leaving some event, and i like the light. she was always very nice to the photographer. the world is divided into two kinds of people for me, the photographers and then those trying to keep them from taking pictures, and so pat nixon was very good with the photographers. her husband, not quite so much, but my first first lady was really a true friend was betty ford. mrs. ford and i became really close friends. i was treated like one of the family there during their white house, and, of course, we were talking about how lady bird johnson came to the white house. it's not quite as horrible a situation but betty ford became first lady really overnight almost, and they hired me as their white house photographer

when i was 27 years old, and i was a little bit older. now, these are the kinds of pictures that i'm sure the -- the -- most first ladies don't want to be photographed like that nor does anybody, but mrs. ford and president ford had such an incredible sense of humor and a lack of vanity about themselves. this was, by the way, taken in the -- in the kitchen of their home in alexandria, virginia, which is a very modest two split-level place, and they lived there for almost two weeks after they became -- after he became president, and this is lady bird johnson and mrs. ford and the two johnson girls. they are being shown the white house living room -- white house bedroom, and when i did an edit for this book i did on the ford presidency, i looked back, and i wonder, i forgot that suitcases in the picture, this is right before mrs. ford went out to

bethesda naval hospital where she ultimately had a mastectomy, and she never told mrs. johnson that she was going there that day, and this is in the hospital with bob hope. bob hope's name comes up quite a bit. in fact, he was the one who said president ford made golf a contact sport, and -- and mrs. ford recovered nicely from this operation. probably i know she's best known for the betty ford center, people with alcohol and drug dependency, but i -- i can't imagine how many women's lives she saved. happy rockefeller was one of them who got a test because of her. she brought that whole problem out into the open. this is -- we had a very close relationship. this is in the white house solarium. mrs. ford is trying to strangle

me yet again for -- she had to put up with a lot from me, and the queen of england, the queen is a recurring theme here among the first ladies and the social secretaries. a very quick story. this is on the second floor of the white house. as queen elizabeth and the prince were going up in the elevator with the fords before the state dinner, the elevator door opened on the family quarters, and jack ford was standing there without a shirt on. one of the sons, he was looking for cufflinks in his dad's drawer and it was very embarrassing. president ford said to the queen, gee i really apologized for that. she said don't worry, we have one at home just like him. and mrs. ford was really the cheerleader of the family, as

all the first ladies are. i mean, the guys go out and create all this trouble and win and lose elections, and the first ladies are there to make the kids feel better certainly, but this is right after president ford resigned or lost the election to jimmy carter, was in the oval office. they would go outside. mrs. ford would actually read the announcement conceding the election. and mrs. ford always felt like -- she liked this picture because she felt it showed her like kind of a bird in a cage on one hand kind of looking out at the world, and in this case down towards the west wing. both the fords gave mow total access to their life, so i really spent a lot of time upstairs and downstairs, was able to get all that. my favorite picture of mrs. ford after she died ran extensively was the day before they left the white house on january 20th, 19

-- january 19th, 1977, we were walking around in the west wing. she was saying good-bye to people. we walked by the cabinet room, and there's this empty cabinet room table and portraits of, you know, long gone presidents on the wall and a real male domain, and she said, you know, i've always wanted to dance on the cabinet room table, and somebody said did you ask her to do that? i said it never crossed my mind. not only did i not ask her, and so she took off her shoes and she -- she -- i'm guessing that the two of you don't have anything like this, right? i'll ask eric draper about it. this could be one in a lifetime, but she was a former martha graham dancer, great sense of humor and all that, and this was really my favorite moment, and it shows who she was. you know, i'll go through very quickly through some others. this is mrs. carter the next

day. mrs. ford did not tell her that she danced on the cabinet room table. the carters in '76 right before the election process. ronald reagan i covered with president and mrs. reagan for "time" magazine. this is in the solarium, the same room that mrs. ford tried to kill me in. and their relationship was very good. this picture never was published because the editors of "time" thought it was too schmaltzy, and i said they are schmaltzy people. you have to understand they really do this kind of stuff. nobody was making it up, so -- and this is my favorite mrs. bush photo. now, to barbara bush's credit, she has this hanging in their house in kennebunkport.

