SMU为布什的PRESIDENTIAL CENTER落成举行的庆祝仪式（实况图片）

４月１９日是SMU（Southern Methodist University)建校１００周年纪念日。这天也为布什的PRESIDENTIAL CENTER落成举行庆祝仪式。这是SMU自己的庆祝仪式，所以，我和我LG有幸被邀请参加。（我LG是SMU alumni, serves on the Engineering School advisory board, contributes a considerable size of donations each year)。 下星期４是George W. Bush Presidential Center正式落成开放典礼。那时各前任，现任总统，世界各地VIP都来参加。将在封闭的室内举行，SECURITY森严，我们就没份参加了。（BUSH CENTER从世界各地的私人那里集资了５亿多美元，可见捐款人的人数之多，要仅着重要捐款人邀请就有很多人了）。

以往的４月，DALLAS已经是初夏了。可１９日那天上午才５０几度，而且有风。庆祝仪式在１１点准时开始。整个仪式进行了５０分钟。BUSH到场，并讲了话。我从来没现场听过BUSH SPEECH，这是第一次。现记录下来。

仪式开场前

BUSH到场

BUSH接受STUDENT代表礼物

放一张近影（from SMU website)

BUSH gives a speech:

坐在我们前面的是教师和学生（BUSH在右边的前左一）

坐在我们后面的是和我们一样的校外人士

仪式结束，散场

附BUSH讲话全文，我觉得讲得很好，抄录在此：

Thank you. Please be seated. Dr. Turner, thank you very much for your kind words.

Mayor Davis, awesome, Bush Avenue. (Laughter.) Life doesn’t get any better than this.

I want to thank Alex Mace and the other leaders of the student council for being here.

Mr. President, nice speech. You got a shot. (Laughter.)

I also want to thank my pals that helped get the building built and funded. You’ll be happy to hear that the Bush Presidential Center is completely paid for with no taxpayers’ money.

Laura, class of 1968, and I are thrilled with our association with Southern Methodist University. You know, we had high expectations about the collaborative effort and the joint programs, and those expectations have been exceeded in a very short period of time.

I am some kind of fired up for next Thursday. I mean, it’s going to be a big deal. (Laughter.) We’ll have our President and members of the Former Presidents Club right here on this campus. I’m really looking forward to welcoming one of the former members – one of the members of the Former Presidents Club – and that is my dad, 41. I guess I’d better include my mother in that, too.

We’re also going to be welcoming – not exactly my constituency – but over 500 members of the press corps. And I’m glad they’re coming. Because they’re going to see firsthand why we selected Southern Methodist University as our home.

I mean when they study the decision why, they’re going to find out what I have come to know. SMU has got visionary leaders. And it’s got an active alumni association. It’s got a faculty that is dedicated and smart. And it has a great student body – most of whom go to class. (Laughter.)

I am really looking forward to writing the final chapter of my life on this campus. You know, I hope it’s a long chapter. (Laughter.) But however long it is, it’s going to be here. We’re going to do some wonderful things at the Institute, and we’ll be working with SMU to do so.

To summarize, and just so you know, I’m a big believer in the transformative power of freedom. And so from this very campus we’re going to promote freedom in the Middle East through helping women, freedom of the markets, freedom of our own society by encouraging educational excellence, freedom from diseases in places like Zambia and Tanzania. We’re going to honor those who help secure freedom, and that is the mighty United States military members.

We’re going to be doing some great programs, and a lot of it is going to be in association with SMU faculty and students.

I was sitting up here thinking about how cool it’s going to be at the age of 80 to kind of be wandering around the campus. You’ll see an old guy invigorated by my association with this fine university. You’ll see a guy who hopes that he’s got the capacity to distill and impart knowledge about what I learned during an awesome phase of my life, and that is being the President of the United States of America.

But you see a guy who’s grateful, really grateful, that the current leadership of SMU, the Board of Trustees, made it possible that Laura and I can build the Bush Presidential Center here on this campus. Today is a day to give thanks, and I’m the most thankful person here. God bless you all.

[JustWondering]

雅美之途
布什历史地位由历史学家去评说，杜鲁门离任时民调也奇低。
=============================
请你好好读一下Truman 和他在任时期的那段历史，你就会明白为什么他后来被人们尊重。布什？等着吧。

[donzhu]

cu29,
The point of the war in Iraq raised the question of whether we had the right excuses and reasons to go in there. Ends do not always justify means. It created a precedent for starting a war with false pretense. One also need to have a look at the long term effect of this war not only on Iraqi people but also the rest of the world. Just look at the the financial burden it added to US. Maybe not you, but the majority of the US people now feel that they were duped into that war.

[AP24]

回复yuan222的评论:
嗯，同意你说的，喜欢他的人十分喜欢他，不喜欢他的人十分不喜欢他。

BUSH CENTER costs $250 million, but they raised more than $500 million from all over the world. So you can see how popular he is.

[AP24]

回复雅美之途的评论:
有几个方案，这个设计方案是LAURA BUSH拍板敲定的。说是既要现代化的样子，又要和SMU其它楼相配。

[yuan222]

喜欢这篇文章。布什是个棱角分明的总统。喜欢他的人十分喜欢他，不喜欢他的人十分不喜欢他。无论如何，历史会证明他的几个十分重要的外交决策是正确的。

请诸位大侠看一看当今世界上破坏世界安定的国家是哪几个？对自己国内的老百姓最糟糕的是哪几个国家，那几个统治者？拿着炸药去爆炸公共汽车，袭击人家的庙宇，攻击平民老百姓的是那个宗教？不是布什总统要战争，而是要看布什发动攻打阿富汗和伊拉克的战争的历史意义，和对世界的最终影响。

[雅美之途]

布什这个图书馆是耶鲁建筑学院院长Stern设计的，虽然他肯定为左派但仍不排除为校友帮忙。布什历史地位由历史学家去评说，杜鲁门离任时民调也奇低。

[AP24]

谢谢楼下各位回贴，我就不一一回复了。

我觉得BUSH administration 的某些policies，也许有人不赞同，但不影响他作为总统值得尊敬。

[cu29]

Compared to the guy in there now, Bush and Laura had/has class

Anyone who actually believes Iraq was a better place when Saddam was running things is deluded. 可以get rid of their tyrant leaders(摆脱他们的暴君Saddam) The Iraqis couldn't be happier

Thanks for posting, Bush did a lot of things right

[brb]

这SB也只有在那八杆子到不着的地方能抖活。让他到NYC来吧。不知有多少双臭鞋等着他呢。

[亮油]

Bush and Blair Wanted for War Crimes。
http://tv.globalresearch.ca/2012/10/bush-and-blair-wanted-war-crimes

[何仙姑]

Thanks for posting! I hope Jeff Bush to be the next president.