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Laura Bush

May 11, 2023

Laura Lane Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher and librarian who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of President George W. Bush.[1][2][3] Bush previously served as the first lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. She is also the daughter-in-law of former president George H. W. Bush.

Laura Bush
Bush in 2005
First Lady of the United States
In role
January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byHillary Clinton
Succeeded byMichelle Obama
First Lady of Texas
In role
January 17, 1995 – December 21, 2000
GovernorGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byRita Crocker Clements
Succeeded byAnita Thigpen Perry
Personal details
Born
Laura Lane Welch

(1946-11-04) November 4, 1946 (age 76)
Midland, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
(m. 1977)​
Children
EducationSouthern Methodist University (BS)
University of Texas at Austin (MS)
Signature
Laura Bush's voice
Laura Bush on the treatment of children and women by the Taliban
Recorded November 15, 2001

Born in Midland, Texas, Bush graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in education, and took a job as a second grade teacher. After attaining her master's degree in library science at the University of Texas at Austin, she was employed as a librarian.

Bush met her future husband, George W. Bush, in 1977, and they were married later that year. The couple had twin daughters in 1981. Bush's political involvement began during her marriage. She campaigned with her husband during his unsuccessful 1978 run for the United States Congress, and later for his successful Texas gubernatorial campaign.

As First Lady of Texas, Bush implemented many initiatives focused on health, education, and literacy.[4] In 1999–2000, she aided her husband in campaigning for the presidency in a number of ways, such as delivering a keynote address at the 2000 Republican National Convention, which gained her national attention. She became First Lady after her husband was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2001.

Polled by The Gallup Organization as one of the most popular First Ladies, Bush was involved in national and global concerns during her tenure.[5] She continued to advance her trademark interests of education and literacy by establishing the annual National Book Festival in 2001,[6] and encouraged education on a worldwide scale. She also advanced women's causes through The Heart Truth and Susan G. Komen for the Cure organizations. She represented the United States during her foreign trips, which tended to focus on HIV/AIDS and malaria awareness.

Early life and career

Laura Lane Welch was born on November 4, 1946, at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas, the only child of Harold Welch and Jenna Louise (née Hawkins) Welch.[7][8][9] She is of English, French, and Swiss ancestry.[3][10]

Her father was a house builder and later successful real estate developer, while her mother worked as the bookkeeper for her father's business.[8][11] Early on, her parents encouraged her to read, leading to what would become her love of reading.[8] She said, "I learned [how important reading is] at home from my mother. When I was a little girl, my mother would read stories to me. I have loved books and going to the library ever since. In the summer, I liked to spend afternoons reading in the library. I enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie and Little Women books, and many others ... Reading gives you enjoyment throughout your life."[12] Bush has also credited her second grade teacher, Charlene Gnagy, for inspiring her interest in education.[13]

On the night of November 6, 1963, two days after her 17th birthday, Laura Welch ran a stop sign and struck another car, killing its driver.[14][15] The victim was her close friend and classmate Michael Dutton Douglas. By some accounts, Douglas had been Welch's boyfriend at one time, but she stated that he was not her boyfriend at that time but rather a very close friend.[16] Welch and her passenger, both 17, were treated for minor injuries.[17] According to the accident report released by the city of Midland in 2000, in response to an open-records request, she was not charged in the incident.[17][18] In 2000 Laura Bush's spokesman said, "It was a very tragic accident that deeply affected the families and was very painful for all involved, including the community at large."[17] In her book Spoken from the Heart, she said that the crash caused her to lose her faith "for many, many years".[19]

She attended James Bowie Elementary School, San Jacinto Junior High School, and Robert E. Lee High School in Midland.[20] She graduated from Lee in 1964[21] and went on to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.[22] She graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.

After graduating from SMU, she began her career as a school teacher at Longfellow Elementary School in the Dallas Independent School District.[22] She then taught for three years at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, a Houston Independent School District school in Houston, until 1972.

In 1973, Bush attained a Master of Science degree in Library Science from the University of Texas at Austin.[22] She was soon employed as a librarian at the Kashmere Gardens Branch at the Houston Public Library. The following year, she moved back to Austin and took another job as a librarian in the Austin Independent School District school Dawson Elementary until 1977. She reflected on her employment experiences to a group of children in 2003, saying, "I worked as a teacher and librarian and I learned how important reading is in school and in life."[12]

Marriage and family

She met George W. Bush in July 1977 when mutual friends Joe and Jan O'Neill invited her and Bush to a backyard barbecue at their home. He proposed to her at the end of September and they were married on November 5 of that year, the day after her 31st birthday,[23][24] at the First United Methodist Church in Midland, the same church in which she had been baptized.[25] Laura bought a tan, two-toned dress off the rack for the wedding.[26] The couple honeymooned in Cozumel, Mexico.[23] George W. Bush detailed his choice to marry Laura as the "best decision of [his] life".[27] Laura, an only child, said she gained "brothers and sisters and wonderful in-laws" who all accepted her after she wed George W. Bush.[28]

 
Laura and George W. Bush with their daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush, Kennebunkport, 1990

The year after their marriage, the couple began campaigning for George W. Bush's 1978 Congressional candidacy. According to George Bush, when he asked her to marry him, she had said, "Yes. But only if you promise me that I'll never have to make a campaign speech."[29] She soon relented and gave her first stump speech for him in 1978 on the courthouse steps in Muleshoe, Texas.[30] After narrowly winning the primary, he lost the general election.[24]

Bush attended the inauguration of her father-in-law George H. W. Bush as Ronald Reagan's vice-president in January 1981, after Reagan won the 1980 United States presidential election.[31] She credited her father-in-law's election to the vice presidency with giving her and her husband national exposure.[32]

The Bushes had tried to conceive for three years, but pregnancy did not happen easily. On November 25, 1981, Laura Bush gave birth to fraternal twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.[25] The twins were born five weeks early by an emergency Caesarean section in Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, as Laura had developed life-threatening pre-eclampsia (toxemia).[24]

George W. Bush credited his wife with his decision to stop drinking in 1986.[22][33] She reflected that she thought her husband "was drinking too much" amid her knowing it was not his desired way of living. Approaching him, she related that her father had been alcoholic and it was not a pattern she wished to repeat in their family.[34] She is also credited with having a stabilizing effect on his private life.[24] According to People magazine reporter Jane Simms Podesta, "She is the steel in his back. She is a civilizing influence on him. I think she built him, in many ways, into the person he is today."[24]

Bush traveled to Kuwait in April 1993, accompanying her in-laws as well as brothers-in-law Jeb and Marvin Bush after former president Bush was invited to return to the Middle East for the first time since his presidency.[35]

Several times a year, Bush and her husband travel to their sprawling family estate, the Bush compound, better known as Walker's Point. Located in Kennebunkport, Maine, the compound is where Bush family gatherings have been held for nearly 100 years.[36][37]

First Lady of Texas

 
Laura Bush with husband Governor George W. (right) and father-in-law George H. W. (left) at the dedication of the George Bush Presidential Library, 1997

Bush became the First Lady of Texas when her husband was elected as the Governor of Texas and served as first lady of that state from January 17, 1995, to December 21, 2000.[4] When asked about her interest in politics, she responded "It doesn't drive me."[38]

Though during her years in the Governor's Mansion, she did not hold a single formal event,[39] Laura worked for women's and children's causes including health, education, and literacy.[4] She implemented four major initiatives: Take Time For Kids, an awareness campaign to educate parents and caregivers on parenting; family literacy, through cooperation with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, she urged Texas communities to establish family literacy programs; Reach Out and Read, a pediatric reading program; and Ready to Read, an early childhood educational program.[4]

She raised money for public libraries through her establishment of the Texas Book Festival,[4] in 1995.[40] She established the First Lady's Family Literacy Initiative, which encouraged families to read together.[41][42] Bush further established "Rainbow Rooms" across the state, in an effort to provide emergency services for neglected or abused children.[4] Through this, she promoted the Adopt-a-Caseworker Program to provide support for Child Protective Services.[4] She used her position to advocate Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer awareness as well.[4]

Her husband announced his campaign for President of the United States in mid-1999, something that she agreed to. She did say, however, that she had never dreamed that he would run for office.[38] The Bush campaign worked to assure voters that as First Lady, she would not seek to emulate then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, who had faced controversy for leading several policy initiatives from within the White House despite being unelected. When asked who she would be like out of the past First Ladies, she insisted it would be herself.[43] In July, she delivered a keynote address to the delegates at the 2000 Republican National Convention, which put her on the national stage.[29][44] In December 2000, her husband resigned as Governor of Texas to prepare for his inauguration as President of the United States in January 2001.

