Top 70 Laura Bush Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “I have found the most valuable thing in my wallet is my library card.”

— Laura Bush

2. “Leadership is not about popularity, it is about doing what is right.”

— Laura Bush

3. “Libraries are community treasure chests, loaded with a wealth of information available to everyone equally, and the key to that treasure chest is the library card. I have found the most valuable thing in my wallet is my library card.”

— Laura Bush

4. “When you read with your child, you show them that reading is important, but you also show them they’re important – that they are so important to you that you will spend 20 minutes a day with your arm around them.”

— Laura Bush

Featured in: Reading Quotes

5. “There’s a very close tie between good health and good education.”

— Laura Bush

6. “When you reach out to others in need, when you reach out to the world, you really do have a satisfying life by helping others.”

— Laura Bush

7. “Children who are read to learn two things: First, that reading is worthwhile, and second, that they are worthwhile.”

— Laura Bush

Featured in: Reading Quotes

8. “Giving homeless children the chance to be educated, giving them this ticket to their futures, is so wonderful. They will have the chance to not repeat the suffering of their childhoods in their own families. They can build secure and safe lives for themselves and their children.”

— Laura Bush

9. “The power of a book lies in its power to turn a solitary act into a shared vision. As long as we have books, we are not alone.”

— Laura Bush

10. “The fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women.”

— Laura Bush

11. “Libraries offer, for free, the wisdom of the ages – and sages – and, simply put, there’s something for everyone inside.”

— Laura Bush

12. “We can overcome evil with greater good.”

— Laura Bush

13. “Women have a better chance to secure freedom and protect themselves from violence, from abuse, from injustice, if they are well-educated and know their rights.”

— Laura Bush

14. “As long as we have books, we are not alone.”

— Laura Bush

15. “Nothing attracts attention like a red dress.”

— Laura Bush

16. “Education is the key. With a really good education, you have a much broader view of the world. Well-educated people can seek help for themselves. They can help others.”

— Laura Bush

17. “Because women don’t expect to have heart disease, a lot of times they don’t seek help if they have the early symptoms of a heart attack.”

— Laura Bush

18. “I Read, I Smoke, I Admire.”

— Laura Bush

19. “I said, ‘George, if you really want to end tyranny in this world, you’re going to have to stay up later.’ Nine o’clock and Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep...”

— Laura Bush

20. “I was born upon the prairie, where the wind blew free, and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures, and where everything drew a free breath.”

— Laura Bush

21. “No one likes to be criticized.”

— Laura Bush

22. “I’m not wild about the term first lady. I’d just like to be called Laura Bush.”

— Laura Bush

23. “A love of books, of holding a book, turning its pages, looking at its pictures, and living its fascinating stories goes hand-in-hand with a love of learning.”

— Laura Bush

Featured in: Quotes About Stories

24. “I’ve always loved children. When I was working with children as a librarian, I loved being with them and working around them.”

— Laura Bush

25. “Time spent in nature decreases stress and anxiety and improves focus for adults as well as children.”

— Laura Bush

26. “We see all around the world where women’s rights are denied, where governments don’t believe in educating their girls. There are 800 million people in the world who are illiterate and 75 percent of them are women and girls.”

— Laura Bush

27. “Diseases don’t respect borders. You know, just at the edge of the American border, that isn’t the edge of diseases. We need to be sure that we’re looking worldwide. And it is in our security interest, as well as our moral interest, to pay attention to the rest of the world.”

— Laura Bush

28. “My mother was my Girl Scout leader, and George’s mother was his Cub Scout leader. In fact, that’s when some say her hair turned white.”

— Laura Bush

29. “It’s not easy to have the job of president. It’s not easy to run for it. And it’s not a job for the feint of heart.”

— Laura Bush

30. “I see that one part of the education of women is health education. We know that women who are educated have much healthier families...”

— Laura Bush

31. “There is nothing political about American literature.”

— Laura Bush

Featured in: Reading Quotes

32. “We know how unhealthy it is. I know what happens, though – young women start smoking because they don’t think they’re really going to keep smoking.”

— Laura Bush

33. “I have always admired organizations that help children grow and learn, and organizations that protect and shelter children when no one else does. And I wanted to draw attention to these organizations and recognize the contributions they were making to the country and to our children in particular.”

— Laura Bush

34. “I’m inspired by my faith and all the different people around me.”

— Laura Bush

35. “I also want to encourage anybody who was affected by Hurricane Corina to make sure their children are in school.”

— Laura Bush

36. “It’s a huge advantage to have parents who read to you. And it’s an advantage that lasts a lifetime.”

— Laura Bush

37. “A good book is like an unreachable itch. You just can’t leave it alone.”

— Laura Bush

38. “I would never do anything to undermine my husband’s point of view.”

— Laura Bush

39. “My husband and I have always incorporated things into our life that reduce stress. We’re very careful with our health. We go to bed early. In this job, fatigue would be very detrimental! We’ve always eaten very healthily; now it’s really particularly easy because we have a chef.”

— Laura Bush

40. “In contrast to my husband, I can pronounce the word nuclear.”

— Laura Bush

41. “Girls learn how to relate to men from the way their fathers love them. And if their fathers really love them and want the very best for them, then they’ve seen that kind of good behavior that they’d want in a husband.”

— Laura Bush

42. “Politics is a people business. I like people.”

— Laura Bush

43. “It’s really important for people who are HIV positive to reach out to let other people know that they can be tested, they can find out they can still live a life – a positive life, a happy life.”

— Laura Bush

44. “Reading will give you lasting pleasure.”

— Laura Bush

Featured in: Reading Quotes

45. “I think there are a lot of reasons to be critical of the media in America.”

— Laura Bush

46. “Educated people can make their own choices about their governments. And certainly for women, an education allows you to understand your rights.”

— Laura Bush

47. “There are gender health differences, and we need to know what they are.”

— Laura Bush

48. “Well, we’ve faced very difficult decisions and challenges in our country, every one of us have, as we – since September 11th, as we fought the war on terror, all of those decisions that the President had to make to put young men and women in harm’s way.”

— Laura Bush

49. “I like this idea of generation after generation helping children on the streets, kids who have run away fleeing violence. I like the whole idea of opening arms for children who have nowhere else to go, sleeping by dumpsters.”

— Laura Bush

50. “I don’t really feel like I have to have a debate with my husband over issues.”

— Laura Bush