2012 Presidential Campaign Blog

President George W. Bush Named Keynote Speaker for The Work Truck Show 2012

President George W. Bush Named Keynote Speaker for The Work Truck Show 2012

At The Work Truck Show, the 43rd president of the United States will offer his insights into the challenges facing our nation in the 21st century, the power of freedom, the role of faith and other timely and pressing issues.

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. -- NTEA, the Association for the Work Truck Industry, welcomes President George W. Bush as the keynote speaker at The Work Truck Show 2012. President Bush will speak at the President’s Breakfast & NTEA Annual Meeting on Wednesday, March 7. The Breakfast event runs from 7:30–9:15 a.m. The Work Truck Show 2012 will be held at the Indiana Convention Center, March 5-8, 2012.
    
President Bush served as commander in chief for two consecutive terms from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his presidency, he served for six years as governor of Texas. He was the first governor in Texas history to be elected to consecutive terms.
    
At The Work Truck Show, the 43rd president of the United States will offer his insights into the challenges facing our nation in the 21st century, the power of freedom, the role of faith and other timely and pressing issues.
    
“President Bush led this country through times of great economic growth, as well as times of national tragedy,” said Frank Livas, NTEA 2012 convention chairman and senior vice president of Brake & Clutch Inc. (Salem, Mass). “It is a privilege to have him address our members and event attendees. We look forward to hearing his reflections on the presidency and his thoughts on leadership and decision-making.”
    
During his presidency, he promoted reform policies on the economy, health care, education and social security and implemented free trade agreements with more than a dozen nations. He signed into law broad tax cuts, and during his tenure, the United States recorded the lowest unemployment rates since WWII, with 52 straight months of job creation.
    
President Bush was in office on September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the United States. In response, he created the Department of Homeland Security and signed into law the USA Patriot Act. Since 2009, he has worked on developing the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, which includes the Presidential Library and Museum, Archives, and the George W. Bush Institute.  President Bush is a sought-after speaker and recent author of the book "Decision Points."
    
President Bush will be the second former U.S. president to address The Work Truck Show. His father, President George H.W. Bush, was the keynote speaker in 2004.
    
The President’s Breakfast & NTEA Annual Meeting at which President Bush will speak is open to Show attendees by ticket only.

Statement By President George W. Bush On Osama bin Laden

STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH.

Earlier this evening, President Obama called to inform me that American forces killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda network that attacked America on September 11, 2001.  I congratulated him and the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission.  They have our everlasting gratitude.  This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001.  The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message:  No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.

George W. Bush Breaks Ground On Presidential Center

GEORGE W. BUSH BREAKS GROUND ON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER
Former President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura W. Bush join friends, supporters and key administration officials in groundbreaking ceremony at SMU in Dallas

DALLAS — Today former President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura W. Bush broke ground at SMU on the site of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, America’s 13th presidential library complex.

As it begins construction, the Bush Center is breaking new ground: through its unique and environmentally-friendly construction and design; through the scholarly research and action initiatives of The Bush Institute; and through the innovative technology embedded in its website and planned for the state-of-the-art museum experience.

“Serving as President was the honor and privilege of a lifetime,” said former President George W. Bush. “Laura and I are eager to continue our work through The Bush Institute to spread freedom, promote educational excellence, defend markets and improve global health. This groundbreaking is an important milestone in that ongoing effort.”

 More than 3,000 friends and supporters, as well as Former Vice President Cheney and Former Cabinet Secretaries Don Evans, Condoleezza Rice and Margaret Spellings, among many other dignitaries, participated in the celebration. The Bush Center includes the George W. Bush Presidential Library and the George W. Bush Institute, which launched programming in early 2010 and is focused on unleashing human potential around the world through its focus on human freedom, education reform, global health and economic growth.

“More than 150,000 people have joined as founding members of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, representing every state in the nation,” said The Honorable Mark Langdale, president of the George W. Bush Foundation. “This groundswell of support for President and Mrs. Bush honors their service to our country and signals an ongoing commitment to the work they will continue to do through The Bush Institute for years to come.”

Facts about the George W. Bush Presidential Center: The Bush Center will sit on a 23-acre lot on the campus of SMU in Dallas, Texas, and include the George W. Bush Library, which includes the archives and museum, and the George W. Bush Institute. The 226,565 square foot building is designed to achieve LEED platinum certification, the first Presidential Library to do so. A number of sustainable design elements have been incorporated into the design, including regionally-sourced materials such as Texas limestone and stained pecan interior paneling. The design includes a 15-acre urban park featuring native landscaping and includes a rainwater collection system that will provide 50 percent of the irrigation needed. The site will feature a Texas Rose Garden, possessing the same proportions, solar orientation, and formal organization as the White House Rose Garden.