First Lady of the United States

As First Lady, Bush was involved in issues of concern to children and women, both nationally and internationally.[45] Her major initiatives included education and women's health.[45]

Education and children

Early into the administration, Bush made it known that she would focus much of her attention on education. This included recruiting highly qualified teachers to ensure that young children would be taught well.[46] She also focused on early child development.[46] In 2001, to promote reading and education, she partnered with the Library of Congress to launch the annual National Book Festival. In January 2002, Bush testified before the Senate Committee on Education, asking for higher teachers' salaries and better training for Head Start programs. She is also credited with creating a national initiative called "Ready to Read, Ready to Learn", which promotes reading at a young age. To promote American patriotic heritage in schools, she helped launch the National Anthem Project. In 2006, Bush and media executives worked together to provide a $500,000 grant for school libraries along the Gulf Coast which had been devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.[13]

Immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bush spoke regarding America's children:

[W]e need to reassure our children that they are safe in their homes and schools. We need to reassure them that many people love them and care for them, and that while there are some bad people in the world, there are many more good people.[47]

 
Romanian children greet President and Mrs. Bush upon their landing in Bucharest, 2002
 
The First Lady shares a laugh with fifth graders in Des Moines, Iowa, 2005

The following day, she composed open letters to America's families, focusing on elementary and middle school students, which she distributed through state education officials.[48][49] She took an interest in mitigating the emotional effects of the attacks on children, particularly the disturbing images repeatedly replayed on television.[50] On the one-year anniversary, she encouraged parents to instead read to their children, and perhaps light a candle in memoriam, saying, "Don't let your children see the images, especially on September 11, when you know it'll probably be on television again and again – the plane hitting the building or the buildings falling."[50]

Later in her tenure, she was honored by the United Nations, as the body named her honorary ambassador for the United Nations' Decade of Literacy. In this position, she announced that she would host a Conference on Global Literacy.[51] The conference, held in September 2006, encouraged a constant effort to promote literacy and highlighted many successful literacy programs.[52][53] She coordinated this as a result of her many trips abroad where she witnessed how literacy benefited children in poorer nations.[52]

On July 28, 2008, she visited Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina, where she met with superintendent Connie Backlund and the Friends of Carl Sandburg Home's President Linda Holt as well as various students from Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County, North Carolina.[54]

On October 3, 2008, she visited Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum where she praised her works such as Farmer Boy, These Happy Golden Years and Little House on the Prairie, the last of which she had felt an association with as a child. During the same Laura Ingalls Wilder's estate visit, she said that she read her books to her daughters and gave the writer Save America's Treasures grant.[55]

September 11 attacks

On September 11, 2001, Bush had been hosting her in-laws George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush at the White House and was scheduled to give a testimony to Congress on education.[56] Instead, during the September 11 attacks, Bush was taken to inside the White House and placed in an underground bunker, later being met by her husband, who had returned to Washington from Florida.[57]

Two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Bush inaugurated a music concert at the Kennedy Center, organized to raise funds for families of the victims. Though she received applause, she returned the compliment to members of the audience and added that although the event was tragic, Americans had deepened their appreciation "of life itself, how fragile it can be, what a gift it is and how much we need each other". Senator Ted Kennedy, who introduced Bush at the event, praised her and said he knew his late brother, President John F. Kennedy, would also be proud of her.[58] Bush believes the September 11 attacks ignited the interest in the way Afghan women were treated.[59]

Women's health and rights

Another of her signature issues were those relating to the health and well-being of women. She established the Women's Health and Wellness Initiative and became involved with two major campaigns.

Bush first became involved with The Heart Truth awareness campaign in 2003.[60] It is an organization established by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to raise awareness about heart disease in women, and how to prevent the condition.[61] She serves in the honorary position of ambassador for the program[60] leading the federal government's effort to give women a "wake up call" about the risk of heart disease.[60] She commented on the disease: "Like many women, I assumed heart disease was a man's disease and cancer was what we would fear the most. Yet heart disease kills more women in our country than all forms of cancer combined. When it comes to heart disease, education, prevention, and even a little red dress can save lives."[60] She has undertaken a signature personal element of traveling around the country and talking to women at hospital and community events featuring the experiences of women who live, or had lived, with the condition.[60] This outreach was credited with directly saving the life of at least one woman who went to the hospital after experiencing symptoms of a heart attack after hearing her message.[60]

 
Laura Bush meets with members of the Pink Majlis, a forum focusing on issues related to breast cancer, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, October 22, 2007.[62]

With her predecessor, former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Bush dedicated the First Ladies Red Dress Collection at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in May 2005. It is an exhibit containing red suits worn by former First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush meant to raise awareness by highlighting America's first ladies.[63] She has participated in fashion shows displaying red dresses worn on celebrities as well.[64]

Bush's mother, Jenna Welch, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 78. She endured surgery and had no further signs of cancer. Laura Bush has become a breast cancer activist on her mother's behalf[65] through her involvement in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. She applauded the foundation's efforts in eliminating cancer and said, "A few short years ago, a diagnosis of breast cancer left little hope of recovery. But thanks to the work of the Komen Foundation ... more women and men are beating breast cancer and beating the odds."[65] She used her position to gain international support for the foundation through the Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research of the Americas, an initiative that unites experts from the United States, Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico.[66]

In November 2001, she became the first person other than a president to deliver the weekly presidential radio address. She used the opportunity to discuss the plight of women in Afghanistan leading up to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, saying "The brutal oppression of women is a central goal of the terrorists."[67] Her husband was originally to give the address but he felt that she should do it; she later recalled, "At that moment, it was not that I found my voice. Instead, it was as if my voice found me."[68] Her words summarized one of the goals and moral rationales of the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and it became one of the more famous speeches of his administration.[68] In May 2002, she made a speech to the people of Afghanistan through Radio Liberty. In March 2005, she made the first of three trips to that country as First Lady.[68]

Campaigning

 
Bush appearing alongside Bill Clinton in New York, September 20, 2006

Bush campaigned for Republicans around the country in 2002 for that year's midterm elections, attending and hosting fundraisers as well as giving speeches.

