PBS - Republican Convention - 1992-08-19 (partial)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:03] From Houston, PBS continues coverage of

[0:06] the Republican National Convention.

[0:11] Welcome back. I'm Robert McNeel along

[0:13] with Jim Ler, and we resume public

[0:15] television's special coverage of the

[0:17] Republican National Convention in

[0:18] Houston. This promises to be a longer

[0:20] evening than the other two as

[0:22] Republicans go about the official

[0:23] business of renominating George Bush and

[0:26] Dan Quayle. With us are David Gurgen and

[0:29] Mark Shields, our regular political

[0:30] analysts. In a sky booth above the

[0:32] Astrodome Convention floor, we have

[0:34] three Republicans, New Jersey

[0:36] Congresswoman Marge Rockma, Wisconsin

[0:38] Governor Tommy Thompson, and California

[0:40] Senate candidate Bruce Bruce Hersensen.

[0:43] First up on the convention floor a few

[0:45] minutes from now will be the speech by

[0:47] Barbara Bush. Mrs. Bush has insisted her

[0:50] address is nothing to stay up late for,

[0:51] but many delegate, journalists, and

[0:54] viewers, I think, think otherwise.

[0:56] David, um, and Mark, starting with you,

[0:59] Mark, we're two hours into this evening

[1:01] in which family values is the theme.

[1:04] What do you think it adds up to so far?

[1:05] >> Well, I think that, uh, it we're getting

[1:08] a pretty good outline, pretty good

[1:09] preview of what the Republican campaign

[1:11] will be in the fall. Uh it uh as as

[1:15] Congressman Gingrich puts it on the

[1:16] matter of homosexuality. I think that's

[1:18] going to be an issue returned to under

[1:20] the umbrella of family values. He said

[1:22] there's three three options a party can

[1:24] take or government can take. It can

[1:26] promote, it can tolerate, or it can

[1:28] repress. That nobody is for repressing.

[1:30] He thinks that he's going to argue that

[1:32] the Democrats are for promoting uh the

[1:34] gay lifestyle and that Republicans are

[1:36] simply for tolerating. uh Pat Pat

[1:39] Buchanan put it today that the question

[1:41] is whether all lifestyles are equal as

[1:44] Democrats would insist and that all

[1:46] behavior is equal that uh somehow that

[1:49] uh tolerance of aberant or different

[1:52] lifestyles is is the issue that that's

[1:54] what's emerging here. I thought that

[1:56] Marilyn Quail's address was a

[1:58] fascinating one. uh she endorsed Barbara

[2:00] Bush for first lady uh reaffirmed her

[2:03] support, said she'd been a wonderful

[2:05] first lady and sort of made the argument

[2:07] that feminists can be feminine. Uh and

[2:10] it seemed to me just a rather implicit

[2:12] knock on on Hillary Clinton, which has

[2:14] been a theme of this week.

[2:16] >> Talking of tolerance, intolerance, what

[2:17] about the uh speech by Mrs. Fischer on

[2:20] the um

[2:22] >> I thought that was I thought Mrs.

[2:23] Fischer's speech on on AIDS was was the

[2:26] dramatic highlight of the entire

[2:28] convention. I mean, I was fascinated

[2:29] that the the crowd sat quietly almost in

[2:33] wrapped attention. Uh, it was it was a

[2:37] moving moving speech. Uh, brilliantly

[2:39] delivered. Uh, and I I just uh I thought

[2:42] it was perhaps the dramatic highlight of

[2:45] the entire week.

[2:46] >> David,

[2:47] >> I think what we've seen here tonight,

[2:49] Robin, is that this issue of family

[2:51] values is a missile in a Republican

[2:53] arsenal, a missile with many warheads.

[2:55] On one hand, you have Dan Quayle coming

[2:57] here from this studio to give what was a

[2:59] very high-minded, thoughtful uh uh uh ex

[3:02] exposition of the kind of issues he

[3:04] thought were involved in and under the

[3:06] term family values, health care, child

[3:08] care, educational choice and the like.

[3:11] Then we go to to to Marilyn Quail, his

[3:13] wife, talking Bruce Hensson was talking

[3:15] about breaking precedences, but Bill

[3:16] Clinton appearing or was breaking the

[3:18] president. We were breaking another

[3:19] precedent tonight with the wife of the

[3:21] vice presidential nominee coming on the

[3:22] air and giving what can only be called a

[3:25] veiled attack on it was an in-your-face

[3:27] Hillary speech. This was there was no

[3:29] doubt what the point of that speech was.

[3:31] The point was not to just to redefine

[3:32] what her womanhood was about and what

[3:34] her family about was about, but to draw

[3:36] a sharp distinction about what they what

[3:38] the Clinton's family life has been

[3:39] about. It was an attack on the character

[3:41] of the Clintons. And I think that that

[3:42] the point of that is that family values

[3:44] can also be used not only as a way to

[3:46] talk about issues like child care. They

[3:48] can be used as a way to attack not so

[3:51] subtly the personal character and

[3:53] lifestyle of the of the Clintons.

[3:56] >> Let me just support David. There's one

[3:58] quote from Mrs. Quail's speech which I

[4:00] think is just operational here. But

[4:02] remember, not everyone joined the

[4:04] counterculture. Not everyone

[4:05] demonstrated, dropped out, took drugs,

[4:07] joined in the sexual revolution, or

[4:09] dodged the draft underlined in bold

[4:12] print. Not everyone concluded that

[4:13] American society was so bad that it had

[4:15] to be radically remade by social

[4:17] revolution. Not everyone believed that

[4:19] the family was so oppressive that women

[4:22] could only thrive apart from it. That is

[4:25] uh that's Stley Bale. That's gossamer

[4:28] thin bailing. That's cellophane. That

[4:30] isn't that isn't bailing. And I and I

[4:33] think that there are many Republicans

[4:34] who believe it's a legitimate issue.

[4:35] Republicans will tell you here, look,

[4:37] these folks went on 60 Minutes to

[4:38] discuss their personal lives. Why

[4:40] shouldn't we be talking about that? That

[4:42] that's what the Republicans believe is

[4:44] >> Democrats raised the issue.

