Bushes Discuss Their Marriage And Mutual Love Of Jigsaw Puzzles

WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush, increasingly reflective as he caps two turbulent terms in the White House, said Thursday that the pressures of the job have brought him closer to his wife, Laura.

"I give her all the credit about why I can say a good marriage has gotten better," Bush told NBC News in one of several interviews the president and the first lady are giving as they exit.

President Bush said he and his wife have "been through a lot together. It's been a fabulous journey."

"The emotional support that we give to each other and that our children give to us and we give to them ... is so necessary," Laura Bush said.

The president said he was struck by the nurturing way that his grown twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, interacted with the young daughters of President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle. Malia and Sasha Obama visited he White House recently and got tips on how to have fun at the gated mansion.

"It can be a place with a lot of love and warmth," the president said. "And ours has been that way."

Obama takes office on Jan. 20.

The Bush daughters, now 27, were teenagers when their dad mounted his first run for the White House.

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"They've become women of the world during this time in Washington, D.C.," the president said. "And they love to bring their friends in. It's neat to see them grow up."

The Bushes both described a remarkably "normal" life together in the executive mansion.

"I'm a nester," the president said. He said he and his wife typically have dinner together, just the two of them, and spend their evenings reading books.

The first lady said they also watch baseball, football or whatever the sport of the season is.

And there's this, she said: "We do puzzles. We like to do jigsaw puzzles. We have those upstairs."

President Bush of late has been detailing his post-presidency plans: building a policy institute about the expansion of freedom, writing a book and adjusting to a quieter life.

"And then," he said, "I'm sure I'll be doing what Laura tells me to do."

Comments

[RationalDubSteppa]

Does anybody else besides misogyny inclined evangelicals care about these two as a couple? Sheesh they're like a bad 50's sitcom... you know the whole "husband" with the big powerful job and the "wife" as the soft spoken meek house wife... it's all so ... well... boring.

[Retrofuturistic]

"A policy institute about the expansion of freedom."

Huh? What about all the freedoms he took away from Americans?

[IllinoisTexan43]

What, no one asked Laura how she feels towards Condi? Should be interesting to see where she ends up.

[MaximMaximus]

I presume the Bush's have selective memory about GW's alcoholism, failure as a father and husband, and their daughters' drug & Alcohol problems (and one of them's promiscuous student life at the University of TX). Your exemplary conservative Evangelical family. Quite paradoxial!

[stunsitfel]

The mighty and perfect one has spoken. One of the wonders of this world is that if someone truly loves you they can forgive. You obviously live alone.

Go feed your cat.

[1003]

Oh please! These two are so fake, it make me sick!!

[CARF]

AMEN... BIG TIME.....

[galinha]

George and Laura Bush do seem to have a genuine affection for each other. I don't see any difference in their relationship with the Obamas.

[realtalkingnow]

I really think Bush is drinking again!! I feel sorry for Laura, because it is almost a guarantee that Bush will start hitting the sauce regularly, from morning to night. This is man who will have NOTHING at all to do all day long, other than ride his horses all day long, or go on bike rides, or walks with his dog, and all those he will be doing while drunk.

[nana4g]

He doesn't have horses; never have seen him on or near a horse. He just chops mesquite brush on his "ranch". With no financial or health care worries, he will ride into the sunset and live off us as we struggle to provide the basic necessities of life and she can go shopping and go to lunch and to the hairdresser as she has done as First Lady in the Governor's Mansion and the White House.

"A policy institute....?" the last President of all to focus on "Policies" or anything of any substance. He will have difficulty getting his Presidential Library funded, much less anything else.

What a waste! What could either one of these people have to contribute? Dallas and Crawford, two of the most culturally unattractive areas of Texas, as bland as they are.

[kotexbarbie]

What a load of Cr@ap! Bushie knows how to read?

[thaggas]

A love of jigsaw puzzles? Does Laura have to put them together and keep George from eating the pieces? What a woman!

