a first lady series continues. we will look at the life and influence of barbara bush. ♪ >> did i feel prepared? yes. did notice the difference between being the vice president's wife and the president's wife is huge because the vice president's wife can say anything and nobody cares. the minute you say one thing as the president's wife, you have made the news. used the office of first lady to promote literacy and to raise awareness about aids and homelessness.

she earned her way into the history books. she and abigail adams are the only women to be both a wife and mother of a president. welcome to first ladies influence and image. tonight is the story of barbara bush. next 90 minutes, to tell us more about her life and influence are two guests. ,he barbara bush biographer part of the series we have turned to so often. she is a first ladies scholar. engel is the founding director of the center for presidential history at southern methodist university. he is the author of one book on george bush's foreign-policy. we heard barbara bush talk about the fact that when she became first lady, her words were much

more attention getting. that trend continues. we will see clips of an interview that she gave to us in october. one of them has been bouncing all around the news networks for several days because she talked about presidential dynasties, the lyrical dynasties, -- political dynasties, and the potential for jeb bushes presidential aspirations. -- she had a reputation for a good quote and candid comments. >> she was always very aware of her public persona and i think she was also -- always concerned about whether it would have political consequences for her husband. she also was very candid and

sometimes a comment slipped out and she admonished herself or from time to time. >> the candid barbara bush had some pluses and minuses. >> she would really speak her mind and she was somebody who would speak her mind to the president, but not in a public way. she would tell him what she really thought. >> as we are working our way through the biographies of these women, barbara bush is between two much more publicly active first ladies. nancy reagan, hillary clinton. arbor bush talks about her approach to the job and whether or not -- barbara bush talks about her approach to the job. >> if you ever wanted to give advice or talk about policy with your husband, how would you do that?

>> if i wanted to, i would just tell them. to.truth is, i did not want he had great advisers. i never called his office to say,if i had something to i would say it to george bush. what i did not call jim baker. baker.i did not call jim i have never had an office except in the house. at the white house, i had an office, but i never went to it. i did not get into his office affairs. >> described her approach. became first lady, she wanted to do something positive every day and she set out with

her staff to do that. she looked up potential for her literacy project, some of the other thing she was interested in, and it was full speed ahead to try to do that one good thing every day. >> as you look through the documentary, where can you see through historical documents evidence of her influence on the white house? >> very little influencing -- evidence of her influencing policy. she believed her role was to set a proper standard for the white house. her impact upon the administration was really in portraying them as forthright and honest. do not see any particular policies that come out of her influence. rather a general town one that the public took to.

>> how is that different than the reagan years? >> this is reagan like to get her hands dirty in politics. she would frequently call up the office of the president for admonishing -- admonishing them for one thing or another. mrs. bush never did that. she did not directly involve herself in policy. .he cared a lot about politics she knew what was going on in washington. she made sure she knew the gossip, but she was not interested in changing the policy. >> during the campaign times, as she involved in strategy? >> less about strategy than being out in front for the campaign. she was much more popular than he was. wouldimes the president

center out on the campaign trail and begin to answer questions with, barbara and i think. >> the subtitle of your biography is presidential matriarch and that is the next clip we will like to show you. in.s listen >> how do you develop that thick skin for politics? >> i am not good at it. most people do not dare criticize my children in front of me. the press, i do not pay any attention to. i do not like it, but i do not pay any attention to it. do not dare criticize george h.w. bush. ever. when she came to the white house, she told her press

secretary that there were three areas where you'd better keep hands off her fellow, family, and her dogs. that followed through. andwas very concerned reacted sometimes very quickly if there was criticism of george bush. and the children. >> we are going to invite you to participate in our discussion tonight. we have a conversation underway on our facebook page. you can join that. tweetn also tweak us -- us. and you can call us. we have our lines divided geographically.

we will try to get as many comments from as many different media as we can tonight. let's understand where she came from. she was joined -- she was born in new york city in 1925. .> she was born in new york at the time of her birth, her father was on the staff of the president at the mccall's publishing company. her mother was a descendent of an ohio supreme court justice. the pierce family was related to president franklin pierce. the family moved to rye, new york, where barbara and her siblings grew up. it was comfortable upbringing. they went to private schools. when barbara was old enough for

high school, she was sent away to ashley hall, a boarding school in south carolina. christmas break of her junior year, she went to a country club dance and that is when she met george h.w. bush. >> they were very young people and they got married very young. what do you know about the attraction, early courtship? >> they were attracted from the start. they developed an intimate correspondence, which was typical for the times. george bush decides to join the navy. he becomes the youngest aviator in the pacific theater. their correspondence is when they intimate, could not be together in the

same spot. when they could be together, it it was electric. >> she began school at smith college. >> she was there for a year and she admitted that she was not the most dedicated of students. she was more interested in her boyfriend. i believe she was rather active in athletics. for the first semester of her sophomore year and then left school to marry george bush. >> as the young couple, when he he hadf as an aviator, some very close encounters. do you know the story of his being shot down in the pacific? story.s a harrowing he was on a bombing run and he

went in on the run, started to dive down, and was hit by enemy aircraft. he continued on his bombing mission and called back to his fellow crewmates and said, we will continue this mission. we will bail out. he thought they had already left the plane. he discovered later that there was no chance for them to have survived. he was alone in the pacific and spent 4.5 hours bobbing up and down in the pacific before he was rescued. weeksnt another several continuing with the summary and on their patrol mission. parentsnclear for his what had happened to him. he was listed as missing in action. they made a decision not to tell barbara until they knew for certain.

