nt with congress, that it's a big fault to type in any other issues other than nuclear this negotiation, i'll bring inside this comprehensive deal that makes almost impossible the deal. but other than that if you take a look at the last speech of the supreme leader in iran before yesterday i mean, the last one i think almost 10 days ago he mentioned something that i think it was for the first time, that mention that if we got an agreement with the united states and the western countries and we could implement it, i mean, we got this deal, we might allow the negotiators to negotiate about other problems that we

have with international community, especially the united states. so it was for the first time that he mentioned. so right after that i would imagine that come visit deal would lead to negotiators to talk about especially at first regional issues like isis yemen. ihaving, iraq afghanistan, many regional problems that we have right now, and work on that and getting an agreement like now like the agreement that we are close to get about the nuclear issue. and lastly i think it may lead to even broad this conversation and negotiations to normalize the relationship between the

united states at iran and after that maybe even it may lead to negotiate about some internal problems that we had about human rights and many other issues. so i'm pretty optimistic about that is going to happen very soon, if we got this agreement and put it away from you know, and international community and iran. >> bottom line, based on 10 years of interaction with iranians from the business communities and the religious communities, from the political communities iran, i am totally convinced that iran wants a reset with the united states with some limitations. and i think that this nuclear agreement, from the standpoint of just u.s. national security

interest, a six-run important to get this nuclear issue salt. and its extendable and for israel as well. if we can do this and make progress of their come it is a platform from which we can move to a lot of other discussions. and we can be so focusing on those areas where there is common interest. the our issues in the region that the united states and iran share and need to address. isis. isis hates iranians as much as it does jews and christians and americans. we can work together iran and the united states, dealing with isis. i also believe there's an opportunity to deal with the issue of hezbollah in lebanon. all of this stuff can be on the table, and the first step is to get this terrible nuclear question resolve and use the confidence and maybe a little bit of trust that we can build

in dealing with this to build a better future together. >> michael? >> i think that at this stage they are didn't even if we get a nuclear agreement. it's important to keep in mind on the one hand we've already talked to get rings many times over the years about regional issues. we talk to them about iraq, afghanistan, and while before we had series nuclear negotiations we were doing these things. i think we should maintain i think one thing that is critical for us to maintain his flexibility on our tactics. i think when we are conducting foreign policy we can't be dogmatic when it comes to tactics. so i think we should regard it as terrible to use tactic of engagement for example. at the same time i think we need to be quite unrelenting when it comes to our objectives and defending our interests. he i think is what the difficulty putting the u.s. and iran life. i think it's far more divergence between american and iranian interests and strategy is important because we made sure

for example, a few that isis is bad for the region but the way i read was about dealing with that problem is itself inimical to american interest the we have seen this play out a place like tikrit and so forth. i don't think we are at this stage right for that type of breakthrough because it will take we have seen the broader shift iran that we've been looking for for so long. this agreement if we get it will be very narrow and technical. it's not going to deliver the kind of shift we have so long talked about. i just want to say so by the iraq actually watch that i think is very much in question. the supreme there hasn't been to moderate his like which about the united states. we are still accused daily of having created isis. just yesterday an agreement general said that isis were un-american purges and so forth. so we are far away from the. on the american side though i'm uncomfortable with this undertone that democracy is not a diplomatic liability.

it's certainly not. it's one of our tremendous sources of strength in the world and soft power. it's true that as an american leader you can't simply decide on policy. you have to have your people behind you. you have to have constituencies behind you. and so one danger here of course is that the president needs to make sure he has people behind him that he has public opinion behind him. one thing you see is i think americans would like to see a negotiated agreement. the polls are very clear but they're also very uncomfortable with this broader set of issues. they are very very suspicious about what impact the agreement agreement will be successful in delivering. in a democracy you have to deliver a deal which has buy-in of the own people. you have to deliver a deal which is therefore sustainable over the course of election cycles. i think we can see that as a bad thing. went to see it as a source of strength for our country. >> howard?

>> i wonder if at least assuming there is a deal and that it is from american perspective a good deal, and does not get disapproved by the congress i think there's a potential for going in the other direction. because it's not just evangelicals zionists. i mean there's a larger concern about a bad deal but there's concern in the gulf. there's concern in israel and my own sense a little bit of the message i heard when the president announced what he was going, the framework agreement and was a very strange and as the. he announced one thing and eu and p5+1 and the iranians announced another thing, but he made a point of emphasizing the

efforts, both with israel and with our traditional arab allies, to demonstrate that we are going to be there for them in many ways. and yesterday morning's "new york times" had an article about the level of weaponry we are in the process of sending to our traditional allies, the saudis, uae come and our once in a while sometimes traditional ally qatar. maybe not traditional. but mutual defense agreements, things to deal with the belief that iran has hegemonic interests come and americans willingness to stand with these allies in the region against those interest. to what extent does that i guess what i'm saying is i think the will be an embassy in havana before there is one in tehran.

>> let me go to the audience if they can come and you will have a chance to jump in. >> to file comments from you and jim and then we'll go to the audience. i was overruled on my panel. >> we already had negotiations with iran and many many other issues other than nuclear. my question is which negotiation? can you please tell me that what outcome? i think he just invited iran, not officially come and i was in parliament, to talk about the afghanistan issue that we do have. iran completely cooperative with the united states but right after that president bush mentioned, had this very famous statement saying that iran is access, want to i think three countries axis of evil.

so damage. win, other than this time, when did you have series negotiation? when did you i made the u.s., recognize iran as a partner, as a stakeholder? iran is a regional power i think there is no doubt. you agree with me there. you didn't invite come even about syria. wonton united nations had in geneva pashtun one time united nations in geneva and ban ki-moon invited iran. bite out of that because pressure of the united states. they canceled the invitation, but behind it you have other cooperation recent about isis. iran already cooperated about tikrit, but you didn't have coordination or officially saying that iran is at least one stakeholder in the region and invite them and respect them, talk to them like right now you're talking with iran.

i think it's almost two years, about just nuclear. you didn't have this opportunity. we didn't have this opportunity to invite iran and recognize iran as a partner, not as an enemy. i think you should answer this question. >> quick comment spam i want to come back to something howard imagine what you think is very important, and that is not a know that our sunni allies in the region, particularly saudi arabia and jordan, are very fearful of a rapprochement between united states and iran and they see it as their living influence, iran gaining influence. i think israel has some concerns that i you are spot on a need for us to make sure that our sunni allies and israel understand that just because we have an improved relationship between the united states and iran does not in any way diminish our obligations to the defense of israel and to our

historic commitment to our sunni friends and allies in the region. editing to i need to be tremendous diplomatic effort made to reaffirm those historic obligations and commitments. >> we will go to questions. i need to say one thing. one of the things that seems to be lost in history is about to was an agreement with iran on the nuclear issue in 2003-2004 between the eu three britain, uk france and germany and iran. and it involved the suspension of enrichment and a negotiation to eliminate the program. that agreement broke down in the application heavily because of the election of ahmadinejad as president of iran in 2000.com spring of 2005. on a very different agenda. and he walked away from that agreement and restarted the nuclear program. i raised that because the implementation and execution of these kinds of agreements is

very difficult and is going to acquire a lot of commitment on both sides can which is why it is so important that if there is an agreement it has bipartisan support in the congress of the united states and bipartisan support of the american people. so that there can be sustained implementation of that agreement because we've seen in 1994 agenda 2003-2004 aggregate with iran and eu three that you can lose these agreements you cannot have a sustained and successful implementation. questions from the audience? let's start right here. >> mic coming to you. please identify yourself. >> i am a fellow at georgetown and managing editor. my question is for mr. singh. i'm wondering a sunday said at the moment but haven't heard address anywhere else which is as a final nuclear deal take sanctions off the table as a

