1,000 mostly middle-age, white women can't be wrong

[Gentle Giant]

I gotta tell you, of all the clowns in DC, the one I despise the most just may be Laura Bush. Not that she's the most evil or stupid, but she should just plain know better and her "anti-Hillary" approach has left her looking like a traditional silent and doting housewife, quite an anachronism in this day and age. Also, there's no mention here of her censorship in cancelling a poetry summit simply because a number of the poets planned to refer to the war in their works. Great role model. Heinz Kerry would tear her apart in a catfight.

Her husband embattled, Mrs. Bush plays rescuer
By Mary Leonard, Globe Staff *|* May 21, 2004

LAS VEGAS -- This neon city of slot machines and showgirls seemed an unlikely place for the first lady of family values to debut her solo number. But George W. Bush is in reelection trouble, so his soft-spoken librarian wife is coming to his rescue, stepping out of the shadows and into the spotlight for what she calls ''our last campaign."

Roaring applause, a sea of waving Bush-Cheney signs, and loud chants of ''four more years!" from an audience of 1,000 mostly middle-age, white women greeted Laura Bush Tuesday in an auditorium at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Posing before a gigantic American flag, the first lady spoke for almost 20 minutes and sang the praises -- the strength, steadiness, courage, compassion, character, and good humor -- of the man she married 26 years ago.

''I'm proud of my husband for so many reasons, not the least of which is the dignity and respect . . . he has for the office he holds," Bush declared.

Keenly aware of both her own popularity and the history of presidential wives since Eleanor Roosevelt using their unique platform to press for the reelection of an embattled president, Laura Bush has plans to play a highly visible role in her husband's campaign, which faces a yawning gender gap of 25 percent, according to an April 14 bipartisan Battleground Poll.

As the wife of an incumbent president, ''I can travel around a lot more and actually get attention from the press, for instance, which I didn't in 2000," she said in an interview this week. ''I have more of a forum than I did four years ago."

With war and job anxiety taking a toll on the president's female support, Mrs. Bush's popularity with women will become a critical asset for the Republican ticket. In the Battleground Poll, Senator John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, won 55 percent of the women's vote compared to 42 percent for Bush. Men favored the president, 54 percent to 42 percent.

The Bush team is counting on his 56-year-old wife to energize the party faithful and shore up the president's eroding support among suburban women and soccer moms by humanizing him as a caring family man, softening his tough-guy image while emphasizing his steady hand in scary times and reviving the compassion agenda of education, health care, faith-based charity, and tax cuts that helped Bush narrow the historic gender gap in 2000.

''This administration is pretty macho, and it's presented the male version of war," said Representative Deborah Pryce of Ohio, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference. ''Security is an issue that every woman, every family, every mother should take seriously, and perhaps the first lady can add some insights into that."

Battleground pollster Celinda Lake, a Democrat, said: ''Laura Bush is very instrumental to the major Republican strategy of targeting women. She reinforces Bush's education message and compassionate conservatism, which has gone by the wayside, and also that he is loyal in his marriage and upholds family values."

Mrs. Bush's appearance at the Las Vegas rally was aimed mainly at energizing Republican women, and her audience readily caught the fever.

The Rev. Ellie Ahern, 66, a Lutheran pastor in Las Vegas, cheered enthusiastically, and afterwards described Bush as a lady of grace and eloquence and ''a breath of fresh air from the last administration's first lady," Hillary Rodham Clinton. ''She has a heart, and she has respect for her husband, who is not a philanderer," Ahern said.

''Mrs. Bush seems down to earth, and she's smart," said Kathey Maxfield, 47, a Las Vegas homemaker with five children. ''She balances her husband, and I'll bet he listens to what she has to say."

In an interview on her plane, called Executive One Foxtrot, Bush said she was ''not really" worried about the president's popularity, at a three-year low in recent polls, and she described this campaign as going ''very, very well." But she called it ''bittersweet" because it will be their last and unlike any of the others in her nearly three decades in the Bush family.

''As we've lived [in the White House] for three years and as I've studied more and more history and looked into the lives of the women who lived [there] before me, I've sort of developed this idea of responsibility that the first lady has to be constructive, to use the time that we have to be as constructive as she possibly can be for our country." she said.