>> they missed their first wedding date because he was not back. finally, he was back. on january 6, two weeks after the original date, it were married. >> he served in the military until when? until 1945 until the peace treaties were signed. -- he had many points accumulated so he was able to take an early out. he and barbara left for new haven and ale and the beginning of his long-delayed college career. george walker bush was born during that time. thats also at that point george h.w. bush was playing varsity baseball at yale and

barbara was the official scorer for the team. it was a happy time for them. >> they had six children. , andn, jeb, neil dorothy. i want you to tell the story about robin's death. it impacted both parents. over twowas a little years old and woke up one morning. at this point, they were in texas. she said to barbara, i think i will stay in bed or maybe i will go out on the lawn and look at

the clouds. .hat raised red flags her daughter was very active. she took her daughter to the pediatrician and the pediatrician asked to barbara and george to come back a little bit later that day. she said to them, your daughter has leukemia. george bush said, what does that mean? at that point, who knew what it was? the doctor says it means she will not live very long. the doctor's recommendation was that robin be allowed to go home and enjoy things. bush's relatives anda doctor in new york robin was taken there to try some different treatment

modalities to deal with the leukemia. they prolonged life a little bit. >> they still talk about her today. the emotion is very visible. >> president bush spent his entire life writing letters. the most painful letters we have in the archive are him writing about his daughter, talking about the pain, the thing that is missing. we do need a little girl in our lives. >> they did manage to recover to some degree and they had a big and bustling family. this next clip, barbara bush talks about her role as a parent. >> you have been referred to by some family members as the enforcer.

thrilledot sure i am with laura saying that. i deserve it. george is so -- anything may do was all right. someone has to be sure the standards are kept. example, i lead by denying some things. i am the enforcer, no question about it. do i like that role? no. comments? herer husband always called ms. frank. she has had his back all of her family members all these many years. , she wase was critical

going to respond. there was a story that a reporter once told me that if you wrote something negative about bill clinton, maybe the clintons would forgive you and let you write another story. if you said something negative about george h.w. bush, you were done until the next administration. about --e questions what aspects of mrs. bush's personality might be seen in her son? >> both of them have long memories. ofbara bush does not let go criticism very easily and i am not sure that george walker bush does either. >> a similar question. are there any passions that a young barbara passed on to her

children? understand barbara bush, you need to appreciate that she was a product of her time. the passion was the fact that she had devoted her life to them , to raising a family and to being a good and loyal wife to her husband over the course of his varied careers. an absentee father for many years because he was on the road as a salesman, and as a politician. she was there every night. for george w. bush, it formed a role bond between the two of them. >> some statistics, by the time they made it to the white house, they had been married for 43 years and had lived in 29 different houses in 17 cities.

wants to know, rumor has it that barbara's hair turned white after robin's death. >> i believe that is true. she took the death very deeply. she went through a period of aftersion and it was only she was so sad for so many months that she heard george outside saying to a young friend, i cannot come out and play today because i have to take care of my mother. she realized that she is -- this is too much burden to put on a little boy. >> leroy is watching us in kentucky. did the bush family go by the strictures -- scriptures?

a clip where barbara bush talks about her faith. were they church people? always had very strong faith. i cannot really attest to how much church attendance was part of their lives, but i believe it was considerable. >> they did go to church. did give oneh speech about his own spirituality. i am a person of faith, but we are -- i am an episcopalian and we do not talk about these things. >> they moved to texas and into to california for the oil business.

how did they make the transition to politics? >> they came back to texas and they came back to -- came back to texas and they had a great deal of success. after that, they moved to houston. asked tosh was consider running for harris county republican chairman. that was his first campaign. she really enjoyed it. she felt very competitive and they won that race. 180 nine precincts and they visited everyone. that should also note about that same time, george's father was involved in politics. >> he was a senator for the state of connecticut. one of dwight eisenhower's favorite golfing buddies.

bush was very competitive. eisenhower said, i like playing with him because he is one of the only people who would not let me win. when you on the athletic field, or in any arena, you are there to win. republican -- to the national stage, how'd that happen? x there were two terms in congress. the senate that did not work. two terms in congress. another try for the senate that did not work. mr. bush wase was asked to be republican national committee chairman during watergate.

>> between that time, he was united nations ambassador. , a texasing from texas that is transforming itself. he runs in 1964, he is hopeful of winning, that no republican was going to win in 1964. richard nixon encourages him in 1970 to run again. he thinks he is going to run the exact same campaign portraying his incumbent as a liberal. . terrible thing happened a more conservative man at the democratic nomination. his entire strategy went out in the wash.

this is still a democratic state . --en the choice between texas will always take the democrat. that has changed, of course. richard nixon tells him, i will take care of you and you can become a united nations ambassador. >> where was his foreign policy at that point? any. did not have he would be the first one to admit it. this is one of the reasons nixon chose him. and henry, what nixon kissinger wanted was somebody who would be loyal. the less the person knew the better. that. very good at he was very loyal. he liked being with other diplomats.

he did something very unusual. his predecessors gave him advice before he showed up. you are the ambassador from the most powerful country in the world, let them come to you. he said, i will go visit other people. he went to all of the different nations in their offices. something an american ambassador never done -- had never done before. >> barbara bush enjoyed those u.n. nearest -- you in years -- u.n. years. had not gone outside the country. her first time going outside the country was when they were in china. a suite in, they had the waldorf towers were they entertained. the entertained constantly.

them, there was an understanding, comprehension of the importance of personal diplomacy. get the sequencing right. first, there was the u.n. position. >> head of the republican national committee. this was during watergate. he has the unenviable job of going out every day and defending the president. he feels it is is duty. no matter what. he refers to this. of being in the eye of the storm. with the rnc position being a social one, this town was so full attention. tension.full of

>> she wondered how she was -- she wondered how he was soldiering on. bush has to go to president nixon and say to him, it looks like most hope is lost. quincy, massachusetts. are you there? >> hello? i am in quincy, massachusetts, the birthplace of john adams. i have a question and a comment. you mentioned earlier that mrs. -- the the first lady

only first lady after abigail adams who was the mother of a president. if that's also true that she is the only first lady after abigail adams who was the wife of a president and a vice president? pat nixon. >> but not the mother of a president. call.you for your watergate, chief of the republican party, to china. >> this is a great story. watergate occurs. president nixon resigns. considered very strongly to be one of the potential vice president joe picks for gerald ford.

