More Bush Family Lore
Ex-TX LG/Austin lobbyist/ '04 WH campaign bit player/new author Ben Barnes (D) guested on one of the Post's online chats.
This Q&A jumped out at us:
Washington, D.C.: Mr. Barnes -
I glanced at your book in a bookstore the other day, and according to the flap, John Connally supposedly saved George Bush Sr.'s career. I never heard of that -- it seems unlikely. What's that about?
Ben Barnes: I was present when Richard Nixon called John Connally in 1970 to offer him the Secretary of the Treasury position. Bush had just lost his second campaign for US Senate, and was still the most visible Republican in Texas. Connally was a Democrat, and he told Nixon it would be a mistake to appoint him to a high position unless he appointed Bush to something first. Nixon called back and said he'd appoint Bush to be the UN ambassador. That revitalized Bush's political career, and he went on to move up in the political world.