[4:46] >> Exactly. Why can't we come back and talk

[4:48] about it? But let's not make be be

[4:50] joking around what this family issues is

[4:52] all about. It is partly about child

[4:53] care. It is also about the character of

[4:56] the of the

[4:56] >> Is that what it's about, Congresswoman

[4:58] Rocka?

[4:59] >> Uh yes, yes and no. I I've got to say I

[5:02] I mostly agree with David Gurgen there

[5:05] and um

[5:06] >> that Mrs. Clinton's that Mrs. Quail's

[5:08] speech was a thinly veiled attack on on

[5:11] Hillary Clinton.

[5:12] >> No. No. Well, perhaps, but I I think it

[5:15] was a legitimate u raising of the

[5:18] issues. I think what we're seeing here

[5:20] is total redefinition of the women in

[5:24] political roles just as women have been

[5:27] redefined in society over the past

[5:30] several years and that's what you see

[5:32] reflected here. I do not find anything

[5:35] objectionable in Marilyn Quail's

[5:37] statement here. I think it was perfectly

[5:40] straightforward and uh and and I

[5:43] appreciated it. I think that she uh has

[5:47] made a legitimate point in saying that

[5:50] the the uh campaign will be about

[5:54] leadership and character and defining

[5:57] the relationships between husband and

[5:59] wife and family. I didn't find anything

[6:02] really porative. Now that was my own

[6:04] perspective. But with respect to the

[6:07] question of attacking the candidates's

[6:10] wife, I think we can be skating on thin

[6:15] ice here. I think that is a problem and

[6:18] I would warn them to be very very

[6:21] careful with that. For example, I think

[6:24] there was enormous distortion about

[6:26] Hillary Clinton's law journal article.

[6:29] As I understand it, her Law Journal

[6:32] article was a perfectly respectable

[6:35] um analysis of a legitimate legal

[6:39] question that has taken hold in state

[6:41] after state after state with abused

[6:43] children and children that have to be

[6:45] removed from the family because of

[6:47] extraordinary circumstances. And and I I

[6:50] would warn my party that they'd better

[6:52] be very careful when they attacked

[6:55] White. But I don't see anything in in

[6:57] Marilyn Quail's speech that was uh out

[6:59] of out of line. I don't

[7:02] >> Bruce Hchensson, what do you think about

[7:03] the congresswoman's warning to the

[7:05] party?

[7:06] >> Well, I first I I I believe that her

[7:09] speech, Mrs. Quail's speech, uh was

[7:12] beautifully written, very articulate,

[7:15] expressed precisely what family values

[7:17] mean. And uh and I certainly see nothing

[7:20] nothing harmful at all in it. I see

[7:21] everything quite positive in it.

[7:23] >> You didn't see it as an attack on

[7:24] Hillary Clinton.

[7:25] >> I sure did not. And sometimes speeches

[7:27] even by politicians or spouses of

[7:29] politicians are written without any

[7:32] covert motivation at all. They're just

[7:34] written as an expression of the way they

[7:36] feel. And to me, this is one of those

[7:39] one of those pieces of paper, one of

[7:40] those texts in which Mrs. Quail simply

[7:43] put down as best as she could and very

[7:46] well the way that she feels about what

[7:48] we call and accurately family values. No

[7:51] covert motivation.

[7:52] >> Mark Shields, your friend Mark Shields

[7:53] whom you admire so much is dying to come

[7:55] in.

[7:55] >> Mark Sergson is is is a master

[7:57] wordssmith uh a brilliant filmmaker, an

[8:01] Academy Award winner, uh a thoughtful

[8:04] fellow, but I didn't realize he was

[8:05] quite such an anenu at this point. I

[8:07] mean, we're talking about dodging the

[8:09] draft in bold letters. I mean, it it is

[8:11] legitimate what she's raised here. I

[8:13] mean, I don't that that's fine, but

[8:15] let's understand what's going on. What's

[8:17] going on is this is the character issue.

[8:19] We're not talking about four more years.

[8:21] We're not talking about an economic

[8:23] record. We're talking about the

[8:25] character of Bill Clinton. And that's

[8:27] the that's the message that's coming

[8:28] through clear.

[8:29] >> Can I get in here, Mark? There's nothing

[8:30] wrong with raising the character issue

[8:32] and the draft. Uh that's that's

[8:34] legitimate. The question of the law

[8:36] journal is another question. I I would

[8:38] only add to this though that Mrs. Bush

[8:41] and the president have both said on

[8:43] several occasions that they do not want

[8:45] to make the personal lifestyle and

[8:48] character of Bill and Hillary Clinton

[8:49] part of this campaign. And I would I I

[8:52] would respectfully say that I think Mrs.

[8:54] Quail has done exactly the opposite.

[8:56] >> Yeah. What do you think, Governor

[8:57] Thompson, about that? Well, I I have to

[8:59] agree with what David has indicated, but

[9:03] I really think the Republicans should

[9:04] stay away with attacking the personal

[9:07] lives of Hillary Clinton and Bill

[9:09] Clinton. I don't think it's going to

[9:10] serve our party very well. But I think

[9:12] the bigger issue is, you know, words are

[9:14] are easily said, but let's take a look

[9:17] at the action. President Bush has

[9:19] appointed more women to high public

[9:21] office than anybody else. You compare

[9:23] that to the record of Bill Clinton. Now,

[9:25] that's a positive issue that we should

[9:27] be talking about. And I think the

[9:28] president gets high marks of having

[9:30] three women in his cabinet. And you

[9:31] compare that to what Bill Clinton has

[9:33] done as governor of Arkansas and

[9:35] appointing women. It's easy to talk, but

[9:37] action is much more important to me. And

[9:39] the Republican party has done a lot in

[9:41] this area.

[9:42] >> I I think I think it's revealing that

[9:43] that Tommy Thompson makes that point on

[9:46] on the PBS coverage of the convention,

[9:49] but nobody's made it as an official Bush

[9:51] spokesperson on the on the convention

[9:54] podium. Uh Mrs. Miss Quail didn't

[9:56] mention the number of appointments made

[9:58] by women to the cabinet.

