For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
April 20, 2004
Remarks by First Lady Laura Bush in Media Availability in Louisville
Louisville Water Tower Louisville, Kentucky
2:43 P.M. EDT
MRS. BUSH: I'm so glad to be here today. This is a really very
historic and exciting event for me to be able to designate 31 Kentucky
towns as Preservation America communities. Versailles was one of the
group of the first Preserve America communities and they were
designated in a ceremony at the White House earlier this year. And
since then, all these Kentucky towns that I named in my speech have
been designated Preserve America communities. So it's a real thrill to
be able to be here for that.
Kentucky has a very great history and I know people in Kentucky are
proud of it. But also we want our children to know it, and we want
them to know about our states' histories, we want them to know about
our country's history. And one thing each one of these communities is
doing is making sure that historic buildings, that historic national
landscapes that are in your communities are saved and children will
have a chance to learn about what the people did in those communities
before and what happened in our country before, and I think that's
really important.
So I'm glad to be here today to congratulate Kentucky on such a
really outstanding designation. There are many towns -- there are only
about 65 Preserve America communities so far and Kentucky has half of
them, so that's really a great accomplishment. And a lot of it is
because of your terrific historical officer, David Morgan.
Q Mrs. Bush, a two-part question. First on this and then
another on another topic.
First, besides a sign, are there any monies that could flow to
these communities to help save -- you know, there are very few state
dollars --
MRS. BUSH: That's right. There are some monies. There's money
through Save America's Treasures that they can apply for. Those grants
are very sought after and they are very competitive to get. And they
go mainly to places that really are in desperate need of restoration or
preservation.
I think there are some tax credits that you can get, communities
can get, preservation tax credits, when they -- the communities decide
to go together and restore something in their communities.
Q And the second part, I wonder if you have a personal view on
the -- the debate now whether to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex
marriage?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I agree with my husband that it's an issue that
needs to be debated, that the American people want to debate and talk
about. And we don't want the Mayor of San Francisco or the Boston --
Massachusetts Supreme Court to make a decision for us. And the fact is
a constitutional amendment process would allow debate on both sides of
the issue in every state. And so I agree with him on what he said.
Q What is your personal view?
MRS. BUSH: I think I won't tell you my personal view.
Q Mrs. Bush, if you could just talk a little bit, this has been
the bloodiest month in Iraq for our American soldiers.
MRS. BUSH: I know Kentucky has lost soldiers. I've been to Fort
Campbell a number of times. I gave the commencement address last year
at the high school in Fort Campbell, where a lot of those kids' parents
were deployed. And I know how tough it is. I know what the burden is
on the families of service men and women, and I know you all do,
because you're in a state with a very, very large military
installation. And I know and I'm already sure that the people of
Kentucky are supporting those families every way they can, emotionally
and in every way they can support them by giving sympathy to them. But
also by helping them in the most practical ways they can.
This is very difficult. You know, we don't know what hazards we
face in the future. But we do know how important it is to stay the
course. I think the President said it the other day when he gave the
press conference how I think in many ways I feel like we don't have a
choice. We have to stay with the Iraqi people, we have to stay on the
side against terror and against violence. And it's not something we
can put off for another time. And it's just a sad fact of life right
now in the United States.
But I also am very aware, and I know he is, because we travel
around the country, because we've visited a number of military bases
including Fort Campbell all over the country, you know, we know how
much courage and strength our American service men and women have. We
know how much courage and grace their families have as they deal with
these times of very, very high anxiety and fear.
And I also know how strong and resolute the American people are.
And that's what I see, that's what I get to see every day when I travel
around our country.
Q Mrs. Bush, as a mother, what do you have to say to these
mothers who lost their sons, their daughters --
MRS. BUSH: You know, of course, I tell them what I would tell
anyone who lost a child and that is, that they have my prayers, that
they have my deepest sympathy, and they have my respect. And I want --
you know, I hope that their neighbors and their loved ones and everyone
who is close to them will put their arms around them and try to build
them up. This is very, very difficult, as I said.
Q Mrs. Bush, could you talk a little bit about the fundraiser
you went to already earlier today? About how much money was raised?
And also there are a lot of folks here --
MRS. BUSH: Kentucky is a very important state. Can you tell? We
have a whole lot of friends in Kentucky and we love to visit here.
We've been here a lot. A lot of my travel here has been to Fort
Campbell, but my husband has visited towns. He's been to Paducah and
other places here in Kentucky.
I'm not sure exactly how much money was raised. It's a fundraiser
for the Republican Party.
Q Mrs. Bush, with what's been going on in Iraq and the new
Woodward book coming out, the kind of criticism that your husband and
his administration are receiving, does that start other wear on him
and, in turn, you at all?
MRS. BUSH: You know, it really just gets to be a fact of life in
American politics. And we know that. We've been associated with
politics for our whole married life. George -- before that, before we
were married, his dad was a congressman. He worked on his campaigns.
Do you like it? No, of course not. But you know, I feel -- I know
that my husband has the strength and the character to be President.
I've watched him. I know how steady he is. And it's never easy. Any
time people think about running for political office, for any office,
for mayor, for council member, it's not easy. It's a job where people
do the very best they can, they make the best decisions they can for
their communities. And they will always be criticized. That's just
how it is. Every decision you make has detractors, people who don't
like that decision as well as people who do admire those decisions.
But it's just what happens in politics.
But on the other hand, there are a lot of really good things that
happen. There's a real chance to be able to be constructive for our
country and do things that are really great for our country. And
that's what I've gotten to see. I also really had -- and my husband
has too -- the chance to meet people all over our country who aren't
waiting for the government to do something, who see a need in their
community and take action. And that's really what the American
character and American spirit are. And we are privileged to get to see
that everywhere.
Q Mrs. Bush, the former First Lady was criticized for how she
handled the job that you now have being First Lady. How would you
redefine the role that you have taken on?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I don't really like the word "role," because I
think that sounds like an act that you're playing. And the fact is,
what's happened with all of our First Ladies that we know, certainly
the ones that we've watched in our lifetimes, is that they lived their
lives and we watched them and we benefitted from the way they lived
their lives.
I often think about Betty Ford. Shortly after her husband became
President -- and he was not elected, if you'll remember. He was
appointed Vice President and when President Nixon resigned, he became
President. Three or four weeks after she moved into the White House,
she found out she had breast cancer. And it was a time when no one
discussed breast cancer. It was really taboo to even mention it.
And just by the very act of her strength of character and her
willingness to talk to the American people about a disease that she
suffered from, she really changed the way all of us -- especially the
way women look at breast cancer and the way women live with breast
cancer.
So I think what really happens is we watch the people in the White
House live their lives and we learn lessons from them.
Q And what have you learned so far, then?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I've learned a lot. Of course, I had a great
role model, my own mother-in-law. So what I just said is what I've
learned, and that is how strong and resolute the American people are
and how much grace the American people have and how generous the
American people are. And that's what I see when I travel around the
country.
Okay, thank you all very much. And congratulations to Kentucky.
Congratulations to all these communities that are now Preserve America
communities. Thanks you all, thanks for coming out here.
END 2:52 P.M. EDT
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