-- presidential picks for gerald ford. soldier been a loyal and i would like to get all of the people involved in watergate out of the limelight. what would you like to do? where would you like to go? i can offer you paris, london. george bush says, i would like to go to china. gerald ford says, would you like to go to london or paris? bush says, china is going to be the future. it is an exciting place. this is really key. china is a lot cheaper than london or paris. the ambassador is expected to supplement the social budget. george bush had five kids to put through college.

he wanted to go somewhere that was a little bit affordable. how wonderful it was to live in a place that was so inexpensive. >> barbara bush loved china. she said it was her favorite place to be. .he kids were not there >> but the dog went with them. >> she had george bush to herself. the two of them took advantage of the many possibilities that china offered. they learn to speak some chinese. they were able to enjoy going out into the countryside. we did not have a full consulate there. >> we did not establish relations until 79. it was an unofficial-official post. >> there with a little more freedom that came with that.

she was very unhappy when they had to leave. >> it seems like it was on the cusp of change. >> it was a world away. no telephone connection that was reliable. you could feel like you were getting away from it all. after watergate that he was exhausted. he needed a sabbatical. he would say, the phone does not ring on my desk. it was dark at night. it is not the vibrant and exciting smog filled beijing that we know today. bush must've been quite of interest to the chinese. a woman with white hair. not very many westerners. did she write about that experience?

she wrote some columns for newspapers that were sent home. things to bemany unique about the experience. a scrapbookush was or and the collections have catalogued all of these. we will visit the bush library next. mrs. bush began scrap booking shortly after she and george bush became engaged. it is a hobby that she continued throughout george bush's entire family career. over a hundred in the collection. his time inughout

congress, his time at the united nations, the rnc, china. at the rnc.sh when ford became president he asked him where he would like to go. he had just reopened our relationship with china. president bush told president ford that he would like to go to china. there was no u.s. ambassador to china, only a u.s. liaison. staff, like a typical u.s. embassy. this was just a u.s. liaison office. they were there for about a year. they got out among the public. he was going to get out and they did get out.

they got out on their bicycles and bicycle the round beijing -- bicycled around beijing. people and thee public, president bush took chinese lessons and was able to learn enough chinese to carry on conversations. they would invite people over to play tennis. mrs. bush has hundreds of photos that she took of her travels around china. she has often said that of all the jobs president bush had during his career, this is one of her most favorite because they did get to spend so much time together because of the fact there was no staff.

it was the two of them. >> from all of the intriguing china, the next stop was back in washington at the cia. these were more challenging years for barbara bush. >> she was not happy to return to washington, particularly not for her husband to become the director of the cia. it meant that he could not tell her anything that was going on in his workplace. this was a relationship where the two of them had discussed everything. the kids were gone. liberationng of the -- women's liberation movement was starting and barbara bush plunged into depression. those were difficult times for her. her husband suggested that she

get professional help, but perhaps with y self-reliance, she felt that she could handle it. if someone says to her, i am depressed, she says, i'm sorry to hear that comic help -- i'm sorry to hear that, get help. she has come full circle. >> i would like to share a story. i worked at a banking facility in connecticut and barbara bush came to connecticut for the governor. the owners of the banquet -- the parents felt it was too political. they allowed to children to come for each class. ,he got out of the suv herself

went over to the children. they were so excited to be in the presence of her. .he little girl threw up barbara bush turned around pick the child up and positioned her -- she comforted the girl, she kissed the girl. she told her it was all right. she continued on her day. she was extremely gracious. >> thank you very much for sharing the story. she became a very good campaigner. she worked a crowd very well. that action with that young girl would not have surprised me at all.

>> i have two statements to make. democrat and out of all wives, barbarats bush is one that i respected greatly for her frankness. i had a great respect for her husband, although i did not vote for him. what he did in the gulf war by .rganizing and getting out confronted, and i do not agree with what clinton did, he was confronted. i am not getting into that. i was wondering what barbara's position in reference to the clinton affair.

>> do we know? occurred during the 1992 presidential campaign. it.tried not to talk about she would say to the press, aren't there other things you can talk about? this is speculation. she tried to stay above it. back into to get presidential politics. 1980, highly competitive year. would you tell us about their decision to run for the white house? how they join the ticket with the reagans? >> i do not think it was much of a decision. he is telling visitors that he

intends to run for the white house as early as china. stay at the cia after president carter took over. he is laying the groundwork for his ultimate campaign. he does surprisingly well against ronald reagan. ronald reagan was suspected to win the nomination in 1980, but george washington hits the ground running and takes iowa. that point, the reagans steamrolled them. george bush goes to the republican convention thinking that was it. reagan comes up with a very unusual plan that he will bring back gerald ford and they would be copresidents.

that was never going to work. reagan turned to george bush and offered him the ticket. role during the 1980 campaign? someone who listened to her husband speeches and reacted. >> did she campaign herself? >> absolutely. this is the first time we hear about literacy interest and project because she says if we go to the white house, my focus is going to be on people learning how to read. >> where did that come from? sans --f the bushes bush's sons was dyslexic. there was not a lot known about it.

him, hiredked with tutors, and helped him to learn to read. many people believe that it was personal interest that sparked her activity. that that was not true. instead, it came from her own love of reading and the fact that she had these wonderful memories of childhood. her family all reading together. she believed parents were first teachers. maybe it falls somewhere right in the center. >> next up is michael watching us and washington, d.c. >> did barbara bush day friends with nancy reagan? any of the first ladies back to the white house? >> they were on the ticket

together, but most of your readings suggest it was not the warmest of relationships. the bushes were very adamant that they wanted to be friends with the reagans. making friends and social connections by melding politics and friendship. the reagans were a very isolated couple. they like each other's company and not a lot of other people. they never reciprocated the overtures. bush.ally nancy and mrs. to the were only invited family quarters a few times. they were certainly at the white house many times. there was a level of tension between the two of them. >> what about between the 2 -- the first and second ladies?

>> i think they worked pretty well together. working towards the same goal. they also have very divergent interests. nancy reagan was talking about anti-drug measures. barbara bush was focusing on literacy. family, did she rely on anyone special? atwaterid count on lee who had been the head of the republican national committee for a while and was the chairman of the republican national committee when george bush ran for president in 1980. he was a confidant. i'm trying to think if she had others. she has a network of good

friends and relied on those people as well. questionenry has this -- can you talk about the whereabouts on the day he almost assumed the presidency? the attempted assassination? this helps solidify his relationship with president reagan. vice president bush was back in texas when reagan was shot and got on a plane and flew back. the communication technology was not as good. air force 2 had no way to directly communicate with the ground. did not knowh entirely what had happened to president reagan. by the time he landed at andrews

air force base, it was clear the president survived the shooting and was in surgery. he went to the white house, but made an important distinction and decision. i will not take a helicopter to the white house because only the president lands on the south lawn. i will take my limo and drive up that way as the vice president would. at the very moment alexander haig is running around the white house saying, i am in charge, and offending nancy reagan, the vice president bush was being the more respectful man of the president. this left a lasting impression on reagan. what was mrs. bushes experience like during the aftermath of the assassination?

