Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

First lady reaffirms faith in husband at UNLV rally

First lady Laura Bush took to her role as comforter-in-chief on Tuesday, telling a crowd of more than 1,000 supporters in Las Vegas that while the nation faces difficult times, she has never doubted her husband's leadership.

"In the very midst of these very, very hard months, I think we can look forward to a wonderful future for the people of Afghanistan, the people of Iraq and the people of the United States of America," she said.

Bush visited the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus for her first solo pep rally of the campaign season, and she touched on some tough issues, including the recent images of prisoner abuse in Iraq.

"The pictures we saw recently from the Abu Ghraib prison do not reflect the character of our troops," she said. "From the beginning of battle to this very hour, the vast majority of our military has conducted themselves with honor and compassion."

The military is supplying villages with clean water, providing medicine to hospitals and rebuilding schools, she said.

"I'm proud of the men and women in uniform," she said to a standing ovation. "I'm proud of my husband for so many reasons, not the least of which is the dignity and respect he shows for every single person he meets, the same dignity and respect he has for the office he holds."

She admitted that she and her husband "couldn't have imagined" how challenging the past three years would be.

Still, she said, "I've known George Bush for nearly 30 years, and I've known for every second of our time in the White House that the president has the courage and the character to meet the demands of this time."

Outside the auditorium at UNLV, several dozen Democratic protesters held up signs asking "Where's George?" and "Afraid of Yucca?"

Democratic spokesman Jon Summers wondered when President Bush plans to visit Nevada. The President's last visit to the state was in November, but he did not take questions from local reporters.

Democrats have criticized Bush for promising in the 2000 campaign that he would rely on sound science to make a decision on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and then proceeding with the project before all tests were completed.

"Instead of coming here himself, he sent his wife and other surrogates to campaign for him because he knows he's basically not welcome here," Summers said.

Several high-profile state Republicans introduced Laura Bush with enthusiasm on Tuesday, complimenting her work on education issues and pointing out that this was Bush's second visit to the state in four months.

"I think that says a lot," said Nevada First Lady Dema Guinn.

Wayne Newton, who addressed the crowd but did not sing, told the gathered Republicans that he tried to reassure Bush, who he said was "a little nervous" backstage.

The First Lady opened by talking about when she became engaged to her husband, who was about to embark on his first campaign for Congress in Texas.

"When George asked me to marry him, he promised I would never have to give a political speech and I promised I would go jogging with him every day," Bush said. "Since then, I've given a lot of speeches but I haven't done any jogging."

The first year they were married, Bush said, they spent most of their time driving up and down the Texas Panhandle campaigning in the congressional election, which Bush eventually lost.

"Believe me, you learn a lot about your husband when you spend a year travelling in a car with him. By the end of the campaign it even convinced me to vote for him," she said.

She then reviewed some of her husband's work in office, including the No Child Left Behind Act and his tax cuts, which she said have helped American families pay their bills, save for college funds and otherwise increased their quality of life.

Bush said the rate of home ownership in the country is at a 20-year high, with more than half of minority families now owning their own homes, and also noted that more than 1 million new jobs have been created since August.

She told the story of visiting a February class at Advanced Technologies Academy in Las Vegas where students were reading a difficult text by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky.

It's important to set high academic standards and aid in job training, even for adults who have left the school system, the First Lady said.

While the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks showed the face of evil in the world, they "also called us to the good work of promoting freedom and democracy in the far corners of the globe."

People in Afghanistan and Iraq have been "liberated," she said, saying that more women can walk in public without a male companion, more girls can go to school and more people enjoy freedom of speech.

"Today, 50 million more men, women and children live in freedom thanks to the United States of America," she said to big applause from the crowd.

Bush congratulated state Republican Party chairwoman Earlyne Forsythe on her recent election to lead the state party and said she expects to work more with Forsythe before the elections on Nov. 2 to help reelect her husband.

After the speech, supporter Betty Brown of Las Vegas called Bush "a wonderful example for womankind."

"She's articulate, she's ladylike, and she stands behind her man," Brown said.

Las Vegas resident Mary Ashworth said she thought Bush handled the issue of prisoner abuse well. Her daughter, Candace Simpson, said she respected Bush for cutting "right to the matter."

"We have a great leader handling challenges with dignity and grace," she said.

Bush ended her day with a fund-raiser at the home of Elaine and Steve Wynn, where about 40 guests raised "somewhere north of $700,000," Elaine Wynn said.

The multi-course dinner was catered by Alessandro Stratta, the chef at Renoir at The Mirage, and Daniel Boulud, the former executive chef of Le Cirque, who plans to open a restaurant called DB at the new Wynn Las Vegas resort, scheduled to open in April.

Bush gave remarks to the small gathering, building on the message she gave at UNLV, Wynn said.

"She also gave some charming anecdotes about children's letters that were written to her describing what they thought she did as First Lady, like feeding dogs and taking care of the President," Wynn said.

Wynn, who had met Bush twice before in visits to the White House, said she thinks the First Lady could be a powerful voice in this year's election.

"She is one of the most elegant, intelligent, articulate First Ladies that we've had in my time," Wynn said.

Bush stayed at the Wynn residence Tuesday night and left Las Vegas this morning, Wynn said.

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