Opponents deemed this as the Bush administration "working against women's rights issues and using women to do their dirty work" and partly a test for Bush on how well she could campaign for her husband in the impending two years when he sought re-election.[69]

During the 2004 election cycle, Bush made joint appearances with her husband on the campaign trail,[70] including in battleground states such as Florida.[71] She advocated for his re-election in a speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention,[72] and was credited with having raised $15 million for her husband's campaign as well as the Republican Party while still succeeding in keeping a separate schedule that allowed for her to tend to the traditional duties she had as First Lady.[73] In a July 2004 interview, Teresa Heinz, wife of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, said, "Well, you know, I don't know Laura Bush. But she seems to be calm, and she has a sparkle in her eye, which is good. But I don't know that she's ever had a real job—I mean, since she's been grown up."[74] Heinz later apologized for the remark, stating that she had forgotten that Laura Bush was a teacher and librarian prior to her marriage.[75][76] Bush stated that she forgave her while insisting her apology was unnecessary, citing her understanding of the "trick questions" asked by the media.[77][78]

Bush was a participant in the 2006 midterm elections,[79][80][81] beginning her campaigning in April. Though her poll numbers had decreased from an 80% approval rating, they still superseded that of President Bush, whose approval rating was only praised by a third of Americans.[73] Ed Henry of CNN noted Bush's popularity, writing, "The first lady is treated like a rock star on the campaign trail – with local Republicans lining up for photographs and autographs – as she criss-crosses the country to help candidates."[82] Bush relied on a strategy of praising the Republican candidate for their achievements and attending events alongside them.[83] In September 2008, Bush spoke during the first night of the 2008 Republican National Convention,[84] her joint appearance with Cindy McCain geared toward raising hurricane relief funds for victims of Hurricane Gustav.[85][86]

Popularity and style

 
Laura's husband, President George W. Bush, is sworn into a second term on January 20, 2005, by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, as Laura Bush and daughters Barbara and Jenna look on.

Laura Bush's approval ratings have consistently ranked very high.[87] In January 2006, a USA Today/CBS/Gallup poll recorded her approval rating at 82 percent and disapproval at 13 percent.[5][88][89] That places Bush as one of the most popular first ladies.[5] Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said, "She is more popular, and more welcome, in many parts of the country than the president ... In races where the moderates are in the most trouble, Laura Bush is the one who can do the most good."[88]

Jude Ellison Sady Doyle reasoned that Bush was hard to dislike due to her adopting "the least partisan causes" such as literacy and breast cancer, which would attract the support of most Americans and her coming off as a "mild, polite, ordinary woman who might go to church with your mother, or organize suburban potlucks". Doyle furthered that her statements were never enough to offend others and the harshest criticism that could be bestowed upon her was that she was boring.[90]

She disagreed with Fox News' Chris Wallace in 2006 when Wallace asked why the American people were beginning to lose confidence in President Bush, saying, "Well, I don't think they are. And I don't really believe those polls. I travel around the country, I see people, I see their response to my husband, I see their response to me. There are a lot of difficult challenges right now in the United States ... All of those decisions that the President has to make surrounding each one of these very difficult challenges are hard. They're hard decisions to make. And of course some people are unhappy about what some of those decisions are. But I think people know that he is doing what he thinks is right for the United States, that he's doing what he – especially in the war on terror, what he thinks he is obligated to do for the people in the United States, and that is to protect them ... When his polls were really high they weren't on the front page."[91]

During the January 2005 second inauguration ceremonies for her husband, Laura Bush was looked highly upon by People magazine, The Washington Post, and others for her elegance and fashion sense.[92] At the inauguration she wore a winter white cashmere dress and matching coat designed by Oscar de la Renta.[93] Following the inauguration were the inaugural galas, to which Bush wore a pale, aqua lace gown, sprinkled with crystals, with long sleeves in a silver blue mist.[93] The tulle gown was also designed for her by de la Renta. According to The Washington Post, "[I]t made her look radiant and glamorous."[93]

Foreign trips

 
Laura Bush talks with Raphael Lungo of Zambia as a part of her 2007 African trip
 
Laura Bush with her husband and several other dignitaries from around the world at the funeral of Pope John Paul II

During her husband's second term, Bush was more involved in foreign matters. She traveled to numerous countries as a representative of the United States.

As First Lady, she took five goodwill trips to Africa.[94] The purpose of these has mostly been to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and malaria as part of the Bush administration's initiative to address the global epidemics, but Bush has also stressed the need for education and greater opportunities for women.[95] She has taken many other trips to other countries to promote and gain support for President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief;[96] these countries include Zambia (2007),[97] Mozambique (2007),[98] Mali (2007),[99] Senegal (2007),[100] and Haiti (2008).[96]

In mid-2007, she took a trip to Myanmar where she spoke out in support of the pro-democracy movement, and urged Burmese soldiers and militias to refrain from violence.[101] Later that October, she ventured to the Middle East. Bush said she was in the region in an attempt to improve America's image by highlighting concern for women's health, specifically promoting her breast cancer awareness work with the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research.[101][102] She defined the trip as successful, saying that stereotypes were broken on both sides.[101]

Overall, Bush traveled to 77 countries in the eight years of her husband's presidency, touring 67 of those during the second term.[103]

Views on policy

Bush is a Republican and has identified herself with the GOP since her marriage.[104]

When asked about abortion in 2000, Bush said she did not believe Roe v. Wade should be overturned. She did not comment on whether women had the right to an abortion.[105] She did say, however, that the country should do "what we can to limit the number of abortions, to try to reduce the number of abortions in a lot of ways, and that is, by talking about responsibility with girls and boys, by teaching abstinence, having abstinence classes everywhere in schools and in churches and in Sunday school".[105]

Bush responded to a question during a 2006 interview concerning the Federal Marriage Amendment by calling for elected leaders not to politicize same-sex marriage, "I don't think it should be used as a campaign tool, obviously. It requires a lot of sensitivity to just talk about the issue ... a lot of sensitivity."[106]

On July 12, 2005, while in South Africa, Bush suggested her husband replace retiring Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor with another woman. On October 2, during a private dinner at the White House with his wife, President Bush nominated Harriet Miers to replace O'Connor.[107] Later that month, after Miers had faced intense criticism, Laura Bush questioned whether the charges were sexist in nature.[108]

Legacy

 
Queen Elizabeth II and Laura Bush at the Children's National Medical Center in 2007

In late October 2008, days before that year's presidential election, Bush hosted a three-hour session with staffers and historians discussing how she would like to be remembered, leading to this meeting being termed the "legacy lunch".[109][110] According to historian Myra Gutin, this was the first time in history that a First Lady had ever directly reached out to historians to talk about her accomplishments. Attendants of the meeting said that Bush wanted to change the perception that she was a traditional First Lady in that she always stayed by her husband's side.[111] At a 2014 National Press Club, Anita McBride opined that it would be harder for people to understand where Bush had "the greatest impact" due to the several signature issues that Bush advocated for while First Lady.[112]

In 2017, journalist Brooke Baldwin suggested Bush's efforts toward improving the lives of Afghan women may have contributed to more Afghanistan women being in positions within the Afghanistan private sector.[113]

Bush enjoyed widespread approval by the American public both as the incumbent First Lady and during her retirement.[114] The Washington Post contributor Krissah Thompson recalled Bush's favorability being "as close to universal popularity as any modern political figure" when the Bushes left the White House in 2009 and called her "the most high-profile promoter of the George W. Bush legacy — a burden she carries lightly and with a smile."[115] A 2014 poll which asked who was the most popular First Lady in the past 25 years found Bush ranked in fourth place (out of 4 candidates), behind Hillary Clinton, mother-in-law Barbara and direct successor Michelle Obama.[116][117]

Subsequent activities

 
Former First Lady Laura Bush and her husband being escorted to a waiting helicopter by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on January 20, 2009

In February 2009, the month after she and her husband left office, Laura and George W. Bush moved into a new residence in Dallas.[118] In November 2009, the former First Lady, accompanied by her husband, made a visit to families of veterans in Fort Hood. The couple expressed their wishes that the trip not be publicized.[119] However, Fox News revealed the trip the following morning.[120]

In May 2010, Bush released her memoir, Spoken from the Heart, in conjunction with a national tour.[121]

On May 11, 2010, during an interview on Larry King Live, Bush was asked about same-sex marriage. She said she viewed it as a generational issue and believed it would be made legal in the future. Bush offered support for the issue by saying "when couples are committed to each other and love each other ... they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has." Bush referred to her 2000 interview, reaffirming her support for Roe v. Wade, "I think it's important that [abortion] remain legal. Because I think it's important for people – that for medical reasons and, and other reasons."[122][123] On February 22, 2013, without her consent, she was included in a pro-gay advertisement from the Respect of Marriage Coalition. A statement from Bush's spokesperson states that Bush "did not approve of her inclusion in this advertisement nor is she associated with the group that made the ad in any way. When she became aware of the advertisement last night, we requested that the group remove her from it."[124]

