The Houston Chronicle

November 06, 1997, Thursday 3 STAR EDITION

Bush arrives for dedication of new library
SOURCE: Staff
BYLINE: RICHARD STEWART, CRAGG HINES; Chronicle staff writer Cragg Hines contrib
uted to this report.
SECTION: A; Pg. 29 Metfront
LENGTH: 1050 words
DATELINE: COLLEGE STATION

COLLEGE STATION - A beaming George Bush stepped off a train loaded with 600 frie
nds, colleagues and family members Wednesday for the start of three days of fest
ivities surrounding the dedication of the nation's newest presidential library i
n his honor.
He was greeted on the Texas A&M campus by sign-waving fans, Aggie yell leaders,
high school bands and evangelist Billy Graham, who gave the 41st president a hea
rty bear hug. As Bush descended from the rear observation car of a special Union
Pacific train that carried the delegation of celebrants from Spring, he introdu
ced former Prime Ministers Toshiki Kaifu of Japan and John Major of Britain.
He also introduced "our boy, the governor of Texas."
"He won't brag about himself, but we will," Gov. George W. Bush told the crowd o
f several thousand. "I think this library will show objective historians that he
had his integrity when he went into office and he had his integrity when he lef
t office."
The library and museum are part of an $ 80 million complex on the A&M campus. Th
e archives contain 38 million pages of records from Bush's four years as preside
nt and eight years as vice president, as well as from his service in Congress an
d in several other high-ranking political offices.
The complex also includes a school of government bearing the Bush name.
The celebration will be highlighted by the formal dedication today. Up to 20,000
spectators - many of them personally invited by Bush and his staff - are expect
ed for the 11 a.m. ceremony that marks the ex-president's transformation from ci
tizen to historical figure.
President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton head the list of U.S. an
d foreign dignitaries. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford and their
wives, as well as former first ladies Lady Byrd Johnson and Nancy Reagan, are al
so expected to attend.
Jeb Bush, another of the ex-president's sons, is president of the George Bush Pr
esidential Library Foundation that raised more than $ 40 million for the project
. He will serve as master of ceremonies. Graham will present the invocation and
benediction.
Major, Kaifu, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and former Polish Pr
esident Lech Walesa rank among the foreign dignitaries.
"We had a good team," Bush said of his administration while visiting the library
and museum while it was under construction. Many members of that team, includin
g former Vice President Dan Quayle, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III
, former Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney, former National Security Adviser B
rent Scowcroft and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell als
o will be in attendance.

The activities Wednesday resembled a large series of reunions as the former pres
ident and his family moved through groups of friends and former co-workers. A gr
oup of almost two dozen White House staffers took time to come to Texas, as did
many of the survivors of VT-51, Bush's World War II Navy flying squadron.
Besides shaking hands, the ex-president took time to toss a baseball and play a
game of horseshoes - which he lost. Near the end of an evening entertainment pro
gram that ranged from classical pianist Van Cliburn to country singers Crystal G
ayle and Loretta Lynn, Bush took the stage briefly to pronounce it "a fantastic
day."
An intermittent rain failed to slow the celebration as Bush alumni from around t
he world toured the library's museum, then moved into a large white tent for a t
raditional Texas barbecue.
The full range of Bush friends and staff were on hand for the evening party. The
crowd included several former Cabinet members. Among them: ex-Commerce chiefs R
obert Mosbacher and Barbara Franklin; Lynn Martin from Labor; Louis Sullivan fro
m Health and Human Services; Sam Skinner and Andrew Card from Transportation; an
d James Watkins from Energy.
The group included former U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills, former CIA Dire
ctor Robert Gates and William Webster, who, at different times, led both the FBI
and CIA. Even staff biggies whom Bush ditched - notably, former chief of staff
John Sununu - were on hand.
Also present were longtime aides such as Gordon James, who started working with
Bush's national campaign in Iowa in 1979, and Bruce J. Zanca, who first began he
rding members of the press when Bush was vice president. There was Robert Teeter
, a Bush pollster.
Bush was mobbed as he arrived at the barbecue and quickly grabbed a Budweiser to
fortify himself against the onslaught of well-wishers. He looked tanned, rested
but possibly not ready for another political campaign as he worked the crowd, g
reeting almost everyone by their first name.
The Bushes even invited some journalists who covered their administration - not
always with an unjaundiced eye, including Maureen Dowd of The New York Times, wh
o made a reputation poking fun at Bush's Yuppie accoutrement.
Anna Perez, formerly Barbara Bush's press secretary and now an executive of the
Walt Disney Co., gushed about how young many in the crowd looked, nearly five ye
ars after leaving the pinnacle of political power.
"Time has stopped for these people," Perez said as she moved on to embrace anoth
er old acquaintance.
While the former president worked the middle aisle, former first lady Barbara Bu
sh, in good political-wife fashion, worked a side aisle - maximizing the former
first couple's still-magnetic presence.
Festivities continue Friday, as the museum opens its doors to the public followi
ng a ceremony with George and Barbara Bush at 9:30 a.m. All kinds of musical and
other entertainment will be featured throughout the day.
Hundreds of children from schools within a 100-mile radius will be on hand. Ther
e will be special readings for them by Aggie celebrities such as football coach
R.C. Slocum and basketball coach Tony Barone. More than 50 exhibition booths wil
l be manned by organizations like the Army's Golden Knights and Texas A&M intern
ational student organizations. People portraying Texas heroes will mingle with t
he crowd.
Aggies Over Texas will provide skydiving exhibitions and riding exhibitions will
be put on by several equestrian groups.
And all visitors will have a chance to participate in some of Bush's favorite sp
orts - baseball, tennis, golf and horseshoes.