i just wanted to hold on to my baby.ed i just wanted to -- making lots. of phone calls.just making sure family members were safe that were supposed to have traveled that day and that sort of thing.upposed have travelle that day. that day. and that sort of thing. captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2008 day after, i called into the photo of ce. ce. and i spoke with a captioning performed by vitac marilyn. and i said marilyn, tell me what to do, because i wasn't scheduled to come in. do i need to come in? do you need help? what is the work load? i was worried about everybody. and she said no, you need to be home with your baby. so i stayed home. i stayed home. and i was -- it was a real emotional time to both not be there and then to go back. and one of the first thing i got to do going back was to travel to crawford, and i photographed mrs. bush as she was delivering the radio address on afghan women. and i think everything had

changed. how can everything not have changed after 9/11? but what was so amazing and wonderful was sort of the power that came from that to recognize that women, discussions about women's rights need to be part of our discussions about democracy and moving forward. and that had a big shape. and it was all leading towards going to afghanistan, and working with women's health and status. >> one of my favorite quotes is from groucho marx, which might make me a marxist, but the secret to life is sincerity. once you can fake that, you've got it made. but it seems to me that one of the most difficult parts of being a first lady is you have to always be on and in the moment. and you've spoken about the laura bush bubble. talk than a little bit, susan. >> well, i think, for those of you who have had a chance to be with mrs. bush, it's a wonderful thing, because when she is talking to you, she is talking to you. she is listening. everything from the letter that

she sent out to families and children, which was so moving. i met so many people who really felt that that letter was written to them. and then in the individual moment, i just have to say the second time i was pregnant -- i spent a lot of time pregnant in my job. but the second time i had -- sort of a nightmare, other than dogs rushing me from the limo or the chinese security, i was at home trying to get cuff links into a maternity blouse when my is off and my pager just started going off and going off. and i picked it up and it was mrs. bush's aide saying where are you? i said well i'm at home getting dressed. and she says you have a photo op in three minutes in the diplomatic reception room. i threw everything up. my husband had to drop me off. i grabbed my cameras, went running in and tried to act like i meant to be there just like that. but what was so sweet was mrs. bush could tell that i was flustered. we got through the photo op and everything was fine.

and that day she took me upstairs just to the kitchen, and just looked at this little catalog of new baby furniture that was out, you know, just kind of 45 seconds calmed me right down. okay, we took care of the photo op. it's all done. here is what the priority is. how are you, susan? check in, it's okay. let's go forward. and it's great. >> carol, what is -- you've seen the first lady up close, the role of the first lady up close. what do most people not appreciate about the role of first lady? >> oh, gosh. >> what might surprise us about the role, those of us looking at a distance at the first lady and her role. what would we most be surprised by? >> well, one thing is the amount of work, the amount of travel, the number of speeches, the shaking hands, the meeting with

people. first of all, sorry, i'm talking about my first lady there is nothing better than a hug from barbara bush. i had to plug that. but it's so hard. just being a photographer, i was exhausted. it took me a year to recover. mrs. bush never tired, never. 5:30 in the morning, she would be out swimming. but i don't think people realized that -- and for a photographer, people say oh, were you like hanging out in the residence with them. it's a very structured job. these are the events. this is what you have to cover. this is what you have to take care of. so it's a balance between how incredibly intense it is and how hard you work, and then the fun parts. and mrs. bush made it incredibly fun. >> we have about three minutes left. and i want to ask you all an

impossible question. but if you had just one photograph that you could take from your days as white house photographers, what would that photograph be? and we don't have the photographs themselves, but maybe you can give us that in a thousand words or less, because we have a limited time. i'll start with you, david. >> tried to define it to put it in there, but i couldn't. and we were going to indonesia or some place over the timeline. and she was given a king neptune crown. and it was so much her personality. it was on air force one, and she is kind of poking her head out. when i think of mrs. ford, i think of somebody who had a lot of difficulty in her life and so

much for people. we know her story. i've always thought her in the cabinet room table pictures, the fun-loving, mischief person that she was who did so much good for particularly women and equal rights across the board, and having a loving husband who not just put up with her, but was her partner. but when i see her face, i see a smiling, happy person. >> carol, what would your image be? >> i think the final day was day would be for me saying goodbye. it was so hard on everybody. and mrs. bush just made sure everybody understood that life would go on, that we had wonderful times, that she did such a fantastic job, but she just kept us all moving forward. >> it was such a graceful exit.

