BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE
News staff writer, The Birmingham News.
George W. Bush didn't make much of an impression as a Guardsman in Alabama, but plenty of people recall him socially from 1972, with memories fond and foul.
Bush is remembered by those who say they worked with him, socialized with him, even those who say he still owes them money.
Winston Groom, the "Forrest Gump" author, remembers a pleasant dinner with Bush in the summer of 1972. Lobbyist Fred Crawford recalls talking baseball, lots of baseball, with Bush. Birmingham native Murphy Archibald, now a lawyer in Charlotte, recounts how Bush often bragged about his drinking.
None have specific recollections about Bush and the National Guard. Some heard he was serving but never saw for themselves. All of them remember his time with Winton "Red" Blount's unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign.
Bush himself has good memories of his life here. "I've got fond affection of those times," he told a Birmingham audience in July 2002.
For much of 1972, the 26-year-old Bush lived, worked and played in Alabama, mostly in Montgomery. He came to town to work for Blount at the urging of his father and with the help of a family friend, GOP political consultant Jimmy Allison of Midland, Texas. And he lived in a two-bedroom, one-bath cottage in Montgomery's historic Cloverdale neighborhood, the furnished home of a 68-year-old widow.
That's what the Smith family remembers most about Bush, how he left their aunt's home damaged, dirty and dumpy.
"He was just a rich kid who had no respect for other people's possessions," said Mary Smith, whose family found damaged walls, broken furnishings and a chandelier destroyed after Bush left the house. A bill sent to collect the damages went unpaid, the family said.
That's not the George Bush that Joe Holcombe remembers. Holcombe, who ran the Blount campaign headquarters in Montgomery, said Bush was basically a nice, likable guy. "He was very well accepted by everyone in the campaign," Holcombe said. "In fact, he dated some of the girls in the campaign."
Bush was a great tennis player, said Devere McLennan, who owns a small equipment business in Jackson, Miss. "He did all he could to help me become a better tennis player. And I've always appreciated that."
Bush arrived in the third week of May 1972 as an outsider to a campaign that already had been running for five months, since Blount had won the Republican primary on May 2. Bush came in cocky and that turned some people off, McLennan said.
"I think he had some preconceived notions about how the world spun," McLennan said. But after a while, Bush seemed to warm up to his new surroundings and everyone on the campaign, McLennan said. "I think he really grew to respect the people there."
It wasn't always mutual. "There were some people who obviously resented George coming in there. Everything was rocking along and then George was dropped in the middle of it."
Archibald, a Blount relative by marriage, said he believes Bush's social side interfered with his job. He said he remembers many times when Bush would come to the Montgomery office late and leave early. He'd tell stories about his drinking the night before, like a frat boy bragging to his brothers. "I just found it strange that a guy in his mid-20s would feel comfortable enough to talk about that," Archibald said.
Several weeks after Archibald went to work for Blount as a volunteer in September 1972, Allison told him the campaign was having trouble getting materials out to the counties. Allison told Archibald to take over the job, one that Archibald said Bush wasn't doing. That's where Bush got the nickname "the Texas Souffle," Archibald said, from some of the volunteers who thought he looked good on the outside but didn't have much inside.
Samuel Blount, the candidate's son who also worked with Bush, said he doesn't remember such behavior from the future president. He points out that Archibald, his cousin, is "very, very liberal."
"I like him. But I would take what he says with a big grain of salt," Blount said.
News staff writer, The Birmingham News.
George W. Bush didn't make much of an impression as a Guardsman in Alabama, but plenty of people recall him socially from 1972, with memories fond and foul.
Bush is remembered by those who say they worked with him, socialized with him, even those who say he still owes them money.
Winston Groom, the "Forrest Gump" author, remembers a pleasant dinner with Bush in the summer of 1972. Lobbyist Fred Crawford recalls talking baseball, lots of baseball, with Bush. Birmingham native Murphy Archibald, now a lawyer in Charlotte, recounts how Bush often bragged about his drinking.
None have specific recollections about Bush and the National Guard. Some heard he was serving but never saw for themselves. All of them remember his time with Winton "Red" Blount's unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign.
Bush himself has good memories of his life here. "I've got fond affection of those times," he told a Birmingham audience in July 2002.
For much of 1972, the 26-year-old Bush lived, worked and played in Alabama, mostly in Montgomery. He came to town to work for Blount at the urging of his father and with the help of a family friend, GOP political consultant Jimmy Allison of Midland, Texas. And he lived in a two-bedroom, one-bath cottage in Montgomery's historic Cloverdale neighborhood, the furnished home of a 68-year-old widow.
That's what the Smith family remembers most about Bush, how he left their aunt's home damaged, dirty and dumpy.
"He was just a rich kid who had no respect for other people's possessions," said Mary Smith, whose family found damaged walls, broken furnishings and a chandelier destroyed after Bush left the house. A bill sent to collect the damages went unpaid, the family said.
That's not the George Bush that Joe Holcombe remembers. Holcombe, who ran the Blount campaign headquarters in Montgomery, said Bush was basically a nice, likable guy. "He was very well accepted by everyone in the campaign," Holcombe said. "In fact, he dated some of the girls in the campaign."
Bush was a great tennis player, said Devere McLennan, who owns a small equipment business in Jackson, Miss. "He did all he could to help me become a better tennis player. And I've always appreciated that."
Bush arrived in the third week of May 1972 as an outsider to a campaign that already had been running for five months, since Blount had won the Republican primary on May 2. Bush came in cocky and that turned some people off, McLennan said.
"I think he had some preconceived notions about how the world spun," McLennan said. But after a while, Bush seemed to warm up to his new surroundings and everyone on the campaign, McLennan said. "I think he really grew to respect the people there."
It wasn't always mutual. "There were some people who obviously resented George coming in there. Everything was rocking along and then George was dropped in the middle of it."
Archibald, a Blount relative by marriage, said he believes Bush's social side interfered with his job. He said he remembers many times when Bush would come to the Montgomery office late and leave early. He'd tell stories about his drinking the night before, like a frat boy bragging to his brothers. "I just found it strange that a guy in his mid-20s would feel comfortable enough to talk about that," Archibald said.
Several weeks after Archibald went to work for Blount as a volunteer in September 1972, Allison told him the campaign was having trouble getting materials out to the counties. Allison told Archibald to take over the job, one that Archibald said Bush wasn't doing. That's where Bush got the nickname "the Texas Souffle," Archibald said, from some of the volunteers who thought he looked good on the outside but didn't have much inside.
Samuel Blount, the candidate's son who also worked with Bush, said he doesn't remember such behavior from the future president. He points out that Archibald, his cousin, is "very, very liberal."
"I like him. But I would take what he says with a big grain of salt," Blount said.
