And it's tough on people in public life to some degree. And I've got three other sons and
they all want to go to the barricades, every one of them, when they see some cartoon they
don't like, particularly those that are factually incorrect in total -- total demeaning of the
honor of their brother. They want to -- they want to do what any other-- any other kids
would do. And I say: you calm down now, we're in a different role now; you can't react
like you would if your brother was picked on in a street fight-- that's not the way the
system works. But we have great emotions that I share with Barbara, I share with my
sons and daughter that I won't share with you, except to say: One, as a president I am
determined to stay out of this and let it work and let it work fairly. And secondly, I have
confidence in the honor and integrity of my son, and if the system finds he's done
something wrong he will be the first to step up and do what's right. [fn 21]
Bush's parting shot seemed to contain the optimistic premiss that any sanctions against
young Neil would be civil, and not criminal, and that is very likely the signal that George
was sending out with these remarks. But the avoidance of criminal charges was not a
foregone conclusion. A group of House Democrats had written to Attorney General
Thornburgh to demand a special prosecutor for the hapless Neil. The signers included Pat
Schroeder, Kastenmeier of Wisconsin, Don Edwards of California, Conyers of Michigan,
Morrison of Connecticut, Larry Smith of Florida, Boucher of Virginia, Staggers of West
Virginia, and Bryant of Texas. The measure was fully justified, but it soon turned out that
the Foley leadership in the House, more of a marshmallow-stamp than a rubber stamp,
had been leaning on Democratic members to shun this initiative. This became public
when Congressman Feighan of Ohio, who had signed the letter, retracted his signature
under the pressure of Foley's Democratic leadership.
But there was no doubt that Neil Bush had been acting as an influence peddler.
Documents released by the Office of Thrift Supervision which detailed the conflict of
interest charges against Neil conveyed a very low view of the dyslexic young man's
business acumen: the regulators described him as "unqualified and untrained" to be a
director of a financial institution. An untutored squirt, his father might have said. In the
words of the OTS, "certainly he had no experience in managing a large corporation,
especially a financial institution with almost $2 billion in assets."
The swirling controversy also engulfed Bush's consort. When questioned by a journalist
several days before the Kuwait crisis erupted, Bar "flushes indignantly over the
allegations against son Neil...." "I'm not going to talk about it," snapped Mrs. Bush, but
she then did remark that it was "outrageous" that such a "wonderful, decent, honest man"
was being denigrated just because his parents "chose to get into political life." As the
interviewer noted, Mrs. Bush "smiles with maternal pride, though, when she
acknowledges a rumor that son Marvin, 33, nearly resorted to fisticuffs defending Neil's
honor and that brother Jeb, 37, was so ready to join the fray that 'we had to hold him
back.'" "We just love our children, and they know it," gushed Mrs. Bush. "Someone once
said to me that they didn't know another family where all five siblings love each other so
much. And that's true. If push comes to shove, they're all there for each other." [fn 22]