>> it was, yes. >> susan? >> i have a series of pictures that i'm thinking of where we flew out to arizona and we met with the family of and met with family of lori piestewa, the first woman killed in iraq war. it's actually a really joyful picture. and it's a really joyful picture because it's mrs. bush being mrs. bush with her family and with the kids. and it's a sweet moment that was bittersweet. >> i want to thank all of you, again, for your recollections and you're great work. and i want to thank the two first ladies for not only being here, but their service to this nation. thank you all very much. >> thank you. bravo! good job. >> you did it.

each weekend on american history tv on c-span 3, learn more about the presidents, their policies and legacies through historic speeches and discussion with leading historians. this sunday at 8:30 a.m. eastern and again at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m., a look at the presidency and civil rights during the fdr, truman, and eisenhower administrations. and for more about other programing, schedules, and online video, visit c-span.org/history. i seem to have earned a certain place where people will listen to me. and i've always cared about the country. and the greatest generation, writing that book, gave me a kind of a platform that was completely unanticipated. so i thought i ought not to squander that. so i ought to step up as a -- not just as a citizen and as a journalist, but as a father and a husband and a grandfather, and if i see these things, i ought

to write about them and try to start this dialogue, which if i'm trying do with this book about where we need to get to next. >> in his latest, "the time of our lives," tom brokaw urges americans to redefine the american dream. and sunday live in depth, your questions for the former anchor and managing editor of "nbc nightly news." in his half dozen books, he has written about the greatest generation, the 1960s, and today. in-depth, sunday at noon eastern on c-span 2's book tv. the smithsonian's national museum of american history in washington, d.c. has been featuring an exhibit on the contributions of first ladies to the american presidency and white house. the exhibit's curator spoke to us for a few minutes about the gowns and dresses of first ladies. >> interested in what the first lady wears, other than if you're just a fan of fashion. why do we care what the first lady wears? but we look to her clothing for clues about what she is like as

a person, about what the administration may be like, both in its style. is it formal? is it informal? is it extravagant? is it simple? and what they're -- possibly something about her politics or the administration's politics. is it american-made? do you proudly say that you only wear american designers and american-made clothing? carolyn harrison, who is the beautiful burgundy gown, made a point of only wearing american fabrics and american-made clothes. a lot of first ladies have worn american-made clothing. if you look to the back, you'll see a beautiful dress of eleanor roosevelt which is actually her first inaugural gown. eleanor roosevelt had a busy life, and she made a point of saying busy women also like to buy their clothes off the rack. but she also stressed that you shouldn't buy clothes from sweatshops. so her politics also came into her clothing. >> what is the oldest gown? >> the oldest gown in the collection is actually martha

washington's. it's not on display right now. it's been on display for a long sustained amount of time. so it's having a rest right knew. in this gallery, when we round the corner, the oldest dress will be dolley madison's. >> fast forward to today. michelle obama, she donated hers personally? >> actually, mrs. obama came and presented the dress and the jewelry and the shoes. but they were actually donated, and she -- it's interesting. she says this is the first time we had the designers donate. and mrs. obama had them donate these pieces. so jason wu and jimmy choo and lori rodkin actually donated the pieces. and they're donated. when you see the label, it will be donated by jason wu in honor of the first lady michelle obama. and mrs. obama came to present the pieces to the museum. >> so what goes into deciding which dress to wear? and are they thinking about the influence that will have on

their husband's administration? >> i think -- i think we would like it to maybe be a little more political than it probably is. when we did -- there is a video playing in this exhibition. and we were lucky enough to interview rosalynn carter and laura bush about the dresses that they chose, thinking maybe there was a symbolism. and mrs. carter in reality for sentimental reasons wore a dress again that she had worn when her husband was made governor of georgia. and mrs. bush just remembers collaborating with the designer michael faircloth. and you wanted a pretty party dress. and i think what women -- the first lady wants it to be beautiful. she wants it to be comfortable. she wants it to be appropriate. i think appropriate is the word when first ladies are dealing with clothes. they want to be appropriate for the occasion, appropriate for their age, appropriate for the circumstance, and i think appropriate as a symbol of the united states, because we still

do look at the first lady as representing women in the united states, even when she is not functioning in duty hours, she represents the united states. >> this is c-span 3 with politics and public affairs programing throughout the week, and every weekend 48 hours of people and events telling the american story on american history tv. get our schedules and see past programs at our websites. and you can join in the conversation on social media sites. former first ladies barbara bush and laura bush sat down for a conversation about their time in the white house. historian and biographer doris concerns goodwin moderated the

one-hour discussion. we hear barbara bush's thoughts about the 1992 and 2012 presidential campaigns, and laura bush speaks about her work on behalf of women in afghanistan, and influence first ladies possess. [ applause ] ♪ >> hello, my name is mark langedale. i'm president of the george w. bush foundation. i want to welcome to you the final panel of a great event we're having today with the national archives and records administration.