>> there is not much written about it. n. we will move on t was barbara bush's opinion of the clintons during the 1992 campaign? i was in high school back then. it was such a dramatic shift in first ladies. it reminded me of many eisenhower and jacqueline kennedy. -- mainly eisenhower and jacqueline kennedy. it --bara bush had trouble understanding how anyone could elect bill clinton. she felt her husband deserved reelection and along came the governor of arkansas. she could not understand how people would elect him.

as far as hillary clinton went, she thought she was bright. she thought she was sharp. barbara bush did not know how to deal with her because she was someone different. there was a certain level of discomfort with both of them. crucialifference is because there is a cultural shift at this time. barbara bush was from a , a traditional woman's role was to stay home and raise the kids and support her husband's career. hillary clinton did not come from that model. waded into this transformation in american society when it became a politicized issue.

being confronted with a woman who had taken other choices. it left the two of them at odds ideologically. >> 1988 campaign, highly competitive. it was a very difficult campaign. -- some campaign history books suggest that barbara bush was very much involved and supportive in the strategy. >> there are sources that say had she and george w. bush

gone to george h.w. bush and said, if you do not toughen up, you will not win this race. go ahead with the willie horton ad. successful.y we are doing this program live .n the 20th of january, 2014 the 25th anniversary of the bushes coming into the white house. we have a still of the important things that happened during those years in the white house. they include his no new taxes pledge, the savings and loan crisis. ,f course, the first iraq war desert storm, tiananmen square

happened during that time. the end of the cold war had been to -- happened during the bush years. what was happening domestically? >> a lot of social upheaval. jeffrey alluded to it with the changes in society and the role of women. hillary clinton becomes the first lady later. she had gone to graduate school. . very different time >> did barbara bush get involved in any of the debates over the changing in society? abortion, gays, gender equality? >> she stayed away from the abortion issue. many years later, in a televised andrview, she came forth

pretty much came out and said she has been pro-choice all along. she stayed away from it. when george bush became the vice presidential candidate, barbara and george had had to take a few steps back from their positions with regard to family planning. she felt days she -- gays should have rights. she was sympathetic to what was happening with the aids holocaust. it.was not verbal about it, buttalking about participation was muted. >> i do not think we should let her role in the aids crisis go

unmentioned. -- aid a germanic thing dramatic thing, she went to an aids orphanage and held an aids baby. the picture of the first lady holding an infant with a was quite shocking. people thought people with aids should be shunned. this loving moment for her of holding a baby, holding somebody who needed help, it really helps people understand better that aids was not just a death warrant, but not something that people eat it to be shunned for -- that people needed to be shunned for. >> i am in florida. >> welcome to the program. what is your question? i had recalled when barbara

bush had attended brian white's funeral -- ryan white's funeral. i do recall that she put candles in the window of the white house. i was wondering if you could explain to me why they did not visit. >> thank you for your call. i think it was a political decision. it was the first few weeks of the administration. i am not sure if they knew what their position was yet. she felt strongly about showing some support and that led to her action putting the candle in the windows.

the very symbolic act of going holdingr's place and the baby at a time when people were not sure about the transmission of the disease. >> she was always very good at making solid political statements quietly. holding a baby, putting a candle in the window. her rationale of explaining that she was pro-choice was that she was not in favor of abortion, but she thought it was something that should be between a mother and a father and a doctor. she was keen to set boundaries to where the government should intervene and she wanted to take a moral stance without interfering in her husband's career. >> we are talking about domestic issues. since today is martin luther king day in the united states, can you ask if barbara d with any race issues -- dealt with

any race issues? >> not to my knowledge. >> ok. next is dennis and wisconsin. >> how are you? thank you so much for having this series. during the 1980 campaign, i had a political radio show in california and i got to interview george and barbara bush. what herer relationship was with the reagans. she said they were friends, good friends. what was their relationship once they got into the vice presidency? did she encourage her kids to go into politics? >> we covered this a little bit earlier. relationship,dial

but not a warm relationship. it was a working relationship. bush and ronald reagan were closer than nancy reagan and barbara bush. recommendsh did not that her children go into politics. when george w. bush came to his parents and told them he was going to run for the governorship of texas, barbara tried to talk him out of it. the same thing happened when he decided to make a run for the presidency. barbarawe will discuss has been not a particular fan of jeb running in 2016. >> barbara bush became the public face of the administration. she spent a lot of time on the road. was that time spent talking about literacy?

how did she use her time on the road? she becomes more popular in terms of public perception. her political role increases as her popularity does as well. source of here popularity? >> i think people could relate to her. that looks like somebody i know. there is a wonderful advertisement for a furniture says, get someone nancy reagan furniture at barbara bush crisis. woman. bush was a rich she had this image of being the average woman. >> people felt like they could sit down and have a cup of coffee with her. >> advisers were saying, you

need to lose weight, die your hair. dye your hair. >> the public responded to that. it was very much in every woman kind of persona. people really could relate to her. two.se she was not a size she seemed like someone you could talk to. she also had the kind of demeanor, and i think that worked well. >> there are other things like her husband does not like rapidly, and this becomes an issue.

consequently, broccoli growers of america send several hundred pounds around washington, but also to the white house. a wonderfulat is gift. that is very nice. he is not going to eat it. >> not without controversy, you .ad several pages what was the source of controversy? back she was invited to be speaker in june of 1990. a few weeks after she accepted, 150 of the seniors who are graduating sent a petition saying they felt she was an inappropriate speaker because anything she had achieved in life was because of who she was .arried to there was a short time when mrs. bush thought this was not a great idea.

finessed it and said, i was 21 once myself, and i question things. she let them know she was going to give the speech. the wife of premier gorbachev, who would be visiting at the same time, and the two of them went up to wellesley. >> we have a clip of her address to the right awaiting class of wellesley that year. >> now i know. known for the color purple. known for the color of my hair. for over 50 years it was said the winner would be the first to

get married. now they say the winner will be the first to become a ceo, but stereotypes show too little for those who want to know where the mermaids stand. [applause] i want to offer a new one. the winner of the race will be the first to recognize her dream, not society's dream. her own personal dream. [applause] who knows? there might be someone who may

one day follow in my footsteps. i wish him well. [applause] don't want to spend too much time on this, but in your book you wrote about how this is classic barbara bush. she won over the crowd, but it was somewhat of a missed opportunity. i think she is a chance to raise some other issues in that speech, and certainly some things are important. reading to your children, establishing personal relationships, but possibly she could have gone further. she certainly had the audience and the interest. her speech and the comments are on page one the next morning. >> maria is in miami and on the air. how are you? with theently work