i know that because i've seen it up there, and -- but this was at the president ford library rededication, and i don't even know if you remember what you said to your husband, the colorfully attired one in the striped vest. she said, george, won't you ever grow up? thankfully he has not. this is hillary rodham clinton. i'll do a close-up. hilary rodham in 1974. let's go forward, and this is 20 years later as first lady. the first picture was taken in the house judiciary committee room where she was a lawyer, and this is the night before the inauguration in 1993, and the couple in '96 on the campaign train. the next photo, any first lady is going to identify with, an i've never shown it. this is the first time, and if secretary clinton sees it she

will summarily execute me, but this is her listening to her husband. [ laughter ] so let me guess. you've heard this one before, right? but hillary clinton is a great person, and i -- i think she's terrific and has a fabulous sense of humor, and this picture i took of her i asked her to sign if she was still talking to me after she saw it, and she signed on it dear david, i just wanted you to know that i was thinking about you. and this was really the most dramatic moment. certainly before the presidency in the bushes' life. this is election night in the mansion, and mrs. bush and

governor bush and jeb, whose life is passing before his eyes in the florida vote count and president bush on the phone in the background, but this was about ten minutes before al gore took back his concession which i just wish i would have heard that phone call but i didn't, so we've read about it, and the obamas. this is inaugural night. i did the official -- produced the official inaugural book for the committee. i also did the two bush books and two clinton books with my team of photographers, and -- and some photos of michelle obama. this is after eight presidential balls. this is also the first ladies will appreciate this. two more balls to go, back stage, and in the elevator. this is a high school prom picture i think, kind of a gallant moment. this is the night of the inaugural.

and then six first ladies at the reagan library dedication with pat nixon. i think this was the last public appearance that mrs. nixon made before she died with lady bird, and then at the george bush library opening. this is -- hillary is first lady, and they were all watching the presidents talking and at the ford funeral where president bush and those three first ladies. this was in palm desert. thank you. [ applause ] >> great job. >> well, this is unfair that i have to follow you, david. >> i intended it. thank you so much. >> clearly one of the most memorable events for mrs. bush was her commencement address at wellesley. aside from all the brouhaha and

protests that were stirred up, it was a great success. i'm sure everybody remembers the quote that at the end of your life you'll never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, closing one more deal, but you will regret time not spent with a husband, child or a parent, and i think this is a code that she lived by. there she is with mrs. gorbachev who came with her to the event and gave her own remarks. in the kremlin with mrs. yeltsin on the left. mrs. yeltsin took us through an impromptu tour of the imperial apartments in the kremlin which were absolutely incredible because they were covered floor to ceiling with these beautiful religious icons, and i don't think the apartments had ever been open to the public before, so that was a real treat to see. on our first foreign trip we were -- went to china here at

tiananmen square. i was still learning my way, and i had a slight scuffle with chinese security, and i kept telling them that i was with her and it was okay because i was an official photographer, and then figured out later that all photographers in china are probably official and it meant absolutely nothing. our first foreign trip, after that we went to seoul, korea with mrs. roh tae wu and i love the juxtaposition there of east and west and holding hands, and in tokyo in the imperial gardens we took a stroll with empress michiko, and i think mrs. bush was told to wear some comfortable shoes.

as you'll note the u.s. kids. president and mrs. bush also met with them. here at their home they had lunch with them. it was a real exciting time because solidarity i think what -- and mrs. thatcher, i think what she is saying is who is that woman with all the cameras around her neck? why is she in my living room? i barged my way through as she was learning to do, thinking i was going to end up in a holding room somewhere when i ended up in her living room.

and this is in the residence, what you would call the family room of the white house, the president announcing the operation with her daughter and the press secretary. and the bushes had invited the reverend billy graham to join them. in the camis. this was in the saudi desert on thanksgiving day before the start of operation desert storm. i think mrs. bush was on her fifth thanksgiving dinner at that time. and then once the campaign started it was non-stop. here we were at a beauty salon in new hampshire, and that is -- that is not helen thomas under the hair dryer.