[10:00] >> Let's go back if we can also to Mrs.

[10:02] Fischer's point. Uh Bruce Hersen, do you

[10:04] agree with her when she says AIDS is not

[10:07] a political creature and she she hopes

[10:10] and and prayed I think that what she

[10:13] said here tonight will have a lasting

[10:14] impression on the Republican party. What

[10:17] do you think?

[10:17] >> I hope it has a lasting impression on

[10:19] the entire nation regardless of party.

[10:21] It was one of the most uh uh it was one

[10:24] of the most touching uh events of this

[10:26] convention. Certainly, it was the most

[10:27] touching event of any political

[10:29] convention. It was very very difficult

[10:31] to listen to her, see her, and not get

[10:34] emotional yourself about it. I think she

[10:36] did an just an absolutely beautiful

[10:38] service.

[10:39] >> How does it cut on the homosexual issue?

[10:43] >> Cuz she said she identified herself with

[10:46] the lonely gay man and that kind of

[10:48] thing. and she said please do not judge

[10:50] people. Please do not make it a uh a

[10:53] judgment of of uh of uh conduct etc.

[10:57] >> Well uh the majority of times it is it

[11:00] is an issue that would be be regarding

[11:03] behavior. A majority of times obviously

[11:05] there are those times when it is not but

[11:07] the majority of times it certainly would

[11:08] be and statistics would bear out what

[11:10] I'm what I'm saying. I would have to ask

[11:13] the the question, what is it that

[11:17] government should be doing? Because

[11:19] obviously we're talking about the role

[11:22] of government. What is it that

[11:24] government should do? Uh certainly, as I

[11:27] say, every word she said was just was

[11:29] just so beautiful. and uh and and and

[11:33] but but but if if you're going to ask a

[11:35] question at the end of the speech, other

[11:37] than having the American people aware uh

[11:40] of what she's going through and so many

[11:42] are going through, what is it that the

[11:44] federal government or the taxpayers of

[11:46] the nation should do about this? David

[11:49] Gen, don't you think that that this

[11:51] illustrates one of the deep

[11:53] philosophical differences between the

[11:54] Republican party that and the Democratic

[11:56] party? The Republican party basically

[11:57] believes a lot of these issues, these

[11:59] social issues could be sol solved if we

[12:01] change the morality of the country if

[12:03] people begin respecting traditional

[12:05] values once again. If the family

[12:06] breakdown that we've seen over the last

[12:08] few years is repaired and you do that by

[12:10] changing teaching the way you teach

[12:11] people and whereas the Democratic party

[12:13] wants to use the government to do a lot

[12:14] of that. David, we have to interrupt I

[12:16] have to interrupt, gentlemen, because we

[12:17] want to go now to the convention podium.

[12:19] The convention is hearing from a series

[12:20] of individual Americans. They are being

[12:22] introduced by singer Lee Greenwood. He's

[12:25] actually off welfare.

[12:28] In this age of the politically correct

[12:31] contamination of education, the American

[12:33] spirit needs dedicated teachers of

[12:35] traditional values.

[12:38] Teachers who believe in setting

[12:40] standards

[12:42] and teachers who believe all parents

[12:44] should have a greater chance to choose

[12:45] their children's schools and teach their

[12:48] children the values that they have

[12:49] learned.

[12:54] Meet an educator of American spirit, the

[12:56] superintendent of schools in Fresno

[12:59] County, California, and the first

[13:01] education leader in the West to embrace

[13:04] the president's American 2000 goals, Dr.

[13:07] Peter Mas.

[13:16] Thank you.

[13:19] My grandparents were Greek immigrants.

[13:24] They taught my parents who taught me

[13:27] that the education of our young people

[13:30] was worth working for and fighting for.

[13:35] My community is the kind of place my

[13:38] grandparents would have landed had they

[13:40] come to America today. the richest

[13:43] agricultural world, the richest

[13:45] agricultural place in the world. More

[13:48] than half of our students are children

[13:50] of immigrants. We teach them to be proud

[13:54] Americans.

[13:56] You see, just as it was with my parents,

[14:00] education is their hope. We cannot fail

[14:04] them for their successes will determine

[14:07] the future of our nation.

[14:10] So the stakes in reforming the American

[14:12] system of education couldn't be higher,

[14:16] but it will take courage.

[14:19] Powerful special interests have set up

[14:22] their gun nests around the status quo.

[14:27] And just as he did so many years ago,

[14:30] George Bush has the courage to fly his

[14:34] plane straight at him. even as they have

[14:38] fired away at his reforms for higher

[14:40] standards in schools and his GI bill for

[14:43] children giving greater choice to

[14:46] parents.

[14:47] And let me say whatever the educational

[14:51] establishment says, parents across this

[14:54] great nation

[14:56] are enlisting in George Bush

[14:58] Revolutionary Brigade for Schools and

[15:01] Families. Thank you.

[15:04] Our

[15:14] next speaker has devoted years to

[15:15] speaking out for a silent constituency.

[15:18] Today, the nation knows that many of our

[15:20] fellow citizens cannot read well enough

[15:22] to take advantage of America's

[15:23] opportunities.

[15:24] But that wasn't the case when our

[15:26] speaker began working on behalf of

[15:28] literacy more than a decade ago.

[15:32] It wasn't the first time either she had

[15:33] volunteered her energy and love. For

[15:36] years, she had spent her time caring for

[15:38] the sick and helping neighbors.

[15:41] But in literacy, she discovered a need

[15:43] that few had recognized.

[15:46] And so, like everyone else here, she

[15:48] rolled up her sleeves and went to work

[15:50] with an agenda of doing and caring.

[15:53] Well, we all know the results. It is my

[15:55] very great honor to introduce the first

[15:57] lady of the United States, Barbara Bush.

[16:00] Heat up

[16:21] here.

[16:36] Barbara Bush, whom the uh polls and

[16:38] surveys of delegates and out in the

[16:40] country show is at least twice as

[16:42] popular as her husband, the president,

[16:45] getting a reception on the convention

[16:46] floor only equaled, I think, by the one

[16:49] that was supported former President

[16:50] Reagan.