sobara bush foundation, aside from literacy, what would you say her biggest legacy was? >> what is the barbara bush foundation do? does it remote literacy? >> it fund literacy all over the country. there something to her legacy in addition? >> she would say not only does she have two sons who went into politics, but she ducked about all of her children, and george bush famously said, you'd are doing something right because the kids keep coming home. she looks at them as her life's work, and their accomplishments are her accomplishments. >> let's listen to the interview she gave us talking about her interest in literacy. truthfullyi know that every single problem in moreca would be better if

people could read, write, and comprehend. i just know that. we would be able to compete with the rest of the world. we wouldn't have these children committing crimes because the families don't have jobs. they don't have jobs because they can't read. they can't write. they don't understand. tot was such an easy project pay. i admit it took half a year to pick it, because i always hospitals, but there is no question in my mind. think we are coming to that conclusion. we have got to educate our children, and we have got to educate their parents. it is not just a whim. it is a necessity if we're going to compete in this world. >> one of the avenues during the aite house years, she wrote

book about her beloved dog millie. over one generated million dollars for charity. it led to the literacy act. how important was that? >> it is tremendously important. it helps fund programs that were important not only for schools but adult literacy programs and helping people who would otherwise go through their entire life without this crucial skill. >> you had a point you wanted to make about literacy? >> about her legacy. she encouraged volunteerism. she was such an advocate for it. i think she would say she encouraged the generation of publicto go into service, than she would have been successful.

>> you mentioned the broccoli. we have a clip to play. relationshiphe seems focused on things that do not become important, let's watch. to help focus attention on the need of every american being literate. >> don't do think it is setting a bad example for the children? >> tell them to eat broccoli. >> in addition to the 10,000 pound it is going to be donated to the people in need in the washington area, we're also giving several boxes of the product for use in the white house, along with some very good new recipes, which you might use, which you just might convince the president to take the plunge into the world of rocklin.

>> -- of broccoli. >> i am going to be honest. the president is never going to eat broccoli. it the other day i might have spoken to him first. >> of the student of the white house, what is your reaction when the press corps gets caught up in these stories? >> this is what people want to know about. they are not only non-stories because the press is looking for something to write about that because people want to know what is going on behind the scenes, and it really gives an insight into the human beings. these people do have ups and downs. they have debts and their family. they have marriages. they have birth and their family. family.eir human interest can trump what the policy maker is really trying to say, which is, let's focus on something we can change. not what is just interesting.

>> from a family dynamic the bush white house was always filled with children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. was really a family oriented place. .ccasionally there were stories some of the viewers remember rumors of the president having an affair with someone named denna for fitzgerald. we have gotten several tweets about it. i am wondering how that played couple, in particular, the first lady. >> jennifer fitzgerald had been an assistant to george bush when he was in china, and she was also an executive assistant when he was vice president. rumors did circulate that possibly there was an affair going on between the two of them. in my own research i found two possibilities. to him down going on one a little more strongly

than the other, and that is jennifer fitzgerald played the role of office wife. she was the kind of woman found in the upper echelons of corporate america or maybe corporations around the world who did some of the dirty work some itboss and made may be personnel decisions he didn't want to have to step into , and then there is the possibility maybe there was an .ffair the historians i have spoken to feel that after the many years there is no absolute proof of it, and therefore, i would say i had many others would probably concur with the image of jennifer as office wife more than anything else. houseo during the white diagnosed bush got

with a thyroid problem, and the president himself was diagnosed with a similar affliction and the first dog. so much so that the government actually did testing of the water inside the white house and at camp david. what do you know about that? >> it is very unusual for people to develop this autoimmune disease at the same time, two people and the dog to get it. president bush joked that we would not have that problem if we stop drinking out of the dog's bowl. they tested everything. they tried to figure out why this could be. no one was able to determine any particular environment a link as to why this happened. it did affect the president in his last year in office can heause -- in office because had lost weight. some of his aides have commented hise went forward into second bid for the white house didn't seem to have

the energy. that is mostly because of the medication he was taking to deal with the affliction. >> we have talked about the 1992 campaign. there was another factor with ross perot getting into the race and ultimately having a double- digit showing. how did that dynamic change the race? bush's reaction to having a fellow texan get into the race? what can you tell us about that? >> she was annoyed. she thought her husband had been hadperb president, and she already started to focus on bill clinton, and then perot said he was going to enter the race because he didn't think either candidate was particularly good. she was annoyed by it. annoyance really moved to concern. >> her personal popularity didn't translate into enough

votes for george bush. why not? had ah perot and clinton singular line of attack against president bush, and that was he was more focused on foreign affairs than the mastech. i got to tell you for the most part the president was concerned about foreign affairs. there was a lot going on at the time. there was the berlin wall, kinnaman square -- tiannanment square. rights, ient even really do like foreign affairs better than domestic. clinton said we are going to focus on the economy. ross perot said we are going to focus on the budget. both of which opened a flank for the president's reelection, and i think ultimately it did him in. >> how do they use the white house to entertain to achieve their goals?

>> i think they use it effectively. they are considered to be hostesses.hosts and whenalready entered a time decisions had to be made about which state dinners to hold, but apparently, whatever they chose, they chose wisely. >> in our 15 minutes left we post whitee on to house. the question from one of our viewers sets the stage. did mrs. bush switchgears in to post white house life? this is from brian watkins. >> part of her was really relieved. she wouldn't have been unhappy if they had left politics in 1980 when he lost the republican nomination to ronald reagan, but

i think she slipped into it very gracefully. she wrote her autobiography, her first. she was enjoying seeing her family and the children. were back in texas. she was back with friends and on more familiar ground, and then george w. bush decided he was going to run for governor. they were back in it again. but she also stayed on the election circuit and made some money. >> she did. lex and she was bringing in some income. when did they begin work on the library? >> immediately. most administrations like to work on them in the second turn. on mostan working immediately after losing their reelection bid, and this really became one of the focal points posthe post residency --

presidency is a place where they felt comfortable. he is often asked why he chose there instead of bl. he said, -- instead of yale. he said, would you want to go to a place where people having you in effigy? this didn't happen in texas. you would see them at games. you would see them walking around. it is really a place they came to frequently. lynn, what is your question? on dr.question is we are king's anniversary of his birth. opponents ofre big dr. kings birthday celebration. i wonder if you want to talk about the fact that reagan didn't want to sign the legislation, but the bushes were in favor of it and were there