i know it looks like her. i'm not that cool. greeting well wishers in pennsylvania, bowling for votes in ohio. and on the campaign plane with marvin bush who is always fun to have around. here with marvin also. we were on a whistle stop tour through georgia. this was several weeks before the election. and after the third debate, after the crowds all come around and everybody shakes hands and takes pictures, mrs. bush bee-lined for ross perot because he had made some accusations that the campaign had maligned

his family and his daughters and mrs. bush wanted to set the record straight, that that just was not true. here she is with her newly adopted son, soon to be adopted son, still governor at the time. now it's customary after the election that the first lady gives a tour to the newly elected first lady in the white house, and here she is with mrs. clinton in the queen's bedroom. going over some notes before a speech in a hotel room somewhere in america, somewhere yet one more hotel room. sorting through children's books that she was giving to her

grandchildren. that's at the staff hotel in kennebunkport. and on a bus tour through illinois and wisconsin. obviously a late night trip home. somewhere we had been given 3-d glasses and just being silly on the plane. i like the guy on the right who obviously missed his pair but was willing to join in anyways. every christmastime mrs. bush visited children's hospital in washington, d.c., and here she is holding the young cancer patient, and i love the look on her faces. she must have gotten great comfort from that little girl who was probably about the same age as robin. now, millie in kennebunkport relaxing obviously with mrs. bush. had already become a successful

authoress. she had written her book, and she generously donated all the profits of her book to the barbara bush foundation of family literacy, and because she is a thoroughly modern millie and wants it all, she had these guys. which brought great joy to the white house. now some are braver than others. [ laughter ] and we traveled to almost every state in the united states to include hawaii where we went for the day and back to promote family literacy. mrs. bush obviously, as you know, tirelessly promoted reading. i love the exuberance of the little girl on the right-hand side there. and mrs. bush holding an aids baby. now, have you to remember at

that time for a lot of people didn't understand that you could hold a baby, hug a child with aids and that it wouldn't -- you wouldn't catch it, but there was this stereotype, so mrs. bush in her role went out to grandma's house in washington, d.c., and, unfortunately, that poor guy only lasted another couple of weeks. broccoli, yeah. now, someone we all know and love happened to mention that he didn't like broccoli so the mother of america had to go out there and reassure all the children that broccoli is good and good for you. and you'll notice that she did that with the oval office right in the background which i thought was pretty cheeky. after the election president

bush was honored at an armed -- by the armed services at a salute at ft. myers, and it was an incredibly moving event. there wasn't a dry eye anywhere to include miraculously the press that was -- that had tears running down their eyes. but then life takes funny turns, and we have governor bush and governor bush and president bush and who knows who the guy in the background, what he's going to add to it. and life goes on. this is after the election at kennebunkport. the president is going off to work, which brings me back to the wellesley speech which i have read over and over again, and i think one of the -- also one of the other things that mrs. bush said in that speech, which we don't want to forget

paraphrasing ferris bueller that life is fast-paced. you have to stop and look around or else you'll miss it all and then most of all to remember to find the joy in life. thank you. [ applause ] >> good afternoon. i'm susan sterner. just thank you to everyone for being here. it's a really hard -- i just really drew the short end of the straw i think, but i thought i would start -- remember the click. i thought i would start with my last day of work with mrs. bush. my last 48 hours of work with mrs. bush was in the spring of 2005 when we went on an

unannounced trip to afghanistan, and a little bit of background. i started at the white house right after a two-year fellowship in brazil where what i was doing was living and working with families and looking into how government policies affected the lives and status of women, and i thought that i had learned everything or i didn't think that i had learned everything, but what i learned i thought was the great lesson of my life, and then i turned around and went into the white house and had fundamental things like the vocabulary that we use every day challenged, words like white house, east wing, west wing, state visit, peace talks, and most importantly the word government. that it stopped me in the course of my time at white house, it stopped being this giant hovering blob of organizations and really became individuals. and relationships. what stuck with me after my time there was the power of gestures, large and small. so here we are in afghanistan walking with president hamid karzai right outside of the presidential palace. we were there for just a short time. over the course of our visit, i was really struck and touched by

