Barbara Bush (First Lady)
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Barbara Pierce Bush (born June 8, 1925) is the wife of the 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, and was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of current U.S. President George W. Bush and Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and the sister of Scott Pierce.
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Early life
Barbara Pierce was the third child of the former Pauline Robinson (1896-1949) and her husband, Marvin Pierce (1893-1969), who later became president of McCall Corporation, the publisher of the popular women's magazines Redbook and McCall's. She was born and raised in the suburban town of Rye, New York, near New York City and went to Rye Country Day School, followed by boarding school at Ashley Hall in Charleston, South Carolina.
Her ancestor, an early New England colonist named Thomas Pierce, was also the ancestor to Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States.
Her mother — whom W magazine once described as "beautiful, fabulous, critical, and meddling" and "a former beauty from Ohio with extravagant tastes" — was killed in a car accident. The accident was caused when her husband, who was driving, lost control when he reached over to stop a cup of hot coffee from sliding across the seat onto his wife. The car crashed into a stone wall, killing her instantly.
Marriage and family
It was at a dance during Christmas vacation when she was 17 that she met George H. W. Bush, a student at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. One and a half years later, the two engaged, just before he went off to World War II as a Navy torpedo bomber pilot. When he returned on leave, she had dropped out of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Two weeks later, on January 6, 1945, they married. After the war, he graduated from Yale University, and they moved to Midland, Texas. Six children were born to them:
- George W. Bush (6 July 1946- ) 43rd President of the United States and 46th Governor of Texas
- Pauline Robinson "Robin" Bush (20 December 1949 - October 11, 1953, died of leukemia);
- John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (11 February 1953- ); 43rd Governor of Florida
- Neil Mallon Bush (22 January 1955- );
- Marvin Pierce Bush (22 October, 1956- )
- Dorothy Bush Koch (August 18, 1959 - ).
Meanwhile, George H. W. Bush built a business in the oil industry. The Bush family moved 29 times over the years. She raised her children while her husband, who served in a variety of government jobs, was away.
First Lady of the United States
Image:Barbara bush interview.jpg
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Later life
Today, she lives with her husband in Houston, Texas, and at their sprawling estate, the Bush Compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. Two primary schools in Texas, a Houston Independent School District school, and a school in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie, are named after her. The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine is named after Bush. Also named for her is one of George W. Bush's twin daughters. They are frequent honored guests at the White House. She serves on the Boards of AmeriCares and the Mayo Clinic, and heads the Barbara Bush Foundation.
Controversies
Barbara Bush is well-known for delivering tart comments and sometimes controversial opinions. On March 18, 2003, she stated on ABC's Good Morning America [1], [2].
- "Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? Oh, I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"
Critics said that this statement showed how callous and cold she is, while supporters countered that she was merely dismissing speculation of deaths before the Iraq War began. On September 5, 2005, while visiting Hurricane Katrina relief centers in Houston, TX, she stated on the NPR program "Marketplace (Audio clip):.
- "Almost everyone I've talked to says, 'We're gonna move to Houston.' What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas... Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality, and so many of the people in the arenas here, you know, were underprivileged anyway. This is working very well for them."
Critics called these comments elitist and racist (the 15,000 evacuees in the Astrodome were mostly poor and black) [3] [4], while supporters countered that she was expressing the gratitude she had heard from the evacuees for the help and welcome they had received in Houston. [5] [6]
In 2006 it was revealed that Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil Bush. [7]
Succession of the First Ladies of the United States
External links
de:Barbara Bush fr:Barbara Bush nl:Barbara Pierce Bush ja:バーバラ・ピアーズ・ブッシュ pt:Barbara Pierce Bush simple:Barbara Bush sk:Barbara Bushová sv:Barbara Bush