Laura Heads Off Into the Sunset

I've already said my blogging farewell to the President, but I think special mention should be made of his wife, Laura. 

In a lot of ways, she was the best part of his administration: cool, understated, very intelligent, witty. Best of all, she absolutely refused to engage in a pity party when asked the inevitable questions about "How do you feel about all of your husband's critics?" Instead, she would smile patiently (while also turning the corners of her mouth down), lower her voice just a touch, and say "Well, there's always criticism..." But, with the tone of her voice she would express what she REALLY thought, which was deep deep disapproval. I have a lot of relatives in Texas - most of them women - and, believe me, if The Left knew what Laura Bush thought of them, they would hang their heads in shame.  

Whether she intended to or not, Laura Bush is the quintessential GOP woman of her era, just as Pat Nixon and her cloth coat were once the exemplars for the Greatest Generation. 

When I see Laura Bush, I also see women like my mother and all of my aunts - Republicans all, and exact contemporaries to Laura - who were smarter, funnier, more dignified, more fun, more youthful, more stylish, better read, better educated (even if it was at at SMU and UT), better able to handle their men, and much more confident than their dour, pioneering  "sisters" on the other side.

Truth be told, I was more offended by the Laura = Stepford Wife jokes than I ever was by the Bush = Hitler ones. W could take care of himself, but Laura never asked for this role. But, once it was thrust on her, she always carried herself well. She didn't make many "political" statements, but when she did she was spot on. Believe it or not, she was the administration's clearest eyed spokesman for the oppressed citizens of Burma, going as far as to publish an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. She was also a clear voice for women's rights in the third world, an area where most of the western world's brassy, loud mouthed feminists often couldn't find on a map, let alone in their hearts.

I love that Laura Bush was a librarian, and made it her cause to support reading. Maybe that's a more "typical" first lady cause, but she really threw herself into it - setting up the National Book Festival, giving speeches about the importance of reading, and best of all discussing her favorite books. Her favorite book was "The Brothers Karamozov," and her comments about it showed that she had read it many times, and thought about it quite a bit. Maybe she didn't reform healthcare, but she did show the world what a sophisticated thinker a "regular" person can be. Michelle Obama appears to be preparing to follow Laura's path, rather than the activist role that seems to be the default position for Democratic First Ladies. I like to think it's because of Laura's understated example that this is the case.

And, unlike a lot of political marriages, it was clear that she and her husband really loved one another. I suspect the most interesting White House conversations of the last 8 years - especially in the dark days after 9/11 - took place in the private quarters after the last door had been shut against the world. 

So, good bye Laura. You have a lot of years ahead of you and I know that you will live them well.