throughout the presidency, even the vice presidency, showing up at the king center. i want to talk about the fact that they were involved in commemorating dr. king. >> thanks very much. >> president bush came up in texas politics at a time when segregation was a crucial issue, but he was not from texas. this is something his critics would never let him forget. he was from connecticut and had a different sense of racial politics and racial morality than many of his fellow southern republicans at the time, and he famously as a congressman went off to vietnam and came back and began working for equal housing legislation, which is really a third rail for texas politics at the time. he simply said, i saw black men and brown men and white men

fighting. theyould that change when come home? >> the eldest son became .nvolved in politics he made it to the white house in the year 2000, and we have a clip of george w. bush talking about this historic role barbara assumed as being both wife of a president and the mother of a president. let's listen. this is from 2001. >> as you can tell, my dad has been calling me 43. i call him 41. it is a shorthand we have in our family. we have an aim for mother as well. for mother as well. to show you where she stands in the power structure, we call her number one. [applause]

so i am going to turn the stage back to number one and then give remarks of my own. it is great to be back in houston and to return wearing the proudest title ever given to me, son of barbara and george bush. >> will you comment about her relationship with the younger bushes when they were in the white house, how they approached those eight years? >> she tried to maintain lines of communication, and she always thought one of the great achievements was the children always came home. worked to tryally --make sure the children

that things were as normal as they could be. >> did she eventually get involved in politics herself? palin.mple, sarah has been happening politically? >> she is more willing than ever to speak her mind. she was always interested in speaking her mind. there is veryels little filter she needs. uncomfortable,s and one reason is it is very george bushine senior getting elected by today's republican party. imaginery difficult to him even thinking of himself as a republican. that has caused a lot of discomfort among modern republican circles. >> someone wrote, i would like the relationship

with the clintons. are they friendly? >> they are friendly. clinton and h w bush are good buddies. they have partnered on a number certainly, thet relationship between barbara bush and hillary clinton has .eem to be cordial they have shown up at some of the same meetings together. ofis the polar opposite 1992. >> someone asked earlier about her faith. we promised we would talk about that. here is a recent interview talking about the role of faith in her life. >> in your memoir you talk about faith, family, and friends. what about your faith? >> it is very rise it, -- private, and i am a huge

believer in loving.. george and i pray every night .ut loud -- i am a huge believer in loving god. i have no fear of death, which is a huge comfort, because we are getting darn close, and i don't have a fear of death for my precious george or for aself, as i know there is great god, and i am not worried about that. i don't like it for young people, but i know we will see ,obin again, one way or another and our families. i have no fear in death. i have a great faith. it sounds so arrogant. >> why? >> i do have a faith in god. i don't question it.

>> mrs. bush is 88 years old. how do she and the president's been their time? thehey spend about half year in houston and half the year in kenny bunk court -- kennebunkport. president bush was just at a duke basketball game over the weekend. them as sufi people who not only enjoy their life, and it is -- is to see people who enjoy their life. >> you are on the air. >> susan, i haven't heard any mention of vice president dan quayle. i was wondering, what contribution if any comments the first lady and the president had

the election. keep up the good work. quaylequayle and marilyn . >> i think of that as a place .here we see a real tension he is above all things a gentle man and wouldn't want to say ill things about people who work with him and for him, but i think the president has alluded --this from time to time would agree that is not a helpful choice. there is a lot of discussion of whether quayle should be dumped from the campaign in 1992. he was not bringing anything. president bush said, that would be the wrong thing to do, especially as a former vice president. this was an area he didn't want to revisit while he was in the presidency. historians look back and have to shake your head a little bit over that decision.

>> paul from boston, you are on. >> i would like to know, is there a public school named after barbara bush? >> thank you very much. is there one in kennebunkport? >> if not there, there are other schools. >> what does kennebunkport mean for the family? >> it is tallest, it is quiet. it is family. it has a long history going back to bush's grandparents. they watched their children grow up their and their grandchildren and now there are a few great- grandchildren and another on the way. it is really the center of perhaps the bush universe. >> what has been the continuing legacy for the family in terms of policy? generation,e next

the grandchildren's generation? is runningjeb's son for office. i don't know that i have heard much about the other bush grandchildren, but stay tuned. >> next is tom, who is in philadelphia. tom, you are on. welcome to our discussion about barbara bush. >> good evening. i would like to say the clintons and the bushes, i find them to bipartisan person. the clintons and the bushes i believe they are very close friends. for the last 14 or 15 years i watched from behind the scenes, and i find them to be very close so when the library opened, his wife actually said, my husband george and bill had more conversations on the

telephone in the second part of his election. that turned out to be very true. it is a shame that more reporters don't say the truth today, which it is. >> that is a crucial thing about understanding the presidency more broadly in that this is a job unlike any other. the pressures of this job are multiplied beyond which many people could fathom. people who have experienced that pressure know what it is like to be in the room. there is only a small handful of men alive today who know what it is like to live in the white house and sent troops into combat and deal with congress and deal with the entire attitude of the nation, and they consult with each other. they talk with each other. he know what it is like, and they can confide in each other and received advice from each other. they know how to keep quiet as well. >> we have a little bit of time

left, but i want to put both of your books on screen and talk a little bit about what we would learn from barbara bush tonight that is in your book. >> i think she is an american classic. she is someone who is still tremendously possible, and she is wise, and she is smart, and she brought that commonsense approach to the white house. -- as many is also of us, has been through a great deal. the death of a child and the many losses of living all over the country. i think what we would learn from her is the importance of someoneity, and she is to be admired. is jeffrey's book. you are working on another. what is that?

