Bush On Convicted Ken Lay: "He's A Good Guy"...

Transcript:

KING: The death of Ken Lay.

G. BUSH: Yes, yes.

KING: I know he was your friend. How do you feel? Were you shocked?

G. BUSH: I was. I was very surprised. You know, just -- my hope is that his heart was right with the Lord, and I feel real sorry for his wife. She's had a rough go, and she's now here on earth to bear the burdens of losing her husband, a man she loved.

KING: Was that whole thing, the whole Enron story shocking to you?

G. BUSH: Yes, yes.

KING: Because, I mean, you knew him pretty well from Texas, right?

G. BUSH: Pretty well, pretty well. I knew him. I got to know him. This -- people don't believe this, but he actually supported Ann Richards in the '94 campaign.

KING: She told me that.

G. BUSH: She did?

KING: She liked him a lot.

G. BUSH: Yes, he's a good guy. And so what I did -- then did was we had a business council, and I kept him on as the chairman of the business council. And, you know, got to know him and got to see him in action.

One of the things I respected him for was he was such a contributor to Houston's civil society. He was a generous person. I'm disappointed that there was this -- he betrayed the trust of shareholders, but...

KING: Did you know him well, Mrs. Bush?

L. BUSH: I knew him. Not really well, but I did know him.

KING: Did you know his wife?

L. BUSH: And I know Linda and I'm sorry for her.

KING: Did you contact her?

L. BUSH: I haven't.

G. BUSH: I haven't yet. I'm going to write her a letter at some point in time.