[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
[October 4, 2008]
[Pages 1270-1271]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the White House Press Pool in Midland, Texas
October 4, 2008

    It's an amazing experience to come back to a place where you were 
raised. Laura was raised in Midland; I was raised 
in Midland. I was--this is one of the three homes I lived in, and I kind 
of remember it. [Laughter] The bedroom--actually, I do remember the wood 
on the wall that--in the bedroom.
    You know, I love Midland and Texas. We've got a lot of friends here. 
I learned

[[Page 1271]]

a lot of values that I hold dear here. It's good to see mom's--Laura's mom here. And 
it's the first time I've been back here since I've been the President, 
and it was just a very heartwarming experience.
    You know, I've told my friends here, I said, you know, I'm not going 
to change as a person because of politics of Washington--that's what I 
said when I left. And I think they appreciate that. I want them to know 
that, you know, even though I had to deal with a lot of tough issues, 
that I'm still the same person that they knew before, and that, you 
know, I'm wiser, more experienced, but my heart and my values didn't 
change.
    And so it's great to see our friends. You know, we got a couple more 
hard months to go, and obviously we've got to deal with this financial 
situation. Congress took a big step in the direction of at least giving 
us the tools necessary to bring some stability into the marketplace. Got 
to get credit flowing of course so that people feel comfortable about 
conducting business. And so it's--there's a lot of work to be done. But 
it's--in the meantime, it's good to come back here to where it all 
started for us.
    Anyway, thank you all. You're welcome to pay the fee to go in and 
see the house. [Laughter]

Note: The President spoke at 1:30 p.m at the George W. Bush Childhood 
Home Presidential site. In his remarks, he referred to his mother-in-law 
Jenna Welch.