THE MAN SHE KNEW

Anyone who knows me recognizes my political persuasion. But reading about the kindness, wit, bravery, joy, smarts and perspective of “41,” as recounted by Jean Becker in THE MAN I KNEW: The Amazing Story of George H. W. Bush’s Post-Presidency, I wish we had more leaders like him in Washington today. This article first appeared in Tourist & Town, the award-winning and best biweekly newspaper in southern Maine.

THE MAN SHE KNEW: George Herbert Walker Bush

“41’s" Chief of Staff Presents a Personal Perspective of his Post-Presidential Years

by Valerie Marier

For 25 years, Jean Becker served as chief of staff to President George Herbert Walker Bush after he departed the White House and leapt into a “never say never” life filled with humanitarian outreach, public and political appearances, even sky-diving on his 90th birthday.  Spending winters in Houston and summers in Kennebunkport, Becker became an intricate and intimate ingredient in the sunset years of George and Barbara Bush and has penned those special memories in THE MAN I KNEW: The Amazing Story of George H. W. Bush’s Post Presidency. 

Becker opens the book with a caveat: “If you are expecting deep, dark secrets or tabloid gossip, put the book down now,” she says. “I have read both of their diaries and there were no deep, dark secrets. I also steer clear of politics.” But she certainly was, as the song from “Hamilton” goes, in the room where things happened.

Consequently, THE MAN I KNEW resonates with poignant, humorous and sweet recollections that only an insider like Becker would know. She worked, dined, shopped and traveled with George and Barbara Bush for two-plus decades, and states unequivocally that, despite their fame and privilege, the Bushes were “amazingly normal” people with identifiable life rituals.

Like the summer in the late 1990s when Becker was working with Mrs. Bush at Walker’s Point. She recalls, “We heard President Bush’s voice calling out to her as he walked into the house. Her first instinct was to immediately look into a mirror and pinch her cheeks so that they had a little more color.” Becker treasured having a front-row seat to their 73-year love story.

Becker writes about “George and Bar going off to Sam’s Club” to stock up on food and books, and about him signing up for a Caribbean cruise with 1600 other passengers “simply because he liked the Royal Caribbean advertisement he saw on television.” She recounts the summer night in Maine when the Bushes woke up and discovered a child they didn’t know sitting on the bedroom couch in front of their television. Turns out he was a friend of a grandson “who wanted to watch a different program.” 

But as President and scion of an illustrious family, George H. W. Bush’s life and experiences are eons from our everyday events. Historical references reverberate through the book. Becker says, “I was a fly on the wall sitting in a room with Mikhail Gorbachev, or Helmut Kohl, or Bill Clinton, or James Baker, and think: what am I doing here?” She admits she was never “intimidated” because meeting celebrities “went with the job. But at times it did seem surreal.” 

Becker never forgot her role. She says, “Whenever George W. called his father, that discussion was none of my business so I always left the room.” She also didn’t hesitate to offer former President Bill Clinton advice.

After Bush “43” tapped his father and former President Clinton to travel to Southeast Asia following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Becker took Clinton aside. She says, “I told him to watch out for ’41.’ Because of his Parkinson’s, he’d lost a step or two and was unsteady on his feet. I was quite stern with President Clinton about that.” 

Near the end of “41’s” life, President Obama asked for a short visit. Bush agreed, “I would like to see Barack.” Historian and biographer Jon Meacham happened to be in Houston visiting Bush at the same time and Jean was choreographing their visits.  When Obama requested to speak privately with Bush, she and Meacham left the room. 

A few minutes later she spotted Meacham creeping “back down the hallway. He was trying to eavesdrop at the door. I gave him the devil, to which he argued, ‘I am a historian and this is history.’” Becker’s strong  admonishment won the day.

Becker’s early life was spent on a farm in Missouri where her parents were  “Democrats but not into politics.” Ambitious and bright, she was named valedictorian of her high school graduating class and, in 1978, graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from the University of Missouri. 

Over the next 10 years, Becker worked as a news reporter, culminating in a stint on USA TODAY’S 1988 election team. After the election she was asked to be Mrs. Bush’s deputy press secretary. In 1993 when they left the White House, she joined the family in Houston to research and edit BARBARA BUSH, A MEMOIR. Serendipitously while there, “41’s” chief of staff resigned. Bush asked Becker to take over as acting chief until he “decided what to do. I thought I was just a seat-warmer but he never chose anyone else.”

As Chief of Staff, Becker and her crew of 10 oversaw President Bush’s travels, causes, projects and correspondence. They were assisted by a large group of 15 to 20 female volunteers who opened mail and sent out Eagle Scout and military retirement congratulatory letters. While THE MAN I KNEW includes descriptions of Becker’s 24/7 job, the book primarily telescopes how Bush overcame his heartbreaking loss to Bill Clinton in 1992 and, over the next 25 years, rebuilt his life and legacy.

Shortly after George Bush died in November 2019, she sensed, “I have a book in my heart.” She emailed his children (George W., Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Doro) and received their “100% support.” She then met with editor Sean Desmond of Twelve (a division of Hachette) in mid-March 2020 and handed him a 100-page draft. Becker had no idea what to title the book until Desmond said, “Jean, this is your story. I was going to ask you to interview lots of people but I simply want you to write about the man you knew. Whoa. WAIT! That’s the title!” 

“For me, Covid was a mixed blessing,” Becker says. Being quarantined at home in Houston, she sat at her Dell laptop and wrote “like a mad man during those next few months. I wanted people to know that George Bush was the ultimate gentleman but he was also fun. So I included stories about him buying a potato gun to playfully shoot at tourists standing on the sea wall in Kennebunkport, and how he kept detailed lists of people who fell asleep during daylong important meetings.”

THE MAN I KNEW takes the reader behind the scrim. Becker remembers “swooning” during her 2005 trip with “41” and Hollywood mega-star George Clooney when they traveled to Louisiana to offer relief after Hurricane Rita. She recalls shedding tears while sitting with Bush in a golf cart in June 2012 when he “proudly spotted” the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN77) cruise past Walker’s Point. 

She recounts the morning he asked, “Jean, what exactly IS a Kardashian?” She reminisces on the day she stood on the grassy surround of St. Ann’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Kennebunkport and witnessed “my boss” skydive on his 90th birthday. And sadly at the end, she helped plan his funeral and was with him when he died.

“I feel so grateful and blessed to have been part of George and Barbara Bush’s lives. Working for them was like unwrapping a big Christmas gift at least once a week,” Becker says. 

THE MAN I KNEW is truly a year-round gift for all readers.

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THE MAN I KNEW: The Amazing Story of George H. W. Bush’s Post Presidency by Jean Becker is available on Amazon and other bookstores in your area.