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CNN Live Today
Newsweek Interview With the Bushes Hits Stands This Week
Aired November 26, 2001 - 11:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is their first in-depth interview since the tragic events of 9-11. President Bush and the First Lady, Laura Bush, sat down with "Newsweek" magazine to talk about their thoughts on how America has changed in recent months.
Martha Brant interviewed the First Couple. She joins us now live to talk more about it. Martha, good morning to you.
MARTHA BRANT, NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Hey, great article by the way.
BRANT: Thank you.
HEMMER: Really, really good stuff. I think the one thing that really stuck out in my mind was after the president, in the weeks after the attacks, came out and said he wanted Osama bin Laden dead or alive, and apparently that did not set well with his wife. And she went up to him and said, and quoting your article, "Bushy, you're going to get him."
BRANT: That's right.
HEMMER: A jab at humor to make her point. What was the point?
BRANT: Well, you know, he's always respected her for her taste and tone, among others things. And what she's good at doing is making her point subtly. This is not a president who likes to be lectured. And we see that with aides, we see that in meeting. And so she knows better than to go up and wag her finger in his face. Instead, she uses something from her arsenal, and the whole Bush family arsenal really, which is humor.
So she just mentions it casually, he gets the point. He told people later that she hadn't approved of it, and he said in the interview that she watches his tone to make sure he doesn't get too blustery or bellicose, is actually the word he used.
HEMMER: He told you that he describe himself as furious the day of the attacks, when he left that school in Florida, and went and watched the events on a video monitor, is what's described in your article anyway.
BRANT: Right. HEMMER: He also says that day, he told his aides directly, we're at war. He said this at a time when a whole lot of people are trying to figure out what is going on. Did he indicate to you why he came out and declared that initially on the day.
BRANT: He just says he knew instinctively. This is a guy who really does fly sometimes by the gut, for better or for worse. And he was so supremely confident in his decision. His -- later on that day when he had a cabinet meeting, there were people in this cabinet who did not know it was war and were surprised that he used that word.
But, when he got back on Air Force One, we've been told by several people, who were keeping contemporaneous notes, that he said this is war. And then he said, "this is what they pay us for, boys." I don't think Condi Rice was on the plane right at that moment. But he was very clear and knew instantly. It was just a gut -- a gut reaction.
HEMMER: Yeah, Martha, did he tell you or did he assess for you how he believes he is doing to this point?
BRANT: You know, this is not a guy who likes, in his words, "psycho babble," and he doesn't talk about himself. He even said in the interview, "I'm not real good at talking about myself." Which is why it was good to have Mrs. Bush there. She reflected a bit on whether he had changed or not. He is supremely confident. I -- I've seen this before. But as we saw a little bit earlier, when he came out and spoke with the press, he talked to us because he wants to talk, because he feels things are going well, and he has not been looking over his shoulder. He has been not -- not turning to history. He's just going really on his gut instincts, and I think supremely confident is the word I would -- the expression I would use.
HEMMER: The other thing you described in your article, apparently he tells Laura Bush, the president tells the first lady in other words, whenever there are threats against his own life.
BRANT: Right.
HEMMER: Is that an agreed to thing or is that just something he does also?
BRANT: I think that he just realized that she could handle it. He told her that day and subsequently. And she's been so, he used the word, actually, "placid," which I thought was interesting. She's been so tremendously calm. Even when he's been under threat and the White House has been under threat, he's often talked about how reassuring she is. And that was what was great about seeing them interact together during the interview. It seemed very genuine.
HEMMER: Martha, we know he exercises a lot and runs quite a bit. Apparently, he's doing a lot more of that, even now...
BRANT: Right.
HEMMER: ...and so too is the first lady, BRANT: Right.
HEMMER: ...who has not necessarily been inclined to jump on the treadmill in the past.
BRANT: That's exactly right. In fact, she has a personal trainer now. She's really stepped up to this much more visible role than anybody expected -- that she expected for herself, and she's conscious of her appearance, as is he. And obviously the president uses exercise as stress reducer. And his chief of staff says that he gives him things to ponder before he goes running, and he spends some of that running time really reflecting on his decision making.
HEMMER: All right, fascinating stuff Martha Brant from "Newsweek" magazine. Many thanks for sharing with us today.
BRANT: Thank you.
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