Bush I & Bush II Share Their Thoughts on Vibrating Chairs in Their Goodbye Interview

Posted by Jan Frel, AlterNet at 3:44 PM on January 12, 2009.

This doesn't need much introduction. Here's the link from Fox News's Brit Hume interview with the Bush father and son -- and here's the touching ending to the latest installment of the Bush era:

HUME: When you first took office, took occupancy of this office, as I recall, the two of you had a brief moment together.

G.W. BUSH: Right.

HUME: Can you reflect on that? Do you remember it?

G.W. BUSH: We had just witnessed the Inaugural Parade, and I came upstairs at the White House up there, and I think you were taking a nap.

G.H.W. BUSH: No, I was in the bathtub, thawing out.

G.W. BUSH: Yes, he was in the bathtub. (Laughter.)

HUME: Were you really?

G.H.W. BUSH: Yes.

G.W. BUSH: Of course, I yelled through the door. Anyway, I said, why don't you come over and meet me in the Oval Office? And so I got in here before he did, and I was just getting a sense of what it was like to be in the shrine of democracy. And then I looked up, and in comes 41. And it was a moving moment. It was a great day for me, a very proud moment.

HUME: Can you remember what was said?

G.W. BUSH: Not really. I had a weird chair, as I recall. It had like an electric cord on it. And I don't — did you use the weird chair with the electric cord?

G.H.W. BUSH: Yes.

G.W. BUSH: Well, I didn't use the weird chair with the electric cord, but he showed me how to operate it.

HUME: What did it do?

G.W. BUSH: Jiggle or something.

HUME: Where you put on your fingers, turned off the lights, and magic fingers make you feel all right? That kind of thing? (Laughter.)

G.H.W. BUSH: I remember this totally different. I remember being in the bathtub after that ice-cold Inaugural Parade or whatever, and one of the guys that was in the White House said, get out of the bathtub, Mr. President, you got to get over; the president wants you right now. (Laughter.) Come on, I'm just thawing out here. Get over there. (Laughter.) So I went over and it was very, very moving.

G.W. BUSH: It was an awesome moment, it really was, as you can imagine.