Bush continued to remain involved and concerned over the state of women in Afghanistan, speaking out editorials and appearances during 2013 that the women and girls who had been helped could not be abandoned during and after the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.[68] In March 2016, Bush wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post on changes occurring among women in Afghanistan while noting continued violence and calling for American involvement in Afghanistan to be consistent and predictable in continuing along with the international community "to provide significant development assistance in the areas of health care, entrepreneurship and education".[125] In June 2016, Bush stated that she hoped the US remained in Afghanistan and had consulted with women there who feared the departure of American troops would create "a vacuum" similar to Iraq, furthering that the US "would have to start all over again" if they withdrew troops.[126] In late 2017, Bush and First Lady of Afghanistan Rula Ghani traveled to Washington to rally lawmaker support for Afghanistan and women there.[127]

In April 2015, Bush criticized Rand Paul's isolationist stance on U.S. foreign aid, calling the view "not really realistic" and asserting the United States should save lives whenever it can.[128] That August, she shared the first public photos of her newborn granddaughter Poppy Louise.[129]

Public appearances

On October 26, 2009, Bush spoke at the 25th Annual Women's Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.[130]

On May 31, 2012, Bush and her husband unveiled their official portraits painted by John Howard Sanden in a ceremony at the White House attended by several members of their family and former members of the Bush administration. Bush jokingly told then First Lady Michelle Obama at the ceremony that "nothing makes a house a home like having portraits of its former occupants staring down at you from the walls".[131] Bush was portrayed in the White House's Green Room in her portrait, wearing a midnight blue gown.[132]

On July 25, 2012, she spoke at the Luisa Hunnewell's estate, where she praised Edith Wharton's works, in particular Ethan Frome on her 150th anniversary.[133] She also said that prior to this speech she also visited houses of Mark Twain[134] at his 166th anniversary on November 29, 2001, and was a guest of the show Mark Twain Tonight.[135] Ten years prior to the Luisa Hunnewell's estate visit she also visited Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts at which she met with the National Trust for Historic Preservation's President and listened to Concord-Carlisle High School's chorus.[136]

In April 2013, Bush was in attendance at a news conference, where she said the recently built George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum was not a monument for her husband but instead a representation of the White House and the struggles of America during his tenure. She also mentioned not having trouble donating clothes to the library, admitting that she probably would have never worn them again in the first place.[137] That month it was announced that she would serve as a keynote speaker for the 2013 Global Business Travel Association Convention in August.[138] At the convention, she stressed the importance of child literacy, continuing her advocating of an issue that she had become associated with since her tenure as First Lady.[139] In early August 2013, she reported that her husband was in stable condition after having a stent implanted in his heart, calling it "terrific" that it was caught in time, and stressed the importance of regular check ups with doctors.[140] In September, she appeared at a fundraiser for the organization Solutions for Change.[141]

On April 26, 2014, she gave a speech at the Ericsson Center in Plano, Texas, where she spoke on behalf of the company's mentoring program for girls.[142] Throughout the month, she made appearances at fundraisers for schools in Colorado.[143] On May 9, 2014, she was scheduled to speak at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. She was to arrive there with her daughter Barbara Pierce Bush, her husband George W. Bush, and Soledad O'Brien, a journalist.[144]

In 2015, Bush had several speaking arrangements on issues relating to her husband's presidency.[145][146][147] In July, the former First Lady, accompanied by her husband, attended the centennial anniversary of Tioga Road In Yosemite National Park in July[148] and appeared in New Orleans in order to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.[149][150] In October, she was a featured speaker for Wayland Baptist University.[151][152]

Bush was keynote speaker at the Go Red for Women Summit in Austin in February 2016, an event designed to promote both financing and awareness for women fighting heart disease.[153] In March, Bush attended the funeral of Nancy Reagan in California.[154][155] and attended the memorial service for victims in the Dallas police officers shooting four months later in July.[156]

On February 4, 2017, Bush appeared at the annual Union Regional Foundation's Heart of a Woman brunch, saying women do not worry about their own health due to often taking care of someone else and that their improving in health would benefit those around them.[157] On March 8, Bush was keynote speaker at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center's annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner, Bush relating that she had learned about the Holocaust through her father.[158] In April, Bush was the keynote speaker of the 25th annual Art of Hope Gala at the Dallas Museum of Art.[159] On May 17, Bush made her second visit to the Andrew Johnson Hermitage and gave the keynote address at the 117th Spring Outing celebration.[160][161] On May 31, Bush delivered a speech at the South-Central Monarch Symposium on the monarch butterfly decline in recent years.[162] On June 3, Bush served as the keynote speaker at the National Willa Cather Center dedication in Red Cloud, Nebraska and officially opened the center with a ribbon cut.[163] The following month, Bush accepted an invitation to join the eminent international Council of Patrons of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The university, which is the product of east–west foundational partnerships (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundation, IKEA Foundation etc.) and regional cooperation, serves extraordinarily talented women from 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East, including Afghanistan and Myanmar.[164] In September, Bush delivered the keynote address at the Gateway to Opportunity luncheon at the Omni Dallas Hotel.[165]

In April 2020, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Bush and Michelle Obama made a joint appearance on the "One World: Together At Home" televised concert special by the Global Citizen Festival where they expressed appreciation for healthcare workers, first responders, pharmacists, veterinarians, sanitation workers as well as grocery store workers and those delivering food and supplies to homes.[166]

 
Bush and her husband attend a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery after the inauguration of Joe Biden

On September 11, 2021, Bush and her husband commemorated the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the Flight 93 National Memorial.[167]

Obama administration

 
Laura Bush and Michelle Obama on November 10, 2008. The two First Ladies formed a friendship.

Over the course of the Obama presidency, she developed an alliance with Michelle Obama, her immediate successor as First Lady. Despite their political differences,[168] Michelle Obama has called Laura Bush both her friend and a role model,[169][170] crediting Bush with setting "a high bar" for her during her tenure as First Lady.[171] Bush defended Obama during her husband's campaign for president in 2008, publicly coming to her defense when she received criticism for a remark she made about being proud of her country for the first time in her adulthood during the campaign.[172] Obama sent Bush a note thanking her[173] and after the election met with Bush at the White House in November 2008,[174] Bush giving Obama a tour of her and her family's soon-to-be home.[175][176]

In September 2009, Bush openly praised President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. She reasoned that President Obama was performing well in the presidency despite having multiple initiatives taking place and complimented the First Lady's transformation of the White House into "a comfortable home for her family".[177]

The following year, in September 2010, Bush and Obama commemorated the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks by leading a ceremony from a mountaintop to national memorial park.[178][179] The two both acted as keynote speakers and met with the families of the 40 victims of United Airlines Flight 93 plane crash.[180][181] In their remarks, the two sang each other's praises. Obama thanked Bush for her handling of the aftermath of September 11 attacks, while Bush called her a "first lady who serves this country with such grace".[182]

In July 2013, Bush and Obama appeared together in Africa at the First Ladies Summit.[183][184] Their husbands were also present, leading White House staffer Ben Rhodes to refer to the joint appearance as proof of the support for Africa in the United States regardless of political party.[185] In their remarks, both Bush and Obama stressed the importance of being role models.[186]

Nine months later, on April 18, 2014, Bush spoke to Inquisitr regarding income inequality where she said next regarding Michelle Obama's income: "I want to make sure that when she's working she's getting paid the same as men. I gotta say that First Ladies right now don't [get paid], even though that's a tough job!"[187] In August 2014, Bush and Obama appeared together at the Kennedy Center.[188][189] Shortly afterward, Bush told The Washington Post that she believed Obama was ready to leave the White House.[190]