Besides education and women's health, Bush said she will speak out on national security, the military, and foreign affairs in the campaign, because ''women are worried about security and worried about safety."

At next month's Group of Eight summit at Sea Island, Ga., Bush and Cherie Blair, wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, will convene a spouses' meeting to discuss how they can advance freedoms for women in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush said.

She also may be raising her profile in anticipation of the media's focus on Teresa Heinz Kerry, an heiress who is passionate about the environment and other policy initiatives. Heinz Kerry has been frank about her botox treatments, prenuptial agreement, and decision that led to her almost having an abortion. Bush said those comments were ''appropriate, certainly," but, in contrast to Heinz Kerry, she said she had no intention of sharing her views on hot-button social issues like abortion and gay marriage in the campaign.

''I know people are very interested in the personal lives of their president and his family," Mrs. Bush said. ''At the same time, I am more reserved and want a private life."

Nancy Weiss of Lubbock, Texas, one of Mrs. Bush's oldest friends, said the first lady ''stays who she is," a caring and humble friend, a homebody who loves jigsaw puzzles, good books, jeans, and long walks in the country, despite the pomp and pressures of political life in the White House.

''She tries to pay as little attention as possible to the ugly and untrue things that people say about George, and when she campaigns, she goes into places where people are her friends," Weiss said. ''I can't say she is looking forward to the campaign, but I wouldn't say she is dreading it, either."

Bush said she and her future husband made a prenuptial agreement before they were wed in 1977.

''His was that he would never ask me to give a political speech, and I said I would go for a run with him every day," Bush said as she spread mayonnaise on a turkey sandwich.

Neither one, she said, has honored the pact.

This week, on a cross-country trip to five states aboard an Air Force plane, Laura Bush demonstrated the political skills and star power that the White House deliberately has downplayed for more than three years, instead casting the president's wife as the supportive spouse and helpmate, the ''Anti-Hillary" who possesses class and promotes good causes, but has no polarizing policy agenda or ambitions to be co-president.

In Sioux Falls, S.D., Tuesday, Bush headlined a $1,000-a-plate fund-raising lunch for Larry Diedrich, a Republican soybean farmer running in a special election next month to fill the state's single seat in the US House.

From there she flew to Las Vegas, where she gave her first stump speech. That evening, she raised $600,000 for the Republican Party at a small dinner party hosted by Steve Wynn, the gaming mogul who opened Las Vegas's splashy Bellagio hotel and casino.

Wednesday it was onto Beaverton, Ore., a swing district in a battleground state, where she showcased one of her pet projects, early reading education, at an elementary school. In a press conference with the Portland-area media, she said she was proud of the No Child Left Behind Act, her husband's education initiative, and sorry about prisoner abuse in Iraq. From there she flew to Los Angeles, where she looked elegant in a cream-colored pantsuit, charmed comedian Jay Leno, and told amusing stories about her marriage and husband to a ''Tonight Show" audience estimated at 6 million viewers.

The next stop was Albuquerque for another school visit and fund-raiser. Traveling with her was Mercer Reynolds, the campaign's national finance chairman, who described her as ''the best" with contributors. Since Jan. 1, her events have raised close to $10 million for the Bush campaign and the Republican Party, and she has more requests for appearances with congressional candidates than she can fill, a GOP spokeswoman said.

Bush also figures prominently in the campaign's advertising strategy and stars in its first Internet commercials. In the 2-minute, 30-second videos targeting women, Laura Bush touts the president as a friend of parents and committed to education.

The ads began appearing May 12 on 50 websites, including homemaker destinations like Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal, and the Food Network, plus newspaper websites in 10 swing states.

''Unlike Hillary, Laura Bush is benign; she hasn't upset anyone or cut into her husband's political capital, and many feel her behavior has been exemplary," said Myra G. Gutin, author of ''The President's Partner: The First Lady in the Twentieth Century." ''Right now, she is more popular than the president, and she's out there because he is in trouble."

Mary Leonard can be reached at mleonard@globe.com.*

[cookie]

Laura Bush isn't all that smart IMO. Look at who she married. She also doesn't seem to have much imagination.

Lots of Hillary bashing in that article. People hate Hillary because Hillary does what she wants to do. A strong man is cool; a strong woman is a bitch. I could hang with a Hillary. I think Laura Bush would be a colossal bore.

