# Laura Bush Opens Up About Why Crash Wasn't Really Her Fault **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 28, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617 "2010-04-28T13:09:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/1 "2010-04-28T13:09:24Z")
> [@](#): > > [Laura Bush Opens Up About Crash](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/books/28laura.html) > > …Mrs. Bush concedes that she and her friend were chatting when she ran the stop sign. But she also suggests a host of factors beyond her control played a role — the pitch-black road, an unusually dangerous intersection, the small size of the stop sign, and the car the victim was driving. > > “It was sporty and sleek, and it was also the car that Ralph Nader made famous in his book Unsafe at Any Speed,” she states. “He claimed the car was unstable and prone to rollover accidents… WTF? Blaming the driving conditions is bad enough (and aggrivates, not mitigates, her admitted failure to pay attention to the road)… but blaming the model of car being driven by the person she killed?!? These excuses would be pathetic if her 17-year-old self had blurted them out at the time – but to put them into cold print as a (physically, anyway) grown woman? I guess Dubya and Laura are true soul-mates, with a shared allergy to personal responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/2 "2010-04-28T13:16:21Z")
I guess Sarah Palin hasn’t done anything newsworthy today. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/3 "2010-04-28T13:26:36Z")
Dang, I thought this was going to be a “dimwitted bimbo explains how she wasn’t responsible for the financial crash”, not “soulless pinhead still trying to excuse vehicular manslaughter.” it’s early. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/4 "2010-04-28T13:28:50Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > I guess Sarah Palin hasn’t done anything newsworthy today. :rolleyes: I think we found the culprit to this fiasco. It was YOUR fault, gravitycrash! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/5 "2010-04-28T13:32:55Z")
> [@](#): > > the small size of the stop sign Ohhhhh. It was one of those teensy-weensy ones. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/6 "2010-04-28T13:35:17Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I think we found the culprit to this fiasco. It was YOUR fault, gravitycrash! Well, I did vote for Bush so it probably is my fault. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/7 "2010-04-28T14:10:24Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > I guess Sarah Palin hasn’t done anything newsworthy today. :rolleyes: Nope. Laura Bush wrote a book and it just came out. She also claims that the American party sent to financial conference was poisoned. So pick up your eyes. Put them back in your head . The debates are just beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/8 "2010-04-28T14:17:09Z")
I’d want to see what she wrote in a larger excerpt before concluding what her intent was. The other quotes in that article indicate that she has felt enormous guilt over what happened, which suggests an acceptance of responsibility. From the quote, she may simply be explaining why she thinks the crash proved deadly to the other driver and not to her, not shirking responsibility for the crash. Similarly, as to the article’s unexcerpted description of what she says about the road conditions, she may simply be explaining what caused her to be inattentive to the stop sign, without suggesting that it lessens her guilt in the matter. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/9 "2010-04-28T15:09:59Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I’d want to see what she wrote in a larger excerpt before concluding what her intent was. The other quotes in that article indicate that she has felt enormous guilt over what happened, which suggests an acceptance of responsibility. > > From the quote, she may simply be explaining why she thinks the crash proved deadly to the other driver and not to her, not shirking responsibility for the crash. Similarly, as to the article’s unexcerpted description of what she says about the road conditions, she may simply be explaining what caused her to be inattentive to the stop sign, without suggesting that it lessens her guilt in the matter. How’s that logicky, reasonablenessy stuff workin’ for ya? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/10 "2010-04-28T15:32:41Z")
> [@Associated Press](#): > > [She criticizes Democrats for calling her husband “an incompetent leader” and a “loser.” She says that was “uncalled for.”](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/28/AR2010042800118.html?hpid=artslot) Fair enough, Laura. That’s just name calling. Instead, I’ll say he acted, in his role as leader, the way an incompetent leader would, and he leaves a legacy that is in a class with leaders with similar legacies who are remembered as losers. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/11 "2010-04-28T15:44:36Z")
> [@](#): > > She criticizes Democrats for calling her husband “an incompetent leader” and a “loser.” She says that was “uncalled for.” Is she saying that’s it’s rude to draw attention to her husband’s personal failings, or is she actually alleging that he was a competent leader and not a loser? If the latter, I hope she provides some actual evidence of his competence and non-losing-ness. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/12 "2010-04-28T15:54:37Z")