In March 2015, Bush and Obama were named as co-chairs of the Find Your Park campaign, an attempt to increase national park support and introduce millennials to the park service before its centennial the following year.[191][192] The pair made a joint appearance at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in September 2015, Bush appearing physically while Obama was present through a video call. Obama spoke of her admiration for Bush, who in turn mentioned their collaborations as "a great example for the world to see that women in different political parties, in the United States, agree on so many issues".[193][194]

Trump administration

On January 20, 2017, Bush and her husband attended the inauguration of Donald Trump.[195] In a November interview, Bush stated that she wished the Trumps "the very best" given that she knew what it was like to live in the White House and confirmed that she both been in contact with former First Lady Melania Trump and been invited to the Diplomatic Reception Room by retained personnel from the Bush administration.[196]

On June 17, 2018, Bush wrote an opinion piece firmly opposing the Trump administration family separation policy in The Washington Post.[197] She mentioned how her mother-in-law Barbara Bush had picked up a crying AIDS baby while on a visit to the HIV/AIDS shelter "Grandma's House" in 1989. She mentioned this to indicate her shock upon discovery that the workers at the children's border shelter have been instructed "not to pick up or touch the children to comfort them".

Biden administration

On January 20, 2021, Bush and her husband attended the inauguration of Joe Biden.

Involvement with GOP

In the later months of 2012, Bush campaigned for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, hosting a fundraiser in September with Ann Romney and appearing in Livonia, Michigan, the following month for a Romney campaign event. Michigan spokeswoman for the Romney campaign Kelsey Knight said having Mrs. Bush there would "just fuel the fire and the momentum we are seeing".[198] She also campaigned for vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, telling a crowd in Detroit that he and Romney had "better answers" on the economy and foreign policy.[199]

After the 2012 election, where Romney lost to President Obama, Bush was asked in March 2013 during an interview whether the GOP's positions on social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion led to more than half of female voters voting for the President.[200] Bush responded that some of the candidates had "frightened some candidates", but at the same time expressed her liking of the Republican Party having room for difference of opinion and that within the party, "we have room for all".[201][202]

Throughout 2015, Bush was active in the presidential campaign of brother-in-law Jeb Bush, hosting fundraisers and endorsing him.[203] This was the most politically involved she had been since leaving the White House seven years prior, supporting her brother-in-law alongside the rest of her family because, in her words, he was "our candidate".[204] In March she affirmed her support for her brother-in-law, calling herself and her husband "huge Jeb supporters".[205] It was reported that she would be assisting the campaign's fundraising in Florida in October, Bloomberg News commenting that Jeb Bush was "calling in help from perhaps the most popular member of his family".[206] According to Clay Johnson, a friend of the Bush family, she was reportedly surprised by Donald Trump's becoming frontrunner over the course of the election cycle.[207] In February 2016, amid her brother-in-law's campaign trailing Trump in South Carolina polls, Bush traveled there with her husband.[208][209] Jeb Bush dropped out of the race after the South Carolina primary.[210][211] The following month, Bush declined answering if she would vote for Trump, who was the frontrunner in the Republican primary, should he become the nominee[212][213] and said the U.S. was going through a xenophobic period at the time of the election cycle.[214] Ultimately, Bush and her husband refused to vote for president in 2016.[215]

Libraries

 
Laura Bush and mother in-law, former First Lady Barbara Bush, at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2012

Bush created the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries "to support the education of our nation's children by providing funds to update, extend, and diversify the book and print collections of America's school libraries".[216] Every year, the Laura Bush Foundation's grants awards more than $1,000,000 to US schools. The Laura Bush 21st Century Library Program grant, offered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, provides funding for "the recruitment and education of library students and continuing education for those already in the profession, as well as the development of new programs and curricula".[217] Bush's 21st Century Library Program is an equal opportunity grant that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age.[218] In May 2015, Bush bestowed a $7,000 grant to six schools within Austin, Texas.[219] After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries awarded grants of $10,000 to $75,000 to school libraries whose collections were damaged or destroyed in the hurricanes. In 2017, after the devastation from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria as well the California wildfires, the foundation again is going to dedicate their resources to disaster-affected schools to rebuild their book collections.

Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health

In August 2007, the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health (LWBIWH) was founded at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. This institute aims to integrate research, education and community outreach in a multidisciplinary approach to women's health and has begun efforts to establish a multi-campus women's health institute in Amarillo, El Paso, Lubbock and the Permian Basin.[220]

A subsidiary of the center, the Jenna Welch Women's Center, opened in Midland, Texas, on August 10, 2010, to deliver expert medical care to women and their families. Operating in partnership with the Laura Bush Institute, the Jenna Welch Center, named for Bush's mother, strives for excellence in research, education and community outreach.[221]

Writings and recordings

Bush wrote her first book with her daughter Jenna called Read All About It!. It was published on April 23, 2008.[222][223] Bush's memoir, Spoken from the Heart, was published in 2010. The book received mixed reviews from critics but got positive responses from readers. The book earned Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Memoir and Autobiography (2010).[224] Her non-fictional book about oppressed women of Afghanistan titled We Are Afghan Women: Voices of Hope was published on March 8, 2016.[225] She wrote another children's book with her daughter Jenna, Our Great Big Backyard. The book was published on May 10, 2016.[226] She was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Junior League of Dallas, of which she is a member.[227]

Awards and honors

 
Bush is awarded the Living Legend Medallion from James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, for her work in support of the National Book Festival, September 2008.

During and after her tenure as the First Lady, Laura Bush received a number of awards and honors. In October 2002, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity honored her in recognition of her efforts on behalf of education.[228] Also in 2002, she was named Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of the year.[229]

The American Library Association honored her for her years of support to America's libraries and librarians in April 2005.[230]

On October 18, 2003, she was conferred by the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo the Order of Gabriela Silang, a single-class order which makes her the first U.S. First Lady recipient during the state visit of President George Bush to the Philippines.[231]

She received an award in honor of her dedication to help improve the living conditions and education of children around the world, from the Kuwait-American Foundation in March 2006.[232] She accepted The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal on behalf of disaster relief workers around the world in May 2006 from Vanderbilt University. In 2007, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[233]

Four learning facilities have been named for her: the Laura Welch Bush Elementary School of Pasadena ISD in Houston, Texas,[234] the Laura W. Bush Elementary School in the Leander ISD in Travis County, Texas, just outside Austin,[235] the Laura Bush Middle School (Lubbock-Cooper ISD) in Lubbock, Texas,[236] and the Laura Bush Education Center at Camp Bondsteel, a U.S. military base in Kosovo.[237] She was awarded the 2008 Christian Freedom International Freedom Award.[238] Bush is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service.[239]

In 2012, Bush—along with Hector Ruiz, Charles Matthews, Melinda Perrin, Julius Glickman and Admiral William H. McRaven, the Navy Seal who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden—was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin.[240][241]

In October 2015, Bush was conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Wayland Baptist University in recognition of her longtime advocacy on behalf of education, health care and human rights following an address she gave on the university's campus.[242][243] November, she received the 2015 Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award.[244]

In November 2016 Bush received 10 for 10 award from Women's Democracy Network in recognition of her years of work on behalf of Afghan women's rights.[245]

In May 2017 Bush received an honor at the Women Making History Awards in Washington, D.C.[246]

In 2018 Laura Bush and former President George W. Bush were awarded the National Constitution Center Liberty Medal for their work with U.S. military veterans since leaving the White House.[247]

In 2021 Bush received the Concordia Leadership Award.[248]

In popular culture

Laura Bush is portrayed by Elizabeth Banks in Oliver Stone's film W.[249] Curtis Sittenfeld's bestseller novel American Wife is based on much of her life.[250] In 2005 her biography The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush by Ann Gerhart was published. In 2006 another biography was also published called Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady by Ronald Kessler.[251]