foreign major policy tool on the rehnquist sanctions been so tied to the the nuclear deal but it just tries to do a major sanctions push on another issue that iran can't we escalate on the nuclear issue because sanctions are the whole reason it came company constricts nuclear program in the first place? thank you. >> so i think it's a very complicated issue. and when we talk in these agreements come it's in the text of the agreement about a nuclear related sanction from it's important to bear in mind there is no such thing as a nuclear related sanction in american law. so the first question is what sanctions exactly do we have in mind and doesn't in any way match with what the rains have in mind? my guessmindbut my guess is no, that would be one of the things which negotiated are talking about. if you look example at sanctions on the national iranian oil company from the sanctions offered associate with revolutionary guard corp. which is not nuclear related per se. if you look at the sanctions on iran arms export, these are

contained in u.n. security council resolution 1929. that is a to which has nothing innocents do with the nuclear program but is nuclear related in its implementation. and you look at sanctions on iran's nuclear imports and exports. clearly nuclear related open want to keep is a place for obvious reasons and this gets into the question of procurement. it's very complicated, far more than often it is given credit for. i think what's clear is that what iran is looking for out of this agreement is to get substantial release from sanctions especially those which prohibit its access to the international financial system and the sanctions on its oil exports. to the extent you think those are the only sanctions as congressman berman said that approach on iran to budge from you have a debate about the itself, it's obvious there for why they would want those lifted. if we let them we are lifting them right? we are not singled of them on the nuclear issue and reimpose them for some other reason to a

doesn't seem sustainable. so the question is what tools that are effective are you can left with to influence iran's behavior when we say we will counter to maintain sanctions on other things, the question should be how will that be effective in this environment of slacking pressure on the most important point, getting iran tremendous amount of revenue. i think "the wall street journal" suggested $50 billion to get into congressman berman's point about not only what iran comes out onto we not negotiate on these issues but iran will have much more rabid if they wish to pursue these regional activities that we are so concerned about. so my concern is that because you need to demonstrate your commitment to counter iran and your major sanctions tools are no longer available to you that it actually to do more direct action, lead you to more involvement in the region against iranian activities than you had to begin with. unless you deliver the sort of, i think very unlikely at this stage between the u.s. and iran

some not change its behavior. there's a sense people have that this comforts of them, that this group is built on a gamble that that will happen. >> right here. >> daniel taken from research consultant. my question for is for any panelist who feels like they should answer. assuming that a deal is reached and assumed that the various timelines that outlined in the press releases 10 tenure some limits and centrifuges as the one are adhered to to come to my mind it seems that, there've been critics who have said after 10 years that partners null and void and iran can do whatever it likes. to my mind the challenge then becomes what can the u.s. and iran do in that time to change the calculus of what can the u.s. do to change iran's calculus so that there that is no longer such an alarming prospect once a 10 years go by?

i wonder if any of you agree with a way of looking at things and what can the u.s. do towards that end of? thank you. >> does anyone want -- spent i will answer briefly. the agreement does provide that a number of provisions dealing with supply chain and inspections go beyond 10 years. and in any event even after the agreement expires, iran will be subject to the kinds of inspection provisions that come with the nonproliferation treaty and the iaea safeguards agreement and additional protocol and the like. so that will be some things that are designed under the npt rubric to ensure that a country that is signed up to the npt can be a nonnuclear state is not moving towards a nuclear weapon. the question that is raised is if you leave iran with a substantial nuclear

infrastructure, how confident can you be that those will be adequate? atticusi guess the other thing i would say is that those can be reinforced by a declaration that the president has made it many times and several presidents have said, which is iran moves towards a nuclear weapon that is a line that raises the military issue. so it isn't that everything is over. the question will be is a post agreement inspection regime and verification regime adequate to ensure that with this nuclear infrastructure, iran is not able to covertly move towards a nuclear weapon. >> the additional protocol continued for 15 years doesn't it? at least 15 years. >> no. additional protocol is forever. >> right for ever. >> the problem is in our version. there is a distinction something beyond the additional

protocol. the additional protocol is not quite come anytime anywhere at the moment we get to see something that concerns us. >> and that will be one of the issues on this verification issue. either additional measures applicable to iran that would be in addition to protocol that would last in perpetuity for a longer period of time? et al. we will -- iran respond? because the supreme leader has said that is off the table. iran is not going to be treated differently than other nonnuclear weapon states. yes, ma'am. back there. >> thank you very much. my name is pat and i'm a the for public diplomacy and public affairs advisor at the state department for iraq but i spent time in iran. and the question that i keep

hearing people ask is what is actually driving u.s. foreign policy today? we have parted with people like saddam hussein. we have partnered with bin laden. at the question that i hear is come is at the lobbyists? is that the political consultants? is that political careers? and are we going to have a balance in terms of treating all countries basically with the same same rules. that would be the best way to say it. >> does anyone want to take that one on? >> if i could come when i look at the middle east right now the next few two years, i think isis is going to be a very, very serious threat to many countries in the region, and i find it very interesting and important iran and the united states have a common interest in confronting and dealing with isis.

and you know just think about -- if we had failed to realize that we needed to deal with joseph stalin from what we have been able to deal -- when the work with short answer to that is probably not. so dark times when the facts on the ground demand that you do with people that you may not necessarily like to deal with because there is a greater evil that must be confronted. i see an opportunity here for the united states and iran to cooperate indeed it was a horrible threat to the region right now in the form of isis. i am mindful that if that is not done properly, that are sunni friends in the region will be very fearful and they will see iranian influence of growing. so let me just make a quick observation on this. iran is a country of 80 million

people. it is three times the size of iraq. it is three times the size of saudi arabia because of the world both largest supply of oil from the worlds second largest supply of natural gas. it is a regional superpower when it comes to energy. and the people, 90% literacy rate everybody under 45 and meeting age in the rent is 28. people don't realize it is by 60% of university students are female, 55% of the graduate students are female. and the biggest problem i think iran is going to have them what they were either going to do with all these educated women? you know? and i just think that we had to recognize whether we like it or not, a country of that size with a level of education and sophistication with their history, they're going to be a powerful influence in the region whether we like it or not. it's a little like pretend like china isn't going to grow in influence in asia.

they are going to have growing influence and we have to do with the new realities in these areas. >> i guess my point of you i think that american foreign policy needs to be guided by our national interest, and a sense of our objectives. i think actually if you look at american foreign policy in the middle east over the years, we have not had actually that different -- of what our interest in the region and what our objectives in the region that we've had very significant disagreements over the strategies that we should pursue and the tactics that we should employ in support of those strategy to i think it's appropriate. this is a foreign policy debate in washington but if you look at for example president obama's iran policy, compared to president bush's iran policy which i helped to work on when i was in the national security council, the distinctions are not stark. they are distinctions that are significant to be sure but not

massive. we have the same basic objective them prevent iran from getting nuclear weapons can preserve the global none proliferation regime. and to do that we use sanctions and diplomacy are president bush's charge was to find a way between iran and in a weapon and going to war whether but i would say that probably is most motivates american policymakers. we have these debates in washington and we should and that's what i think a lot of us enjoy doing in a sense but it's important not to exaggerate the fundamental differences in the foreign policy in the united states from one to the next. in terms of the regime should to they be applied equally and so forth, look affected you can't take a cookie-cutter approach to different country. japan is a significant nuclear weapons program and it is -- sorry, i misspoke. japan has a significant nuclear program civilian and have abided by its obligations. iran violated the nonproliferation treaty not just

