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George W. Bush Visits Texas Elementary School

Posted by Brett Singer

GWB visits Texas schoolThis is the age of bipartisanship. So…well…read this.

The former President and his wife Laura dropped by John J. Pershing Elementary School in Dallas. Apparently it really was a "hi, how y'all doing?" type of visit. The former First couple was there for over an hour. It was open house day, according to Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News.

Here are some highlights:

The Bushes were scheduled to visit three classes, but they ended up popping in on any room with an audience.
Ducking in one room, Bush asked, "Hey kids, do you know who I am?"
Gasps all around, and then someone blurted, "George Washington!"
"That's right!" the visitor said. "George Washington Bush!"

Then:

A little later, at an ESL class, Bush tried introducing himself in Spanish. Only it was a little too West Texas for the Spanish speakers. He tried again. Blank looks. Even held up three fingers. You know, a 'W." Still nothing.
Finally, Pershing's innovative, energetic principal, Margie Hernandez, stepped in with a Spanish introduction.
Ohhhhhhh.
The kids laughed at the confusion. The former president laughed. The principal laughed, out of relief, mostly.

Now, these examples are goofy, which is something that the former President was known for during his eight years in office. (Among other things, of course.) Later in the article, he shows off a different side of himself. One of the kids asked him:

"Why did you come here?"
Bush told the kids he came because he saw signs that welcomed him, and it made him feel good, and he wanted to say thanks. He then made some general observations, none more poignant than the first.
"You can be president," he said. "Can you believe that?"

I mean, look. It's not Barack Obama saying, "you can be president." But I think for the kids who were there to meet him, it was probably a special thing. Right?

Then he got a little goofy again. When asked if he would participate in the Dad's Club Haunted House, he answered with a grin and said, "I'd make a good ghost."

When I was in elementary school, I always thought it would be neat to have a President come and visit. I think it's sort of cool that GWB is still doing that. I mean, I don't agree with any of his major policies, but he was still the President. Heck, I wouldn't have minded meeting Gerald Ford.

See Congress? That's how bipartisanship works. Give me a call, we'll talk.

Source/Image

Read more:

Photo - Obama Shocked by Schoolkids

Fun Stuff To Do When The Kids Get Older

RENT Too Risqué For Some Schools

Kid Forced To Stand In Public Square For Bad Grades



+ DIGG + STUMBLE

Comments

 

Shana said:

He spoke at my high school my senior year when he was still governor.  The school did not let him speak to any of the students though (because of an incident my sophomore year involving Phil Gramm's wife I am proud to say I was involved in).  

I do find it disturbing though that so many people think that he is stupid.  The man is far from stupid, but he and the rest of the neocons realized the power of selling the idea of him being an idiot.  I know a lot of people think that he was just pushed around by Cheney and Rumsfeld, I say he was right there making a lot of those bad decisions.

February 27, 2009 9:34 AM
 

Knitty said:

Stupid, or sociopathic?  I go back and forth on the matter, but ultimately it doesn't matter one little bit.  He brought us to the very brink of ruin before fleeing back to Texas.

February 27, 2009 12:10 PM
 

Jim said:

I reflect on history..... Jefferson told Adams that it would take 100 years for the true effect of the Presidency to be judged.  I feel that the former President happpen to be in office durring the most difficult time in history. I will go on the record to say that George W. Bush should be respected as a President and a Leader of a country that often reacts to the liberal media.. I am a Liberal and I know the media is as well.  

February 27, 2009 1:07 PM
 

Bunny said:

I want to hear more about what you did to Phil Gramm's wife, Shana...

Jim: I'm a member of the liberal media, and I can tell you for a fact - the people who write and edit the news may be liberal, but we are often pressured towards the center by the companies that own us, who are not one bit liberal, at all. Just sayin'.

February 27, 2009 1:39 PM
 

Shana said:

For some reason, Gramm's wife spoke to several sophomore and junior classes about the greatness of the Republican party in the school gym.  One of the school reporter's asked her a question about a law in another state that would involve limiting the rights of gays and lesbians.  She gave the usual line as you can imagine.  My friend Kim and I went to speak to hear afterwards and asked for her to explain why she thinks that gays and lesbians should not be allowed to be married.  She said that they would just use the right to marriage to scam the government for tax write offs and for getting green cards.  Of course she could not explain why someone that would marry for the tax benefits or immigration reasons would not just marry someone of the opposite sex.  The school would not even let the school paper report on what happened.  

I never expected much from Gramm, but the nerve to pretty campaign to a bunch of high school students in the middle of the day was ridiculous.  Even when Bush spoke at my school two years later it was more along the lines of the above mentioned Bush visit to the elementary school.

February 27, 2009 2:46 PM
 

Brett Singer said:

Go Shana! Great story.

February 27, 2009 3:45 PM
 

smiley said:

this website is very great ,u peeps enjoying yourselves.

March 1, 2009 11:39 AM

About Brett Singer

Brett Singer is a writer and father living in Manhattan with his wonderful wife and two terrific sons (referred to here as Thing 1 and Thing 2). He writes about music for the Boston Phoenix, parenting for Babble and daddytips.com, and other topics for anyone else who will have him.

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