[16:52] She's gone out of her way today,

[16:54] yesterday, since she got here to put

[16:56] down her own speech to lower the

[16:58] expectations of course, which in her

[17:00] case only raises them.

[17:02] >> She did the same thing before she went

[17:04] to school. Exactly. Her commencement

[17:06] address at Wy College, she did exactly

[17:08] the same thing. You're right.

[17:16] The word is that the president will

[17:19] is already is in the hall or in his car

[17:22] at least or somewhere in there and will

[17:23] probably come out and after she finishes

[17:27] speaking along with some grandchildren I

[17:29] think. Is that not true?

[17:30] >> Yes, it is. She's shut them up now.

[17:36] >> Thank you very very much.

[17:45] Thank you very very much. Thank you Lee

[17:49] and thank you all for that warm welcome.

[17:53] Before I start,

[17:56] before I start, I just want to say how

[17:59] proud I am of my very good friend

[18:01] Marilyn Quail. Thank you.

[18:21] I want to thank her very much for those

[18:25] really nice, overly generous words and

[18:28] tell her what a great speech she gave.

[18:31] So, thank you very much.

[18:42] I also would like to say that whoever

[18:47] arranged for me to speak after those

[18:50] fabulous points of light is fired.

[19:00] They made me really proud to be an

[19:02] American.

[19:20] You're a really tough audience,

[19:25] but what a thrilling welcome.

[19:30] You make me feel wonderful. But then I

[19:33] always feel wonderful when I get to talk

[19:36] about the strongest, the most decent,

[19:38] the most caring,

[19:40] the wisest,

[19:42] yes, and the healthiest man I know.

[19:58] Heat. Heat.

[20:20] But you know, there's something not

[20:24] quite right here.

[20:26] Speeches by President Ronald Reagan,

[20:30] President Gerald Ford,

[20:33] Secretary Jack Camp,

[20:37] Senator

[20:39] Senator Phil Graham,

[20:46] and Barbara Bush.

[21:06] >> All right.

[21:10] All right.

[21:14] >> But I'm here not to give a speech, but

[21:18] to have a conversation, and most of all

[21:20] to thank hundreds of communities across

[21:23] the country for one of the great

[21:25] privileges George and I have had in the

[21:27] last four years, the chance to meet so

[21:31] many American families and be in your

[21:34] homes. We have learned from you.

[21:38] And we look forward to meeting so many

[21:40] more of you with four more years.

[22:08] We've met um

[22:11] we've met thousands of wonderful

[22:13] families. When we speak of families, we

[22:17] ex include extended families. We mean

[22:21] the neighbors, even the community

[22:23] itself.

[22:25] We've met heroic single mothers and

[22:27] fathers who have told us how hard it is

[22:31] to raise children when you're doing it

[22:33] all alone. We've talked to grandparents

[22:37] who thought their children child raising

[22:40] days were over but are now raising their

[22:43] grandchildren because their children

[22:45] can't.

[22:47] We visited literacy classes where

[22:49] courageous parents were learning to read

[22:52] and continuing their education so they

[22:55] could make a better life for their

[22:57] families.

[22:58] And we've held crack babies and babies

[23:01] with AIDS and comforted other victims.

[23:05] George and I have seen communities

[23:08] gather around parents with a gravely ill

[23:10] child, helping them take care of the

[23:13] other children, helping them make it

[23:16] through each day. There've been many

[23:19] times in our own lives when we too

[23:22] couldn't have made it without our

[23:23] friends and neighbors.

[23:25] We shared moments with the families

[23:27] where the father and indeed the mother

[23:30] were serving in the Persian Gulf and

[23:32] heard stories of how their neighbors saw

[23:35] to it that the family left at home was

[23:38] taken care of. Whether it was

[23:41] babysitting,

[23:42] helping with emergencies, or even

[23:46] cutting the grass, those yellow ribbon

[23:49] towns not only wrap trees and posts,

[23:53] they also wrap their arms around these

[23:56] young families.

[23:58] We have met so many different families.

[24:02] And yet, they really aren't so very

[24:05] different. As in our family, as in

[24:08] American families everywhere,

[24:10] the parents we've met are determined to

[24:14] teach their children integrity,

[24:16] strength, responsibility,

[24:19] courage, sharing, love of God, and pride

[24:24] in being an American.

[24:43] However you define family, that's what

[24:46] we mean by family values.

[24:50] You know, we know that parents have to

[24:52] cope with so much more in today's world.

[24:55] more drugs, more violence,

[24:59] more promiscuity

[25:01] than when our children were growing up.

[25:05] You know, when George and I headed west

[25:07] after World War II, we already had our

[25:10] first child. George was a veteran. He

[25:13] was a college graduate and he had a job

[25:16] here in Texas.

[25:16] >> Thank you.

[25:17] >> And we eventually settled in Midland, a

[25:20] small, decent community.

[25:30] where neighbors helped each other. A

[25:33] wonderful place to bring up a family.

[25:35] And it still is.

[25:44] In many ways, these were the best years

[25:46] of our lives. George's days in the

[25:49] fields were dusty with long hours and

[25:52] hard work. But no matter when he got

[25:54] home, he always had time to throw a ball

[25:57] or listen to the kids. I carpooled, was

[26:01] a den mother, and went to more little

[26:03] league games than I can count. We went

[26:06] to church. We cheered at Fourth of July

[26:08] picnics and fireworks. And we sang

[26:11] carols together at Christmas.

[26:15] Thank heavens George didn't expect our

[26:18] kids to be perfect. They weren't.

[26:24] Once when one of the boys hit a baseball

[26:27] through the Vanderhoff secondstory

[26:29] window, I called George to see what dire

[26:32] punishment should be handed out. And all

[26:35] he said was, "The Vanderhoff secondstory

[26:39] window. What a hit.

[26:54] I don't believe that George ever had to

[26:58] punish the children. He had a quiet way

[27:01] of making them want to do right and give

[27:04] reverence to God. And it made such a

[27:07] difference having his wise hand guiding

[27:09] them.