in 2002 but within that subsequent fordow facility for refusing to the iaea inspector questions. so he what you see is iran isn't a situation it's in because it has violated the commitments which it voluntarily signed up to. and i think it's appropriate get treated differently than some other country. >> just one last thing. there is no doubt that special interests, lobbies groups of people have influence on american foreign policy. that is called democracy, but in the end i think it is that role in decisions made i think is quite overblown. my guess is the cold war and people's perception of the cold war have a lot more to do with what we did in iran in 1954 that

a particular oil company. maybe i'm wrong. maybe i'm not. but there is some sense of people trying to find the national interest. pressure groups influence, yes i don't think they are -- they are precise as people want. >> what i would like to do is take about three questions and then give analysts a chance to respond to those questions and see how much time we have been. lets take the trifecta three people right up there. man, you in the back and the two gentlemen right in front. this triangle right here. >> i have no affiliation. my question is -- the obama administration will be hosting the gulf's date at camp david next month. you see this an opportunity to bridge the gap between

administrations position on the deal since we fundamentally see differently that are called partners? we see it as a way to curtail and limit the threat of iran as a way to increase the threat of iran. second, on the sanctions. they argue that a deal would not, would not adjust iran's attitude in the region and they don't want the sanctions to be lifted because of that. we have the sanctions the and iran did not adjust his attitude anyway. thanks. >> yes, sir. >> yes, i'm a researcher with the daniel morgan academy in d.c. mr. hadley, what you think the iranian missile capability says about iranian intentions -- intentions? >> no affiliation.

question to ali-akbar. you mention the supremely. is held we understand is deteriorating ever doesn't seem to be any clarity as to who would come after him. so i would flip the question that you abroad about the consensus internally and iran come and if the supreme leader were not to be with us anymore, how would that change the verification and the credibility of a deal that iran would be signing? and very quickly and also to congressman berman i'm wondering if a deal with iran would actually help with our arab allies and those within our arab allies that are still isis fan boys come and whether a deal with iran but actually help disabled in the region? your thoughts on that. >> let me ask if someone has a question for jim slattery come and which case if we did we will

take that one and then everyone have an opportunity to answer the question. any questions for jim slattery? yes, ma'am. >> hi. ..

>> let me take holidays and will just go right down the line if we can if we can't bear to you. >> icann said both sides of the united states and iran we are suffering from lack of understanding each other. the culture out or ran -- i ran many proverbs in many words we have in our culture i don't think 80% of bad and vice versa in many politics going on inside the united states and inner ran -- i ran we don't have enough knowledge. also the speech and other people. i think i engineering always

working on iran culture and can communicate because i think maybe he's had access to some literature or talking to iranians. so we need this conduct exchange. we should not wait until we finalize this deal. you asked me what can the u.s. do to help bridge this gap. i think you should start right now expanding this sordid exchange. educational, tourism, many things. you are not allowing the iran u.s. ambassador to come here and talk directly to you to the politicians. you should love them right away to come here and daily talk to you and you have lots of

restrictions to iran. obama can cancel direct flights to iran from tomorrow mr. singh. vice versa i talked to some members of parliament and nikon here besides the world and meetings. he was just criticizing the u.s. you're in the united states. you should go talk to the congress. finally, fortunately he had some kind of discussion and right after that i had words from him about the new understanding of what is going on in the united states. we made both.

we fortunately had the chance for the first time. we need that. you have lots of restrictions also, but obama himself has enough courage to initiate something. what he did to mr. rouhani, even when mr. rouhani went to answering his call many people through their shoes in front of him in the airport. we have many problems. but we have in our culture, just one example i have to answer you. obama calls mr. rouhani. and he has to answer. my previous boss came here. he didn't have any plans meeting

with congressmen and many american officials. can you talk directly to the congressman and they want to say to you hello. we have in our culture we have to respond. and they started after that they asked the senator and the congressmen, can we talk more? they didn't have to talk to each other. so this is very very tactical problem. we have also the sanctions we have peered right now many people know that i am advocating this to release the sanction on

the internet freedom and we have a lot of achievement. right now we have much more difficulty is to commence the administration to relate the sanction to expand the backbone of iran. right now mr. rouhani i think it is a revolutionary project one of his slogans to expand that and iran. we could have given until today to relive the sanction and allow the company to sell the equipment to iranians to have access to information. communication would be very, very important. the u.s. can start an initiative and you can see what happens after that. thank you.

>> ignorance and fear are the enemies of peace. president mcnamara was a big believer in people to people diplomacy. i am, too. i believe we should have exchanges between the members of the united states congress. we should get to know each other and tear down these walls of fear in a current that exist between these two countries. the right to do that is for people to talk to each other. one of the things that is stunning and dealing with this administration and talking to the people involved in these negotiations, there are no iranians. they don't have acquaintances across the table. this is 2015. this is the fruit of isolation and it is just ridiculous in this modern era. to your question, let me clarify when i talked about christian zionism and the rising influence

within the community, i am just pointing out that this is a very significant factor republican primary politics. i am only pointing that out because i seek a deeper into the election process these forces become more powerful and more influential. that is why i am suggesting it is so important for us not to notice june 30th deadline, focus on getting the job done on both sides. >> look i will respond to these two questions. i just think it is worth airing to singh again the concerns people have a 67%. i just don't think it is a matter of a small special interest trying to skew things. i think frankly they have to extend the christian community

has those views that are widely shared. on the missile question, it has been a mistake not to insist that the missile question that iran's icbm development as well as space launch be addressed in these negotiations. just recently the head of strategic command u.s. strategic command talked about north korea potentially having the ability to hit the western coast of the united states with mobile icbm launches. these are the most serious our country can face a novice a long-range missile program as part of any nuclear weapon. keeping it off the table which we did because the supreme leader refused to talk about it was not the right strategy to tape. the gcc leaders summit, which is supposed to happen at camp david. my worry if i were sending staff would be we are not prepared for the summit.

the meetings be successful. number one, to understand the concerns the eye centering pass. you have seen statements which have gone the opposite direction and the opposite of reassuring allies that we are on the same page when it comes to interest. second i don't think we know what our program is for countering and deterring iranian behavior. so i don't know that we know what we are going to put on the table. i think it is dangerous when you have the summit without doing the diplomatic work at the lower levels to understand which of the leaders be talking about and what can they come out of the summit had been agreed upon? the worst thing if they summit considered a failure. that sets us back. we need to do more work. we need to be patient before we

do it at the later level. i just don't see that yet. >> howard, last word. >> i think the question that there are opportunities for a larger u.s. iranian area [inaudible] [inaudible] >> i could see a situation. i could conceive of it. the iranian leadership decided we should try a different approach and syria to deal with

these threats than the one that simply propping up and our main aside. is there a rule and his successor's leadership they represent the elements the syrian society and networks to isolate those forces. there could be opportunities. we have had the period of incredible tension with the regime in iran for many, many decades. every information i've seen to the extent you can do polling and iran, they are more pro-west and more pro-american than many people in other countries in the middle east. i came up with a theory the more strange we are from the government the better to people like us. are closer to the government the more they hate us.

i think we should always be willing to look at new opportunities but not naïvely. and i think that would make sense for any administration. >> i want to bring this to a close. i want to thank you for coming. we look forward to seeing you at our next iran for an event which will focus on the role in the region. please join me in thanking our panel this morning. [applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

>> challenging the new fcc internet rules come up by have filed lawsuits. >> what we are challenging as the reclassification of internet access be an information service to the telecommunication service regulated as a common carrier pursuant to 19th century railroad regulation. a vestige of the english common law was originally applied to railroads and then to trunking companies and airlines. it has been repealed or all of

those industries going on over 30 years ago because they prove to impose new costs on consumers. it delayed employment, slowed innovation and chilled investment. >> would both agree that neutrality protections are important to madison important thing important thing to start with. we do disagree with the lawsuit. we've been supportive of the rules that the fcc enacted and become a force of law. we think after a decade of working towards a way to have net neutrality rules, that this is the strongest net neutrality we've seen in the three different attempts at the agency to ensure the internet remains open.

