by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
Former President George W. Bush took the stage Tuesday night to a standing ovation and a few particularly loud shouts of support from a woman or two in the packed Times-Union Center audience.
“Behave yourself,” he said, setting a tone of relaxed humor that punctuated his reflections during his hourlong presentation.
“I’m a content guy,” he said during the 30-minute speech followed by a 30-minute answer session with prepared questions from high-school students.
Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, spoke to a sold-out crowd of more than 2,700 people at the center’s Moran Theater, according to event co-chair Jane Vance.
It was part of the Florida Forum, a speakers’ series created by The Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital to raise funds. The hospital is part of the Downtown Southbank campus of Baptist Medical Center.
Bush’s speech was presented by Wachovia, a Wells Fargo Co.
The former president was sworn into office Jan. 20, 2001, re-elected on Nov. 2, 2004, and sworn in for a second term on Jan. 20, 2005.
A White House biography said the most significant event of his presidency was Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people on American soil.
Bush said during the presentation that when he learned of the attacks while visiting a Florida school, he thought “the first plane was an accident, the second plane was an attack and the third plane was a declaration of war.”
Bush, a Republican, was followed after his two terms by President Barack Obama. Bush didn’t refer specifically to Obama, a Democrat, during the presentation although he did speak of the presidency and referred to the “president.”
Bush said that during his visit to the area, he played golf with PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and toured Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Bush, 64, also referred frequently to his recently published autobiography, “Decision Points,” which has been on the New York Times best-seller list since its release in November.
Bush is the son of former President George H.W. Bush, the 41st president, and Barbara Bush. He is the brother of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who was in Jacksonville Feb. 17 for a speech to the NAIOP commercial real estate trade group.
Bush began his presentation Tuesday night with anecdotes.
He said that in January 2009, he was resting on the couch at home in Crawford, Texas, after leaving office and his wife, Laura, walked in.
“I said, ‘free at last,’” he said.
“She said, ‘you’re now free to do the dishes’” and mow the grass. He reminded her that “you’re talking to the former president of the United States,” to which she replied, “consider it your new domestic policy agenda.”
In another anecdote, Bush said he announced at a meeting that his wife “was the greatest first lady, then I realized Mother was in the audience.”
He suggested it be considered a tie.
Bush also said that he was asked “don’t you ever watch the news?” during his presidency.
“Not really,” he said. “I was the news.”
Bush also reflected on changes in news coverage. He said that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt used a wheelchair, but wasn’t shown in it to the general public.
However, Bush said that he was watching an NFL game and “I pass out eating a pretzel.”
White House medical staff quickly attended to him, and during the fourth quarter of the game, a news crawl on TV announced it.
“Nobody knew Roosevelt was in a wheelchair, but everybody knew I ate a pretzel,” he said.
Bush said that writing the book “came as a shock to those who thought I couldn’t read, much less write.”
He also called his brother, Jeb Bush, “an awesome dude, by the way.”
Bush reflected on principles, advice, his father, world leaders and policy decisions.
“I have zero desire to be in the news,” said Bush, explaining that he doesn’t think it’s appropriate “to be opining and undermining the current president.”
Bush talked about the role that principles play in the presidency.
“You have to be convinced that the decisions you make will lead to a better tomorrow,” he said.
Bush said that his core principles include the belief that freedom should be universal and is the “gift of almighty God.”
“Freedom will lead to the peace that we want,” he said. “Freedom was the cornerstone of my policy agenda.”
To enthusiastic applause, Bush said that his fiscal policy was “you can spend your money better than the government can.”
He said another principle is that “all life is precious.”
“You can’t be president of the United States without a firm foundation of principles,” he said.
Bush also said that “the United States should never lose the right to worship as you want.”
“We are all created equal,” he said. “All citizens should guard that right.”
Bush urged the audience to “pray for all presidents.”
He said at age 64, “I can testify that the prayers of total strangers comforted me,” although at age 21 his response to praying was “no way” and at age 30 it was “even worse.”
Before his presidency, he served for six years as governor of the State of Texas.
According to a White House biography, Bush received a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University in 1968 and served as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. Bush received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1975.
He began to write the almost 500-page “Decision Points” the day after he left office.
“Instead of covering every issue, I’ve tried to give the reader a sense of the most consequential decisions that reached my desk,” he wrote.
“I believe I got some of those decisions right, and I got some wrong. But on every one, I did what I believed was in the best interests of our country.”
In the book’s final pages, Bush wrote that it was too early to say how most of his decisions will turn out.
“Decades from now, I hope people will view me as a president who recognized the central challenge of our time and kept my vow to keep the country safe; who pursued my convictions without wavering but changed course when necessary; who trusted individuals to make choices in their lives; and who used America’s influence to advance freedom,” he wrote.
“Whatever the verdict on my presidency, I’m comfortable with the fact that I won’t be around to hear it,” wrote Bush, ending with “that’s a decision point only history will reach.”
Bush is the last of the three speakers in the Florida Forum series this season. The 2010-2011 series started with a presentation by former President Bill Clinton, followed by author and humanitarian Greg Mortenson.
The Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital sponsors the Florida Forum annually to increase awareness of the hospital’s mission and to raise money for its programs.
Funds raised from Bush’s presentation will benefit the Larry J. Freeman Behavioral Health Center at Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Freeman recently retired as administrator of the hospital.
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