A First Lady Fiercely Loyal and Quietly Effective

[RBHam]

the increasingly desperate BFEE pulls out the "First Lady" card, just like after the "Bush Knew" controversy was pre-emptively leaked by Rove to the NY press..

George? Is that anyway a "strong leader" acts? Hiding behind his wife's petticoats?


A First Lady Fiercely Loyal and Quietly Effective
By ELISABETH BUMILLER, nytimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/07/politics/07LAUR.html
Excerpt:
As forcefully as Mrs. Bush defended the president and his policies, she also disclosed there might be distance between husband and wife on some issues. Most notably, she declined to say whether she supported a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, as conservative groups say they expect the president to do.

"I think I'll let him say if he would do that," Mrs. Bush responded. When pressed for her view, Mrs. Bush said, "I might have my own opinion, but I'm not going to tell you."

Mrs. Bush also contradicted her husband on his statement that he does not read newspapers and leaves it to his staff to provide him with what he calls unbiased news.

"He does read the papers, of course," Mrs. Bush said, adding that she and her husband make their way through five national newspapers over coffee in bed and then at the breakfast table each day. "I mean we've read the newspapers for years. It's our morning ritual, since the day we married."

What the president meant, she said, was that he does not read the opinion columnists with whom he disagrees or every part of every newspaper.

"But he reads a lot of them," she said. "And I read the parts he doesn't read — except the columnists."

Mrs. Bush was mostly pleasant throughout the interview in her little-used East Wing office. She said she worked mostly from a desk in the private quarters of the White House.

But she was testy about what her aides describe as her view of an Eastern establishment press that is antagonistic to her husband. When she was told that the campaign was looking tough already, she instantly disagreed.

"Well, I don't know if I would say that," Mrs. Bush said. "I think it's looking tough to people who are interviewing each other. That's the press."

more, if you can stomach it...

[Bertha Venation]

1. I mourn that all FLs cannot be like Eleanor Roosevelt or Bess Truman.

"I think I'll let him say if he would do that," Mrs. Bush responded. When pressed for her view, Mrs. Bush said, "I might have my own opinion, but I'm not going to tell you."

Stupid, stupid, lockstep, right wing wife! How DARE you keep an opinion to yourself if it would add to the GOOD of some others' lives?!

Eleanor Roosevelt and Bess Truman were vastly different first ladies.

I miss Eleanor because she was an outspoken activist and advocate for anyone who needed a fair shot.

I miss Bess because she was fiercely private and remained that way throughout Harry's political career.

[Robbien]

2. One of the last times shrub was in trouble

they brought out that awful poem that shrub wrote to his lump in the bed, remember? Another time they sent her off on a bad "fashion" tour of Europe.

I still have problems picking her out in a crowd. She is not note worthy.

[leesa]

3. They never say exactly what she is 'effecting' I hear how great and

effective she is but what exactly does she do that is in the least bit meaningful. Hillary Clinton was appointed to a panel because she had expertise and designed a heath care plan, that had it been implemented, would have prevented this health care crisis we are embroiled in now. What does this vacuous bimbo do?

[donco6]

4. Yeah, sure.

"He does read the papers, of course," Mrs. Bush said, adding that she and her husband make their way through five national newspapers over coffee in bed and then at the breakfast table each day. "I mean we've read the newspapers for years. It's our morning ritual, since the day we married."

Yeah, but I'll bet he skips Doonesbury every day.

[Kremer]

5. She is the Eva Braun of this admin. Locked away in her little room. And

soon as we move closer to Nov., and the forces begin to surround them, she'll go down into the bunker w/ hubby to watch the demise of a regime that was predicted to last a 1000 yrs crumble!!!!!!

[izzie]

7. She has been up-dated right down to the face.

Is that catty?

[Lindacooks]

11. So Laura reads the

papers to the chimp, huh? That's what it sounds like.

She probably has to explain words of more than two syllables to him too.

[thebigidea]

6. the only "effective" thing about Laura Bush are her pills

[shimmergal]

8. Hmm. Very interesting.

On the no-newspaper reading. Is somebody lying here again? Personally I find it hard to imagine Georgie Boy, with his limited patience for thought, reading ANY substantive newspaper article. Maybe he reads the sports page and the comics, and Laura briefs him about the rest?

It's legitimate for her to not want to speak for him about the gay marriage/constitutional issue (or about anything, for that matter.) Why should she have to explain or defend his views? At the same time,if she's going to say "I have my own opinion," why not take responsibility for it with at least a hint? I've always admired Betty Ford's courage in honestly answering the question she was asked about "what if a daughter of hers had premarital sex?"

As a librarian, I do concur about the disdain in which so many people
hold our profession. (Fortunately nobody does on DU, as far as I've seen.) Don't think its the Eastern Establishment; it seems to me more a symptom of our society's greater respect for money than for knowledge. And of course of the low status which the traditionally "women's professions" hold. I do wonder about Laura, though, why'd she never pursue her career once she was married?

Offhand, I'm with those who think "she might be OK if she weren't married to him." My daughter's theory is that it's because of low self-esteem stemming from her tragic accident at age 17. Why else
would she tolerate and laugh about her husband calling her "that lump in the bed"?

[Bandit]

9. I want to know who wrote her the "intimate love poem"

First she said Bush* wrote her a poem and all the stepford wives across the nation swooned. Then she came out a few months later and said Bush* didn't write her the poem. It was a very intimate poem and the author referred to her as "That Lump in the Bed". Now who would be referring to Bush*'s wife in that manner?

[put out]

10. Quiet, very quiet.

I thought reading, research, learning, was supposed to be the passion of a professional librarian. Fostering critical thinking skills, nurturing a love of learning. Guiding budding intellects in a direction of growth in mind, spirit, and body. Helping people to understand the importance of good citizenship, and the ways they can make our community better for having participated in its betterment.

And having an opinion. And doing a job, whether it is in a professional environment or in helping those close to you for no pay. The woman is a doorknob, in my opinion. I know professional librarians and teachers. Our first lady is neither of those.

[Generic Other]

14. Shhhhh...No talking in the library!

And no thinking out loud either!

"I have an opinion in my silly little old vacuous head, but I'm not going to tell you what it is," she says coyly.

Well thank you, Miss Shirley Temple!

My advice to the First Birdbrain: Start reading that man of yours the Want Ads. There's probably some openings for miserable failures somewhere.

on edit: typos

[the_real_38]

12. Man, she really got touchy at a couple of points...

... I guess it's a good thing they didn't bring up the fact that she killed her teenage boyfriend in a car wreck back in the 60's.

[Malva Zebrina]

13. what the president meant--strange that she refers to him as the "president

What the president meant, she said, was that he does not read the opinion columnists with whom he disagrees or every part of every newspaper.

Yeah, what the president meant was that he did not know what he meant and usually doesn't--neither does she--until someone gives her the script.

Interesting how she props up the lies of her serial, war crimes, killer husband. This woman is a sludge waste and uses our tax money to travel all over the world to eat and shop, be lazy, do nothing, and be a prop for her despicable husband who got her pregnant while drunk==pawing at her, and kissing those ruby red joker lips with alcohol baited breath producing two little criminals to add to the Bush family record.

This woman is another bitch shill. She knows which side of the bread has the butter and since she took up with the side that has the butter, she has done not a damn thing with her life for thirty or more years. She has latched on to the "entitlement" and loves it.

When was the last time anyone remembers Laura making or doing anything profound for this nation or it's people, other than obeying her orders?

Send her and her fat ass back to poolside at Crawford where she can smoke, sip martinis, and read cheap paperback love novels.