The Archives for President Bush, the first President of the 21st Century, contain 80 terabytes of digital information, including 200 million e-mails. There are more than 43,000 artifacts from the Bush Administration on file with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Bush Institute already has active fellows working in the areas of human freedom, education reform, global health, and economic growth. The Bush Center was designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern and landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh. The general contractor is Manhattan Construction Co., which also built the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas.

Visitors interested in getting a glimpse of the Bush Center are invited to visit a special exhibit at the Meadows Museum on SMU’s campus which includes key artifacts such as the bullhorn used by President Bush at Ground Zero, the baseball he used to throw an opening pitch during the 2001 World Series and the Oscar de la Renta dress worn by Mrs. Bush at the State Dinner honoring Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as well as a number of key papers from the Bush Administration. The exhibit is free and open to the public through February 6, 2011. A virtual tour of the exhibit can be found at: www.georgewbushcenter.com

The George W. Bush Presidential Center Launches New Website

The George W. Bush Presidential Center Launches New Website

The George W. Bush Presidential Center has launched an innovative website featuring new benefits for those who wish to stay abreast of developments at the Bush Center and the ongoing activities of President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura W. Bush.

The new website, which features the latest technology, provides daily updates, a significantly increased number of photographs and videos from current Bush Center activities, plus videos and hundreds of photos from the Bush Presidency and the work of The Bush Institute.

Registered users have the ability to save their favorite content and are provided special access to customized images and materials. The site is fully searchable and can be navigated through visual and textual cues providing each user a unique experience.

Former President George W. Bush's Memoir, Decision Points, To Be Published By Crown On November 9, 2010

FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH’S MEMOIR, DECISION POINTS, TO BE PUBLISHED BY CROWN ON NOVEMBER 9, 2010

New York, NY (April 26, 2010) — Decision Points, by George W. Bush, will be published on November 9, 2010, by Crown Publishers. This groundbreaking new brand of memoir will be centered on the fourteen most critical and historic decisions in the life and public service of the 43rd President of the United States.

The book will be released simultaneously in the U.S. and Canada in hardcover, e-book, and audio formats. The announcement was made today by Tina Constable, Vice President, Publisher, Crown Publishers, who also unveiled the book jacket seen here in this post.

Since leaving the Oval Office, President Bush has given virtually no interviews or public speeches about his presidency. Instead, he has spent almost every day writing Decision Points, a strikingly personal and candid account revealing how and why he made the defining decisions in his consequential presidency and personal life.

In gripping, never-before-heard detail, President Bush brings readers inside the Texas Governor’s Mansion on the night of the hotly contested 2000 election; aboard Air Force One on 9/11 in the gripping hours after America’s most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor; inside the Situation Room in the moments before launching the war in Iraq; and behind the Oval Office desk for his historic and controversial decisions on the financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan, Iran, and other issues that have shaped the first decade of the 21st century.

The former President offers intimate, unprecedented details about his decision to quit drinking, his discovery of faith, and his relationships with his family. He writes honestly and directly about his flaws and mistakes, as well as his historic achievements in reforming education, providing life-saving treatments for HIV/AIDS and malaria for millions of people in Africa, safeguarding the country from another terrorist attack, and other areas.

Decision Points will carry a suggested retail price of $35. A cloth-bound, signed, and numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies, priced at $350, is also planned.

At publication, the former President will embark on a national book tour, details of which will be announced in the coming months.

George W. Bush "Miss Me Yet?" Billboard Photo For Republicans

George W. Bush "Miss Me Yet?" Billboard Photo For Democrats

Mrs. Laura W. Bush And Architects Unveil Design Of George W. Bush Presidential Center

Mrs. Laura W. Bush and Architects Unveil Design of George W. Bush Presidential Center

DALLAS—Mrs. Laura W. Bush, Architect Robert A. M. Stern and Landscape Architect Matthew Urbanski today unveiled the design of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, a modern brick and limestone structure that complements the American Georgian character of the SMU campus, set within a low-maintenance, quintessentially Texas landscape. The light-filled building is both presidential and welcoming, includes elements that evoke both Texas and Washington, and will house the three components of the George W. Bush Presidential Center: an Archive, a Museum and a policy Institute.

"I applaud the work of Robert Stern and Michael Van Valkenburgh in designing a building and landscape that will capture the dignity of the office of the Presidency, while at the same time being warm and welcoming to visitors," President George W. Bush said. "Laura and I are thrilled with the plans."

"The building and landscape evoke elements of the full span of George and Laura Bush's life and service, from their ranch in Crawford to the White House, and help us share the story of a couple committed to public service based on the core principles of freedom, opportunity, responsibility and compassion," said Mark Langdale, President of the George W. Bush Foundation.

