Media a Point of Agreement for Mmes. Bush, Clinton : Press: ‘Avoid that crowd like the plague,’ First Lady tells her successor. She also warns of being misquoted.
WASHINGTON — They may not agree on much, but on at least one topic, Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton seem to be in sync: the press.
“Avoid that crowd like the plague,†Mrs. Bush told Mrs. Clinton, gesturing to the nearby mob of photographers and reporters as the outgoing First Lady greeted her successor at the White House door Thursday. “And if they quote you, make damn sure they heard you.â€
“That’s right. I know that feeling already,†Mrs. Clinton responded, laughing. “Hi, everyone,†she added, turning to the press pack.
And then, hand in hand, the two turned up the path and stepped into what will soon be the Clintons’ home.
Both women have had testy words for reporters in the past. Mrs. Bush several times has looked askance at her husband’s willingness to have reporters around their vacation home in Kennebunkport, Me., and on one occasion she frostily admonished a group of reporters to wipe their feet first when the President offered to take them on a tour of the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Paris.
Mrs. Clinton, for her part, was often angered during the presidential campaign by what she saw as excessive attention the press paid to matters of style and personality rather than such issues as the economy, health care and the welfare of children. She has expressed anger at what she views as press attempts to invade the “zone of privacy†that she argues her family should not have to abandon when it occupies the White House on Jan. 20.
Mrs. Bush made clear that with her family about to leave the White House, she plans to move as fast as she can to reassert the privacy she and the President have lost over the years.
They will move to Houston, where, she said, they plan to build a house on a tiny lot the couple owns, a piece of property that had been the subject of derisive comments during the campaign.
“We’re building it on the lot that you all rudely said we couldn’t build on,†she told reporters before Mrs. Clinton’s arrival.
During the Republican National Convention in August, Democrats took reporters on a tour of Bush’s lot, poking fun at the President’s claim that the tiny piece of land should be enough to make him an official Texas resident.
Bush owns a much more substantial piece of property on the seashore in Kennebunkport. But critics have been quick to point out that Maine has a state income tax while Texas does not, and claiming Texas residence therefore saves the Bushes money.
The lot in question is a long sliver of property, 33 feet wide and 130 feet long. Local zoning ordinances requiring setbacks would limit a house on the property to no more than 13 feet in width, officials have said.
But building there is possible, as an architect consulted by The Times demonstrated in October. Indeed, one could build a fairly substantial home on the grounds, but it would be expensive to do, Newport Beach architect Brion S. Jeanette said at the time. Mrs. Bush now has found an architect of her own after looking at 21 houses in Houston that the couple could have bought. “Already have the plans,†she proudly told reporters.
While construction is under way, she said, the Bushes will rent a house. “None of your business,†she responded when reporters asked its location.
Mrs. Clinton arrived in Washington for a pre-inaugural visit on Wednesday with her husband, President-elect Bill Clinton, and she wasted little time spotlighting her advocacy of children’s issues.
“I hope and I trust it can be the great mission of this country . . . to make sure no child is left behind and all children have the promise that America holds out,†she said Wednesday night in addressing the annual convention of the Children’s Defense Fund, a liberal interest group on whose board she serves.
Along with her meeting with Mrs. Bush on Thursday, Mrs. Clinton met with friends to discuss “what it’s like to live in Washington,†said her press secretary, Lisa Caputo.
Mrs. Clinton also has begun talking with friends and others familiar with Washington about possible schools for the couple’s 12-year-old daughter, Chelsea. While chatting with well-wishers Wednesday night, her husband mentioned at least one school they have considered, a public junior high school in one of Washington’s more prosperous neighborhoods.
Chelsea Clinton has attended public schools in Little Rock, Ark.--a point of pride for both her parents--but whether she will continue to do so in Washington remains an unanswered question.
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