Andy Card on Barbara Bush: ‘Her Actions Caused Other People To Change Their Actions’

EXCERPT:

CARD: “She did not put her thumb on the scale of policy. What she did do was raise a conscience. For example, the AIDS epidemic had people fearful to be around people with AIDS. What did Barbara Bush do? She went around people with AIDS. So her actions generated changes in policy rather than putting her thumb on the scale of policy. She was compassionate. I remember the Salvation Army with red kettle drums raising money during the holiday season and there were malls in Washington, D.C. that banned the Salvation Army. When she heard that, she went right to a mall, right to a red kettle, put some money in, heard the fellow ringing the bell, encouraged other people to put money in. The red kettle — the red kettle, whatever they were, were not taken away from the malls, they were there. So she was a presence and she acted more than she talked sometimes. And her actions caused other people to change their actions.”