"The George W. Bush Presidential Center reflects a unique design that is appropriate in representing the first U.S. President of the 21st Century," said R. Gerald Turner, President of Southern Methodist University. "At the same time, it reflects major components of SMU's Collegiate Georgian architectural tradition of nearly 100 years. As a modern expression of our heritage, this facility will be a welcome addition to the stately buildings and grounds that make the SMU campus a special place for learning," Turner said.

The building and landscape are designed to achieve LEED platinum certification and include numerous sustainable design strategies, including locally sourced building materials (several types of Texas limestone, stained pecan interior paneling), 20 percent recycled materials, solar hot water panels, native landscaping to reduce irrigation and a storm-water management system that conveys, cleanses and collects surface runoff and roof rainwater, and will provide 50 percent of the irrigation needed for the site.

The building and landscape are integrated, with numerous links between indoor and outdoor spaces. Visitors to the museum will enter the building through Freedom Hall, a large, light-filled open space that will tie the different aspects of the museum experience together. On one side of Freedom Hall, visitors will be able to tour the Museum's permanent exhibit, which will include a replica of the Oval Office as it was during President Bush's tenure, complete with an outdoor Texas Rose Garden that mimics the proportion and scale of the White House Rose Garden. The Museum will tell the story of the presidency by examining key decisions and the core principles that defined President Bush's service: freedom, opportunity, responsibility and compassion.

The opposite side of Freedom Hall will house the temporary exhibit space, a ceremonial courtyard and a café. The Institute portion of the building will include a conference center with a 364-seat auditorium with simultaneous translation and broadcast capabilities, along with numerous offices for scholars and a presidential suite for receptions and other functions. The Institute will have its own entrance on axis with Binkley Avenue. The Archives will be the home for the official documents and artifacts of the Bush administration, where they will be presented to the public for study and discussion.

The landscape will be an attraction in and of itself, with seasonable displays in the wildflower meadow, large tree-shaded lawns for sitting, picnicking or playing, numerous gardens and courtyards, tall grass prairie with seasonal wildflowers, and savannah and woodland clearings that provide a range of native habitat for butterflies, birds and other wildlife species.

The landscape will function as an urban park that will engage a broad range of users, including library and special event visitors, SMU students, faculty and staff and the University Park community. It provides numerous spaces for events and gatherings, including performances in the outdoor amphitheater and intramural sports on the west lawn.

Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP, is a 220-person firm of architects, interior designers, and supporting staff. The firm is dedicated to the idea that architecture must engage in a conversation across time, connecting the present and future with the past. Robert A.M. Stern Architects brings to the design of the George W. Bush Presidential Center significant experience with the planning and design of museums that present a contemporary architectural response to the legacy of an important American cultural figure, including the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge, Massachusetts; the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, New York; and the Museum Center at the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. Stern, practicing architect, teacher, and writer, is Dean of the Yale School of Architecture. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and received the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal from the Municipal Art Society of New York in 2009 and the tenth Vincent Scully Prize from the National Building Museum in 2008. In 2007 he received both the Athena Award from the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Board of Directors' Honor from the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America. Joining Mr. Stern in the design effort were partners Augusta Barone, Alexander P. Lamis, and Graham S. Wyatt, and project architect Jim Pearson.

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., Landscape Architects (MVVA) is known across North America and internationally for innovative landscapes that address contemporary social and environmental issues while also achieving, as with the George W. Bush Presidential Center, a timeless style that appeals to a broad range of the American public. Founded in 1982, MVVA has received numerous awards and previously worked with First Lady Laura Bush on the redesign of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. Michael Van Valkenburgh was the 2003 recipient of the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Environmental Design and is a 1988 winner of the prestigious American Academy in Rome Prize. He has taught both full and part time at Harvard's Graduate School of Design since 1982. The key senior staff members working on the Library with Michael are firm Principals, Laura Solano and Matthew Urbanski, and Herb Sweeney, Associate and Project Manager.

Mrs. Laura W. Bush chaired the design committee for the Bush Presidential Center. Members of the committee included: Roland Betts, Founder and Chairman of Chelsea Piers, L.P.; The Honorable Mark Langdale, President, George W. Bush Foundation; Deedie Rose, Philanthropist; Witold Rybczynski, Martin & Margy Meyerson Professor of Urbanism and Professor of Real Estate, University of Pennsylvania; Sidney J. Sanders, Vice President, Facilities and Construction, The Methodist Hospital System; and R. Gerald Turner, President, Southern Methodist University.

The Presidential Center will be located at Southern Methodist University, five miles north of downtown Dallas. It will occupy a 23.11-acre site on the main campus, near the corner of SMU Boulevard and North Central Expressway (U.S. Highway 75). The site is near a light rail station.

For more information about the George W. Bush Presidential Center, please visit: www.georgewbushcenter.com