[27:12] You know, to us

[27:14] family means putting your arms around

[27:17] each other and being there.

[27:34] No family is perfect and no family is

[27:38] without pain and suffering.

[27:40] We lost a daughter. We almost lost a

[27:44] son. And one child struggled for years

[27:47] with a learning disability.

[27:51] You know, once when I heard an

[27:53] interviewer ask George what

[27:55] accomplishment he was most proud of, I

[27:58] wondered what would he answer. Would he

[28:01] say his years as a Navy pilot, a

[28:04] businessman,

[28:06] a public servant? Or would he speak

[28:08] about some of the changes that have

[28:10] happened since he has been president?

[28:12] The collapse of communism, the fact that

[28:15] our children no longer live in fear of

[28:18] nuclear holocaust,

[28:20] or would he say the enactment of the

[28:22] nation's most comprehensive civil rights

[28:25] law to protect the rights of disabled

[28:27] Americans?

[28:39] What would he answer? Well, it's the

[28:42] same answer George Bush always gives.

[28:47] That his children still come home.

[29:08] This week, this week we are here to talk

[29:12] about the future of our country and the

[29:14] world. But both George and I believe

[29:17] that while the White House is important,

[29:20] the country's future is in your house.

[29:24] Every house all over America.

[29:39] Now, I would like to say a word to some

[29:42] special people. The rest of you may

[29:44] listen in, but I'd really like to talk

[29:48] for a moment to parents who have

[29:50] sacrificed for their children.

[29:52] You may be exhausted from working a job

[29:56] or two jobs and taking care of your

[29:58] children. Or you may have put your

[30:01] career on hold.

[30:03] Either way, you may wonder, as I did

[30:07] every now and then, am I really doing

[30:11] the right thing?

[30:14] Yes, you are.

[30:40] For for

[30:45] where will our country find leaders with

[30:48] integrity?

[30:49] courage,

[30:51] strength, all the family values in 10,

[30:55] 20 or 30 years. The answer is that you

[30:59] are teaching them, loving them and

[31:02] raising them right now.

[31:06] So,

[31:10] so yes,

[31:12] from the bottom of my heart, I'm here to

[31:15] tell you that you are doing the right

[31:18] thing and God bless you for it.

[31:46] I love you, too.

[31:54] Now,

[31:56] since I've met so many of your families,

[32:00] I'd like you to meet ours, all 22 of

[32:03] them.

[32:44] You'd never know it now, but What a

[32:48] handful they were.

[32:51] We thought maybe you'd like to hear from

[32:53] one of our family,

[32:55] George P., our eldest grandson from

[32:58] Miami, Florida. George,

[33:14] >> thanks, Danny.

[33:16] I would like to talk about a member of

[33:18] the family that is not here tonight. You

[33:21] know him as a president, but I know him

[33:23] as the greatest man I have ever known.

[33:41] Despite the enormous pressures of his

[33:43] job, he always has time for his 12

[33:46] grandkids.

[33:48] In a presidential campaign, it's hard

[33:50] for people to get a sense of what makes

[33:52] the candidates tick. The family is what

[33:56] makes my grandfather tick.

[34:10] I would like to read excerpts from a

[34:12] letter that he wrote to me after my dad

[34:14] and I came back from a mission in a

[34:16] relief mission in Armenia before he was

[34:19] inaugurated. I hope it gives you a

[34:21] better understanding of what my

[34:22] grandfather is all about.

[34:25] He wrote, "Dear George P, a few days ago

[34:28] I met with the deputy mayor of Yeravon

[34:30] and the Soviet Union. He was a stolid

[34:33] looking guy and he came in with some

[34:35] people from Cambridge, Massachusetts

[34:37] because

[34:40] because Yeravan and Cambridge are sister

[34:41] cities. A few day he told me about how

[34:44] things were going back there in the

[34:46] USSR. He told me that the outpouring of

[34:49] generosity and caring from America had

[34:52] really meant a lot to the people there.

[34:54] And then he said this. When your son

[34:57] wept, it was on every TV set in the

[35:00] Soviet Union. And those tears said more

[35:03] about the the decency of the American

[35:05] people

[35:07] more than anything else.

[35:19] My grandfather went on to say, "Men are

[35:22] not supposed to cry," says convention.

[35:24] "But we do and we should and we should

[35:27] not worry when we do.

[35:38] I cry when I'm happy and I cry when I'm

[35:40] sad. But when I saw you and your

[35:42] wonderful dad in that church in Armenia

[35:44] on Christmas Day, I cried because I was

[35:47] both happy and sad. Don't ever forget

[35:50] what you saw there. Don't ever forget

[35:52] what you participated in. In less than

[35:54] two weeks, I will be president of the

[35:56] United States. I know I will not forget

[35:58] what that little trip of yours meant to

[36:00] people all over the world. You're a good

[36:02] man, Charlie Brown, and I miss you a

[36:05] lot. Devoted League.

[36:29] This letter means a lot to me because it

[36:31] shows the heart of this man that I love

[36:32] so much. I just wish people who see

[36:35] George Bush on TV or read about him in

[36:38] the newspapers could know him as I do. A

[36:41] man of enormous integrity and love for

[36:43] his family and for all of America. Thank

[36:46] you. A viva bush.

[37:18] Thanks, George. You know, your

[37:21] grandfather is determined to preserve

[37:23] the nation of strong families and strong

[37:26] communities

[37:28] where, as he has said, every child

[37:31] should have someone he can count on,

[37:33] someone who calls him by name. Tonight,

[37:37] you will nominate George Bush to lead

[37:40] our nation into its future.

[37:54] With all my heart I say and I know him

[37:59] best. You have made a superb choice.

[38:03] Thank you and God bless you.

[38:33] Mrs. Bur married to uh her husband

[38:35] George Bush since 1945.

[38:39] mother of five children, grandmother of

[38:41] 12 children,

[38:43] author of two best-selling books,

[38:46] both about pet dogs, the proceeds of

[38:48] which she's given to adult and family

[38:51] family literacy programs.