in my job, i get asked a lot, how do get the chance to work on building something as interesting and significant as the george w. bush presidential center? and i go, well, i have experience building complex real estate projects. i served in government. i'm interested in presidential history. i even like to watch c-span3. but the -- the big reason and the real reason that i have this really great job is 23 years ago, george and laura bush moved to dallas, texas and bought the house next door to me and we became friends, and if there is one thing i can testify to, it's true then, and true today. is that george and laura bush are true partners in life. and george w. bush truly and deeply loves his wife. so it is an honor for me to introduce a man who truly and deeply loves his wife, the 43rd

president of the united states, george w. bush. [ applause ] >> thank you all for coming. so it seems fitting to me that for the america's first ladies conference, we actually have first ladies. and it's my honor to introduce them. before i do so, i want to thank mark langdale for his leadership of the george w. bush foundation. i want to thank anita mcbride for conceiving and sharing what has been a fascinating discussion, actually watching some streamed over the internet. i want to thank gerald turner of smu and the smu folks. smu is an awesome university, by the way, and we're honored to be associated with it.

and neil kerwin, president of american university and his wife ann have joined us. thank you so much for being here. i want to thank the library directors, alan lowe, of course, of the bush president 43. warren finch, bush president 41. i'll be the funny guy. [ laughter ] and mark updegrove of the lyndon baines johnson's library right down the road. first i want to say something about doris kerns good win. we're fortunate to have her here. she is an awesome historian, she really is. i read a lot of history when i was president. i can hear people saying, we paid you all that money and all you did was read? sit around reading? it was fascinating.

i didn't watch much tv. it was fascinating to read history while i had the honor of making history. and no better historian to help a president understand the past and future by the way, than for doris kearns goodwin. so we're honored you're here. [ applause ] and so the other thing that impressed me about doris kearns goodwin, she raised a son who became a united states marine. volunteered to be a united states marine after september the 11th. [ applause ] i have the honor of introducing the best first lady ever. [ laughter ] mom, would you take a tie?

obviously, i don't mind being surrounded by strong women. i was raised by one, i married one, and i believe we're raising two. welcome former first ladies, barbara and laura bush. >> thank you very much. >> i thought it was me. [ applause ] >> well, for me, this is such a great honor. you can imagine having spent my life trying to bring presidents and first ladies who were no longer alive to life? i've got live ones here! much more fun. >> we hope. >> i always worry -- i worry that in the -- >> careful. >> i worry that someday -- i worry that someday in the afterlife there will be a panel of presidents that i ever studied and everyone will tell

me every single thing i got wrong. the first person who yell out will be lbj. how come that damn book on the kennedys was twice as long as mine. but let me begin, because i love to tell stories from the beginning with what it was like when you first get to the white house. you have this great line where you said "i woke up with the president-elect." what's it like to wake up with the president in the morning? and know you are in a place with 132 rooms and you have to make it a home? how do you do that? >> the house really i think was very easy. we brought furniture for the one family room, which was beautiful. and our own curtains came, matched the couches that we brought. it's -- first of all, 90-some people who work for you are family. they really are. and when we went back all those years later, eight years later, when george and laura were there, there was our family. they were still there. there are some of them still there. not many anymore. old age got them.

>> did you have a favorite place in the white house where you liked to go? >> well, i loved my little office, because it was -- besides being nancy reagan's beauty parlor, which she didn't like me to say, but it was. the dogs were born there, and you could look out the window at jackson place and the -- what's that park? >> lafayette square. >> lafayette square and see all sorts of wonderful things. nobody else faced that part of washington, but i saw more people protesting us and some people who loved us, and i saw people at weddings. they would back up and have a wedding picture taken. i saw my first black bridesmaids dresses backing up to have their pictures taken by the white house. i mean their dresses were black, which i thought was amazing. but it was -- i loved looking out at the people. >> i can well imagine. how about you? how did you go about -- and you

had already been there. >> i had already been there. i had a huge advantage that nobody else had had except louisa adams. i had been there so often. having been there with my father-in-law president bush that is really is a home and i knew bar had made it into a home. it was a home where our little girls when they were 7, when their grandfather was president, could slide down the ramp from the conservatory, the solarium that you saw in several of the photos earlier, the wooden ramp, slide down on their bottom or make the running jump to the one big antique bed that was so tall that it required steps to get into. but barbara and jenna could run and jump on it at that age. they also, when the obamas came for the tour, they showed sasha and malia all of those tricks from their childhood. at the white house, sliding down the ramp and jumping on the beds. so i really knew.

