Barbara Bush's Role in George W. Bush's Presidential Campaign

George W. Bush went to Barbara for advice when he was considering a presidential campaign in the 2000 presidential election. Rather than giving him an answer, she told him to make up his mind. Later, during a church sermon about accepting the call to do the right thing, she turned to her son and said 'he is talking to you', and he was convinced in that moment to run for president. When George W. announced his candidacy, his parents did not take a prominent role in the campaign, so as to avoid overshadowing him or making the election about the Bush political dynasty. Barbara's primary role was traveling with other women associated with the campaign in the 'W Stands for Women' tour in an attempt to increase his share of the women's vote. After a long legal battle over the results, her son's opponent Al Gore conceded the election, and Barbara became the second woman after Abigail Adams to be both the wife and the mother of a U.S. president.