Bush appeared in the last season of HGTV's Fixer Upper.[252]

See also

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Further reading

External links

  • Laura Bush
  • Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. U.S.Institute of Museums and Library Services.
  • First Lady biography at Whitehouse.gov
  • "The book on Laura Bush" by Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  • "A Laura Bush we don't know" by Eugene Robinson, San Francisco Chronicle
  • Laura Bush at IMDb
  • Appearances on C-SPAN
  • Laura Bush at C-SPAN's First Ladies: Influence & Image
  • Jessie Hawkins and Jenna Welch Grandmother and Mother of Laura Bush Borderlands EPCC
Honorary titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Rita Clements 		First Lady of Texas
1995–2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by First Lady of the United States
2001–2009 		Succeeded by

May 11, 2023
laura, bush, laura, lane, bush, née, welch, born, november, 1946, american, teacher, librarian, first, lady, united, states, from, 2001, 2009, wife, president, george, bush, bush, previously, served, first, lady, texas, from, 1995, 2000, also, daughter, former. Laura Lane Bush nee Welch born November 4 1946 is an American teacher and librarian who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of President George W Bush 1 2 3 Bush previously served as the first lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000 She is also the daughter in law of former president George H W Bush Laura BushBush in 2005First Lady of the United StatesIn role January 20 2001 January 20 2009PresidentGeorge W BushPreceded byHillary ClintonSucceeded byMichelle ObamaFirst Lady of TexasIn role January 17 1995 December 21 2000GovernorGeorge W BushPreceded byRita Crocker ClementsSucceeded byAnita Thigpen PerryPersonal detailsBornLaura Lane Welch 1946 11 04 November 4 1946 age 76 Midland Texas U S Political partyRepublicanSpouseGeorge W Bush m 1977 wbr ChildrenBarbaraJennaEducationSouthern Methodist University BS University of Texas at Austin MS SignatureLaura Bush s voice source source Laura Bush on the treatment of children and women by the TalibanRecorded November 15 2001Born in Midland Texas Bush graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1968 with a bachelor s degree in education and took a job as a second grade teacher After attaining her master s degree in library science at the University of Texas at Austin she was employed as a librarian Bush met her future husband George W Bush in 1977 and they were married later that year The couple had twin daughters in 1981 Bush s political involvement began during her marriage She campaigned with her husband during his unsuccessful 1978 run for the United States Congress and later for his successful Texas gubernatorial campaign As First Lady of Texas Bush implemented many initiatives focused on health education and literacy 4 In 1999 2000 she aided her husband in campaigning for the presidency in a number of ways such as delivering a keynote address at the 2000 Republican National Convention which gained her national attention She became First Lady after her husband was inaugurated as president on January 20 2001 Polled by The Gallup Organization as one of the most popular First Ladies Bush was involved in national and global concerns during her tenure 5 She continued to advance her trademark interests of education and literacy by establishing the annual National Book Festival in 2001 6 and encouraged education on a worldwide scale She also advanced women s causes through The Heart Truth and Susan G Komen for the Cure organizations She represented the United States during her foreign trips which tended to focus on HIV AIDS and malaria awareness Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Marriage and family 3 First Lady of Texas 4 First Lady of the United States 4 1 Education and children 4 2 September 11 attacks 4 3 Women s health and rights 4 4 Campaigning 4 5 Popularity and style 4 6 Foreign trips 4 7 Views on policy 4 8 Legacy 5 Subsequent activities 5 1 Public appearances 5 2 Obama administration 5 3 Trump administration 5 4 Biden administration 5 5 Involvement with GOP 6 Libraries 7 Laura W Bush Institute for Women s Health 8 Writings and recordings 9 Awards and honors 10 In popular culture 11 See also 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External linksEarly life and career EditLaura Lane Welch was born on November 4 1946 at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland Texas the only child of Harold Welch and Jenna Louise nee Hawkins Welch 7 8 9 She is of English French and Swiss ancestry 3 10 Her father was a house builder and later successful real estate developer while her mother worked as the bookkeeper for her father s business 8 11 Early on her parents encouraged her to read leading to what would become her love of reading 8 She said I learned how important reading is at home from my mother When I was a little girl my mother would read stories to me I have loved books and going to the library ever since In the summer I liked to spend afternoons reading in the library I enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie and Little Women books and many others Reading gives you enjoyment throughout your life 12 Bush has also credited her second grade teacher Charlene Gnagy for inspiring her interest in education 13 On the night of November 6 1963 two days after her 17th birthday Laura Welch ran a stop sign and struck another car killing its driver 14 15 The victim was her close friend and classmate Michael Dutton Douglas By some accounts Douglas had been Welch s boyfriend at one time but she stated that he was not her boyfriend at that time but rather a very close friend 16 Welch and her passenger both 17 were treated for minor injuries 17 According to the accident report released by the city of Midland in 2000 in response to an open records request she was not charged in the incident 17 18 In 2000 Laura Bush s spokesman said It was a very tragic accident that deeply affected the families and was very painful for all involved including the community at large 17 In her book Spoken from the Heart she said that the crash caused her to lose her faith for many many years 19 She attended James Bowie Elementary School San Jacinto Junior High School and Robert E Lee High School in Midland 20 She graduated from Lee in 1964 21 and went on to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta 22 She graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education After graduating from SMU she began her career as a school teacher at Longfellow Elementary School in the Dallas Independent School District 22 She then taught for three years at John F Kennedy Elementary School a Houston Independent School District school in Houston until 1972 In 1973 Bush attained a Master of Science degree in Library Science from the University of Texas at Austin 22 She was soon employed as a librarian at the Kashmere Gardens Branch at the Houston Public Library The following year she moved back to Austin and took another job as a librarian in the Austin Independent School District school Dawson Elementary until 1977 She reflected on her employment experiences to a group of children in 2003 saying I worked as a teacher and librarian and I learned how important reading is in school and in life 12 Marriage and family EditShe met George W Bush in July 1977 when mutual friends Joe and Jan O Neill invited her and Bush to a backyard barbecue at their home He proposed to her at the end of September and they were married on November 5 of that year the day after her 31st birthday 23 24 at the First United Methodist Church in Midland the same church in which she had been baptized 25 Laura bought a tan two toned dress off the rack for the wedding 26 The couple honeymooned in Cozumel Mexico 23 George W Bush detailed his choice to marry Laura as the best decision of his life 27 Laura an only child said she gained brothers and sisters and wonderful in laws who all accepted her after she wed George W Bush 28 Laura and George W Bush with their daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush Kennebunkport 1990 The year after their marriage the couple began campaigning for George W Bush s 1978 Congressional candidacy According to George Bush when he asked her to marry him she had said Yes But only if you promise me that I ll never have to make a campaign speech 29 She soon relented and gave her first stump speech for him in 1978 on the courthouse steps in Muleshoe Texas 30 After narrowly winning the primary he lost the general election 24 Bush attended the inauguration of her father in law George H W Bush as Ronald Reagan s vice president in January 1981 after Reagan won the 1980 United States presidential election 31 She credited her father in law s election to the vice presidency with giving her and her husband national exposure 32 The Bushes had tried to conceive for three years but pregnancy did not happen easily On November 25 1981 Laura Bush gave birth to fraternal twin daughters Barbara and Jenna 25 The twins were born five weeks early by an emergency Caesarean section in Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas Texas as Laura had developed life threatening pre eclampsia toxemia 24 George W Bush credited his wife with his decision to stop drinking in 1986 22 33 She reflected that she thought her husband was drinking too much amid her knowing it was not his desired way of living Approaching him she related that her father had been alcoholic and it was not a pattern she wished to repeat in their family 34 She is also credited with having a stabilizing effect on his private life 24 According to People magazine reporter Jane Simms Podesta She is the steel in his back She is a civilizing influence on him I think she built him in many ways into the person he is today 24 Bush traveled to Kuwait in April 1993 accompanying her in laws as well as brothers in law Jeb and Marvin Bush after former president Bush was invited to return to the Middle East for the first time since his presidency 35 Several times a year Bush and her husband travel to their sprawling family estate the Bush compound better known as Walker s Point Located in Kennebunkport Maine the compound is where Bush family gatherings have been held for nearly 100 years 36 37 First Lady of