and because i knew there was this really magnificent collection of white house furniture, i didn't move anything with us. we had just moved into our ranch house which is where all of our furniture went. so i brought one chest of drawers for my dressing room that was george's grandmother's, just to have that there, just to remember her. and then i brought some of our books, a few of our books. i also knew that we would get lots of books. so i didn't bring our whole library, and just brought personal photographs, and then had a wonderful time going to the big warehouse. you can't call it a warehouse, because it's really climate and temperature controlled with a conservator, storage space where all the white house furniture was and bringing back different pieces to the white house. >> to what extent are you aware of other presidents and their -- their first wives or first -- maybe. and their first ladies being there in different rooms? >> i think very much. i think there is a place in the white house that later became

closets for ladies clothes, that's where i hung my evening clothes and things, that if you walk down looking out at lafayette square where presidents made great pronouncements to people, and we brought a historian up. lincoln historian up, and he said i can't believe i'm here. now, granted, they had redone the white house, but he felt he knew it. so he went right to the closet. down the corridor, and i think the girls' rooms opened. >> on both sides. >> but he ran right down there and he looked. and there wasn't the portico or something there. and he could feel lincoln giving the speech. >> wow. i can imagine that. >> and it was very exciting with him. one thing i forgot to mention, the thing i love most was i could hear jenna and barbara, and i could hear marshall and walker, giggling and laughing and riding bikes and swimming and who knew what?

anyway, and george loved that. they would swim and come in -- and neil's children. but they lived in washington. dora's children, and jenna and barbara, they all came to visit. but it was so cute. it made it home. >> i can imagine that. >> and beside that, your own house when your grandchildren come, they work. when they come to the white house, there are 90 some people who will take care of them. >> when did you think of restoring the lincoln room? speaking of lincoln. i was able to see that, and you just did an amazing job. >> really, do you think of presidents the whole time you are there, and there is great comfort in that. you think of all of the other challenges that other presidents faced and that our country faced and how we overcame all of those challenges. and especially in a time when we had troops in iraq and afghanistan. it was very comforting after september 11th to know we can overcome this too and that we'll move on and while peace may not

be forever, neither is war, and there is a great continuity of living in a house where all of the presidents, every one of them, except for george washington had lived before you. so one of the things you do, you live with these effects of all the people that lived there before you. you live with their decorating, with their taste, their choice in -- in furniture, or in china or in decorative arts. all the things that were acquired by the white house during other terms. and slowly, i moved different pieces from the storage and set up each room and at one point during the second term, we determined it was time to redo the lincoln bedroom. it had last been done during president ford, i believe. actually set up as a bedroom after truman renovated the white house. the bedroom, the bed, had been in a room that's now the upstairs dining room across the

hall from the presidential bedrooms. the room that's now set up is the lincoln bedroom, was lincoln's office before the west wing was built. obviously all the offices down at that end of the residence hall and it was the room that lincoln had signed the emancipation proclamation in. and we owned one of the five original copies of the gettysburg address, written in lincoln's hand and that was in the room and our guests, who would come stay in the lincoln bedroom, would look at that copy of the gettysburg address and read it and weep. it was very moving to see. and so i worked with the white house historical association with the furniture curators and historians that are part of the advisory board, and we had little -- a little remnant of the wall party that had been on the wall of his room. we had photographs of the lincoln bed with the gold corona with purple and gold drapes that

hung down from the corona. we knew from white house records that the corona had been sent away from the white house in 1927, so we reproduced all those things. so it's not a real reproduction, because it's neither an office or a bedroom, but instead both. we went back to the same mill in england that had run the carpet for him on the 27-inch loom. >> wow. >> and we knew from the records that the carpet was "g" and "o," which the curators think meant green and oak, which is green and brown. and we went to the same mill, and they didn't have records of what they had actually sold to the white house, but we used a pattern that we think was the pattern. so it was really, really very fun. >> so exciting just to know that lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation in that room. it's a great story.

he had shaken so many hands on new year's morning, his own hand was numb and shaking. he put the pen down. he said if ever my soul were in an act, it is in that act. and if i sign with a shaking hand, posterity will say he hesitated. so he waited and waited until he could sign. and it's a really big, bold hand for him. it's great. >> do you remember the first guest of the bush family who stayed in that bed? we immediately sent is a new mattress for the lincoln bed. the most uncomfortable bed. it may be historic, but bucky and patty bought a new, our brother and sister. said nobody could sleep on this bed. >> i'll never forget one night i was able to sleep in churchill's room, and no way i could sleep. i was certain he was sitting in the corner drinking his brandy and smoking his cigar. that's the theme of a favorite story in world war ii, and he churchill came after pearl