Laura Bush > Quotes

“Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open.”
― Laura Bush

“The English language lacks the words to mourn an absence. For the loss of a parent, grandparent, spouse, child or friend, we have all manner of words and phrases, some helpful some not. Still we are conditioned to say something, even if it is only “I’m sorry for your loss.” But for an absence, for someone who was never there at all, we are wordless to capture that particular emptiness. For those who deeply want children and are denied them, those missing babies hover like silent ephemeral shadows over their lives. Who can describe the feel of a tiny hand that is never held?”
― Laura Bush, Spoken from the Heart Collector's Edition

“I turned to books for comfort.”
― Laura Bush, Spoken from the Heart Collector's Edition

“I think it’s important that (Roe v. Wade) remain legal for medical reasons and other reasons.”
― Laura Bush

“As long as we have books, we are not alone.”
― Laura Bush

“There is nothing political about American literature.”
― Laura Bush

“Libraries offer, for free, the wisdom of the ages--and sages--and, simply put, there's something for everyone inside.”
― Laura Bush

“Maybe it is the media that has us divided.”
― Laura Bush

“I was born upon the prairie, where the wind blew free, and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures, and where everything drew a free breath.”
― Laura Bush, Spoken from the Heart Collector's Edition

“Reading will give you lasting pleasure.”
― First Lady Laura Bush

“Both here and in Russia, he repeatedly chided Putin for cracking down on the press, telling the Russian president that his country had to have a free press, that a free press is essential for a democracy. “You need to have an independent press,” George would tell him. And Putin would invariably reply, “Well, you control your press.” George would shake his head and say, “No, Vladimir, I don’t. I wish sometimes that I could control them, but I can’t. They are free to say whatever they want. In our country, the press is free to write terrible things about me, and I can’t do anything about it.” But Russia is a country without those traditions, and with no memory of them, and many in Russia believed that the U.S. government did control our press. In fact, following a summit meeting, one of the first questions George got from a Russian newsman essentially was, How can you complain to President Putin about the Russian press when you fired Dan Rather?”
― Laura Bush, Spoken from the Heart

“We must choose between a world of fear and a world of progress. We cannot stand by and do nothing while dangers gather.”
― Laura Bush, Spoken from the Heart

“The president doesn't have the luxury of behaving like a smart-aleck kid on a school playground; he has to work not just with Congress but with leaders around the world.”
― Laura Bush, Spoken from the Heart Collector's Edition

“Television is no substitute for a parent. It doesn't help develop language skills; it's simply background noise.”
― Laura Bush

“I have found the most valuable thing in my wallet is my library card.”
― Laura Bush

“I Read, I Smoke, I Admire.”
― Laura Bush