Mar. 29 / Administration of George Bush, 1991

Statement on the Death of Lee Atwater March 29, 1991

Barbara and I lost a great friend in Lee their grief. Lee will always be in our memo- Atwater. I valued Lee’s counsel and abili- ries. ties. The Republican Party will miss his en- ergy, vision, and leadership. Barbara and Note: H. Lee Atwater was former chairman I give our deepest condolences to Sally, of the Republican National Committee. the kids, and Lee’s parents. We share in

Exchange With Reporters on the Death of Lee Atwater March 29, 1991

The President. Happy Easter, everybody. today, who was head of our party. Q. Good morning. Q. ——in Moscow, Mr. President? The President. Good morning. Happy The President. You want to turn this into holidays. a full-scale press conference? I’ve got to Q. Mr. President, can you share your hear—I’ve got to learn something from our thoughts about Lee Atwater? guest here. The President. Well, I will make a com- See how it works out. That’s an internal ment on that because I’m very saddened. affair. Barbara and I are heartsick about it. Our Q. What does ‘‘seven’’ mean? whole family is. Lee was a very close friend The President. What? to my sons and daughter as well as to Bar- Q. Your answer, ‘‘seven’’? bara and me. He suffered a lot. But I guess what I’d like to say is that we extend our The President. [Laughter] That’s one love and best wishes to his family and, on more than six. [Laughter] the professional side, say that I was very Q. Is this from your CIA days? proud to have him at my side as I cam- The President. That means I don’t want paigned for the Presidency and, after I be- to answer. What was the question—then came President, to have him as head of I’ll tell you what the answer means. [Laugh- the Republican National Committee. He ter] was doing a superb job until he was stricken by this brain tumor. Note: The exchange began at 10:38 a.m. in But I think now it’s sadness and respect the Oval Office at the White House, prior and giving the man credit for the job he to a meeting with President Arnold Ruutel did. He practiced the art of politics with of Estonia. H. Lee Atwater was former chair- zeal and vigor. And I was very proud of him, proud to serve with him. man of the Republican National Committee, Q. What did you make of his Life maga- and Michael Dukakis was the 1988 Demo- zine apology to Michael Dukakis? cratic Presidential candidate. Earlier that The President. Well, I found that very morning, President Bush had responded to interesting and very enlarging. And I think, a reporter’s question on the situation in Iraq as he took stock of his life, he wanted to by saying, ‘‘Seven.’’ A tape was not available make things right, heal some wounds; and for verification of the content of this that was a very noble thing. And I salute exchange. him in death as I did in life. This is about a friend of ours who died

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