was initially opposed to her son Jeb's potential for the presidency; she believed that other families should have a chance at the country's highest office and that "we've had enough Bushes." However, she regained her role and appeared in a campaign ad for him. She started running for him in New Hampshire, an early voting state, beginning in February 2016. Prior to his presence, Jeb Bush joked that a town hall meeting attended by his mother featured a larger audience than town halls. Concerning her son, she felt that Jeb was almost too well-mannered, but also that he is "decent and honest, and everything we need in a president." George Bush weighed in on Donald Trump, Jeb's nominee for the nomination. She said she could not understand how women "will vote for someone who said what she said about Megyn Kelly" by her own admission. She also stated that she was dissatisfied with Trump's behavior throughout the campaign, and that, due to her gender, she was "not crazy about what she says about women." Jeb defended his mother "is the most beautiful woman I know" during a CBS Republican debate in February 2016, to which Trump replied that Bush herself "should be running."

Bush and Abigail Adams are the only two women in the United States to have been married to both a president and the mother of a president.

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