Texas Edit Laura Bush with husband Governor George W right and father in law George H W left at the dedication of the George Bush Presidential Library 1997 Bush became the First Lady of Texas when her husband was elected as the Governor of Texas and served as first lady of that state from January 17 1995 to December 21 2000 4 When asked about her interest in politics she responded It doesn t drive me 38 Though during her years in the Governor s Mansion she did not hold a single formal event 39 Laura worked for women s and children s causes including health education and literacy 4 She implemented four major initiatives Take Time For Kids an awareness campaign to educate parents and caregivers on parenting family literacy through cooperation with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy she urged Texas communities to establish family literacy programs Reach Out and Read a pediatric reading program and Ready to Read an early childhood educational program 4 She raised money for public libraries through her establishment of the Texas Book Festival 4 in 1995 40 She established the First Lady s Family Literacy Initiative which encouraged families to read together 41 42 Bush further established Rainbow Rooms across the state in an effort to provide emergency services for neglected or abused children 4 Through this she promoted the Adopt a Caseworker Program to provide support for Child Protective Services 4 She used her position to advocate Alzheimer s disease and breast cancer awareness as well 4 Her husband announced his campaign for President of the United States in mid 1999 something that she agreed to She did say however that she had never dreamed that he would run for office 38 The Bush campaign worked to assure voters that as First Lady she would not seek to emulate then First Lady Hillary Clinton who had faced controversy for leading several policy initiatives from within the White House despite being unelected When asked who she would be like out of the past First Ladies she insisted it would be herself 43 In July she delivered a keynote address to the delegates at the 2000 Republican National Convention which put her on the national stage 29 44 In December 2000 her husband resigned as Governor of Texas to prepare for his inauguration as President of the United States in January 2001 First Lady of the United States EditAs First Lady Bush was involved in issues of concern to children and women both nationally and internationally 45 Her major initiatives included education and women s health 45 Education and children Edit Early into the administration Bush made it known that she would focus much of her attention on education This included recruiting highly qualified teachers to ensure that young children would be taught well 46 She also focused on early child development 46 In 2001 to promote reading and education she partnered with the Library of Congress to launch the annual National Book Festival In January 2002 Bush testified before the Senate Committee on Education asking for higher teachers salaries and better training for Head Start programs She is also credited with creating a national initiative called Ready to Read Ready to Learn which promotes reading at a young age To promote American patriotic heritage in schools she helped launch the National Anthem Project In 2006 Bush and media executives worked together to provide a 500 000 grant for school libraries along the Gulf Coast which had been devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 13 Immediately following the September 11 2001 attacks Bush spoke regarding America s children W e need to reassure our children that they are safe in their homes and schools We need to reassure them that many people love them and care for them and that while there are some bad people in the world there are many more good people 47 Romanian children greet President and Mrs Bush upon their landing in Bucharest 2002 The First Lady shares a laugh with fifth graders in Des Moines Iowa 2005 The following day she composed open letters to America s families focusing on elementary and middle school students which she distributed through state education officials 48 49 She took an interest in mitigating the emotional effects of the attacks on children particularly the disturbing images repeatedly replayed on television 50 On the one year anniversary she encouraged parents to instead read to their children and perhaps light a candle in memoriam saying Don t let your children see the images especially on September 11 when you know it ll probably be on television again and again the plane hitting the building or the buildings falling 50 Later in her tenure she was honored by the United Nations as the body named her honorary ambassador for the United Nations Decade of Literacy In this position she announced that she would host a Conference on Global Literacy 51 The conference held in September 2006 encouraged a constant effort to promote literacy and highlighted many successful literacy programs 52 53 She coordinated this as a result of her many trips abroad where she witnessed how literacy benefited children in poorer nations 52 On July 28 2008 she visited Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock North Carolina where she met with superintendent Connie Backlund and the Friends of Carl Sandburg Home s President Linda Holt as well as various students from Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County North Carolina 54 On October 3 2008 she visited Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum where she praised her works such as Farmer Boy These Happy Golden Years and Little House on the Prairie the last of which she had felt an association with as a child During the same Laura Ingalls Wilder s estate visit she said that she read her books to her daughters and gave the writer Save America s Treasures grant 55 September 11 attacks Edit On September 11 2001 Bush had been hosting her in laws George H W Bush and Barbara Bush at the White House and was scheduled to give a testimony to Congress on education 56 Instead during the September 11 attacks Bush was taken to inside the White House and placed in an underground bunker later being met by her husband who had returned to Washington from Florida 57 Two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks Bush inaugurated a music concert at the Kennedy Center organized to raise funds for families of the victims Though she received applause she returned the compliment to members of the audience and added that although the event was tragic Americans had deepened their appreciation of life itself how fragile it can be what a gift it is and how much we need each other Senator Ted Kennedy who introduced Bush at the event praised her and said he knew his late brother President John F Kennedy would also be proud of her 58 Bush believes the September 11 attacks ignited the interest in the way Afghan women were treated 59 Women s health and rights Edit Another of her signature issues were those relating to the health and well being of women She established the Women s Health and Wellness Initiative and became involved with two major campaigns Bush first became involved with The Heart Truth awareness campaign in 2003 60 It is an organization established by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to raise awareness about heart disease in women and how to prevent the condition 61 She serves in the honorary position of ambassador for the program 60 leading the federal government s effort to give women a wake up call about the risk of heart disease 60 She commented on the disease Like many women I assumed heart disease was a man s disease and cancer was what we would fear the most Yet heart disease kills more women in our country than all forms of cancer combined When it comes to heart disease education prevention and even a little red dress can save lives 60 She has undertaken a signature personal element of traveling around the country and talking to women at hospital and community events featuring the experiences of women who live or had lived with the condition 60 This outreach was credited with directly saving the life of at least one woman who went to the hospital after experiencing symptoms of a heart attack after hearing her message 60 Laura Bush meets with members of the Pink Majlis a forum focusing on issues related to breast cancer in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates October 22 2007 62 With her predecessor former First Lady Nancy Reagan Bush dedicated the First Ladies Red Dress Collection at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in May 2005 It is an exhibit containing red suits worn by former First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson Betty Ford Rosalynn Carter Nancy Reagan Barbara Bush Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush meant to raise awareness by highlighting America s first ladies 63 She has participated in fashion shows displaying red dresses worn on celebrities as well 64 Bush s mother Jenna Welch was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 78 She endured surgery and had no further signs of cancer Laura Bush has become a breast cancer activist on her mother s behalf 65 through her involvement in the Susan G Komen for the Cure She applauded the foundation s efforts in eliminating cancer and said A few short years ago a diagnosis of breast cancer left little hope of recovery But thanks to the work of the Komen Foundation more women and men are beating breast cancer and beating the odds 65 She used her position to gain international support for the foundation through the Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research of the Americas an initiative that unites experts from the United States Brazil Costa Rica and Mexico 66 In November 2001 she became the first person other than a president to deliver the weekly presidential radio address She used the opportunity to discuss the plight of women in Afghanistan leading up to the U S invasion of Afghanistan saying The brutal oppression of women is a central goal of the terrorists 67 Her husband was originally to give the address but he felt that she should do it she later recalled At that moment it was not that I found my voice Instead it was as if my voice found me 68 Her words summarized one of the goals and moral rationales