[38:56] >> And guess who's here?

[39:31] This used to be considered not a done

[39:33] thing, didn't it? A few conventions ago

[39:35] of the nominee to appear before and

[39:37] gradually it's crept in convention by

[39:39] convention and the first one to do that.

[39:44] >> Chester Alan Arthur did it, but he had

[39:47] his calendar wrong.

[39:47] >> Actually, John Kennedy did it.

[39:49] >> John Kennedy do it in 1960. You're

[39:50] absolutely right. But it used to carry

[39:52] with it a certain superstition almost

[39:54] like seeing the bride in the bride's

[39:56] desk before the ceremony the night

[39:59] before. And that was never done. How

[40:01] many nominees have a petty of

[40:04] grandchildren uh like that to stand up?

[40:06] >> I think we'll plan to be able to match

[40:08] that before November here.

[40:11] >> It's a wonderfully appealing picture for

[40:13] television. I mean that that is they've

[40:15] done something very important here

[40:16] tonight.

[40:17] >> Thank you and we'll see you all

[40:18] tomorrow. Thanks a lot.

[40:28] He's president giving a particular hug

[40:31] and thanks to George P, his grandson who

[40:34] who uh delivered that tribute to his

[40:36] grandfather.

[40:41] You talk about a hit, David. This was

[40:44] one. Sure was. Those are wonderful

[40:46] looking kids, too, weren't they?

[40:48] Pictures of those kids, those small

[40:49] children and that 16-year-old grandson.

[40:52] What poise he had. A reminder that the

[40:54] David I'm talking to is David Gurgen and

[40:57] the Mark I'm talking to is Mark Shields

[40:59] and from the Astradome. We have the

[41:01] panel with us, New Jersey Congresswoman

[41:04] Rocka and two Republicans running for

[41:06] two open Senate seats in California,

[41:09] candidate Bruce Hensinson, who's been

[41:11] with us from the beginning and the

[41:12] incumbent senator in the other seat,

[41:14] Senator John Seymour, who is uh joining

[41:17] us now. Senator Seymour, I assume you

[41:20] would agree that that that was quite a

[41:21] hit for uh for you and for anybody for

[41:24] America and the Republicans, would you

[41:26] not?

[41:27] >> Well, and it was also a a hit for the

[41:30] American people to get such a insightful

[41:33] look into the family and the love and

[41:35] the emotion of it. It was just very

[41:37] evident.

[41:39] >> Uh Congresswoman Rock, can you uh I mean

[41:41] the Barbara Bush popularity is a

[41:43] remarkable thing, is it not?

[41:45] >> Oh, it it absolutely is. And let me just

[41:48] say this was the ultimate photo op. I

[41:51] mean this was the ultimate photo op.

[41:53] When you have a family like that and the

[41:56] testimony, the heartfelt testimony of

[41:58] Barbara Bush, every family in America,

[42:02] every woman, every man, every child can

[42:05] identify with it. And you don't need one

[42:06] of my famous lectures on the

[42:09] Judeo-Christian ethics and and uh good

[42:11] moral character to go along with it. I

[42:14] think that's the reason Barbara Bush is

[42:16] so popular. Uh her sincerity comes

[42:19] through and and uh it it it comes from

[42:22] the heart and from years of experience

[42:25] and she didn't have to go into a

[42:26] lecture.

[42:27] >> Yeah.

[42:28] >> Didn't you love it the way Didn't you

[42:29] love it the way that uh she just put her

[42:32] hands up and said hush and everybody

[42:34] hush. There's nobody in politics that

[42:36] can do that.

[42:36] >> I understand there's a banner down there

[42:38] that says Barbara Bush in 1996.

[42:41] That may be what this is all about,

[42:43] >> right, Mr. Hinson? I assume you agree

[42:45] with all of this.

[42:46] >> Yeah, I sure do agree. That was just

[42:48] wonderful. I've never seen a night like

[42:50] that at any convention. Really, just

[42:52] wonderful.

[42:53] >> What are the politics of this, David?

[42:55] >> I think that Barbara Bush not only gave

[42:58] the finest speech of the convention, uh,

[43:00] it was a very effective

[43:01] >> finest. I would say it was the finest

[43:03] speech because it was an it was a speech

[43:05] that reached out beyond the Republican

[43:08] party to the entire country in a way

[43:10] which I think invited everybody in. I

[43:12] think that was very important at this

[43:14] moment in the convention. I think it was

[43:15] terribly important given the kind of

[43:17] charges we just heard from Bill Clinton

[43:18] for example. It was so clear that

[43:20] Barbara Bush and her husband are not

[43:22] captured by the far right as Bill

[43:23] Clinton was was saying. But I also think

[43:25] I the other thing I think it did, Jim,

[43:26] and the reason I think it was such an

[43:28] effective speech,

[43:30] I think the country has lost sight of

[43:32] something about George Bush in the last

[43:34] two or three years with all the fights

[43:35] we've had and the struggles we had over

[43:36] the economy or a desert storm or

[43:37] whatever. We lost sight of the man.

[43:39] >> And I think that she brought us back to

[43:41] the the character of the individual in a

[43:44] very positive way. And and I think that

[43:46] was an incredibly important statement

[43:48] for this convention and for this

[43:49] campaign. Mark, uh, I think Barbara Bush

[43:53] did tonight what she does could do very

[43:55] well and perhaps uh, do better than

[43:57] anybody else. She's uniquely qualified

[43:59] to speak about him and his personal

[44:01] qualities, which she did. She called her

[44:03] husband the strongest, the most decent,

[44:05] the most caring, the wisest, and yes,

[44:07] the healthiest man I know. Thus

[44:09] rebutting and putting to rest as she

[44:10] hopes any of the stories have been

[44:12] circulating about the president's

[44:13] health. But uh, she did, David's right.

[44:16] Uh, she spoke of meeting heroic single

[44:18] mothers and fathers, grandparents. now

[44:20] raising their grandchildren because

[44:22] their own children couldn't. Uh and uh

[44:25] she she spoke about their personal life

[44:27] and and spoke about their own suffering.

