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

[sansho1]

Jigsaw puzzles are rarely completed satisfactorily.

[roshni]

W is handed the corner pieces and the straight edges. Total number of pieces in his puzzle: under 50.

[LightningJoe]

Cognitive Dissonance Alert (for you trolls, that means something doesn't make sense, here...)!

I refer you all to the current issue of the "Globe" -- out on the racks in check-out lines everywhere.

Seems the new house in Dallas is going to be just for Laura, who can't stand the Clown in Chief any more than I can, now. That, and a whopping settlement, are hopefully going to dissuade her from writing the truth, when she pens her memoirs over the next year or two.

Meanwhile, "Mr. President" will be nursing his legacy with his old friend Jim Beam, in Crawford.

What, would this be the first time he's lied to us???

[Mugs]

I don't see "Condi" as a rancher sure Bush isn't taking the Dallas house?

[Toonadude]

I see Rove;
I see bronco-bustin;
Ridem cowboy !!

[mec57]

Get that you can't stand him and endless others here...now how is that going to matter any longer?

[leeman79]

I got your jigsaw puzzle. How about putting this country back together.

[sws3030]

He knows how to read?

[justmemonkey]

with all that reading i wonder if he ever finished my pet goat.

[EileneLepht]

I wonder if 'My Pet Goat' will be on display in his Presidential Library

[Oxonian2001]

Yeah, I bet he's really good at jigsaw puzzles...you know the kind with a max of 5 pieces for pre-schoolers. It probably takes him 20 minutes with Laura's help and an hour without.

[kellygrrrl]

these people treat all of life like a game.
marriage is a jigsaw puzzle
war is a video game

[riseaboveit]

I'm really happy that something got better during the last eight years. i was struggling to figure out what that was and it turns out it's the Bushs' marriage. Kudos to them~!

[Retrofuturistic]

Haaaaaaaaa­aaaaaaaaaa­aaaaaa.