interview de Bush

my first trip to Israel, and only trip to Israel, was in 1998. And
I remember being in a hotel room and opened the curtain over the Old City,
and the sun was just coming up, and it just glowed. It was golden. And I
told Laura, I can't believe what I'm looking at. And after she got her
contacts on -- (laughter) -- she came and looked.

And, you know, one of the great ironies of that trip was that I was on a
helicopter tour of the West Bank with Ariel Sharon. You know, life works in
funny ways. I had just finished a reelection campaign in Texas, and there
was a lot of pressure and a lot of talk about me running for President. But
I don't think either of us would have guessed that both of us would have
been serving in our respective offices in a defining moment in history. And
that defining moment is the willingness of free nations to confront the
ideology of hate; those who use murder to achieve political objectives. And
yet there we were. I'm saddened by the fact that he's in the state he's in.
But nevertheless, it was -- the beginning of a relationship started in a
helicopter flying over the West Bank in 1998, and I'm glad -- I'm really
glad to be coming back. I'm looking forward to being with my friend, Prime
Minister Olmert, and other leaders.

Q Mr. President, thank you so much again for taking the time to talk to us.
Thank you so much.