Former First Lady Laura Bush Says Obama's Administration is Doing All It Can on BP Oil Spill
Bush: "They're doing everything they can ... just like we did with Katrina."
June 4, 2010 — -- It's easy to cast blame about President Obama's response to the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf, but former first lady Laura Bush believes he's doing all he can to halt the growing catastrophe.
"I think they're doing everything they can do. Absolutely. Just like we did with [Hurricane] Katrina," Bush, 63, told "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts in an interview taped Wednesday that aired today. "You know, it's not one person's responsibility. The president can't do every single thing there is to do."
The economic and ecological devastation caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana in April has been called Obama's Katrina -- in reference to the deadly hurricane that devastated southern Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states in August 2005.
President George W. Bush's administration was harshly criticized for perceived inadequate preparation before the hurricane and mishandling its response to the storm's devastating effects. Obama's administration is facing mounting criticism from those who say it hasn't done enough to stem the continuous flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil giant BP was leasing the rig. The company has made several unsuccessful attempts to plug the gushing well.
Bush: It 'Doesn't Serve' to Point Fingers
The former first lady said finger-pointing was counterproductive.
"This obviously was a terrible, tragic accident. Eleven people died ... I don't think it serves to try to point fingers and make it be somebody's fault," she said of the disaster, now the worst oil spill in United States history. "I think what we should do is all come together and do every single thing we can to make sure ... the well is capped."
She added that the disaster highlighted the danger of "technology getting ahead of our capacity to handle a mishap."
On Thursday, Bush and her mother-in-law, former first lady Barbara Bush, each were presented the Beacon of Hope award by Covenant House in recognition of their work that included the promotion of youth literacy. Covenant House is a national organization that helps homeless and abused youth.
The awards were presented by the first lady's daughter, Barbara, who herself has co-founded a nonprofit organization, Global Health Corps, to recruit the next generation of leaders in global health. She is a member of Covenant House's board of directors.
'Spoken From the Heart'
The three generations of Bush women are committed not just to their humanitarian work, but to family.
Thursday night's awards were the first time the elder Barbara Bush was seen since her hospitalization earlier this year after a relapse of Graves disease.
Although she did not appear in person, the 84-year-old former first lady's videotaped remarks were broadcast at the event.
Laura bush talked with Roberts about her relationship with her mother-in-law. It's a subject which she also discussed in her new memoir, "Spoken From the Heart."
When she and her husband first married, Laura Bush said she seldom saw her mother-in-law and father-in-law, former President George H.W. Bush, because she was busy with twin daughters and they were campaigning.
That changed when the younger Bush couple moved to Washington to help George H.W. Bush run for office.
"That's when Barb and I really had a chance to bond with each other and grow to love each other," Laura Bush said.
Life After the White House
Laura Bush also shared what it was like for her to leave the White House after eight years there, describing a "feeling of buoyancy."
The hyper-vigilance that she and President Bush felt during their time in the White House slowly diminished, and she said she could "finally exhale."
"I didn't really expect that. I didn't really know what to expect when we left," she said. "I didn't really realize how stressed I was until I wasn't stressed anymore. It's a very stressful job."
The younger Barbara Bush told "GMA's" Roberts that she "loved" reading her mother's memoirs, finding out about her youth, her time in college and career as a teacher, and her parents' courtship.
Presidential Daughter: 'Mom Tweets'
Her father recently joined the digital age in a big way: This week, the former president launched his Facebook page. As of Thursday night, more than 100,000 people had "liked" it.
He's not the only member of the family to have embraced social networking. His wife also has her own Facebook page.
And that's not all.
"Mom tweets," Barbara Bush, 28, told Roberts.
"I've been tweeting on the book tour," the former first lady said. "I never thought I would do [it], but it's been really kind of fun."
She didn't know whether her husband also would start to tweet, but noted that it could happen as "the next step" in his book promotion.
"All of these things now go into publishing a book," she said.
The former president's memoirs, titled "Decision Points," is set to be released Nov. 9.
Click HERE to read a full transcript of the interview.