>> i am working on a study of george bush at the end of the cold war. i would argue more happened during the four years in office and he was confronted with more difficult decisions than any other president with the possible exception of franklin roosevelt during the height of world war ii, and these are issues that look similar in retro spec. the end of the cold war looks and the gulf war seems accomplished. at the time we didn't know how those were going to turn out. president bush adopted a strategy of hippocratic diplomacy. you no harm. behind the scenes the entire time was barbara bush, whom in a spentf great turmoil every day trying to calm international tensions. she was behind the scenes trying to keep him calm. has changed or

expanded the role of first lady. would you say she did in any way? >> i think she solidified it. i think she did a marvelous job of establishing the presidency was about more than just the man. it was about family. she allowed the american people to see her family while having respectful distance. >> i want to say thanks to both of you. we are going to close with barbara bush herself when we asked her the question of what she would like her legacy to be. you will hear the family theme come in strongly. thanks tonight, and thanks for your interesting questions and comments. here is barbara bush on her legacy. >> i hope it will be that her and her are her legacy grandchildren and now great- grandchildren. i hope family.

i woulds crucial, and like to see the american family, back strong. family. great my dad said to me once, there are only three things you can give your children. you can give them the best education. that doesn't mean stanford or yale or princeton. that means just the best education you could find. set a good example, that is very important. and all of the love in the world. i hope we have given that to our children. i know george w -- i heard him say several times his dad has given him unconditional love. that is true. all of this baloney about george competing with his father, it's just ridiculous.

other,e devoted to each and there was never any competition, and my george is putty in their hands, i must confess, but i think they feel have aand i hope if i legacy other than being the that it would be that i raised a great family along with george. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] http://twitter.com/cspanw [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

♪ next monday, we will look at the life of first lady hillary clinton. as a teenager, she campaigned republican goldwater. health care task force, advocated for the rights of women and children, and campaigned at save america historic sites. be husband would eventually impeached for his affair with a white house intern. hillary clinton went on to become the first first lady to become u.s. senator before serving as u.s. secretary of the. monday for first lady's

on c-span, c-span 3, and c-span radio. website has more about the first ladies, including a special section called "welcome to the white house," produced by the historical association. find out more at c span.or/firstladies. also the first ladies book for $12.95 shipping. at c-span.org/products. atsat down with barbara bush her home in houston. she spoke about meeting her

husband and what it was like to live in the white house. >> barbara bush, with all the posts you and your husband have held over the years, was there one that best prepared you for the white house, and when you became first lady, did you feel repaired? >> yes, i really did. first, i wasn't elected, so it didn't make that much difference. notice the difference between being the vice president's wife and the president's wife is huge, because the vice president's wife can say anything. nobody cares. the minute you say one thing as presidents wife, you have made a news. that was a lesson i had to learn pretty quickly. prepared because we have lived in washington off and on.

my father-in-law had been a u.s. senator, although we lived in exas. i was very comfortable. i had a loving family, and so did george, and i think we felt comfortable, so i love being the wife of the vice president best -- ll, but >> why is that? >> you could say anything you wanted, and nobody cared, and you can do a lot of great rings. when i got to the white house you could do even more good things. the great news is it continued on. things i am interested in, i can really raise money, raise normal, much is smarter person cannot do. >> going into the white house, what was some of the best advice you got? >> let's see. going into the white house, best advice i got?

iep your mouth closed suspect, but nobody dared say that to me. i don't remember getting too much advice. with the senate ladies, and i had a lot of friends. i had done that for eight years, and i went to the senate wives meetings every tuesday morning. i went some tuesdays when they didn't have meetings and had to be called home again. of life.at part i loved all my life. i have been a lucky person. >> you opened your memoir in 1994 by saying, i have been very privileged in my life. >> i wrote that because my husband said, you are going to be criticized, because people are going to say you have lived your life of luxury. although i lived in a tiny small house i would be glad to show you in new york and my father

and mother struggled sort of because i had a very loving, sick younger brother, but i did live a privileged life. they loved me. they loved my sister, my brothers. household, a great and i hope others could do it. we were privileged. some not as privileged as but more than 95% of the country. >> when did you first meet george bush? >> i met george at a dance. days they exchanged christmas dances, and i met him at a christmas dance, and he cut in on me -- he didn't.

he asked someone to introduce us, and i had on a red and green dress my mother's great friend had given her and said, i wonder if barbara would like this dress. it had belonged to some friend of hers. it was pretty because george asked to meet me. we came the next night to another dance. he cut in on me. if heer brother asked him was playing a basketball game. the school boys against high school, and they were murdered incidentally by the high school, but george said if ihe would play and ask would meet him and go out afterwards. every member of my family came .o that basketball game

when i would come home at night , i want youuld say to meet, and my father would say, tell her in the morning. i came home and said, i met this heavenly boy, and my mother knew the next morning exactly who he was, who his family was. she should have been the head of the cia. she knew everything. i must say i felt the same way. breeathe when i am with him. he was just as fabulous. >> throughout your life, you move the lot. >> 27 times. he couldn't hold a job, but we are really lucky for the things

we have done. we have lived in some horrible places, and we have lived in some wonderful places. i loved almost every one of them, and i like the mall because he was there, but everybody knows we lived in a house with three ladies. one with a child, and the other two were ladies of the night. we shared the bathroom with them, which seems inconceivable now. i cannot imagine my grandchildren during that, -- doing that, but they missed some great adventures. george and i had lunch yesterday, and we talked about the fact we had a lot of adventures our grandchildren will never have. they really are privileged. but theynot know that, really are. they won't have these adventures. that is too fat. i never met a texan until i moved here.

i thought -- that is too bad. it turns out i love texas, and we chose to live here. >> did you know early in your marriage you were going to become a co-campaigner for offices? dreamt, and i don't think george knew. think sometimes -- was i surprised when he announced he was running for president? it didn't just happen like that. was the county chairman, and he was a congressman, and he was a very successful businessman. it didn't just happen that he said to me one day i'm going to run for president. it just was there. but long after we were first came back frome china to be the head of the cia,

that meant the end of allah takes. he would never be president because you couldn't be president. oh, yeah? you can. write --r memoir you this is from your journal. george is obviously the most qualified person for the job of resident. two i want him to run? absolutely not. >> it goes to show you. i told my boys they could never be elected, and look at them. guess i am a political doubter. i think it is a huge sacrifice to run for office, and i think people are very critical of congress. they may not be doing a great job, but they could do better at home.

they would be home with their families. many of them can't afford a home in washington. i feel like it is asking a lot, and i thought he might lose. of but we moved on. >> how do you develop those six kids for criticism? >> i am not good at it. most people don't dare criticize my children in front of me. the press i don't pay attention to. if i don't like it, i don't pay attention. wn't dare criticize george h bush ever. >> there was a bumper sticker that said, annoy the media. reelect bush. >> i didn't write that, but i might have. i didn't remember that, but i do

remember george was running for on the freeway going from new york to connecticut i saw someone with a sign that said bush for president. i was so excited, and i raced my car up to be close to him. it turned out to be our cousin. i was hoping it was a stranger, but nobody knew who he was. >> did you enjoy campaigning? >> yes, i really like people. it was fun. liked it a lot. funny things happened, and i enjoyed it. partially because i knew he was the best man. knowinggn for george w full well he wasn't going to win, and he did. >> do think there is room for another bush in the white house?