>> they talk about what mrs. bush brought to the position and how she bounced her domestic role of global activism. the firm as part of a three-day conference at hofstra university examined the president is george w. bush. it is an hour and a half. >> welcome to hofstra. this is your first day. and to the panel -com,-com ma the leadership of the first lady, laura bush. my name is rosanna parada e. -- rosanna perotti. perhaps that is the reason i got such a plum assignment. we have two terrific papers. the session will include two scholarly papers which i enjoyed reading. also a presentation by former frustration officials.

the discussion will be dynamic dynamic -- anita mcbride. i'll tell you that the papers in the bios of the speakers today. the first paper, dancing with the first lady her societal lot in the shadow in the spotlight is by patricia rossi. an associate in the real estate of the colin indictment llp. ms. rossi served for several relationships and has had extensive experience representing buyers and sellers on residential real estate. her work come a very fascinating book and a number of first ladies. the second paper laura's legacy traditional conservative woman for international activist first lady is by dana cooper associate professor of history at stephen f. austin state university. comes from texas.

dr. cooper's research interests focus on comparing it experiences of women in the western world specifically the transnational realm of women in international relations issues the author of a rare works including the book informal ambassadors: american women transatlantic marriage is an anglo-american relations 1865-1945. our administration officials are anne-imelda radice and adair margo. stricter the american folk art museum and she is curator of the government officials association director and adviser for public and private cultural and the tuition prior to assuming the post she was direct to your and the united states institute of museum and library services where she's there to

both the george w. bush and barack obama administration. trippi was chairman of the president's committee on the arts and humanities during the george w. bush administration. she focused on international cultural diplomacy beginning with mexico. she traveled with laura bush to paris in 2003 and was appointed by secretary of state powell to u.s. national commission for unesco. she traveled many places the mud cultural missions from mexico, uruguay, the people's republic of china and finally our discussant and presenter will be anita mcbride, chief of staff first lady to laura bush in residence at the center for congressional and presidential studies at the school of public affairs at american university in washington. she directs program in a national conferences on the legacy of america's first ladies

and their historical influence on politics, policy and global diplomacy. she previously served president george w. bush and chief of staff to first lady laura bush in 2005-2009. in this capacity she directed the vast work on a variety domestic and political initiatives in which mrs. bush is involved. each speaker has 10 minutes to speak and not the conclusion we live q&a from the audience and they will be floating microphones so you'll be able to raise their young. thank you. enjoy. [applause] >> good morning. the evaluation of the first lady's role abolition and societal expectation and perception, or execution of the

role has asked the waiter throughout the role of history at the commencement that each and every presidential administration the boundaries tethered to the first lady's role have customarily defined a realignment or redesignation. into the fabric of the first lady is an elusive red power often elastic. at certain junctures the first lady's role has been explicitly defined and carried out as hostess coming character record or cover reader. they are completely doused in domestic obligations domestic requirements, the emphasis, her selected china pattern, preferred color scheme her choices themed and coordinated wallpaper.

her fashion statements. yet other junctures the metaphorical pendulum swings an entirely different direction and the first lady consciously seems to him in domestic obligations and constraints of domesticity and intends to assume the politically at the role often times more frequently than not choosing women's rights. the feminist movement and the women's suffrage. what happens? she at? she at times has admonished him to criticize for overstepping traditional boundaries and another point she is applauded for over action against grave initiatives perceived as an advocate of change, a heroic champion of social reform. betty ford and mr. her tenure 1974-1977 held in historic press conference announcing to over

150 reporters that she would be a firm supporter of the equal rights amendment and she would undertake the passage. her art and declaration was perceived as an act of political coverage while others are quite offended by her outspokenness. decades prior, florence harding in 1921 advocates women's suffrage urging women to participate in politics and holds a press conference exclusively for women. by her actions are applauded being reprehensible by others. then we see historical accounts lean the other way with first lady system in a very junior role. the feminist movement is intentionally disregarded. coolidge 1923-1929 successor to lawrence harding carried out her role as apolitical, demonstrates complete allegiance to her husband, calvin

refrained from trying anything new. maybe speeches of any sort and is forbidden from wearing trousers is directed to host tea parties and ladies luncheon. she obliges with delight. another example of eisenhower 1953-1961 serves as a perfect model of 1950s life peachy to follow his instructions quite blissfully and shows no deviation from being described boundaries. she does what is exactly expected out her domestically socially. perhaps all telling quite illustrative of her tenure and i quote, i crave the country. i turn the pork chops. what i had done on the first ladies i continually had this padding of first ladies who walk

through the spotlight. others remain shrouded in darkness throughout the 10 year, part of the tenure. the other flow appears to be the individual to her education level of confidence her fears her relationship with her husband, definitely the political climate. what is happening come is the economy waiting, is it improving? public perception, how did the media perceive her? factors that influence how she's able to move about. also the first ladies who never assume the role. depression ill health. there is a surrogate, usually in nice, sister. an ant takes the place of what would be the role of the first

lady. certain customs will always be irrespective of her political initiatives. ribbon-cutting an integral part of the first relationship. what does emerge from the research is that there's really no pattern. as the pendulum swings back and forth i guess you think one first lady makes a lot of progress and opens a lot of doors that the next first lady in line would indeed take it and continued the progression and continue to do more of the first lady. first lady. only nervous about 1933-1845 accomplished so much. she promotes the husband new deal policy. she implements a youth administration. she visits soup kitchens soldiers in world war ii. true men come in 1945-953,

regarded in her word and action executes her role as first lady with the traditional domestic flair. official greeter. the groundbreaking activities are by no means a test for baths. she opts not to emulate eleanor. raskin carter 1977-1980 when served as a political partner to jimmy carter. with her own agenda, sat in on cabinet beans to represent there has been on diplomatic missions, initiates her own projects including federal health care for the elderly, children. her tenure is completely unconventional. fashion concern not on her to-do list. nancy reagan 1981-1989 the rest of no political agenda readily

assumes the role post-celebrity luncheons, decides it down, is criticized when she appears to have spent an inordinate amount of money on a tea set. go back a little bit in time to abigail adams and talk about how she really has a political partner. what is amazing as there is a plethora of letters that are her legacy. over 2000 letters we find she has exchanged with john adam's her husband. her opinion, political demeanor, it is remarkable. promoting women's rights. everything is emerging from these letters. perhaps her most famous quote her written instruction to her husband, remember the lady when he goes off to the declaration

of independence. what happens with harry she is persecuted for her political acumen for speaking out the prescribed parameters. she's accused of being a domineering, outspoken aristocrat. dolly madison is her successor. 1809-1870 carries out her post quite differently. she asked dresses her innate disdain when she declares politics is the business of men. i don't care what office they hold or who supports them. i care only about people. she has that been well-known for her parties, her gowns, host the first inaugural ball. her generosity come is very different than abigail adams. get back to the word political partner. i mentioned roslyn carter abigail adams. sarah polk is basically the

right woman for james polk paid she is assisting with his speeches, reading and highlighting newspaper articles for him to show issues that demand your attention. the passion is indeed politics. interested domestic affair is quite appropriate. but it's interesting is the same reaction. she is not interested in anything domestic. her demonstrated disenchantment and traditional role is subject to harsh criticism among women by her action. the mid-1800s we firmly believe they should spend more time in the kitchen and less time debating. we pass a century later. it sounds like hillary clinton. a very aggressive first lady role. she's a practicing attorney. she sets up an office in the west wing. the office had always located in the east wing. from the nucleus of power

hillary's relocation is interpreted as a clear indication of her intent to be politically involved in her husband's administration. the proximity of the office, the president's oval office was deemed incomprehensible, cleanly plain unacceptable. she leads the task force on national health care reform. she is the next two highly visible and four americans her political involvement is too invasive. i now switched to laura bush. kind of what i've discussed is the pendulum swinging back and forth in my mid-medicine for domestic role in women that really took more of a political partner and took more of an aggressive first lady role and they were not interest had. there were more interested in being politically involved.

