"But we talk about issues, we talk about people, we talk about personalities. George is a very good reader of people, and he's very perceptive about people, and you know, that's fine"
About this Quote
The repetition works like soft insistence. By looping "we talk about..". she frames politics as conversation rather than combat, a living-room register that fits a First Lady’s public role: validator-in-chief, smoothing edges without appearing to spin. Calling him "a very good reader of people" is more than praise; it’s a justification for decision-making that critics often saw as gut-level and loyalist. "Perceptive" signals discernment without naming what he discerns, which keeps it flattering and unfalsifiable.
Context matters: post-2000s politics, when Bush’s persona - plainspoken, decisive, relational - was both asset and liability. Laura Bush’s line performs damage control with velvet gloves. It quietly suggests: if he misreads a policy brief, he still reads the room. And in an era when personality can outrun substance, that final "that's fine" lands like a cultural tell, not a conclusion: the standards are being renegotiated in real time.
Quote Details
| Topic | Husband & Wife |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bush, Laura. (2026, January 15). But we talk about issues, we talk about people, we talk about personalities. George is a very good reader of people, and he's very perceptive about people, and you know, that's fine. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-we-talk-about-issues-we-talk-about-people-we-19316/
Chicago Style
Bush, Laura. "But we talk about issues, we talk about people, we talk about personalities. George is a very good reader of people, and he's very perceptive about people, and you know, that's fine." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-we-talk-about-issues-we-talk-about-people-we-19316/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"But we talk about issues, we talk about people, we talk about personalities. George is a very good reader of people, and he's very perceptive about people, and you know, that's fine." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-we-talk-about-issues-we-talk-about-people-we-19316/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.