A friend of **tygre** ’s was killed by a distracted driver. The woman who was driving was fumbling around looking for a CD or something she’d dropped or whatever–it was never completely explained. Her friend was riding her bicycle to work. The driver never saw her. Her friend left behind two young kids. Of course (and it seems too obvious to say, almost), no charges or penalty were laid against the driver. She was back on the road the next day. I agree, yes, it was a long time ago. And I’ll wager that Laura Bush is still grieving, and since we don’t know everything in the book we’re still working off of limited information. But on the other hand, there’s a part of me that says, “You know, Laura, there were eight years while you were First Lady, eight years when hundreds, probably thousands of innocent people were killed by distracted drivers. Why didn’t you speak up then, when you had a reasonable public podium? Why couldn’t you say then, ‘When I was young I made a mistake that ended one life and damaged many others, including my own–and that’s why I want to bring attention to the issue of distracted driving.’?” I don’t want to blame her if she didn’t speak up. It’s her call. But it would have been helpful if she had. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/13 "2010-04-28T16:35:50Z")
[QUOTE=New York Times] Mrs. Bush reveals that she was wracked by guilt for years after the crash, especially after not attending the funeral and for not reaching out to the parents of the dead teenager. Her parents did not want her to show up at the funeral, she states, and she ended up sleeping through it. “I lost my faith that November, lost it for many, many years,” she says. “It was the first time that I had prayed to God for something, begged him for something, not the simple childhood wishing on a star but humbly begging for another human life. And it was as if no one heard. My begging, to my seventeen-year-old mind, had made no difference. The only answer was the sound of Mrs. Douglas’s sobs on the other side of that thin emergency room curtain.” [/QUOTE] Yeah, this is obviously a woman who lacks remorse or any sense of responsibility for what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/14 "2010-04-28T16:41:48Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Yeah, this is obviously a woman who lacks remorse or any sense of responsibility for what happened. Remorse? Perhaps. Sense of responsibilty? “God didn’t give me a tap-back on the results of my stupidity like I asked” argues against that, if anything. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/15 "2010-04-28T20:15:48Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > \She also claims that the American party sent to financial conference was poisoned.\ Huh? Would someone kindly explain to me what that sentence means? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Oldeb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ea666f/32.png) [@Oldeb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oldeb)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/16 "2010-04-28T20:29:23Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Huh? Would someone kindly explain to me what that sentence means? Thank you. **Gonzomax** was being literal. Laura Bush thinks they might have been poisoned. [http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hjil1CFFKxexSRXjq43eNMTS8p1g](http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hjil1CFFKxexSRXjq43eNMTS8p1g) > [@](#): > > Writing in her book “Spoken from the Heart,” due to be released in May, Laura Bush says that the US Secret Service probed whether the presidential delegation may have been poisoned at the G8 summit. > > George W. Bush spent part of the summit bedridden. > > Doctors concluded that they had contracted a virus, she said, according to the Times report. > > However “we never learned if any other delegations became ill, or if ours, mysteriously, was the only one,” Laura Bush wrote. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/17 "2010-04-28T20:47:58Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > A friend of **tygre** ’s was killed by a distracted driver. The woman who was driving was fumbling around looking for a CD or something she’d dropped or whatever–it was never completely explained. Her friend was riding her bicycle to work. The driver never saw her. Her friend left behind two young kids. Of course (and it seems too obvious to say, almost), no charges or penalty were laid against the driver. She was back on the road the next day.\ I started a Pit thread a couple of months ago called, “If you want to kill someone consequence-free, do it with your car.” or something like that. Yee-haw. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/18 "2010-04-28T21:43:48Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > WTF? Blaming the driving conditions is bad enough (and aggrivates, not mitigates, her admitted failure to pay attention to the road)… but blaming the model of car being driven by the person she killed?!? These excuses would be pathetic if her 17-year-old self had blurted them out at the time – but to put them into cold print as a (physically, anyway) grown woman? > > I guess Dubya and Laura are true soul-mates, with a shared allergy to personal responsibility. I note that you seem to have left off the next sentence - > [@](#): > > But none of that would ever ease the night of November 6. Not for me, and never for the Douglases. I see the rule about misleading thread titles being trolling is not in effect any more. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/19 "2010-04-28T21:49:16Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I note that you seem to have left off the next sentence - > > I see the rule about misleading thread titles being trolling is not in effect any more. > > Regards, > Shodan A good point but to me it loses effect with this: > [@](#): > > “It was sporty and sleek, and it was also the car that Ralph Nader made famous in his book Unsafe at Any Speed,” she states. “He claimed the car was unstable and prone to rollover accidents… She feels bad but blames the make of the car? Honestly I don’t a give a shit about Laura Bush but that doesn’t mean that isn’t a shitty thing to say. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/20 "2010-04-28T21:55:44Z")
Who here supports the use of the death penalty for minors? Just a poll of respondents to the thread to date… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617.md?page=2)