if you study /-forward-slash in that light, what i found in my research, which is amazing is she really is the epitome of delicately balancing both roles have been a political partner and fulfilling an obligation. she is a career woman, a librarian. she exhibits domestic quality. she's a wife a mother. she handles perception, social affairs. she admits her entrance to my perhaps anxiety with respect to fashion and her autobiography spoken from the heart, she states i was like all first ladies. i wanted to look at. i know how the public and press are on my first ladies wear. i wanted to look elegant. but yet she does much more. she broaches controversial topics including stem cell research, abortion, same-sex

marriage, and early childhood development intervention literacy reading programs. november 2001, laura bush took the place on his regular weekly address in bracelets beats out against the oppression of women and children in afghanistan speaks about the governing in burma. she travels in eight years. i can't her predecessor, concerns of initiatives focused primarily on women and children. however, her cast of map was indeed wider. she embraced for the very first time global humanitarian issues. she notes the first lady roles with international spotlight and indeed her words provide a lot of insight and probably what made her successful in this delicate balance. she said i quote, the role of

first lady should be whatever the first lady wants it to be, but her caveat is so important and she clearly accomplishes this. i'm not the one who is elected. what she really has done this successfully navigated parameters by achieving a delicate balance unlike anyone before her. thank you. [applause] >> thank you for your patience.

administering so -- [inaudible] is that better? perhaps that will work. i will continue as many of the comments from the preceding paper. actually flow very well together, so this works out for both of us. in our journey from the west dusty plains of west texas to the thorny world of washington d.c., laura bush wore many hats. elementary teacher school librarian, dedicated mother and devoted wife. all of these essentially conservative identities shaped the public view at the nation's capitol. as the average american to describe her and likely responses will fall into the broad categories of education and literacy. the perspective dominates the mindset of the most americans today. such a conventional dead should come as no surprise and it's a

reasonable conclusion for the growth rates in a conservative region of a conservatives date and a conservative. these labels have played a significant role in the molding of his public identity as a wife, a mother, a teacher and a librarian and have been promoted, presented and protected repeatedly in a number of venues and a myriad of ways over the last 20 years. what is surprising is the degree to which a sure years in which he pursued prior to marrying george has dominated her public life and has been local dialogue. the practitioners explain this apparent and ongoing fixation of laura bush and his roles specifically a teacher and librarian spend most versus blasted for 68 years.

the summation of laura bush is a path her royster's husband lover of children and books admired first lady tends to be the image that most americans have of her. the sellable version of her has proven to be a very successful strategy. reading children's education with the issues he was quite comfortable with and gave her a level of credibility in the political arena as well as the public editor of where she explained she had always done by traditional women did and i've been very, very satisfied. one of her biographers argue that is not the whole story. the quote presented here presents a clever answer a complicated identity. she once said most people don't know anything about me but based on the things that have been published, people think i'm the shy librarian.

few librarians fit the stereotype. they are people who acknowledge and are interested in lots of different things. the simple version was the first hole and you certainly say the first lady mold. but closer inspection of laura's words over the last decade revealed a very different persona that is the conformist and exclusively traditional identity. a quick glance at her as first lady second nominee to hillary clinton as the most traveled first lady in history or donate your she took some 46 trips to 75 countries and in the second term allowed should spend 185 days abroad and compared against the president she ranked third amongst the most traveled members from the vacated branch. she is not an activist simply based on the number of days she spent away from home. rather wish you chose to do with her time and influence that defines her as an activist. whether promoting education health care or opportunity in

afghanistan or zambia, burma or tanzania she was an exceedingly active first lady particularly through her work described by her director of policy and projects and a medical diplomat. they established the traveling fellowship through the department of state and the diplomacy in action program. her initial soirée into politics as first lady as first lady came in texas between 1995 and 2000 laura supported a number of causes related to education mercy while addressing related issues to prevent children's health. specifically to reach out and read program is a pediatric program in which doctors follow and write a prescription to parents to read to your children every day. a medical directive that worked wonders. she also uses the ready to read her program concentrate on early

childhood educational programs that serve as a predecessor to the national project ready to read them a ready to learn. establishing the texas book festival considered by many to be her crowning achievement in texas which laid the groundwork for the national book festival she created as first lady. finally she was a serious advocate for breast cancer and alzheimer's awareness and research believing greater doubt dialogue would lead to greater awareness, an approach he took to multiple initiatives. as first lady of the united states, were continue to promote issues at the national level she had thwarted at the state level. the consistency between her ideas and initiatives and often in washington d.c. mirrored one another almost exactly. they had achieved terrific success in texas. consequently to change the same path in another location.

she immediately began to replicate her most successful projects on a national scale including the book festival and by the summer of 2001 should remark she was finally hitting my stride. in september she hosted her first state dinner kicked out the national book festival and after a short nine months to the white house according to train for, she said all of the pieces are fitting together. laura was doing what she loved in founders based in washington and beyond. i should reflect upon the moment, laura recognize she had it for a period i won't always have it. the time is now. little did she know how right she was. on the morning of september 11, 2001, laura was on her way to test it i am an early childhood education conference which made her only the fourth first lady in history to appear before a

congressional committee. as her first term chief of staff and the time it had taken to drive from the white house to the capital of the world has irrevocably changed but laura had not. as always she adapted to her circumstances and this marked a turning point in the trajectory as first lady. just as her husband's presidency was abruptly and unexpectedly dominated by foreign affairs, so she was her first lady shed. her first official act after 9/11 she wrote two letters. two elementary student should begin the letter with your children into the middle and high school students show up in her message with dear student spirit in her first beach after the terrorist attack she spoke of new york city and directed her thanks and appreciation to the teachers and volunteers in schools across the country. as we rebuild and recover from the tragedy of september 11th, we must remember modernizer

changed forever our purpose as educators and volunteers remains the same. with those words, she may very well have been talking about herself. when she substituted far has been in his weekly saturday radio address in november 2011th she became the first first lady to deliver an entire presidential radio address and chose to address the issue of women's rights in afghanistan. she focused on the brutality against women and children of the al qaeda terrorist network and argued in afghanistan we see the world they impose on the rest of us. she delineated the taliban and for muslims around the world and identify the poverty, poor health and illiteracy that had imposed on women and children for decades. laura, not the president forever aligns the war on terror with the five women and children and chose to pursue much of the initiative on her own.

more importantly she solidified her lungs in an advocacy for women and children would she categorize the fight against terrorism as a fight for the right and dignity for women. a week later she hosted 11 eggs a lot skinny women in the white house and ark of the rights of women must be space-bar didn't impose taliban government. these events marked an historic turning point in her tenure as first lady. from this point forward laura consistently vocalized mini to advance educational opportunity for women while promoting issues critical to children and families worldwide and initiatives during the second term of the chief of staff trade for his wide-ranging experience in d.c. in the years at the state department help shape the global nature of laura's involving activism. is one of the first carefully plan the secret to afghanistan in 2005 while the country was a very dangerous and it's feature most uncertain.