>> i think this is a great country, and if we can find more than two or three families to is for high office, that silly, because there are great governors and great eligible people to run. the kennedys, the clintons, bushes, there are more families like that, and i am not arrogant enough to think we alone are raising, but we are raising public servants, whether they are feeding the poor, like laura is, who fed 68 million world, orround the bringing global health to the bigd, or working for brothers big sisters, but there are a lot of ways to serve, and being president is not the only

one. i would hope somebody else would run. thee is no question jed is best qualified to run for president, but i hope you what. enemies, allll my his brothers, and there are other families. i refuse to accept this great country isn't raising other wonderful people. you walk in as first lady. is it in the sense of blank your where you can create own agenda? >> yes. i'm not sure i know exactly what that means, but people are overly nice to me, and i feel it every single day. my friends have to look for parking places. for parking to look places. my friends call me and say, would you mind taking me to wherever we are going, because

they have to do those things. they have to wait in line at the airport. yes, you can create your own great rutledge, and you ought to take advantage of it, because you can help tivo. >> how do you pick your causes? >> because i know that every would problem in america be better if more people could read, write, and comprehend. we would be able to compete with the rest of the world. wouldn't have these children committing crimes because their families don't have jobs. they don't have jobs because they can't read. they can't write. they don't understand. that was such an easy project to pick. i admit it took half a year to pick it because i always volunteered in hospitals, but

there is no question in my mind. i think the thinking is coming to that conclusion. we have got to educate our children and their parents. it's not just a whim. it's a necessity if we are going to compete in this world. in thethere ever a day white house were you wanted to , i quit?re, i am done >> no, how could you say that. you have 90 people whose only aim in life is to keep you happy , and your husband is doing good things. he is doing the right thing. he knew when he raised those taxes that he was going to lose the election, although he had been 90% improved. he did the right thing. i am very proud of my family to do the right thing, and george bush both have done the right thing, like it or lump it.

>> it is 20 minutes since you have been in the presidency. there has been a lot of talk in washington about acrimony between democrats and republicans. is it different than it was 20 years ago? >> a little bit, yes. polarized, but george says we have lived at democrats are very far to the left and it swung back to very far to the right, and then we get to where we should be, which is talking to each other and stability. jeb was right about that. republicans and democrats should be talking about what they are for, not what they are against. i believe they will. >> the senate floor, kenneth the home? be a home?t

>> if you had a home when you went into it, you will have one when you come out of it. we have a loving family. the whitent back to house, there was all the same fabulous staff. president when we went this summer to the luncheon he gave for us, and between the luncheon he hading up the points, the former staff come. it was like family. we were loving seeing all the s and ushers and flower people. it was just like family. yes, they are family. we were fortunate enough to have them there for us. the reagans and george's

presidency and for george w. >> is there a sorority among former first ladies and first ladies? >> sort of. i think some are closer than others. ladybird is gone. pat nixon gone. i was especially close to those ladies, and of course laura was .he greatest first lady we are friends. i am a great respecter of mrs. obama, what she is doing. obesity is a huge problem in our country, and she is working on it. she is getting criticized for it. governments shouldn't tell you what to eat. somebody has got to tell people what to eat. these children cannot be obese at a young age.

it is not healthy. it costs the country. it is a horrible thing. make ourselves brighter, smarter, educated, and we have got to educate our people on what to eat. she is growing vegetable gardens, so i have respect for that. what about your predecessor and your successor? >> my predecessor, nancy reagan, is a wonderful lady, and she worked very hard on drugs. my successor was a great secretary of state. what did she work on? i guess secretary of state. >> your husband and ill clinton have become good friends. >> that's right. clinton, and il have become friends. my husband visit every summer. we don't agree politically, but

we don't talk politics. i think you have to understand. i read someplace, before you are critical of someone, you should remember they did not have the advantages you have had as a child, a loving mother and father -- bill's father wasn't around, and i think he thinks of george a little bit like the father he didn't have. he is very loving to him, and i really appreciate that. when they went on that long tsunami trip, george said bill insisted he stayed in bed and bill insisted he was taken care of. that was really nice. i love bill clinton. maybe not his politics, but i love bill clinton. laura bush.ht up

we talked about the speech where she compared you to don corleone . from the godfather. >> that's nice. >> you have been referred to as the enforcer of the bush family. what do you think about that? >> i am not thrilled about laura saying that. because anything they do is all right, but someone has to be sure the standards are kept. he leads by example. things,y denying some and i am the enforcer. there is no question about it. do i like that role? no. would i rather he had done it? yes, but it didn't work that

way. >> 1990, wellesley college. here is the speech you gave. not just a place but an idea. >> it was a difficult beach. -- speech. they objected to my speaking because i had never done anything in my life, and i just had a free ride, and they were right. it happened that gorbachev was coming with her husband, and i couldn't leave her, so i invited her to speak with me. i got highly criticized by them saying, she doesn't there come by herself. it was a difficult speech. it turned out there was one whomnt from south america we were treated to this great education, and a girl from

maine. a day or two before the speech, the girl from maine called and said, i am so embarrassed this has built into a great thing. i was getting calls from president nixon saying, you tell those girls to go to the devil. i had a lot of people for me, but i didn't want to get into spitting fight with the girls, but there it was. on the plane going up, she didn't speak any english. we had an interpreter, and i said, do you mind if i work on my speech a little bit. she said, you are giving a speech? i said, you are too. she said, i am? she went into the ladies room, and i said to the interpreter, doesn't she know she is giving a speech? he pulled the speech out of her

pocket and said, she knows. the speed.proud of we worked very hard on it. i had given it at four or five other colleges that same spring. ,he university of pennsylvania the university of st. louis, community college. nobody gave a darn, but because of the controversy, the same everything. it made me, no question, because of the controversy people paid attention. margaret thatcher wrote me that it was the greatest speech she had ever heard. george heard it in the white house. was that high because of controversy. isn't that too bad? i became a great speaker that day. who knows? somewhere out in this audience there may be even -- there may

even be somebody who will one footsteps andmy take over as the president's spouse, and i wish him well. [applause] >> you brought down the house with your closing line about the political >> same thing i'd give the first wife which is be yourself. if you can watch your mouth. trouble with that. i would say just be yourself. and take advantage of the opportunity. i had lunches for heart, children, arthritis, cancer, nobody paid hometown except in the