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Foreseeing the Future

Noonan: Mr. President, as you went into this presidency, did you have a hunch that you were going to face the big bad history?

President Bush: It's very interesting that you ask that. I remember talking to Dick Cheney and saying, "I need a vice president who will be a good, solid adviser when things go bad." Not if things go bad. As I recall, I said when things go bad. When things are fine, you walk along. But I need somebody who has been through a lot and will be a steady source of advice. And whether or not I had a premonition, I don't know. But, nevertheless, I did put the vice presidency in those terms. I fully felt that Dick Cheney would be the perfect person to do that, and history has proven me correct.

Noonan: Mrs. Bush, as you look back on the second anniversary of 9/11, has the way you think about that day changed?

Mrs. Bush: In a lot of ways the whole experience of it has deepened and become more horrific and more terrifying. Because at the time it was so unbelievably shocking, but now we've met so many people who lost somebody that day. I have on my mirror upstairs one little card that was handed to me last year when we were at Ground Zero, by one parent of a beautiful, smiling young woman. One of the most moving parts of a year ago was how people really wanted you to know something specific about their loved ones -- that they were funny or they were great parents or wonderful children. We kept all of the pictures people gave us to become part of the archives of the United States. But I kept that one on my mirror. In a lot of ways I think she represents everybody. And I see her there every day.

Noonan: Mr. President, and you?

President Bush: Like Laura says, you really don't realize the personal tragedy, the stories behind the deaths, until the history unfolds. And so September 11th has taken on a depth of sadness and raw emotion even more so than at the time. What hasn't changed, however, is the declaration of war by people who hate what we stand for. I made up my mind that I would lead this nation to win the war on terror and that war still goes on. What hasn't changed is that feeling I had on the day of the attack: America is under attack and they will pay. I still feel the same way.

Noonan: How have you done as a war leader of the United States of America in the 21st century?

President Bush: Well, I wish you'd described it as how have I been as a peacemaker. I'm reluctant to use our military, but when we do, it's to make the world a more peaceful place. And I believe the world is a more peaceful place. Still got a lot of work to do, places where we actually committed our troops to make sure those countries are stable and free. Tell you what we did: We changed the nature of war, which in itself made the world a more peaceful place. The capacity for the United States to fight and win war makes the world more peaceful. Now the guilty can no longer hide behind the innocent. The whole notion of warfare where you had to bomb and destroy innocent life in order to be victorious changed in the year 2003 because of the might and strength and strategic planning and the technologies of the United States and its allies, but primarily the United States. So we can target the guilty and not the innocent. And, therefore, the guilty must fear, must fear, which makes it more likely that we'll win the war on terror and more likely that the world will be peaceful. Hopefully, we'll never have to use our military again.

Noonan: Mrs. Bush, when you married George Bush, did you have the sense that maybe you were marrying a great man?

Mrs. Bush: Well, I didn't think I was marrying someone who was going to become president of the United States. But I thought I'd picked a great man.

Noonan: Have you seen your husband grow since September 11th?

Mrs. Bush: Sure. In a lot of ways we've grown up together, not just since September 11th, but since we married. But there's a certain seriousness in September 11th. When somebody you love takes this job, you always know there's a risk you're going to face really difficult times, and of course, we couldn't have predicted what we had to face, but you know that's a possibility.

Noonan: You were separated on September 11th. What was it like when you saw each other again?

Mrs. Bush: Well, we just hugged. I think there was a certain amount of security in being with each other than being apart.

President Bush: But the day ended on a relatively humorous note. The agents said, "You'll be sleeping downstairs. Washington's still a dangerous place." And I said no, I can't sleep down there, the bed didn't look comfortable. I was really tired, Laura was tired, we like our own bed. We like our own routine. You know, kind of a nester. Like the way things are. I knew I had to deal with the issue the next day and provide strength and comfort to the country, and so I needed rest in order to be mentally prepared. So I told the agent we're going upstairs, and he reluctantly said okay. Laura wears contacts, and she was sound asleep. Barney was there. And the agent comes running up and says, "We're under attack. We need you downstairs," and so there we go. I'm in my running shorts and my T-shirt, and I'm barefooted. Got the dog in one hand, Laura had a cat, I'm holding Laura --

Mrs. Bush: I don't have my contacts in, and I'm in my fuzzy house slippers --

President Bush: And this guy's out of breath, and we're heading straight down to the basement because there's an incoming unidentified airplane, which is coming toward the White House. Then the guy says it's a friendly airplane. And we hustle all the way back upstairs and go to bed.

Mrs. Bush: [laughs] And we just lay there thinking about the way we must have looked.

Noonan: So the day starts in tragedy and ends in Marx Brothers.

President Bush: That's right -- we got a laugh out of it.