[44:29] Uh I found that rather touching and

[44:33] reminiscent of the Democratic convention

[44:34] where Bill Clinton spoke about his own

[44:37] suffering and Al Gore did. I mean it it

[44:39] has become it seems a required that

[44:43] candidates show their human side to us

[44:46] now to show that they're complete human

[44:47] beings who have experienced endured

[44:50] prevailed and uh and been touched by

[44:52] personal tragedy.

[44:53] >> Senator Seymour, back to just on the

[44:55] political thing though. Do you know of

[44:57] anyone who ever cast a vote because of

[44:59] the candidate's spouse?

[45:01] >> Well, I I don't think that's uh really

[45:04] material. What's material here is a

[45:06] close personal and this was very

[45:08] personalized. This was a personal look

[45:11] inside behind the scenes of the

[45:14] environment and the family that created

[45:15] the man and keeps the man going and you

[45:19] haven't nobody's uttered the words yet

[45:21] family values. You didn't have to hear

[45:24] words about family values. You saw them.

[45:27] So the so your point is that that it

[45:30] wasn't Barbara Bush it wasn't Barbara

[45:32] Bush's popularity is what she said about

[45:35] her husband and what the family said

[45:37] about her husband that is the political

[45:39] asset here. Is that what you're saying?

[45:41] >> Barbara Bush has a tremendous amount of

[45:44] credibility and I've gotten to know her

[45:46] over the last 19 months. I've been

[45:47] privileged to serve in the Senate. I've

[45:49] seen them together and what I saw there

[45:51] isn't any different than what I've seen

[45:53] in the presidential limousine when we

[45:55] were riding and talking going between

[45:57] events. So, she's very credible. But the

[46:00] picture was bigger than Barbara Bush.

[46:02] This was family values. This is what

[46:04] this president uh you're thinking about

[46:06] is all about his family and the love and

[46:10] the emotion. That's what it was about.

[46:11] >> You agree, Congresswoman?

[46:13] >> Oh, absolutely. I I think that uh the

[46:16] senator has said it and going back to my

[46:18] statement, you don't have to have a

[46:19] lecture now on what we mean by family

[46:22] values or bringing back the

[46:24] Judeo-Christian ethic. You saw it there

[46:26] and I think that it it spoke volumes and

[46:30] gave the American people whether it was

[46:32] Barbara Bush's popularity or the

[46:34] president's uh character

[46:38] portrayed. Uh, excuse me interrupting

[46:39] you, Congresswoman, but we have another

[46:41] prominent Republican woman coming on the

[46:44] podium now, Lynn Martin, the Secretary

[46:46] of Labor,

[46:47] >> former Republican Congresswoman, who is

[46:49] going to place George Bush's name

[46:51] officially in nomination.

[46:54] >> Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Thank

[46:56] you very much. Thank you.

[47:00] Thank you very much,

[47:03] delegates. delegates, all of the

[47:05] Republican convention

[47:07] and all Americans watching, wondering

[47:11] what the future may bring. Tonight, I

[47:14] have the privilege of placing in

[47:16] nomination the name of the next

[47:19] president of the United States.

[47:26] This convention

[47:28] will choose our president, the nation's

[47:32] leader from the great state of Texas,

[47:35] George Bush.

[47:47] To be with you on this podium tonight is

[47:50] a signal honor.

[47:52] Houston, Texas is, after all, 1,200

[47:57] miles from Rockford, Illinois,

[48:03] where I started as a school teacher.

[48:07] It's even a bigger journey from the

[48:08] northwest side of Chicago,

[48:11] where a tomboy like me grew up and must

[48:14] have driven very patient nuns crazy.

[48:18] But it's not that far in the United

[48:20] States of America, where reaching above

[48:24] what in other societies is called one's

[48:27] place in life is not only permitted but

[48:30] encouraged.

[48:31] It's not that far in a country where an

[48:34] individual's ability to grow can be

[48:36] nourished by family, by friends like

[48:40] you. And it's not that far when this

[48:44] Republican party, this party of Abraham

[48:47] Lincoln, of Teddy Roosevelt, of Dwight

[48:50] Eisenhower, of Ronald Reagan says yes to

[48:54] all who want to join us.

[49:03] This Republican party says no to any

[49:07] test of ideological purity.

[49:15] Ladies and gentlemen, we don't exclude

[49:19] from our party and we don't exclude on

[49:23] our podium.

[49:30] And it's not too far if we have a

[49:34] president of the United States who holds

[49:36] that each of us brings to this party,

[49:39] this government, this nation, the great

[49:42] song of our beliefs, our experiences,

[49:45] our values. For as Republicans, we can

[49:49] sing of a litany of accomplishments.

[49:52] In the past decade, the years of George

[49:54] Bush and Ronald Reagan, it is our

[49:56] America that's moved the world. We ended

[49:59] the 45year-old cold war with the Soviet

[50:02] Union by our deeds and our defense

[50:05] strategy.

[50:07] We won Desert Storm and reaffirmed the

[50:10] prestige of the United States as the

[50:13] most powerful force on this earth for

[50:16] good.

[50:26] That's why Saddam Hussein is not

[50:29] brutalizing a nation and controlling

[50:33] twothirds of the world's supply of oil.

[50:36] They were victories for everyone inside

[50:40] this hall and for every American.

[50:44] All of you made it possible by your

[50:46] determination and belief in the American

[50:49] ideals of freedom, democracy, by your

[50:52] willingness to keep America strong. And

[50:54] you made this victory possible when

[50:57] America said yes to George Bush

[51:07] and no to that gaggle of Democrats

[51:11] honking their noisy reasons why it

[51:14] couldn't be done. And now, the latest in

[51:18] the long line of whimpering naysayers

[51:22] wants you to abandon that strength, that

[51:25] steadfast purpose for the crash politics

[51:28] of fear, and the false promise of

[51:31] change. Because that's the message from

[51:34] that other convention, despair,

[51:37] desolation, darkness. Well, let me tell

[51:41] you what you didn't hear in New York.