for a first lady who travel to a country at war to personally meet and talk with afghan women and children made a significant impact on programs such as u.s. afghan women's council. a story content, such risks are important for all of us and especially for american women to speak out for sisters around the world. another area board visited regularly and have benefited greatly with africa, whether a trip to talk about violence against women from a visit to tanzania to meet with individuals dealing with hiv/aids are a type of person that the catholic ministry center. her time and energy have been diverse and very well-versed age. another issue laura shed significant by anonymous human rights in burma cooperation with the entire women's caucus of the u.s. senate laura brodie letter calling for the release of hong

seong pucci as an act supporting form for burma. several officials she demanded the immediate release and called upon burma's neighbors to bring about a democratic transition. such pricing advocacy at such a high influential level to not support the superficial version of laura's a simple elementary teacher. finally the leadership determining breast cancer brought awareness to the disease. discourse at the highest government level removes the remaining stigma is the mere word in public dialogue and provided greater access to seek medical care access screenings and seek diagnosis to begin treatment. in her final years as first lady, bloor established several breast-cancer alliances that it shames them into silence rather than treating the reality of the medical situation.

she led efforts in the middle east mexico, panama, saudi arabia and the uae pledging to make redskins are our business. this was a survey. not aggressive or conservative first lady's about a relative taboo topic in a country that historically did not diagnose by mannitol breast cancer within stage three or four which is all but a death sentence. consequently the earth middle east partnership for awareness and research offered to help calm a chance to tell the story and the cultural context and environment to empower women to take charge of their own health. actions such as hosting hiv-positive women in the white house come the speaking up for sisters around the world and talk of empowering women does not mesh with the alleged conformist days demanding the release of political prisoners and traveling to countries in the midst of worse to address

the right and all children are not the first example in discussing time as first lady. if one takes an evidence-based approach to evaluating laura, an interesting picture here. if we stop to analyze rhetoric without her picture at the top of the page. if we pull our name and examine the breadth and depth of her initiative, the frequently and far-reaching travel and consider dedication and consistency of the efforts reads much more like what the american public often associates with hillary clinton did more of bush. she is demonstrated the challenges facing women around the world that is laura described it well before 9/11 you can imagine how easy it was to make the decision to continue my commitment to helping children learn long after i stopped teaching. i'm proud to continue the same

mission today and as our chief of staff she was true to the mission. perhaps even more importantly, laura has been exceptionally active in her time leaving the white house. she visited a farm project renovated the clinic to offer breast cancer and cervical cancer screening, visited an orphanage and this is india a loan in 2010. the initiative she pursued 20 years ago appeared to be finished issue of pursuit for the next 20. i will continue those interests i hope for the rest of my life. while it may be easy and more comfortable to imagine that you a wife at home who once taught second grade and enjoys reading to children, it is not a complete nor wholly accurate picture. based on time and effort in this country and abroad the public at home must reconsider their view of laura the librarian with laura the international at this

first lady. [applause] [inaudible] >> binding the anne-imelda radice. i had the pleasure of working on a number of projects but i would like to focus on her work in the er. i want you to know that i had the pleasure of serving also george bush senior when i was head of the national endowment for the arts. president bush 43 and laura bush

were people dedicated to the arts. in fact i'd like to call their administration. in their administration, the most money ever given up to the government or the art occurred. in the history of arts and funding. the second greatest amount of money given out for the arts was given out by his father. not only did he treat the condition, he expanded it. certain words come to mind to me. i loved consistency. that was one of my words as well. synergy, compassion and humanity. when i first encountered this is bush i wasn't the department of education chief of staff. having a first lady with a teacher who is a librarian who understands the basic necessities of literacy was not

only inspiring to all of us it helped create a keystone in the no child left behind legislation. after i left education, i went to the national endowment for humanities where i was deputy chairman. there i saw how mrs. bush was developing a very consistent and impressive sense of working together because this is really the first time ahead for the arts endowment, humanities endowment, director of the library services and head of the president's committee on arts and humanity actually met together and came up with things that each could support. with regard to the humanity when

i was there, was very involved with the digitization project. digitization is sent and rolled off our time now. it is something every library has for everyone is trying to get money for and everyone knows about it. we are living in the digital age. well, this was ahead of the curve and this was because mrs. bush felt very strongly about it. she met with bruce cole and i was part of that and it became a major initiative. what was so intriguing about it was a million different ideas on how to digitize famous weather as photographs artwork archives whatever. i think it would really good ideas we developed a standard way of doing mass because indeed lots of people had these projects but no one could read all of them on one router or see them on one setting.

believe me to change the course of the way this was handled in libraries and archives. when i was chosen to be the director to the museum and library services, one of the people i hold up with anita mcbride. we have found $17 million in the budget and our agency that somehow no one ever knew anything about. it had just been sitting there. i wanted to at least let everybody know we had it. but what did we do? we had another big problem in the art world. conservation and preservation. at $17 million became the first seed money to pull people together first throughout the united states and then throughout the world.

while i was the director of the institute of museum services, we gave out $1 billion in grants. a, almost $300 million with conservation and preservation. mrs. bush helped us think through how appalled all of this together. she was the chairman of the approach. they started in washington. we got scholarships for bank of america. the two magic words laura bush when you go to corporate america, when you seek support for big projects and those magic words opened many doors. it helped create a network of museum directors and conservators and curators librarians also are purveyors.

we brought them together in atlanta and denver, and buffalo in washington. we brought them together to talk about topics of common interest. what do you think is the biggest advantage of all of this? they all sat in the same room and they got other's phone numbers. the big names in the arts were sitting with people or has to smaller institutions. people who would never in the wildest imagination would call each other out. not they knew each other. they had a drink together. they have lunch together. all of that came directly from laura bush's instigation is a strong word but i'll let you know about that. but the national endowment for the arts, we developed something called the read.

i am sure and need a blog to many miles. batman the communities picked a book. they wanted to focus on an american classic, like washington square or whatever. a community would read the book. they would have discussions. they were teaching aides that were prepared. a curriculum. there is a man with each book a dvd with sections of the book read by famous people. i was so excited because i got to read something for the washington square and the other person was olivia to have fun. that was my one brush with stardom. it was wonderful to have the opportunity and to see the

result of this extraordinary program. also we were honored to be asked to help with katrina. i spent a lot of time down there. ..

