Meeting President Bush

This is a picture from the Leaf Chronicle of President Bush shaking hands with people at Fort Campbell.  No cameras or cell phones were allowed.

Last Wednesday, February 16th, I got the privilege of meeting former President Bush at Fort Campbell where he was signing his new book, Decision Points.  When I heard he was coming, I asked Eric to buy me a book so I could go meet him.  I had been interested in purchasing this book a few months back anyway.  The books had to be purchased ahead of time and then they gave you your signed copy when you finished shaking hands with President Bush.  It was a really cool experience and I am so glad that I did it.

When I got up to the front of the line to shake his hand and he was greeting each person by saying something like, "So glad to see you" or "Thank you for your service".  I think he said both to me, and I said something like "hi" and "thank you".  Afterwards though, I realized that a lot of people had actually planned a little sentence to say to him.  I wished I had thought it through better and thought of something specific to thank him for that I appreciated about him or the time he served as president.  There was a little awkard moment where I glanced back after shaking his hand and he was waiting, as if interested in what I had to say, and then I just said thanks.  Even though there were a lot of people there, he had a warmth about him that made each person feel important and that he was interested in what they had to say. 

As president, I don't think he made all the right choices, but nobody does.  I have always been a Bush supporter because I think he really did what he believed was right. He thought about things from not only a political but a moral standpoint.  Many times he showed that he truly cared about people personally and made many personal visits to families of 9/11 or wounded soldiers, etc. 

I have really enjoyed his book thus far.  I am just over half through reading it.  It has been an eye-opening learning experience for me of everything that goes on in a president's life.  It has been very interesting to see the factors that came into play with decisions that he made and his feelings behind the scenes.   I have learned a lot about government and politics. But, what I like most is that, when it comes down to it, he is just an ordinary person  like you or I with a very big responsibility.

Just like the Saudi Arabian minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resouces said about his company, "Are there things that now, in retrospect, with what I`ve seen happen to my company, would I have done some things differently? I think - I think we all would  - we would do a number of things differently."

-Ali Naimi