Uppity women forever!!!

[lynn]

Originally Posted by cookie

Laura Bush isn't all that smart IMO. Look at who she married. She also doesn't seem to have much imagination.

Lots of Hillary bashing in that article. People hate Hillary because Hillary does what she wants to do. A strong man is cool; a strong woman is a bitch. I could hang with a Hillary. I think Laura Bush would be a colossal bore.

Uppity women forever!!!

Ditto what Cookie said.

[claude]

Originally Posted by cookie

Uppity women forever!!!

Here! Here!

I married an "uppity woman" and couldn't imagine life without her, it would just be sooo boring.

[Tanager]

Any woman who doesn't put you in your place at least daily isn't worth knowing, much less marrying.

[patricia]

Originally Posted by cookie

Laura Bush isn't all that smart IMO. Look at who she married. She also doesn't seem to have much imagination.

Lots of Hillary bashing in that article. People hate Hillary because Hillary does what she wants to do. A strong man is cool; a strong woman is a bitch. I could hang with a Hillary. I think Laura Bush would be a colossal bore.

Uppity women forever!!!

I agree. What annoys me most about Laura Bush is her constantly deferring to Dubya, rather than actually having opinions of her own. She reminds me of Nancy Reagan and "the gaze". Considering that her husband isn't the brightest crayon in the box makes me wonder, like you, just what attracted her to him in the first place. I don't know whether I would want to be married to somebody who is as sharp as a bagful of hammerheads.
I guess we shouldn't underestimate the allure of the power of the Bush family in Texas. I think she sold out. Pity.

[mke]

the first lady spoke for almost 20 minutes and sang the praises -- the strength, steadiness, courage, compassion, character, and good humor -- of the man she married 26 years ago.

But not, tellingly?, his sexual prowess.

Laura Bush is benign

An excellent role-model for the women of today, I'm sure.

[patricia]

[QUOTE=mke]But not, tellingly?, his sexual prowess.


QUOTE]


Isn't that a given??
One has only to look at the image he projected in his flight suit on the aircraft carrier in May of last year, of overt virility. Are you suggesting that he was only wearing a costume???

[mke]

Originally Posted by patricia

Isn't that a given??

Maybe not. You yourself said: "Considering that her husband isn't the brightest crayon in the box makes me wonder, like you, just what attracted her to him in the first place."

[patricia]

Originally Posted by mke

Maybe not. You yourself said: "Considering that her husband isn't the brightest crayon in the box makes me wonder, like you, just what attracted her to him in the first place."

It is a puzzle. But, like Cookie, I can't see myself slugging back a martini with Laura. She's a throwback, much like Nancy Reagan was, IMO. It's as if the advances for women's rights of the last thirty years never happened. Of course, she doesn't have to be concerned about that. Worrisome.

[Tanager]

It's well known in White House circles that Dubya can lick his own earlobes.

[RBS]

If my wife didn't stand up to me and give me a good what for every other day or so, I can't tell you how boring my life would be.

[mke]

If my girlfriend didn't stand up before an assembly and laud my strength, steadiness, courage, compassion, character, good humor and sexual prowess every day (sometimes more than once a day), my ego would be seriously deflated.

[Jazzooo]

Well, at least she 'likes jeans.'

[patricia]

Originally Posted by mke

If my girlfriend didn't stand up before an assembly and laud my strength, steadiness, courage, compassion, character, good humor and sexual prowess every day (sometimes more than once a day), my ego would be seriously deflated.

Whose wouldn't?? George knows his lady.

[crawjo]

I don't know. This criticism seems a little unfair to me. What's she actually done wrong? As I recall, the cancellation of the poetry summit wasn't her call, but I may be wrong about that.

As for her personality, it's who she is. So she's a "doting housewife." Maybe she wants to be one and is happy in that role? I don't see how being herself makes her "anti-Hillary." In fact, I seem to recall a picture of the two of them holding hands. I don't think there's any animosity there.

Feminism should mean letting women be who they want to be, and not expecting everyone to fit a certain prototype.

