Former president selects Miller Center to record oral histories

Former President George W. Bush has chosen the Miller Center of Public Affairs to conduct an oral history of his presidency.

“I am delighted that the Miller Center of Public Affairs will record for history detailed interviews with key members of my administration,” Bush said in a news release. “This oral history project will offer future generations a comprehensive look at what it was like to lead the country during some extraordinary challenges.”

Scholars with the George W. Bush Oral History Project at the Miller Center will interview key Bush Administration officials, outside political advisors, members of Congress and foreign leaders.

The project is a continuation of the Miller Center’s ongoing Presidential Oral History Program, which has conducted numerous interviews shedding light on the administrations of presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

“Our core mission is to work cooperatively with each group of presidential alumni, encouraging them to speak candidly to history about what they saw and experienced during the White House years, so that future generations will come to understand each presidency as it actually was,” said Russell Riley, chair of the Miller Center’s presidential oral history project, in a news release.

“The 43rd presidency was, by any standard, among the most consequential of all in American history,” he continued. “We intend to hear directly from those who led the country during an exceptional time, to find out what the Bush presidency looked like from the inside - including both its successes and failures.”