Laura Bush On Giving Michelle Obama A White House Tour: "I Showed Her The Closets, I Showed Her All The Things That Women Are Interested In"

First Lady Laura Bush talked for the first time about her private meeting with Michelle Obama on Monday. When asked if she shared any White House parenting advice with the future First Lady, Laura Bush responded, "Not really. I think I showed her the closets, I showed her all the things that women are interested in. But I didn't try to give her a lot of advice."

Read on for the rest of the interview with CNN:

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The role of the First Lady is certainly something that I'm sure you discussed with Mrs. Obama earlier this week. How did that visit go? And could you tell us any anecdotes?

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: Well it went great. It was very private, really. It was really much more, I think, two mothers talking about home more in this visit, because of course I showed her the rooms that are our girls' rooms now that I think are the perfect rooms for her girls when they move there.

We talked more about really making the White House a home for a family. And what I know from having lived here and from visiting my mother-in-law when she made this family a home and from reading about all the other families that have lived here is this house really can be a home. And I know that they'll make it that way for their little girls.

QUIJANO: Certainly, there must be some increased pressure, a lot of scrutiny, of course, living in the White House. I was wondering, did you share any advice with her as a mother who has been through it, having had two daughters spending some formative years?

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L. BUSH: Not really. I think I showed her the closets, I showed her all the things that women are interested in. But I didn't try to give her a lot of advice. I know she knows that she can make it home.

And that's what she wants to do.

QUIJANO: Last question then. Your husband, the day after the election, talked about it being a stirring sight to see the Obamas because of the historic nature of having the nation's first African-American president. I wonder if you could share your thoughts on that, as well?

L. BUSH: Well I also think it's very, very important. I think it's important for American history. I think it's a message to everybody in the United States of what's possible. But it's also a message around the world because I know, because I heard from them, that there were leaders in the -- around the world who didn't think the United States would elect an African-American man. And so, I think it's a really important message about our own democracy to people around the world.

QUIJANO: Mrs. Bush, thank you so much.

L. BUSH: Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot.

Comments

[johnnyhempseed]

Huffpoops,lay off our first lady please! She has done alot of good in the fight on A.I.D.S. and Malaria.She has probably pushed the resident leftward whenever possible,and who knows if the woman hasn't saved the world from complete destruction a few times. peace ,p.s. i would feel blessed to have as dedicated a life partner as she is!

[gwix]

I agree with you. She's not a progressive by any stretch of the imagination, but she may very well have tempered Georgie's stupidity and impulses.

[TinaF]

I agree. Laura Bush is the best thing about this administration. Furthermore, as a progressive, educated woman, it doesn't mean I'm not interested in closets when I tour a new home. It's good to be prepared. Lighten up, people.

[MsLiz]

Thank you! At last, someone who recognized the purpose of this visit.

[peachfuzz]

Wow and what would they had done if Bill Clinton was the first gentleman?

The mind reels. I'm glad that Obama won, but the other scenario would have been pure gold.

[DosaHut]

It goes to show how old-fashioned and schoolmarmish Laura Bush is. Michelle Obama is educaated and intelligent. I'm sure she would have been interested in more than the linens. THey probably didn't have much talk about either. Imagine talking with a fake like Laura

[Empire551]

you do not have to tear down Laura to build up michelle, take the psychological step from jr hi to high school. let go of the hate.

[chacatre]

Why don't you check out Mrs. Bush's approval ratings before you spout off? Please tell me what is fake about her. Also, do you feel she's inferior to Michelle Obama? 82% of people like Laura Bush and that's one of the highest approval ratings for any first lady..............ever.

[AlphaDoc]

>I think I showed her the closets, I showed her all the things that women are interested in.<

Just when I thought I'd cringed my last cringe . . . .

[happytrails]

I wonder if it registered with Steppford Laura that she was speaking with an extremely intelligent, extremely well-educated, very articulate future First Lady, one who had a career as a corporate attorney, and NOT just another air-head Bush wife.

[Cybersquirt]

In other words: let them eat cake.

[GoVeg]

I wonder if the white house is haunted?

[ReallyMe]

Wouldn't know but I have been wondering about listening devices being left behind...

[Cybersquirt]

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/?t=anon

[johnnynyc]

Lighten up.

After all, wasn't it Michelle Obama herself who said her job is to be "mom-in-chief"?

[Cybersquirt]

Lighten up?!

Okay, you're right. We can afford to, a little bit... but not too much.. here's why:

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/?t=anon

[barrycourage]

Michelle to Laura:

That certainly IS an interesting floor vase in the Oval Office. Thanks for offering it to us. I'm sure you and President Cheney will find it a good home.

[XME]

With all due respect to the folks at HuffPo, Laura Bush has repeatedly said VERY nice things about both Obamas, and has even defended Barack.

