"I heard very much the same about GHW Bush and Barbra. I had heard Barbra referred to as 'the Grandma everyone wished they had'."
Back in the mid-90s, I had an Air Force NCO working for me who had spent some time on the White House Comm staff during the Bush 41 years. Whenever asked, she made of point of saying, "we're not allowed to discuss their personal lives" [meaning the Bush family], but she was willing to tell one story. She said she was on a team laying fiber optic cable at the Kennebunkport compound, and in Maine it gets cold in the wintertime. She said all of a sudden, everybody behind her stopped talking, so she stood up in the middle of the ditch and looked behind her over the dirt bank -- and there was Barbara Bush (alone) bringing the crew a tray of mugs and a big pot of hot chocolate...
I think that is where most of this comes from. The Predidents make contact with a lot of people during their 4-8 years. You can not be on guard 24/7 all the time. You personality will come thru. If you slam someone or show kindness it is noticed and shared. I doubt these stories come from just SS or 1 or 2 people. It's probably stories that have been shared by many.
totally in character
Back in my politically active days = I was invited to a luncheon in a private home in Booth Bay - just up the road from Kennybunkport.
There were 16 of 'us' and Barbara Bush =
It was the first time I had met her in person - and with such a small group, is was a unique opportunity to meet, converse and 'get to know' her.
I was 'won over' and gained a new respect for # 41. I figured that if this Lady, with a capitol L, loved and thought so much about him, there must be more to him than I had, up to then, thought.
I knew that she had been born in a 'silver spoon' family, etc,. but her gentle, non-condenscending friendliness and obvious inherent intelligence coupled with feet on the ground common sense, was delightful. And she wasn't above using a plain ole 'wooden spoon' to stir the stew she made herself.
You can bet she didn't just BRING the hot chocolate - she also made it.