[bostontricky]

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

I gotta tell you, of all the clowns in DC, the one I despise the most just may be Laura Bush. Not that she's the most evil or stupid, but she should just plain know better and her "anti-Hillary" approach has left her looking like a traditional silent and doting housewife, quite an anachronism in this day and age. Also, there's no mention here of her censorship in cancelling a poetry summit simply because a number of the poets planned to refer to the war in their works.

You really think she cancelled the poetry summit on her own? I'm wondering how long Karl Rove had to sit on her until she said "Uncle".

Instead of despising Mrs. Bush, rather I despise the Republicans insisting their First Ladies remain silent and doting (go back and read between the lines - both of the Mrs. Bushes have bit their tongue regarding a woman's right to choose abortion), and despise even more their trotting of Mrs. Bush out to somehow rally the skillet-wielding forces. Good luck reviving the "compassion agenda" though...

[crawjo]

I'm just wondering now. In order for a woman to be "independent" and not (gasp) "traditional" does she have to be employed and does she have to be pro-choice? I'll leave the latter alone, but with the former, it can sometimes be a trap, because very often it ends up being the case that women who work for a living also get stuck having to do most of the housework they were doing before. The result is that many "liberated" women are pulling double-duty, which makes their lives more stressful and difficult. Either that, or they decide not to have any children (a perfectly fine choice, on an individual level, but on a society scale it can cause problems in terms of reproducing the species if too many take this route,) or they end up not being able to properly raise their children.

[crawjo]

Originally Posted by bostontricky

You really think she cancelled the poetry summit on her own? I'm wondering how long Karl Rove had to sit on her until she said "Uncle".

Instead of despising Mrs. Bush, rather I despise the Republicans insisting their First Ladies remain silent and doting (go back and read between the lines - both of the Mrs. Bushes have bit their tongue regarding a woman's right to choose abortion), and despise even more their trotting of Mrs. Bush out to somehow rally the skillet-wielding forces. Good luck reviving the "compassion agenda" though...

Yes, because lord knows that Democratic First Ladies never get "trotted out" to say things they don't feel. I mean, it's not like Bill Clinton ever leaned on Hillary Clinton to go public and say things that would save his ass.

[cookie]

Crawjo: nobody said that Laura Bush "should" be otherwise than she is. All I was saying is that she strikes me as shallow and not particularly smart. I admire women like Hillary and Teresa Heinz-Kerry who aren't afraid to have opinions and shoot their mouth off about them. At the very least, it's entertaining.

I do, of course think that women should be able to be any way they want to. I often differ from "mainstream" feminists in that I am pro-pornography and pro-prostitution.

My reaction was more in response to the Hillary bashing of Laura's supporters who were quoted in the article. I do not believe Hillary is perfect, but her more agressive role, her intelligence, and her willingness to have an opinion and take the heat for it are impressive to me.

My response was mainly about the fact that I have nothing in common with Laura Bush or with her supporters (as represented in the quotes in the article). Certainly, women may wish to choose that wife and mother role. Others like me have it all (I stay home but have a successful home business). Still others choose not to marry or have children at all. I would never say that a woman *should* do this or that. What I'm saying is that I find it difficult to hang with women who seem to have no intellectual lives of their own. Note that I used the word "seem." I don't really know Ms. Bush after all. She's probably a lovely person. But just like I can't relate to my mother and sister's conservative politics and evangelical religion, I don't see me hanging out with Laura Bush and really enjoying my time with her.

Then again, what do I know. Maybe she's secretly into Harleys or something.

[Sergio Zamora]

I believe the poetry summit was cancelled because *a lot* of the invitees declined to attend on political grounds. I guess they figured it would be politically embarrassing. I haven no idea who pulled the plug, but I really doubt it was Mrs. Bush.

[cookie]

"they end up not being able to properly raise their children."

Who are you* to decide what's "proper"? I'm out of the house a lot. I'm not a warm fuzzy mom, I'm a complicated one. My children do unseemly things like swear like sailors and fuss about cleaning their rooms (I refuse to do it for them--it's their responsibilty). Of course, my kids are lucky to have a dad who isn't all hung up in his machismo or *his* career (he's a 9--5er and happy with it).


Am I raising my kids improperly because my life doesn't completely revolve around them? I don't think so, but there are some women who think it's terrible and selfish. Maybe it is. That's how it is though and it works for us.

