--- title: What We Learned About George W. Bush From Dana Perino's Memoir description: Anecdotes about Putin, Olmert and the shoe-throwing incident canonical: https://time.com/3828643/dana-perino-memoir/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-22T15:05:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T06:31:38.795Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 5 Things We Learned About Bush From Dana Perino's Memoir og:description: Anecdotes about Putin, Olmert and the shoe-throwing incident og:url: https://time.com/3828643/dana-perino-memoir/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt067f9dc3e5651d3b/6987ebedcd1bba19756f90a5/andthegoodnewsishc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1683 og:image:height: 947 og:image:alt: AndTheGoodNewsIsHC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Things We Learned About Bush From Dana Perino's Memoir twitter:description: Anecdotes about Putin, Olmert and the shoe-throwing incident twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt067f9dc3e5651d3b/6987ebedcd1bba19756f90a5/andthegoodnewsishc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Things We Learned About George W. Bush From Insider's New Memoir > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Apr 22, 2015 3:05 PM UTC  Twelve by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Apr 22, 2015 3:05 PM UTC As only the second woman to serve as a U.S. president’s press secretary, Dana Perino has plenty of inside-Washington stories. Not that she’s telling _all_ of them in her new memoir, [_And the Good News Is_](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1455584908/?tag=timecom-20)_… Lessons and Advice From the Bright Side_. It’s a friendly book, careful to stay loyal to George W. Bush and to show what a good boss he was behind the scenes. But the anecdotes she does share paint her own unique view of the former commander-in-chief. 1\. Perino was injured in the kerfuffle after someone threw a shoe at Bush in Baghdad; he thought she was just crying on his behalf. --- > “” --- 2\. Bush stuck up for then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with gusto during 2008 peace talks. At a dinner at Olmert’s residence, where several Israelis were apparently against a deal, Bush stood up to make an announcement: --- > “” --- He then asked the Israeli cabinet members to talk about their backgrounds and what brought their families to Israel. When they were done, Perino says, “they kept saying that they’d never known this or that about one another.” Bush concluded, “I had a feeling you all may have forgotten why you were here in the first place. Thank you for having us. Good night.” On the plane the next day, Perino brought up the exchange and Bush said, “Pretty cool, huh?” 3\. Bush tried to prevent Putin from embarrassing himself by stating that he thought Bush had fired Dan Rather from CBS, which revealed how little the Russian leader understood about American media. --- > “” --- Putin [said it anyway](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1032354,00.html). 4\. Bush was hurt about not being included the 2008 Republican convention. As Perino explains it, they sensed that the McCain-Palin campaign “was stalling to make a decision until it was too late for us to leave in time.” Bush stayed at the White House to give a statement on Hurricane Gustav. --- > “” --- 5\. Bush had [his own](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/12/19/that-time-obama-called-on-all-women-at-a-press-conference/) moment advocating for female journalists at briefings. In a 2006 press conference, ABC reporter Jessica Yellin was supposed to be allowed to ask a question, but ABC swapped in a man, Jake Tapper, at the last minute. Perino was indignant that the opportunity had been taken away from Yellin, and said so to the president. --- > “” --- Tapper was “furious,” but Perino hopes he understands. [_And the Good News Is_](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1455584908/?tag=timecom-20)_…_ hits shelves this week. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3828643/dana-perino-memoir/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3828643/dana-perino-memoir/"},"headline":"5 Things We Learned About George W. 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