Bush Offers a Rare Look at Relations With Father
It was a moment of public sentimentality that seemed almost un-Bush-like.
Speaking on C-Span on Monday, President Bush said of his father, “I am actually more concerned about him than I have ever been in my life, because he’s paying too much attention to the news.”
Mr. Bush continued: “I understand how difficult it is for a person who loves somebody to see them out in the political process and to kind of endure the criticism. My answer to him is, ‘Look, don’t pay attention to it. I’m doing fine.’ ”
His comments were a rare window into a complicated father-son relationship that has been a source of endless fascination in Washington and promises to fascinate future historians no less.
Mr. Bush has often spoken with pride of his father, and even made the case to invade Iraq in 2002 by once saying of Saddam Hussein, “After all, this is the guy who tried to kill my dad.” Yet Mr. Bush, who is more frequently likened to his strong-willed mother than his more sentimental father, has at times seemed to run his administration based on what he and his aides view as his father’s mistakes....
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Speaking on C-Span on Monday, President Bush said of his father, “I am actually more concerned about him than I have ever been in my life, because he’s paying too much attention to the news.”
Mr. Bush continued: “I understand how difficult it is for a person who loves somebody to see them out in the political process and to kind of endure the criticism. My answer to him is, ‘Look, don’t pay attention to it. I’m doing fine.’ ”
His comments were a rare window into a complicated father-son relationship that has been a source of endless fascination in Washington and promises to fascinate future historians no less.
Mr. Bush has often spoken with pride of his father, and even made the case to invade Iraq in 2002 by once saying of Saddam Hussein, “After all, this is the guy who tried to kill my dad.” Yet Mr. Bush, who is more frequently likened to his strong-willed mother than his more sentimental father, has at times seemed to run his administration based on what he and his aides view as his father’s mistakes....