This "love of puzzles" is certainly contrary to the past eight years. For a president that couldn't put together a cohesive sentence, a functioning cabinet or justification for any executive move, it seems puzzle pieces might be a bit "above his pay grade" as they say.

[Jetling]

Actually, he loves four-piece jigsaw puzzles. No Ravensbergers for Curious George!

[kareemachan]

President Bush of late has been detailing his post-presidency plans: building a policy institute about the expansion of freedom, writing a book and adjusting to a quieter life.

Sorry for yelling, but WHAT THE EFFING EFF DOES SHRUB KNOW ABOUT EXPANSION OF FREEDOM. (Takes deep breath, lets it out.)

[mec57]

Some anger issues to work through...I frankly am happy Bush is gone and seeing the movie W gave me a new viewpoint of how truly tragic this man is...Shakespearean tragic, to be more exact.

[kotexbarbie]

Warm fuzzies for a war c r i m i n a l ?

[Retrofuturistic]

No. What he did to the country is TRAGIC.

[Giada]

Did he hire a PR firm so his exit with Laura would look, "pretty?"

"I'm so pretty, oh so pretty, so pretty and witty and gay."

Another failed performance by America's most incompetent president.

[Toonadude]

According to Georgie: "It's been a fabulous journey."

I've lost count as to how many wood chopin', brush clearin' Texas rancher studs I've met who consistently use the phrase "fabulous" just like Bush does.

[mec57]

OK, Ok. we get the incompetence...we got it ages ago...can we say overplayed?

[kotexbarbie]

This administration broke Iraq, broke our environment, broke our budget, broke our economy and BROKE CAPITALISM. Can we say overplayed? YES WE CAN.

[GeoLee]

Gosh, Bill Clinton and Hillary completed the New York Times Crossword puzzles in 10 minutes a day and George and Laura complete jug saw puzzles together. And the republicans try to tell us George is so intelligent. In my family we started doing jigsaw puzzles at age 2, but by about 14 we had moved to completing the daily cryptograms, jumbles, and crosswords and rarely ever do jigsaws unless at a large family get together such as at Christmas, but even then are now much more likely to be playing Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Quiddler, You've Been Sentenced or games actually requiring intelligence and not just visual discrimination of shapes and colors. No wonder our nation is it the fix it is if that is the level of depth of the leaders! I guess their favorite jigsaw was the one of the United States done in red and blue.

[mec57]

Why is everyone so obsesssed by this? The man has some serious problems...yeah, tell me about it...can we turn the page now and stop this endless routine of silly piling on? I don't care about him any longer, I don't care about his opinions, and I don't want to hear about his plans.

[Retrofuturistic]

We're obsessed because he's still in office, and he wasn't impeached.

WHY wasn't he impeached? Because WE have NO representation!

[robXdion]

This looks so fake and contrived. It's like they're trying so hard to imitate the Obama's chemistry. What happened to all the talk of his drinking and her threats to leave him?

[Agentlady007]

Let us pray that these two honorable people from American History , write their story just like Jimmy and Rose.

[roshni]

Which two would those be?

[VOTER]

Why is anyone willing to interview these two and listen to their dribble and spin?
Stop it!
Isn't it time for the press to look around and admit this man is responsible for
all of the hell here and with his War of Choice? If they are going to interview
them, the questions should be only about the damage done by George.

STOP THE SPIN!

[mec57]

It's a little variation on the mind-numbing attack, attack, attack, slime, defame, run down and belittle that has become too much a part of the liberal blog mantra for too long...how many times do we need to know how stupid Bush is? I KNOW he's not a bright bulb, but at this point, who really cares? Yes, he committed war crimes, how many times does THAT need to be recanted? And what do you think will ever happen to him regarding that? The Dems are signaling they aren't going to do sh-t about it out of a fear of seeming "vengeful", so we can kiss the prospect of him being behind bars goodbye.