Friends in high places: Warwick residents join President Bush at executive signing

WARWICK - Last Oct. 20, President George W. Bush traveled aboard the helicopter, Marine One, on his way to the Patuxent Research Refuge outside Washington where he planned to discuss new conservation initiatives to protect migratory birds. From there he was scheduled to continue on to Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md., to sign an executive order to protect America’s striped bass and red drum fish populations. On board Marine One that morning with the President and Laura Bush, were Warwick residents Bill and Yvette Busch (no relation although the names are pronounced the same) who had stayed at the White House the night before. There is more than one reason why Bill Busch, a contractor, and his wife Yvette, a local ealtor, were invited to stay overnight at the White House and fly to this ceremony with the president. The signing of the executive order to protect America’s striped bass and red drum fish was of particular importance to Busch. He’s been an avid sport fisherman all his life and currently serves on the board of directors of Stripers Forever, a not for profit organization dedicated to making the striped bass a game fish to save it from commercial exploitation. “You don’t see it reported much but President Bush is very much in touch with environmental issues,” said Bill Busch. “A couple of years ago, for example, he designated the Northwestern Hawaiian islands, an area the size of California, as a national monument. It’s now the largest marine sanctuary in the world and the largest area ever conserved in our history.” In 1987 Bill and Yvette Busch purchased a summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, a favorite retreat for former President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara. “He was the president when I first met him in 1988,” recalled Busch. “He didn’t have much time off but whenever the president could spend a few days in Kennebunkport, he often went out fishing. We shared the same boat mechanic as well as a passion for fishing and soon after I was introduced, we went fishing together as often as possible. It became our bond.” The senior Bush now has some extra time and he and Busch fish every time they are together, not only at Kennebunkport, but also on fishing trips to other places in the world such as Newfoundland and Panama where they were recently joined by Panama’s President Martin Torrijos. Since fishing is frequently on the agenda when dignitaries are invited to Kennebunkport, Busch has found himself enjoying his favorite sport at various times in the company of President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Nicholas Sargozy among other guests. “I’ve known President Bush ever since he was governor of Texas,” said Busch. “But I’m always surprised when someone like Putin tells me to call him Vladimir. They all seem so ordinary when we are out fishing together.” Those fishing trips, however, are not ordinary. “We’re never alone,” said Busch. “There is much more security these days and our boat is constantly surrounded by the Secret Service and the military both on the sea and in the air. No other boat is allowed to approach us but if we wish, we can pull up to another fishing vessel. It’s fun to see the expression and disbelief on the faces of other fisherman when the President of the United States pulls alongside to ask what kind of a day they’re having.” Bill and Yvette Busch are often invited to White House events, where they might find themselves sitting around a table discussing current events with the president and the former president. “They’re both very real,” said Busch. “And George W. Bush not only has a terrific sense of humor but he doesn’t express any opinion in private that’s different from what you may have heard him say at a press conference.” This coming spring, Busch will be one of the people interviewed in a PBS documentary about the life of George Herman Walker Bush, 83, the 41st President of the United States. “He’s an amazing man for his age,” said Bill Busch. “We occasionally use my boat if his is being serviced but otherwise he loves to drive his own boat. But that’s not so surprising for someone who goes skydiving on his birthday.”