The Bush Family Mansion ---pix--->>> - Democratic Underground

Stephanie

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Sat Jun-30-07 06:39 PM
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The Bush Family Mansion ---pix--->>>

Edited on Sat Jun-30-07 06:45 PM by Stephanie

It's just a petite little cottage on the rocky coast of Maine, maintained with blood money for at least three generations.

The Bush compound, formally Walker's Point, is the summer home of 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush. Located adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean in southern Maine, near the town of Kennebunkport, the property has been a family retreat for more than a century.

The estate was first purchased by St. Louis banker George H. Walker in the late 19th century, who built the mansion in 1903. The estate was later sold to his daughter Dorothy Walker Bush and her husband Prescott Bush, and has remained in the Bush family since.

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The estate is situated on the strip of land called Walker's Point which juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. The large central house, built in the New England shingle style, has nine bedrooms, four sitting rooms, an office, a den, a library, a dining room, a kitchen, and various patios and decks. Next to the main house are a four-car garage, a pool, tennis court, dock, boathouse, and guesthouse. There are spacious lawns on either side of the house, on which there is a small sportsfield.

The entrance is gated, and guarded by Secret Service officers, though visitors can see the driveway leading up to the main house and a circular driveway, in the middle of which is a large flagpole flying the American flag.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_Compound

What's happening in Kennebunkport today? >>>

A police car on patrol passes in front of Walker's Point, the Bush family compound, in Kennebunkport,
Maine Saturday, June 30, 2007. President George Bush will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin
at Walker's Point on Sunday and Monday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070630/480/3c303ee14a2c4ac1aab3c8a21d81f948

A police officer inspects a car at a checkpoint near Walker's Point, the Bush family compound, in Kennebunkport,
Maine Saturday, June 30, 2007. President George Bush will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Walker's
Point on Sunday and Monday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070630/480/92eda827110c4fd08fb7035c70c08e4a

What to expect when you visit the Bushes in Maine >>>

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/30/magazine/30questions.html?ex=1288324800&en=7e0c11cda87bcb9a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Questions for Ariel de Guzman
The Dish on the Bushes
Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON
Published: October 30, 2005

Q: The recipes in your new book, "The Bush Family Cookbook," are surprisingly fattening. The Bush family recipe for mixed-vegetable casserole, for instance, combines frozen peas and green beans with three cups of mayonnaise and heavy cream. Isn't that unhealthful?

Ariel de Guzman.
Only if you eat the whole dish. This is for how many people?

According to the recipe, it serves eight.

There you go!

There you go where? It doesn't sound as if the Bushes believe in dieting.

No. It's a personal choice. I think we're too conscious about what we see and what we read in the newspaper, rather than thinking for our own.

Well, President Bush the elder has been a voice of antinutrition ever since he declared his dislike of broccoli.

It's not only broccoli, but we are also talking about brussels sprouts, alfalfa and cabbage and anything that does not have a good smell.

Is that why some of your recipes call for canned vegetables?

As far as nutrition is concerned, canned or frozen vegetables have more nutrition than fresh vegetables. It's added from the companies, the manufacturer.

You can't possibly see yourself as a serious cook.

No, ma'am, not at all. I wouldn't know what fresh saffron looks like. I'm not into research.

****

From what you have seen of his parents at mealtime, do they seem upset by the harsh criticism their son has been receiving lately?

They're used to it. They have been through that themselves, even though Mrs. Bush would sometimes give a deep sigh, and say: "Ah, they are blaming everything on young George. Poor George."

I guess you see the current president and the rest of the Bush clan mostly in Maine. Do you have to get up at midnight if someone wants a sundae?

Mrs. Bush doesn't like midnight snacks. After dinner, nobody should go back to the kitchen until the next morning for breakfast. After dessert, the kitchen is secured. She is strict about that.

I imagine you have fed many world leaders.

We ask them first if they are allergic to certain food. For one thing, Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia - he won't eat shellfish. He's a constant visitor to the residence, and he is a very nice guy.

And when Bush was president and traveled overseas, did you ever worry that he would be poisoned?

No. Our guys will be in the kitchen, watching the preparation. It's our guys who pick up the plate and serve the food to the president without anyone else touching it.

What about his drinks?

When he asks for a vodka on the rocks, it's our guys who mix it from our own supply that we have to bring all the way around the world with us. Nobody knows that.