Stemming off the theme of the evening — Christianity and his presidency — President George W. Bush spoke about what it was like to be in his shoes during pivotal, decision-making moments in the White House.“are there things I wish I hadn’t done? yes, sometimes my language got away from me,” Bush said. “for example, when I said, ‘We want Bin Laden dead or alive.’ It wasn’t a very sophisticated message and I wish I could take it back.” he added he was speaking to one of the four audiences he had to address during his presidency, all which required different tones — clarifying this was to rally the troops and intimidate the enemy.Bush spoke in front of an audience of around 1,400 Tuesday, April 24, which also happened to be Pennsylvania’s Primary Election day, at Calvary Church in Souderton. he was the keynote speaker of the Plumstead Christian School Founder’s Forum, an annual fundraising event that brings notable figures — religious or otherwise — to speak on how Christianity directly affected their very public role, according the school’s website. Last year, former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin spoke at the event.“People often ask me if God ever spoke to me and I usually quip that it wouldn’t be good to have a president that is hearing voices,” Bush said.
He then added a story about a special moment he witnessed in Bucharest, Romania, when he was present to welcome the former Soviet bloc country to NATO.There was a large empty balcony in the center of the main square in Bucharest where the event was held and Bush asked why. Apparently this was where Nicolae Ceasescu, the country’s last communist leader, addressed the crowd that sprung the 1989 revolution — it remained empty as a symbol of peace.“During this overcast day with light rain, a rainbow appeared just as I went up to speak,” Bush said. “It ended just behind the balcony and I mimed to the audience ‘God is smiling on Bucharest.’”Bush often defended decisions he made that strayed from his traditional conservative agenda throughout his talk Tuesday night — talking specifically about the advent of the financial crisis and advice given to him by Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry “Hank” Paulson.“They said, ‘If you don’t do something now, this country is likely to see a depression,’” Bush said. “I always thought the markets should sort out the winners and losers but I didn’t want it to go into the history books that I could have averted a depression.”he said if he had the opportunity he would do the same thing again, garnering audience applause. Continued…
- 1
- 2
- See Full Story