小布什忆与尼克松女儿尴尬“相亲”

Young George W. Bush once had a blind date with the daughter of President Richard Nixon. It didn't go so well.

Bush recalls the incident in an anecdote-filled book being released this week about his father, former President George H. W. Bush, called "41 - A Portrait of My Father."

The elder Bush was a member of the House of Representatives from Texas in the late 1960s when he arranged a blind date for young George W. with Tricia Nixon. The son made his first-ever trip to the White House to pick her up.

"During dinner, I reached for some butter, knocked over a glass, and watched in horror as the stain of red wine crept across the table. Then I fired up a cigarette, prompting a polite suggestion from Tricia that I not smoke," he wrote. "The date came to an end when she asked me to take her back to the White House immediately after dinner."

Bush calls the book a "love story" about his father.

In it, he writes of the family's concern when the elder Bush declared his intention to go on a parachute jump to mark his 90th birthday earlier this year. Asked what his birthday wish was as he prepared to jump, George H.W. Bush said: "Make sure the parachute opens."

While the book is heartfelt in its praise, Bush writes that his father and White House staff should have been more active in explaining to Americans why he broke his "no new taxes" pledge as part of a 1990 budget agreement, an issue that hurt the Republican president among conservatives and was a factor when he lost his 1992 re-election bid to Democrat Bill Clinton.

"By taking the issue to the people, a president can build up public support and change minds in Washington. Unfortunately, George Bush did not do that for the budget agreement of 1990, and the bitterness that resulted from his broken pledge damaged his standing within the party," Bush writes.

The elder Bush had a serious illness two years ago.

In December 2017, he was hospitalized with pneumonia. The family feared the worst and gathered at his bedside. The elder Bush put his hand on granddaughter Jenna's pregnant belly and said, "There's death and there's new life."

"We all left the room sobbing," Bush writes.

在本周发布的关于自己父亲的新书《41：我父亲的肖像》中，第43任美国总统小布什回忆起年轻时曾与第37任美国总统理查德•尼克松的女儿初次约会的旧事，约会似乎并不顺利。

上世纪六十年代末老布什还是德克萨斯州国会众议员，他当时为儿子安排了与尼克松女儿特里西娅的约会。小布什第一次去白宫就是去接特里西娅。

“晚宴期间，我伸手去弄一些黄油，不料打翻了一个杯子，红酒在桌子上留下污迹，我十分惶恐。然后我点了一支烟，不过引来特里西娅礼貌提醒我不要吸烟。晚宴刚完，特里西娅就要求我送她回白宫，那次约会就这样结束了。”小布什在书中写道。

小布什自称此书是关于父亲“爱的故事”。

书中透露，老布什今年早些时候宣布想以跳伞来纪念他的90岁生日时，其家人都十分担心，在跳伞前被问及生日愿望时，老布什说：“降落伞一定要打开才行。”

小布什在书中表达出对老布什衷心的赞赏，但他还在书中称，他的父亲和白宫工作人员本应该更积极地向美国人解释，为何父亲在1990年预算协议中违背自己“绝不会开征新税”的承诺。这个问题是老布什1992年竞选连任败给民主党总统比尔•克林顿的重要原因。

“通过向人民解释，总统能建立民众的支持，改变华盛顿的思想。不幸的是，就1990年预算协议而言，乔治•布什并没有那样做，违背承诺的苦果动摇了他在党内的地位。”书中说。

老布什2年前曾患重病。2017年12月，他因肺炎住院。当时整个家庭做好了最坏的打算，都围在病床边。老布什把手放在孙女詹娜•布什•海格怀孕的肚子上说：“有死亡，也有新生命。”

“我们都哭着离开了房间。”小布什在书中写道。