>> the one thing that i hope that people begin to understand besides this list of achievements and newspaper that contextualize and certainly share all of mrs. bush's achievements was that mrs. bush is a person who really cares and walks the walk. she is the person you can depend on. she's the person who understands what it's like to be in a small town or to have the platform of the world. she's someone that we will always be proud of. and i feel especially honored that i had the chance to work with her. thanks so much. [applause] on >> i really enjoyed the also

talks so much. i wish i could continue listening to you but it's great to be here with you all today come and i will say if laura bush were to walk in this room i think one thing you hear over and over, like everybody would just try to be better. she's one of those extraordinary presences that just inspires other people i her mere presence to do the best you can. but i am really delighted to be here to talk about her leadership. i wanted to spend just a few minutes talking about her because ultimately the way the person leaves is an indication of the kind of person they are. and when i first met laura bush it was in my hometown in 1995. i'm from el paso, texas, which is where her mother is from. and her husband had just been

elected governor of texas. what i remember most, it was a reception at the university of texas at el paso those penetrating blue eyes and the way she listened more than she spoke. she was at this reception honoring an artist and writer tom lee whose book she had read and his painting hung in the governor's office. tom was 87, and by the end of that year she and governor bush had confined him to austin with his wife, sarah to sleep in sam houston spent at the governor's mansion and to see friends of his, including members of the king ranch family. he had written a history of the king ranch to see friends of his or the last time before he died in 2001. when laura found at the texas book festival in austin which grew into this premier u.s. literary event with hundreds of

authors sharing with tens of thousands of audience members she took it on the road and when she took it on the road she brought it back to el paso. again to honor tom lee and other el paso artist. lindy miller about her is what you meet someone she admires she will never forget them. they become like a thread that is woven through her life. you talking about, patricia, about mrs. pope writing her husband -- helping them one thing laura bush it was his quote, where we live in el paso there's a mound, mount franklin and he lived with his wife on the east side of the mountain and there's a beautiful quote of his that sarah and i live on the east side of our mountain. it's the sunrise side not the

side, not the sunset side it's a sight to see the day that is coming, not decide to see that the date is going to get goes on to say the best thing is that they coming with the work to do with the eyes wide open with the heart grateful. she loved that quote is actually passed it on to her husband. he quoted that quote when he accepted the republican nomination and action when he became president of the united states. go and one thing i did learn early on about laura bush is when she does me so much he admires, as i said, their lives become intertwined with hers but also she focuses attention on them. as a mexican friend of mine she was a cnn hero award winner ago she started a hospital in our border community come in she once said, she met laura bush are gone and lower invited to speak at a border governors conference. and she said laura bush does not

absorb the light. she reflects the light and shines it on other people. at texas book festival came the model for the national book festival at the library of congress which just celebrated its 15th anniversary. the obama's with the honorary chairs come with 200,000 people attending. in 2002 remember this very well. when you start in d.c. laura bush invited mrs. putin to attend, where the russian first lady got the idea she got the idea come no one was telling you what to do, she got the idea of hosting a book festival of her own. the following year after stopping in paris for the u.s. national delegations reentry into unesco, which she led i was part of that, mrs. bush continued on to russia with

librarian of congress james billington to visit mrs. putin's book festival in moscow, inviting american authors of young people's books are delighted the russian children. so in addition to shining the light on others another thing i've learned is that when laura bush shares what she loves things multiply. and her love of books has not only given birth to these book festivals in the united states and in other parts of the world but the laura bush foundation for america's libraries replenish library shelves following hurricane katrina and continues providing grants for hundreds of school libraries every year. after asking me to to the president's committee on arts and humanities in 2001, she attended our first meeting. her words were few. she's not professorial really.

she's just very brief and to the point as we've seen her quote up here. what she told us was tiny short. you better get going. so we did. realizing, this is truth coming into government service realizing that if we tried to do something on our own that no one else was doing we would've wasted too much time trying to figure out what that was. and so knowing her we took another path asking how we might help. we had many partners, all the institutions that have anything to do with arts and culture, the humanity in the united states, including the smithsonian institution, the kennedy center, but our primary primary partners with the national endowment for the arts, the national endowment for the humanities come and institute for museum and library

services. we found out that all of them were interested in international cultural diplomacy but their budgets have no leeway really for cross-border collaboration. and since we raise our money privately, we did get a little bit of government money but most was raised privately. we were free to help them out. and so we were able to add an international component to set things as a degreed picketed just happened in the united states. it happened in mexico and china. it happened in egypt. picturing america with the neh was taken in mexico and focusing on collections anne we did many international components of focusing on collections and conservation and preservation to it was natural for me a border grow, i'm from el paso our

closest neighbor is juárez mexico. once again to washington i thought were my mexican friends? one of the first things we did when i became chair, we did award ceremonies called coming up taller award in arts programs for youth to recognize. an actor and theater artist engage children in summer theater in hell's kitchen in new york, and he once observed while they couldn't project forward and see what the experience was going to do for these children in the future, when he saw them take come he gets a joint in the eyes with a participated. he could swear when they took their final bow that they came up taller. that's how the awards got their name. moving the ceremony and we used to the ceremony on capitol hill. it was done in the clinton administration, it was a program started then we moved into the

white house at mrs. bush's invitation and we began recognizing programs for mexico that first year. and then we recognize programs from china, and then we recognize programs from egypt. at our last coming up taller award, english, spanish, chinese and arabic were all spoken. when immigration rhetoric was particularly stride on capitol hill one year i remember the mexican ambassador turning off his telephone before things started and he said i don't want to be distracted from this wonderful experience, which is what the real relationship between mexico and the united states is all about. that is wanting the best for our children. so another think about mrs. bush's leadership is that she has always worked for the best of the world's children. saving america's treasures was another project the president's

committee spearheaded collaborate with the nea the neh and ilm up to get all the expertise for the first time they became very integrated into the program in selecting the awards. when we recognized treasures like fort davis in the big bend a place with the buffalo soldiers were out in our part of the country and thus where rosa parks to fight discrimination. we hosted a sister cultural parks conference time together world heritage sites in mexico with mesa verde in the united states. we like to remember when you were not borders which are the scars of history. through our national parks and their counterparts in history. we initiated -- we initiated

project 2020 with the american film institute and the department of state supporting international filmmakers with community discussions on their stories which touched all aspects of life. we actually led the highest level cultural delegation to ever visit the people's republic of china and created joint communication or continuing today, in particular with the library of congress. so pernicious bush says time is short, get going, she means what she says. she trust others and people respond. after leaving the white house she means it still as she continues to lead. one area i've been involved in is a woman's initiative of the bush institute in which she is the chair. beginning with the two classes of egyptian women, the bush institute has brought them to smu in dallas to learn about writing mission statements and setting goals, and based upon an s. and u. professors research

how to build a network of the single most important measurement of any woman's success, the women are paired with a mentor and sent across the united states tiller about a this is, social media, the law and politics as well as our own countries struggle to achieve a democracy. they visit a mentor's hometown and build networks learn how to cascade their new knowledge to women back in egypt. my own anti sandy, want to learn how to export products made by traditional egyptian artisans to the united states -- mentee. which is not done. she wanted to get a business visa to travel to the united states bringing egyptian products, which she has now done. just a few months ago i heard from her in kansas city where she was selling thousands of her designs at a large christian conference. there are christians as well as

muslims. she was at a large christian conference heading home to give egyptian artisans more work. and on international women's day, march 8 from the bush institute laura bush reported on the second class of tunisian women who now have tabulated among themselves a network of over 10,000 other women. so yes it is true that when laura bush leads, good things multiply. [applause] >> well, thank you to all of you. because you have made my job easier but also a little bit harder to add to the wonderful contributions that our scholars through your papers is terrific, any, patricia proliferation have an opportunity to interview with you and read them ahead of time.

and then from anne and a day or two of firsthand accounts of their experiences of working with mrs. bush giunta want to thank hofstra for putting this topic on the agenda in studying the george w. bush presidency because i think from listening to everybody today i'm hoping that it is wanting or appetite as consumers for information about the people who have led our country but this topic of the american first lady the president's spouse because it will change someday and be a male spouse, is so important to understanding our history and understanding this role as a partner for the presidency. and that is a position i hold that american university will hold a series of conferences around the country and other historical institutions to tell the story of the president

espouse anti-american first lady and the nude contributions that they have made throughout history to politics and policy and global diplomacy. it's a tough job. there is an expectation to be into world. you are involved in meaningful initiatives. you are expected to be involved in meaningful initiatives and policy issues which are also responsible for taking care of her family and the home life, which is so important to the health and welfare of the president, the leader of the free world who has every single problem come to his desk. so it's a complex role. we've heard enough from everybody that was talking here today. is always evolving, especially sensitive to an ever-changing media climate. barbara bush someone i have admired reflected on the role after she left the white house and she said i never considered the demands of challenge but

rather it was an opportunity and that such an optimistic way to look at it. and lady byrd johnson would've her most activist first lady said i have a podium and i intend to use it. we've heard a little bit through the art of history that patricia relayed for us in 18th and 19th century first lady from the rolls were a bit different than they were consumed with a nation at war, consumed with the safety of their husband. the 20th century brought us such a dramatic changes. their world, the world for the first lady, was defined by the economic and social challenges the country was facing and all of the reform movements, the labor movement, women's suffrage and they're expected to be a voice. this challenge the conventional american thought about women and the role of first lady as the nation's first woman. so the more competent at the times become, the more important is for the first lady to use their position wisely.