how people responded to us in the streets, how informal meetings were set up with the solemnity and gravity for everyone of the moment. i was struck by a visit we took to a dormitory for a university for young women and how they were awe-struck by mrs. bush, mesmerized by her. i kept trying to process what it meant to them to have her there listening to them talk about their dreams and their goals. that circles back to what i was mentioning, that it comes down to relationships. relationships behind the photo ops. i think everybody has been beaten up in china, carol. just really learning from mrs. bush about what it means to listen and engage and do that

with grace in the private and public sphere, to acknowledge the effort that goes into these meetings. here they are in normandy on the beaches, which was such a beautiful moment and so powerful i think to everybody that was there that day. these are the cherry blossom princesses coming in their matching pink suits. they were mortified. their ten seconds with mrs. bush, preparing to say hello. the generosity of taking five minutes for a photo op in the heat of the sun in texas. but it was relationships that happened around moments like this. this is in the spring of 2003 when the president of uganda was visiting and he brought with them the uganda children's choir, which is made up of children orphaned by aids. they set up chairs in the rose garden. i have it -- i call it a

syndrome where i can't not cry when kids are singing. i'm trying to photograph while they're singing. we do the official photo op and the president had to go back into the oval office, but mrs. bush stayed. the kids swarmed her. she hugged every one of them. it was this incredible moment of love and joy and she led them upstairs to the state floor where they had a treat of juice and cookies and they brought out barney to play with them. i think back to these kids, to the women in afghanistan and even to the cherry blossom princesses and think about the ripple effect that this moment, this chance to have a relationship had on them. those were the moments powerful for me, a real privilege to witness. this is one that just sort of blew my mind. when i think about it, it's kind of rad, especially the day after elections in russia yesterday. this is during the national book festival. here is mrs. bush. she's gotten out of the

limousine with mrs. putin and holding hands walking across the national mall at the national book festival, an event dedicated to the idea of an open access to information and freedom of speech. being able to be there and witness that sort of moment was very humbling. i learned a lot about what it means to be respectful and present in the moment. mrs. bush always had this great talent for creating a very special aura around the people who she was meeting this. here she is with a navajo elder in arizona. this little boy, kent morrison from the make-a-wish foundation, his wish was to meet with mrs. bush. and it was the sweetest little moment, just playing with kaleidoscopes in the diplomatic reception room with his little sister rachel. visiting the wounded in walter reed. as a white house photographer, i was always aware of the fact

that i was part of the gray area between public and private and i was there as one of the witnesses, and to honor. but i was also sometimes an intruder. i felt very responsible for how i went about trying to document and what i did with the privilege of being there in those private times. i tried really hard to get it right and to show the multi-faceted people and to make the pictures about the individuals who were there. here is the president blowing a kiss to mrs. bush as we leave to go back to the united states and he stays with his delegation in mexico. just a quick moment after the state of the union with family. flying home for christmas, when your guard is down. coming back from europe with jenna. i would say that it's not always a seamless thing to be a white house photographer. nobody tried to strangle me, though.

it's not a seamless thing. i don't believe that you're ever a fly on the wall as a photographer. you go in there to look and to shape an image and you have a camera and sometimes you're crawling around where you shouldn't be. so you change the balance. again, that's all about those relationships. i think you really have to have a good sense of humor and a heavy dose of humility. in the photo office we had this sort of small running jokes of pictures of who had been thrown out of which meeting which way. when you inadvertently become part of the event and you really shouldn't. that's sort of a photographer's nightmare. here we're about to go out on the east lawn, and the president just said no more pictures. or stepping out of the limos and having the dogs rush me. i didn't know what else to do except lift my cameras to protect myself. or talking to the president and the first lady into a dawn photo op and having the dogs go in an unmanaged way.

but it was fun. it's also a lot of fun. you're around everybody for so much time. >> that's a good shot, isn't it? >> you're around everyone for so much time, that it's just about the relationships. it was an amy mazing firsthand education for me to witness and document the relationships that have become our collective memory and that are the government, that are the white house, that are the east wing, that are peace talks. it shifted everything in how i think about what i do. it's had a huge impact. the ripple effect on me has affected the way i work, the way i parent. it was a great time. i was a first-time mother when i was in the white house. it was amazing to kind of do whatever mrs. bush said to do in her policy speeches, and the way i participate in our democracy and the way that i really even think about the future. thank you. [ applause ]