Bush Bashing, Parental Advice and November Politics

Oct. 5, 2006 — -- Charles Gibson interviewed former President George Bush at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia before Bush was awarded the 2006 Liberty Medal for his fundraising efforts with former President Clinton. The following is a partial transcript of the interview:

Charles Gibson: Mr. President, what's your take on what's going on right now with Speaker Hastert in the House?

George H.W. Bush: Charles, you won't believe this. This will be incredible. I do not follow it nearly as closely as I did when I was in Washington. I'm out of that. However, I don't know, I mean I suppose Hastert, I think as we're talking is saying something, so, but I hope he stays there. I like him, I respect him, and he's a good man, and that's all I know.

Gibson: He's told people that you called him to express your support.

Bush: That's what I told him yester -- and it was yesterday. I just was tired of hearing all the flack about him, implying that a guy might've, not been corrupt necessarily but improper. And, uh ... I know -- [LAUGHS] I know him so well that I just wanted to express my, my strong conviction that he's a good man and hope he hangs in there.

Gibson: It's a question though, overall, of … institutions.

Bush: That's right.

Gibson: We're in an age when the approval rating of the president in the polls is in the- around 40 percent. I won't ask to -- you to comment on that because --

Bush: Except I'd like to say I think it's a hell of a lot better than 33 percent.

Gibson: It's -- it's up some. And the approval rating of the Congress is way down --

Bush: Yeah --

Gibson: -- in the 20s. Does that bespeak an American disillusionment with institutions, that we ought to worry about?

Bush: Oh, I don't think so, it seems to me we go through this from time to time, I remember the numbers of Congress being very low, in one of the years when I was there. And I, I … I just think what goes around comes around, I think it's -- I think, the American people, basically support their own representatives. They may not support the institution of the Congress, but they support their congressmen, their senators, and I think we see that because we don't see that much change, in the numbers of senators or the number of House members.

Gibson: But you worry in an instance like this whether the Congress is protecting its own, or the young kids who are there, to serve --

Bush: Well, if I thought that there -- we were -- it -- the speaker or somebody was protecting the status quo, and not protecting the kids I would be very upset about that. I'm sure there were some maybe that fit that description. But I don't think that's the speaker.

Gibson: We are in an age it seems when the leadership in Congress, is under fire all the time, you go back to Jim Wright, from Texas, Tom DeLay from Texas, Trent Lott from Mississippi, Newt Gingrich who got run out because of improprieties, Bob Livingstone who was going to speaker --

Bush: Yep.

Gibson: And now, Speaker Hastert under fire. What's going on in Washington that this happens so often?

Bush: I don't know, but I don't go down there much anymore as I told you earlier, Charles, it's depressing in a sense 'cause there's, there's a climate of incivility that worries me. Hostility … makes singling out people that disagree with you because there's a difference on an issue or something, and that's not good. I'm not sure it's brand new, that kinda divisiveness. But I, I don't like it, and I think it discourages some people from getting into public life. But I hope it'll pass and I hope we come together and work together and all of that.

Gibson: In 1988 when you … or 1989 when you assumed the presidency you spoke about an outstretched hand to the other party. Other Presidents, President Clinton talked about the same thing, your son talked about the same thing and yet it does seem, that Washington is more divisive, more bitter than ever.

Bush: Well, that's true, but we got some things done, thanks to the cooperation of the Democrats who controlled both the House and the Senate. I would mention the ADA bill, or I'd mention, there was one other -- oh, the Clean -- Clean Air Act.

Gibson: Clean Air Act.

Bush: And these things could not happen without bipartisan cooperation. Actually we didn't get too much bipartisan cooperation on international affairs, but they didn't, they didn't frustrate the president. So, I think it's, I think there's always gonna be contention. What I don't like to do is see it personal and, and vindictive. Retaliatory.

Gibson: But isn't it that, right now, isn't the thrust --

Bush: I think to some degree it is. I think to some degree it is. And that doesn't help the institution of the Congress, as I think you implied. But, I also think at 82-years-old this too shall pass.

Gibson: But it does seem, at least in my time in Washington that it does see that the divisiveness and the politicalization of everything, gets more and more strident.

Bush: It's true but … go back in history to the civil rights days. And, I think you'll find that some of the debates, some of the acrimony, was pretty high. Differences on how to treat with civil rights. Particularly back in the days of segregation. And so, history has a lot of times when this gets, gets edgy like this, but, maybe this is worse, I don't know.

Gibson: Anything you can think of that would change the tone?

Bush: [PAUSE] No, no, there's really not. I think after the elections, some of this is election politics, running up to the Congressional elections in the fall. And after that I think there'll be a real opportunity to get together on things. I think the war is dividing some of the participants in the Congress, some of the Democrats versus Republicans. Judicial nominee -- nominees, the flash-point for differences. And they'll always be there. But I think after the election it'll calm down, I really do. Because I think Democrats and Republicans want it to be more civil.