NYDailyNews

First Lady Has Bush's Ear Key influence, Prez tells mag

By KIERAN O’LEARY Daily News Staff Writer

aura Bush wasn't happy when the President said he wanted Osama Bin Laden "dead or alive."

In fact, the First Lady says she used some gentle humor to let her husband know that she thought he came off more like a macho cowboy than a level-headed commander-in-chief.

She told Newsweek she sidled up to her husband and said, "Bushie, you gonna git 'im?"

The President got her message — and told people afterward that Laura hadn't "approved" of his choice of words.

"She didn't want to see me become too bellicose, react with blood lust," the President said. "I'll tell you this: She's not a shrinking violet. I mean, if I do something she thinks needs to be toned down or something, she'll tell me."

In a wide-ranging interview with the weekly newsmagazine, their first since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the Bushes discussed their personal reactions to the attacks.

"I was angry. I was furious," the President said, recalling the moment he first saw television pictures of the hijacked planes striking the twin towers. "But I also realized I needed to be clearsighted. I needed to understand what was happening, get a feel for who was doing this, and prepare to respond."

Coping Tools

The President said exercise and prayer, two things important to him before Sept. 11, were even more vital now.

"I exercise an hour a day; pretty intense these days," the President added. Asked about the role of prayer and faith, he said, "Prayer has meant a lot to me. It meant a lot to me before; it means a heck of a lot now because there's a lot of people praying for me, and I feel it. Truly."

He also credited his wife with helping him to stay calm and focused since Sept. 11: "Laura has always been a calming influence in my life and is a comfort to me as I deal with big decisions."

But friends say that the First Lady has, at times, felt sad and isolated.

They told Newsweek she was visibly down for days after visiting with kids in Manhattan whose school was shut after Sept. 11.

"He acts like I steady him, but the fact is he steadies me," she said.

The President also told Newsweek that on the night of Sept. 11, the Secret Service wanted him and his wife to sleep on a pullout couch in the White House's basement bunker. They refused, went to their own bed, and were rousted about 11:30 p.m. by an aide who told them a plane was headed toward the White House.

The exhausted Bushes were hustled back to the basement when a military aide appeared with a report about the plane: "Mr. President, good news! It's one of our own!"

Original Publication Date: 11/26/01

-- Anonymous, November 26, 2001