Barbara Bush's last letter to her kids

Axios

The Bushes greet the media in Kennebunkport, Maine, 1999. Photo: John Bohn/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

"Things I am grateful for" was one of the final diary entries of Barbara Bush, as reported by USA Today's Susan Page in her current bestseller, "The Matriarch."

"Dearest Children," Barbara Bush typed into her laptop: "I am most thankful for five men and one lady,” she began, referring to George H.W. Bush; their four sons, George W., Jeb, Neil and Marvin; and their daughter, Doro.

  • "My dad was the finest brightest man. ... Although Neil and George got my dad’s hair (or growing lack of hair). ... Jeb and Marvin are true Bushes with height and hair."
  • "I am so grateful that our children and grand children all finished school and promptly went to work. ... They did not feel entitled."

Barbara Bush then thanked a sewing group, the Saintly Stitchers, "who meet on Mondays at Saint Martins [Episcopal] Church. They treat me as a normal person although they do spoil me."

  • She concluded with "the 1925 Club, a group of Texas women of a certain age [born in 1925] who convened at the Bayou Club in Houston on the first Monday of the month for lunch and gossip."

Thank you for reading Axios on Mother's Day. Who's on your list?

May 12, 2019 - Politics

What's next

Sara Fischer, Rebecca Falconer

New York Times endorses Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar for president

Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Elizabeth Warrenand Sen. Amy Klobuchar at the December 2020 debatein Los Angeles. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The New York Times editorial board has endorsed Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar for president, in a decision announced on national television Sunday night.

Why it matters: The board writes in its editorial that its decision to endorse two candidates is a major break with convention that's intended to address the "realist" and "radical" models being presented to voters by the 2020 Democratic field.

Go deeperArrow51 mins ago - Media
Alayna Treene

What's next in the impeachment witness battle

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Senators will almost certainly get to vote on whether or not to call impeachment witnesses. The resolution laying out the rules of the trial, which will be presented Tuesday, is expected to mandate that senators can take up-or-down votes on calling for witnesses and documents.

Yes, but: Those votes won't come until the House impeachment managers and President Trump's defense team deliver their opening arguments and field Senators' questions.

Go deeperArrow5 hours ago - Politics
Alayna Treene, Jonathan Swan

Inside Trump's impeachment strategy: The national security card

White House counsel Pat Cipollone and acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Trump officials say they feel especially bullish about one key argument against calling additional impeachment witnesses: It could compromise America's national security.

The big picture: People close to the president say their most compelling argument to persuade nervous Republican senators to vote against calling new witnesses is the claim that they're protecting national security.

Go deeperArrow5 hours ago - Politics