Bush Bids Farewell to Texas
On His Way to Washington
Wednesday, January 17, 2001
By Sandra Sobieraj
MIDLAND, Texas — George W. Bush said farewell to his boyhood hometown Wednesday on his way to Washington and the presidency, vowing "I am going to take a lot of Midland and a lot of Texas with me."
Carrying a white cowboy hat, his wife Laura clutching a small U.S. flag, the president-elect celebrated the virtues of the dusty town where he grew up and got his start in the oil business, and the crowd at his rally celebrated him with their roars.
"Our deepest values in life often come from our earliest years," he said. "It is here in Midland and in West Texas where I learned to respect people from different backgrounds. It is here where I learned what it means to be a good neighbor. ... It is here in West Texas where I learned to trust in God."
Previewing a call to unity to be featured in his inaugural speech Saturday, Bush said he would work hard to put Washington's culture of division behind.
"The spirit of respect and common purpose will guide me as your president," Bush said, noting he learned "respectful ways" in Midland.
In a cold rain, Bush and his wife had boarded an Air Force version of a Boeing 757 at the airport in Waco — near the ranch that has been his Texas home since he left the governor's mansion in Austin earlier this month — for the flight to Midland.
It was the first time he had traveled as president-elect on a government plane. Bush was sheltered from the rain by an Air Force steward with an umbrella — a new perk of the office he is about to assume.
After his arrival in the nation's capital Wednesday evening, Bush planned to do a full run-through of his inaugural address, practicing with the TelePrompTer at Blair House, said Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer.
"He takes it very seriously," Fleischer said of the speech. "It is the singular beginning of his administration. He understands that and looks forward to it."
His parents — former President George and Barbara Bush — are expected to arrive in Washington on Thursday.
His Midland rally marked his last act in Texas as a private citizen. Bush stepped down as governor Dec. 21 after his victory over Democrat Al Gore in the disputed presidential election was settled.
Speaking beyond the Texans in front of him, Bush told the nation, "I promise my administration will not forget the dignity and duty the White House represents to millions of Americans."
"Any conflicts that once divided us now belong to history," he said. Turning close to home, he said: "We're all Texans and we're all Americans. Our respect for each other is the greatest strength we have as a state."
Even as he spoke of unity, a Senate committee carried on its hearings over Bush's contentious choice of former Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., for attorney general. Four other Cabinet nominees also were going through their confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill. Hill.http://www.foxnews.com/politics/011701/bush_tx.sml |