*(ed.: Crawjo, my "who are you..." is not personally directed at you, but more at those who believe that to be an adequate mother, you have to completely devote yourself to your children and ALWAYS put the "children first." I personally think that's hogwash and not necessarily in the best interests of the children. Many children are overindulged, IMO).

[tippy]

Originally Posted by crawjo

I'm just wondering now. In order for a woman to be "independent" and not (gasp) "traditional" does she have to be employed and does she have to be pro-choice? I'll leave the latter alone, but with the former, it can sometimes be a trap, because very often it ends up being the case that women who work for a living also get stuck having to do most of the housework they were doing before. The result is that many "liberated" women are pulling double-duty, which makes their lives more stressful and difficult. Either that, or they decide not to have any children (a perfectly fine choice, on an individual level, but on a society scale it can cause problems in terms of reproducing the species if too many take this route,) or they end up not being able to properly raise their children.

>>Feminism should mean letting women be who they want to be, and not expecting everyone to fit a certain prototype.<<

Though he may be thinking too hard (ha ha, that's a joke, do you get it?), I think Crawjo is the strongest feminist to appear on the thread so far. Hell, single-duty's already got me exhausted--I can't imagine doing double-duty. Housewives should be paid, not devalued.

[crawjo]

Originally Posted by cookie

"they end up not being able to properly raise their children."

Who are you* to decide what's "proper"? I'm out of the house a lot. I'm not a warm fuzzy mom, I'm a complicated one. My children do unseemly things like swear like sailors and fuss about cleaning their rooms (I refuse to do it for them--it's their responsibilty). Of course, my kids are lucky to have a dad who isn't all hung up in his machismo or *his* career (he's a 9--5er and happy with it).


Am I raising my kids improperly because my life doesn't completely revolve around them? I don't think so, but there are some women who think it's terrible and selfish. Maybe it is. That's how it is though and it works for us.

*(ed.: Crawjo, my "who are you..." is not personally directed at you, but more at those who believe that to be an adequate mother, you have to completely devote yourself to your children and ALWAYS put the "children first." I personally think that's hogwash and not necessarily in the best interests of the children. Many children are overindulged, IMO).

There is no one "proper" way to raise kids. But there are bad ways to raise them, which I've seen for myself first hand. Children don't need to be overindulged, but they do need attention and love, and when you have two working parents who may be overstressed from dealing with their responsibilities at work, that can be more difficult to provide. Of course, it always depends on the individual circumstance, and I would never blanketly say that working parents can't be good parents, just that it can be more challenging, and some parents might not be up for it.

[crawjo]

Originally Posted by tippy

>>Feminism should mean letting women be who they want to be, and not expecting everyone to fit a certain prototype.<<

Though he may be thinking too hard (ha ha, that's a joke, do you get it?), I think Crawjo is the strongest feminist to appear on the thread so far. Hell, single-duty's already got me exhausted--I can't imagine doing double-duty. Housewives should be paid, not devalued.

Amen. I have absolutely no problem with women who work, I just don't like it when women who stay at home get treated as if they are somehow worthless, or dull, or stupid or whatever. We live in a capitalist society that only seems interested in things with market value, so domestic labor is considered to be dehumanizing, or not "real work." I don't agree with that mindset. And, incidentally, it exists outside of capitalist societies. In Cuba, for instance, women were expected to get jobs after finishing their education AND to get married and raise children. In fact, in Cuba, the families of women who did NOT enter the workforce after they completed their education were forced to pay the state back: the obvious inference from this law being that education was wasted on anyone who would stay at home and "just" raise children.

[mke]

Don't housewives get state allowances in Germany?

[tippy]

>>"just" raise children<<

No they are just producing the labor force for the market, that's all. How does that get swept under the rug so easily?

Would it be completely and totally wrong of me to come in here and admit that I'd bang Laura Bush?

[tippy]

Originally Posted by Scott Dolan

Would it be completely and totally wrong of me to come in here and admit that I'd bang Laura Bush?

No, but you better hope the pious dorks in charge don't misconstrue that as a death threat.

[patricia]

Originally Posted by tippy

No, but you better hope the pious dorks in charge don't misconstrue that as a death threat.

Most of us here would. Although I must admit that there is a certain vanity on the part of men who are constantly saying that about women, particularly women who are, as they say, "out of their league". Are women standing in line, Scott??