George W. Bush acknowledges more calls to his father
DALLAS — Former President George W. Bush acknowledged he may have downplayed how much he sought advice from his father during his presidency, a sign of the influence George Herbert Walker Bush still has over his son.
It was a reminder the father’s legacy could have a powerful impact if another of his sons, Jeb Bush, wins the White House.
George W. Bush made the acknowledgment in a public forum Sunday, talking about his father’s biography with the book’s author, Jon Meacham.
During their conversation, Meacham recalled a conversation he’d had with George W. Bush for the book: “I think you downplayed at times how much you talked to your dad.” The younger Bush nodded.
The forum at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas touched on the father’s early career as a Navy pilot, his disappointing loss to former President Bill Clinton in 1992 and his reflections on his son’s tenure in the White House. The talk came two days before Meacham’s “Destiny and Power” becomes publicly available.
In the book, former President George H.W. Bush criticized his son for setting an abrasive tone on the world stage and failing to rein in hawkish Vice President Dick Cheney and defense chief Donald Rumsfeld. That topic was not addressed in the Sunday forum where the younger Bush was asking the questions.
