President plays tourist at Monticello

From staff reports

President Bush’s Charlottesville visit began with a 9:20 a.m. landing Friday aboard a Marine One helicopter, which touched down in a field behind Monticello High School along with three others.

From there, walking alongside Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and escorted by Secret Service and other authorities, the president climbed into a black Chevrolet Suburban as part of a motorcade to Monticello.

President Bush’s tour of Monticello was his first of his presidency.

During the tour led by Thomas Jefferson Foundation President Daniel P. Jordan, Bush strolled through Jefferson’s house examining the third president’s many possessions, gadgets and inventions.

The tour included several rooms, Jefferson’s library and cabinet, his office directly next to the home’s master bedroom.

“Here, [Jefferson] wrote 20,000 letters,” Jordan said. He added that Jefferson kept five journals and “he also had a great love of science.”

Separating the cabinet from the bedroom was a bed adorned with a thick pink blanket. The bed was where Jefferson died July 4, 1826 — exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Bush remained mostly silent during the tour through the rooms, minus a few chuckles during Jordan’s narration. A knot of reporters and photographers was nearby, with camera clicks echoing off the mansion’s walls.

As he walked through the master bedroom for the next part of the quick tour, upon receiving a welcome the president answered with one sentence.

“Good to be with you,” Bush said.