and what we understand in what we see to history every single person puts their own stamp on it. the position has no position description to get also has no statutory authority. it has no salary. frankly, it's a lot of freedom to do what the precision with which you want to do and to be yourself. at the beginning of our conferences at the american first ladies conference is we do at american university i use a fictional want ad in which a brighter because it's quite humorous but it really describes the superhuman multitasking skills that we expect out of these women and respect out of the president's spouse. pat nixon called it the hardest unpaid job in the world. ron reagan said the government gets only one employee for free and that's the first lady. rosalynn carter set i've learned that i influence. i could just look at the program and to get attention, and i have

a responsibility to do that. know what the confidant or advisor to the president is has uniquely invested or devoted into their spouses success. we heard all a bit about the figures, martha washington had the burden of the setting precedent to abigail adams had trouble curtailing her opinions. she wanted to express her views and we know that patricia mention the thousands of letters, the rich history of conversation and dialogue between her and john adams. she was so profoundly devoted to the formation of our new nation. she was courageous. she endured such a long separation from her husband. she sacrificed a lot. she was also so politically astute. she knew the fragility of the wind of john adams as president, having won only by three votes. dolly madison single-handedly set the model for the rule of

first lady that would go unchallenged until the 20th century. most of us know her as the best social hostess in washington but what her husband valued the most was her political acumen and the ability bring people together of so many different sides like using her strength and knowledge as a hostess. we talked about sarah polk. caroline harrison is another one of these first ladies we know very little about. and i think people would be very surprised to know a period of time that she served in the late 1800s as she teams up with other progressive minded women of the time to lead an effort to raise funds for johns hopkins university medical school on the condition, one condition, that you admit women. so these women have been leaders throughout our history. it stood up stood up for other women, stood up for social causes.

they never were subservient to their husbands. they were partners the majority of ones as we stood in to some of them like the best treatments we mentioned the yes she did not very public role. she was humiliated in her first public foray where she was asked to do something as simple as break a champagne bottle across the bow of a ship that was big -- being christened it the bottle would not break after multiple tries, more than half a dozen. it was photographed and filmed and put in the country saw it. after that she did very little in the public sphere. mamie eisenhower that we would refer to which i love that quote comments typical of the period of time. ike does the policy, i turn the pork chops. she was one of the agenda. she moved all of the world within. she understood the value of the social component of her job and was quite happy in doing that.

our modern first ladies i'll only mention a couple before we go into laura bush, what we're here to talk about today but it's important to understand the arc of history and the evolution. laura bush looked to lady byrd johnson as one of her models. she always when asked hoosier favorite first lady can of course she was conflict. sheshe had her mother-in-law as her wonderful example. they love each other but she also looked to another texas first lady come lady byrd johnson, who had such a profound impact on our country, the courage to campaign for the civil rights act in the deeply unpopular area of the country, in the south. she understood the power of media and of communicating effectively. she would also critique the president's speeches. she was a millionaire in her own right, in business will in own right because you own those radio stations all across texas. she knew the power of

communication. betty ford you heard just come we know she stood up for the era but so did pat nixon and no windows that about her. but betty ford and other things. she lifted the ban that divorce and unmarried or widowed persons could come to the white house social events without an escort or the guest. times were changing the rosalynn carter, we know that she was a political partner for sure. what most people probably don't remember about her is we have her to thank for the requirement that children in our country have childhood immunizations. several shots that children need to get before they are two years old. that was her strategy that she worked on at the centers for disease control. i had the great privilege now again with laura bush working side-by-side with her traveling to all 50 states. you heard anne mention some of the projects that she took

around the country and indeed, that went around the world. 77 countries in eight years. yes, she is the third most traveled first lady. pat nixon was the first. 8100. again something people don't know about her. hillary clinton at 80. laura bush at 77. i saw some examples of her gentle power about the world. she was unsung and unrecognized by many for her work on education reform women's health and human rights a special afghan women. dana did a great job researching this and one of our conversations, she said to me what i put it in my paper and when this was published will surprise many people and she forewarned me that everyone we will accept or believe that all of this is possibly true. there are great examples about laura bush, the fact that when we were in her presence we responded, we did not want to

pay for. she put no demands on us but the fact that she put such level of consistency passion, dedication, would you vote for everybody around her and in her orbit to do their best. she was called on an extraordinary circumstances to heal our country after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. people forget the level of anxiety that we felt. students at this university were children when this happened. they live closer in the location of course when some of the worst of the attacks happened but still we need to remind each and every generation the shock and grief and anxiety that we all felt. one of her friends at the time she became first lady said i feel so sorry for you you are giving up all of your privacy. but after 9/11 that same friend called her and said i'm jealous of you, laura, you can do something where the rest of us in the country felt so helpless.

she led so many initiatives that people don't know about. the heart truth campaign to if you drink diet coke i want to look at the sight of it can to there's a little red dress symbol on their for the heart truth campaign. laura bush is the ambassador of that campaign. when she found out that more women die of heart disease than breast cancer, she said i did know that, i don't think most women in our country do. you heard the referral to save america's treasures, an initiative started by hillary clinton that laura bush continued. she understood her role in the arc of history. not every program has to be the baby thrown out with the bathwater. he can be expanded on continued. it can still be major own and she did that. she did suffer from not typecast view from the beginning have been a shy librarian and teacher

leading a conventional life, and how could she possibly have a fun of her own? yes, she was a wartime first lady enduring too difficult and unpopular wars and a lot of that contributed to the trouble of getting the coverage that she deserved, good news stories about her work at home and abroad but through it all it never was her. it was for the american people would understand the kind of country the compassionate and generous country that we are calm and the good people we have all over these 50 states and what we did to impact people's lives around the world. so yes, it is easy to ignore the good work of first ladies who serve in controversial or difficult times. this whole conference is about the controversial consequential and difficult decisions that george bush and his team had to make. those of us here on this panel have the easiest time. because i sat through a number of panels yesterday and i will

sit through more today and it really is bringing home for all of those that works better just the level of profound impact that the presence of decision had on the country and the world. so i'd like to have just a few comments on these wonderful papers. one, patricia i loved your spirit again, the historical perspective that you had so thought-provoking taking us through this walk in history unlocking a bit of a niche of the position. i've had the opportunity to watch the position in three administrations up close working for president reagan and first president bush and and also for george w. bush. every single woman writes their own position. description as we saw. it's a little early still, osh act of the administration to be able to see the full impact of

george bush and laura bush, but i appreciate the podium we all have been given to shine a light on laura bush's work. because it has been extraordinary. i want to also comment on dan newspaper -- dan is paper of course. i love and appreciate the depth that you were able to attain. through your paper. the only issue i take with it is the title. and not really issue but something that i think is a conversation we can have about traditional conservative women or international activist first lady. why should those be exclusive? and i think that is something that laura bush suffered from because she was