[51:44] We're only 5% of the world's population,

[51:46] but we produce 25% of the world's

[51:49] output, twice that of Japan, four times

[51:52] that of Germany.

[52:01] >> You didn't hear that last month in New

[52:03] York. We export more of our goods and

[52:07] services than when George Bush became

[52:09] president. You didn't hear that last

[52:12] month in New York.

[52:17] We have the world's most productive

[52:21] workforce, the highest standard of

[52:23] living, a university system that's the

[52:25] envy of the world. And you sure didn't

[52:28] hear that last month in New York.

[52:36] And you you helped create 20 million new

[52:41] jobs in these last 12 years, enabling

[52:46] this great country to welcome into the

[52:48] workforce millions of people like me and

[52:52] like you. Women who need and want

[52:55] careers, immigrants starting businesses,

[52:59] and minorities seeking and getting a

[53:02] long overdue first chance.

[53:05] You demanded to lower the cost of

[53:08] living, to lower mortgage rates, and

[53:10] your calls were heated. And of course,

[53:13] you didn't hear anything about that last

[53:16] month in New York.

[53:24] Because the Democrats truly think our

[53:27] best days are behind us. Their nominee,

[53:31] Governor Clinton, was quoted as saying

[53:34] that America

[53:36] was being ridiculed around the world.

[53:40] Who's telling him this? Is it the same

[53:43] people from the Democratic Party? Those

[53:45] same blame America firsters.

[53:50] Is it the Democratic leaders of

[53:52] Congress?

[53:56] >> They're aging punabs. Evidently, they so

[54:00] embarrassed the Democratic nominee, they

[54:02] were erased. They were made non-people

[54:05] for the New York convention. But one

[54:08] thing I know, Governor Governor Clinton

[54:11] never never talked to the millions of

[54:14] people who, thanks to the leadership of

[54:16] George Bush, are basking in a glow of

[54:19] freedom, who see the United States as

[54:21] the beacon of hope and opportunity,

[54:24] guiding their path toward individual

[54:26] liberties and justice for the first time

[54:29] in their lives.

[54:42] Perhaps

[54:44] some of you remember the greatest of

[54:46] Shakespearean tragedies

[54:49] about a sightless king who listens to

[54:52] his own arrogance and to the wrong

[54:54] information. It's called King Lear.

[54:57] Well, let us not forget it was George

[55:00] Bush who had the vision when those

[55:03] Democratic King Leers were blindly

[55:05] foundering in the seas of might have

[55:08] been. They were unable then and they are

[55:11] unable now to see the real source of

[55:15] America's greatness. It's you. You are

[55:19] the source of that greatness.

[55:31] Thank God.

[55:34] >> Thank God

[55:37] >> that this great nation had and will have

[55:41] a leader that does believe in you. I

[55:45] said I'm from Chicago.

[55:48] It's a wonderful city.

[55:53] It's a very muscular, tough city, too.

[55:56] And an Illinois poet named Carl

[55:59] Sandberg, who wrote about all of our

[56:01] America and about my city with great

[56:04] insight, he said, "All we need to begin

[56:08] with is a dream that we can do better

[56:12] than before."

[56:14] That's your dream. That's America's

[56:17] dream. That's George Bush's dream.

[56:22] Yeah.

[56:40] It is we, the American people, who have

[56:44] dared to dream, who have made America

[56:48] special. And we, who are Americans here

[56:53] tonight and here at home, believe we

[56:56] will make a better tomorrow.

[57:01] is in Portland tonight. Jimmy Buffett is

[57:03] promoting his new book, Where's Joe

[57:05] Merchant?

[57:06] >> He's going to play a concert in the Rose

[57:07] City tomorrow evening. As Lisa Kaser saw

[57:10] today, Buffett knows how to make a

[57:11] splashy entrance.

[57:15] >> A sea plane carried the veteran musician

[57:18] into this port of call. His first ever

[57:20] water entrance at the Riverplace Marina

[57:22] was perfect for Buffett's barefoot

[57:25] sailboat image. The plane was borrowed

[57:28] from a Portland friend. Jimmy Buffett

[57:30] has a lot of friends here. He likes

[57:32] Portland.

[57:32] >> I came to the Euphoria Tavern on a very

[57:35] rainy afternoon expecting about two

[57:37] people to be there and it was packed.

[57:41] >> Buffett is best known for his laid-back

[57:43] music. He's churned out nearly two dozen

[57:46] albums during a 25- year career. But

[57:49] today's event was a book signing for his

[57:51] first novel, Where is Joe Merchant? How

[57:53] are you?

[57:54] >> As a publicity gimmick, fly in on a sea

[57:56] plane sure worked, attracting over 200

[57:59] people for autographs.

[58:02] >> I'll sign a ticket.

[58:04] >> The Riverplace bookstore sold out of the

[58:06] novel, but not before these lucky fans

[58:08] snapped up the hard pack.

[58:10] >> My hands were still shaking. We've

[58:11] talked about him for a long time, and we

[58:13] didn't even know till this morning was

[58:14] going to be here, but we rushed right

[58:16] out from where Blocks. She came early,

[58:18] stood in line.

[58:19] >> And Jimmy loves his fans. They're as

[58:21] loyal as Grateful Dead followers. Some

[58:24] call themselves parrot heads.

[58:26] >> They're the best fans ever and we're

[58:28] still viable 25 years later. And I'm I

[58:31] couldn't be happier. Most people aren't.

[58:32] They're either dead or they're retired

[58:34] or they're broke by now. And I'm

[58:35] neither.

[58:37] >> A cheery music business survivor. Fans

[58:40] won't forget. Elisa Kazer, Newsroom 6.

[58:44] >> And he's not performing on Waterfront

[58:47] Park. You might think he would be, but

[58:48] he'll be in Civic Auditorium. No, Civic

[58:50] Stadium. They tell me Friday night and

[58:52] tickets are still available.

[58:53] >> So don't go down there looking for a

[58:55] concert tonight.

[58:56] >> Nope. Civic Auditorium tomorrow night.

[58:58] We'll be back at 11.

[58:59] >> See you then.