For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 4, 2002
President's Portrait Unveiled in Texas State Capitol
Remarks by the President at Portrait Unveiling
Texas State Capitol
Austin, Texas
10:07 A.M. CST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you,
Laura. You need to know, I listen to her every
day. (Laughter.) Whatever success we've had is
because she's constantly telling me what to
do. (Laughter.) I'm proud of Laura and I can't
tell you what a great job she has done for America -- you know that,
yourself. But she brings such a steadiness and a calm
resolve and I'm really proud of her. (Applause.)
I want to thank the Governor and the First Lady, thank you all very
much for your hospitality. It's great to see the Lieutenant
Governor, and Sally; the Speaker and Nelda. It's good to see you
all. I can't help but notice that my friend, Jan Bullock, is
here, as well. Jan, thank you for
coming. (Applause.)
We've got all kinds of dignitaries here. I want to thank
you for taking time out of your day to come and witness my
hanging. (Laughter.) Fortunately, it's my
portrait. (Laughter.)
I'm particularly pleased to be here with the
artist. Now, I was somewhat concerned when Laura told me
that the Gentlings were famous painters of birds -- (laughter) -- but
they would make time to paint my
picture. (Laughter.) Pretty tough old bird here
to paint, wasn't I? (Laughter.) But I appreciate, Scott,
your taking time to try to figure me out. It's a real
pleasure for me to work with you. I know it's a challenge
from your part, but it looks like you did me justice and I thank
you. And it's also good to see your brother, Stuart.
The Gentlings are a part of the really fantastic artistic community
we have here in Texas. These guys may seem a little odd when
you meet them upstairs, but they're really good at what they
do. (Laughter.)
I've got to tell you, I was talking with Bomer last night and we
started laughing about all the wonderful times we had in this
building. And as I look around the room, I see many who helped make
that happen. This was a joyous six years for us here.
It kind of reminds me of what Harry Truman said. He
said, "I've tried never to forget who I was or where I'd come from, and
where I was going back to." And that's what this Capitol
says to us. And so does Crawford, by the
way. It's our home.
One of the things that happened here is that we made a lot of
friends. You know, sometimes in politics friends are just a fleeting
memory. But that's not the case for us. Our
friends are permanent parts of our life. We don't view such things as
political friends. You're either our friend or you're not
our friend, no matter what your politics are like.
That's why we have got such fond memories of working with Pete and
Nelda Laney. Oh, I know he's got the Democrat label, but
somehow our relationship transcended that. And the same with
Bullock. I can't help but chuckle about our breakfasts that
we used to have in this building, Pete, with Bullock. I'd
like to share some of the stories with the people watching on C-SPAN --
(laughter) -- but, unfortunately, I can't repeat them in mixed
company. (Laughter.)
But the truth of the matter is, whether it be the Speaker or
Bullock or Janelle or others, from both parties, we came in this
building with one desire -- to do what's right for
Texas. We've got political labels around our name, no
question about it. But we made up our mind to try to figure
out what was best for our state and to work together.
And so I went up to Washington with a wonderful sense of being able
to get things done, because of my relationships and my experience here
in the State Capitol. I still believe that can
happen. But sometimes Washington needs to figure out that
politics isn't what's most important, the people are what's most
important.
And so I'm going to take that can-do Texas spirit to Washington for
however long I'm there, and remind people that results are matter --
results are what matters, not rhetoric; remind people that if you're
willing to share credit, if you're willing to tell the other person
that you're going to succeed, as well, amazing things can happen; and
remind people that our country, just like our state, is much bigger
than the political process.
Those are the lessons I learned here in this State
Capitol. I also learned you cannot succeed without a good
team around you. There's no such thing, in my judgment, as a
one-man band when it comes to politics or being the governor or being
the President of the United States. You're only successful
if you're able to convince a lot of good folks to join on the team and
to empower them to achieve the common objectives.
And that's exactly what we did here in Austin. I think
history will show that the staff of Governor George Bush was one of the
greatest staffs ever assembled. You should be applauding
because you're the ones who were on the staff, in this
room. (Applause.)
We had fun. We got some positive things done for
Texas. We worked hard. And it was the memories
that I'll never forget. And so I want to thank you all who
worked on our team. It should be noted that many of them who
were on this team moved to Washington. Pinky Albaugh --
(laughter) -- he's not here, so I can say
it. (Laughter.) Karen, of course. Karl
Rove. Gonzalez -- I see Al is here, the chief
attorney. Margaret Spellings, she's got a new last name now
-- those of us who know her husband are somewhat
amazed. (Laughter.) Albert Hawkins.
Harriet Miers.
These are all the folks that I rely on. These are people
who have got great judgment and care deeply about our
country. And America is really better off by the fact that
they decided to make a huge sacrifice, leave their beloved state and go
to Washington, D.C.
We also have got a lot of others up there that many of you knew:
Ashley, Izzy, Logan. It's such an honor for Logan to know
that we named one of our cows after him that was recently
born. (Laughter.) Margaret Wilson and Stuart
Bowen and Vickers Meadows. Pat Wood. These are
all folks, we worked together here in Austin, who are now serving our
nation. And I truly believe America is better off as a result of the
influx of Texans who showed up.
I always will remember -- and this painting helps remind me, of the
fact that all of us were a part of a larger story, a story much bigger
than ourselves. Many have come before us, and many will
follow. Mine is just one of 46 portraits in this Dome, and
I'll always be in good company here.
It is amazing for me to think, when I step back and think this will
be hanging here forever, along with J. Pinckney Henderson. I
didn't know Henderson very well. (Laughter.) But
I did read about Sam Houston, or John Connolly. And the
first Texas Governor I ever knew, Allan Shivers. It's an honor to be
hanging with these men.
It's also amazing to think that it'll be here for a long, long
time. I just hope Governor Richards doesn't mind being my neighbor for
eternity. (Laughter and applause.)
I want to thank you all for coming. It's a day I've
really been looking forward to for a long time. We look
forward to seeing you upstairs for the little coffee we're having.
Again, I remember you; I won't forget Texas. It's a huge
honor to be the President, by the way. But one of these days
I'll be back, settled in, sitting on my porch in Crawford, looking for
somebody to come and recount old war stories with.
May God bless you all. (Applause.)
END
10:17 A.M. CST
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