To highlight one comment she made in your title ("I Showed Her The Closets, I Showed Her All The Things That Women Are Interested In") to slant her as someone who's something she isn't, is disrespectful of someone who's consistently shown class and decency.

I get that HuffPo is partisan, but there needs to be a line where isn't not just about slamming someone JUST because their a Republican...or married to an idiot! Laura Bush has never been disrepsectful or played a partisan, and she deserves at least a little respect from the left.

[bobbysgurl]

I have a truly personal issue with Laura Bush. It has nothing to do with the Obamas, Huffpo, or the fact that Laura Bush is a Republican.

I would personally like to know how she could sleep next to George Bush at night knowing the things he has done to this country and to the world.

My soul would mean more to me than being the First Lady. This is just my personal opinion.

[XME]

I know what you mean. I've wondered myself, but I don't know either of them personally, so I can only assume that she knows a side of him that I don't...and that she takes her marriage vows VERY seriously. That said, he should be prosecuted!

[camanokat]

Why do you assume that they sleep together or that he ever listens to what she says? It looks to me that their marriage is strictly one of convenience.

[MidwestBeth]

Exactly! Although this is undoubtedly one of the most exciting times in the Obamas' lives, it is likely the most stressful as well. Moving homes is never easy, even I suspect, for the big fish.

If it was me moving, I would want a good long look at what is to be my family's new home. I'd want to have a vision for how the home works for my young children: how they'll feel comfortable, safe, and secure. Those girls are leaving their lifelong home, their friends, their school; everything that is familiar to them. At their ages the only thing about which they're concerned is whether they'll like their new rooms and where their toys will be. If Michelle Obama is a good mother, she is thinking of the same thing; albeit on a deeper level.

Michelle Obama will have experienced, well-trained staff who know the ins and outs of protocol and state dinners. I envision this meeting as that which Laura attempted to describe: a new home showing.

[hopefullee]

I think what we're seeing here with Laura Bush is simply a generation gap. Let's not get in an uproar over it.

[Cybersquirt]

That's right, let's not get in an UPROAR over our ELECTED leaders having NO CLUE over OUR NEEDS and thoughts... after all, it's just a republic and not a democracy, RIGHT?!

[hopefullee]

I wasn't aware that Laura Bush was an elected leader.

[BadDog]

Oh Laura! Just tell us who your best suppliers were and where the bodies are buried...

[sbat]

I'm not sure what I feel about Laura Bush. Mostly disappointment, but not extreme dislike. I am just completing my Master's Degree to be a librarian, and it seems that Laura quietly allowed her husband to do the complete opposite of everything we stand for!! She used to be a Democrat and a librarian (which should have made her pretty liberal) and she threw away her beliefs for that genius!! I know that there are alot of women who give up everything they believe in (and even their children sometimes) for a man, so maybe that is her problem. Or maybe she just liked that his family had power and money, and her job and political beliefs never really meant that much to her.

[loril]

Fellow MLS librarian here...welcome to the fold. I share your conflict about Laura Bush. I wanted to at least like her because of the librarian angle, her interest in literacy/the promotion of reading and, well, I guess I felt sorry for her. I cannot imagine what it would be like to deal with GW Bush as spouse and that family he comes from managing my life. She seems like a prisoner in a gilded cage (of her own making, to be sure).

For years, I supported myself on a librarian's modest salary. (The job can be very satisfying but the income is modest.) Perhaps it woud be tempting to rise out of genteel lower middle class and join up with a wealthy family. But, I cannot imagine a person of intelligence and sensitivity being able to make that choice where the Bush family is concerned. Just imagining Babs as mother-in-law would have been enough to send me running back to my rental unit and economy car. And Shrub as husband? The mind reels here. (especially if Laura really enjoys talking about books and ideas.)

[Pupadup4oBama]

I think you said what bothers me most about her.
I mean I know as first lady you stand by your man...but that doesn't mean I can't be disappointed in her. She might be a very sweet woman - but there is nothing about her that stands out.

[Eriq]

If a male politician pronounced such words, "things that interest women," he'd be thrown out of office in about 10 minutes flat.
Laura Bush also dresses as if she's going to a dinner party in 1965.

[JeffersonState]

Of all the characters the Bush Administration thrust into our lives, Laura Bush annoyed me the least.

[jungfookid]

agreed. she might have even been a great first lady if she wasn't attached to such a spectacular failure of a president.

[Cybersquirt]

speaking of Jefferson:
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802)

[lauragay]

Gee, Laura. You showed Michelle all the things women are interested in? I don't see how that's possible, considering that your husband was showing Obama the Oval Office at the time. What a message to American females: the man can view the seat of power, but the women are only interested in the clothes closets.

[stayinsouth1981]

She forgot to mention that black women can have the office as well. "A MAN" Hmmmmmphhhh