of the U S involvement in Afghanistan and it became one of the more famous speeches of his administration 68 In May 2002 she made a speech to the people of Afghanistan through Radio Liberty In March 2005 she made the first of three trips to that country as First Lady 68 Campaigning Edit Bush appearing alongside Bill Clinton in New York September 20 2006 Bush campaigned for Republicans around the country in 2002 for that year s midterm elections attending and hosting fundraisers as well as giving speeches Opponents deemed this as the Bush administration working against women s rights issues and using women to do their dirty work and partly a test for Bush on how well she could campaign for her husband in the impending two years when he sought re election 69 During the 2004 election cycle Bush made joint appearances with her husband on the campaign trail 70 including in battleground states such as Florida 71 She advocated for his re election in a speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention 72 and was credited with having raised 15 million for her husband s campaign as well as the Republican Party while still succeeding in keeping a separate schedule that allowed for her to tend to the traditional duties she had as First Lady 73 In a July 2004 interview Teresa Heinz wife of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said Well you know I don t know Laura Bush But she seems to be calm and she has a sparkle in her eye which is good But I don t know that she s ever had a real job I mean since she s been grown up 74 Heinz later apologized for the remark stating that she had forgotten that Laura Bush was a teacher and librarian prior to her marriage 75 76 Bush stated that she forgave her while insisting her apology was unnecessary citing her understanding of the trick questions asked by the media 77 78 Bush was a participant in the 2006 midterm elections 79 80 81 beginning her campaigning in April Though her poll numbers had decreased from an 80 approval rating they still superseded that of President Bush whose approval rating was only praised by a third of Americans 73 Ed Henry of CNN noted Bush s popularity writing The first lady is treated like a rock star on the campaign trail with local Republicans lining up for photographs and autographs as she criss crosses the country to help candidates 82 Bush relied on a strategy of praising the Republican candidate for their achievements and attending events alongside them 83 In September 2008 Bush spoke during the first night of the 2008 Republican National Convention 84 her joint appearance with Cindy McCain geared toward raising hurricane relief funds for victims of Hurricane Gustav 85 86 Popularity and style Edit Laura s husband President George W Bush is sworn into a second term on January 20 2005 by Chief Justice William Rehnquist as Laura Bush and daughters Barbara and Jenna look on Laura Bush s approval ratings have consistently ranked very high 87 In January 2006 a USA Today CBS Gallup poll recorded her approval rating at 82 percent and disapproval at 13 percent 5 88 89 That places Bush as one of the most popular first ladies 5 Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said She is more popular and more welcome in many parts of the country than the president In races where the moderates are in the most trouble Laura Bush is the one who can do the most good 88 Jude Ellison Sady Doyle reasoned that Bush was hard to dislike due to her adopting the least partisan causes such as literacy and breast cancer which would attract the support of most Americans and her coming off as a mild polite ordinary woman who might go to church with your mother or organize suburban potlucks Doyle furthered that her statements were never enough to offend others and the harshest criticism that could be bestowed upon her was that she was boring 90 She disagreed with Fox News Chris Wallace in 2006 when Wallace asked why the American people were beginning to lose confidence in President Bush saying Well I don t think they are And I don t really believe those polls I travel around the country I see people I see their response to my husband I see their response to me There are a lot of difficult challenges right now in the United States All of those decisions that the President has to make surrounding each one of these very difficult challenges are hard They re hard decisions to make And of course some people are unhappy about what some of those decisions are But I think people know that he is doing what he thinks is right for the United States that he s doing what he especially in the war on terror what he thinks he is obligated to do for the people in the United States and that is to protect them When his polls were really high they weren t on the front page 91 During the January 2005 second inauguration ceremonies for her husband Laura Bush was looked highly upon by People magazine The Washington Post and others for her elegance and fashion sense 92 At the inauguration she wore a winter white cashmere dress and matching coat designed by Oscar de la Renta 93 Following the inauguration were the inaugural galas to which Bush wore a pale aqua lace gown sprinkled with crystals with long sleeves in a silver blue mist 93 The tulle gown was also designed for her by de la Renta According to The Washington Post I t made her look radiant and glamorous 93 Foreign trips Edit Laura Bush talks with Raphael Lungo of Zambia as a part of her 2007 African trip Laura Bush with her husband and several other dignitaries from around the world at the funeral of Pope John Paul II During her husband s second term Bush was more involved in foreign matters She traveled to numerous countries as a representative of the United States As First Lady she took five goodwill trips to Africa 94 The purpose of these has mostly been to raise awareness about HIV AIDS and malaria as part of the Bush administration s initiative to address the global epidemics but Bush has also stressed the need for education and greater opportunities for women 95 She has taken many other trips to other countries to promote and gain support for President Bush s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief 96 these countries include Zambia 2007 97 Mozambique 2007 98 Mali 2007 99 Senegal 2007 100 and Haiti 2008 96 In mid 2007 she took a trip to Myanmar where she spoke out in support of the pro democracy movement and urged Burmese soldiers and militias to refrain from violence 101 Later that October she ventured to the Middle East Bush said she was in the region in an attempt to improve America s image by highlighting concern for women s health specifically promoting her breast cancer awareness work with the US Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research 101 102 She defined the trip as successful saying that stereotypes were broken on both sides 101 Overall Bush traveled to 77 countries in the eight years of her husband s presidency touring 67 of those during the second term 103 Views on policy Edit Bush is a Republican and has identified herself with the GOP since her marriage 104 When asked about abortion in 2000 Bush said she did not believe Roe v Wade should be overturned She did not comment on whether women had the right to an abortion 105 She did say however that the country should do what we can to limit the number of abortions to try to reduce the number of abortions in a lot of ways and that is by talking about responsibility with girls and boys by teaching abstinence having abstinence classes everywhere in schools and in churches and in Sunday school 105 Bush responded to a question during a 2006 interview concerning the Federal Marriage Amendment by calling for elected leaders not to politicize same sex marriage I don t think it should be used as a campaign tool obviously It requires a lot of sensitivity to just talk about the issue a lot of sensitivity 106 On July 12 2005 while in South Africa Bush suggested her husband replace retiring Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O Connor with another woman On October 2 during a private dinner at the White House with his wife President Bush nominated Harriet Miers to replace O Connor 107 Later that month after Miers had faced intense criticism Laura Bush questioned whether the charges were sexist in nature 108 Legacy Edit Queen Elizabeth II and Laura Bush at the Children s National Medical Center in 2007 In late October 2008 days before that year s presidential election Bush hosted a three hour session with staffers and historians discussing how she would like to be remembered leading to this meeting being termed the legacy lunch 109 110 According to historian Myra Gutin this was the first time in history that a First Lady had ever directly reached out to historians to talk about her accomplishments Attendants of the meeting said that Bush wanted to change the perception that she was a traditional First Lady in that she always stayed by her husband s side 111 At a 2014 National Press Club Anita McBride opined that it would be harder for people to understand where Bush had the greatest impact due to the several signature issues that Bush advocated for while First Lady 112 In 2017 journalist Brooke Baldwin suggested Bush s efforts toward improving the lives of Afghan women may have contributed to more Afghanistan women being in positions within the Afghanistan private sector 113 Bush enjoyed widespread approval by the American public both as the incumbent First Lady and during her retirement 114 The Washington Post contributor Krissah Thompson recalled Bush s favorability being as close to universal popularity as any modern political figure when the Bushes left the White House in 2009 and called her the most high profile promoter of the George W Bush legacy a burden she carries lightly and with a smile 115 A 2014 poll which asked who was the most popular First Lady in the past 25 years found Bush ranked in fourth place out of 4 candidates behind Hillary Clinton mother in law Barbara and direct successor Michelle Obama 116 117 Subsequent activities Edit Former First Lady Laura Bush and her husband being escorted to a waiting helicopter by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on January 20 2009 In February 2009 the month after she and her husband left office Laura and George W Bush moved into a new residence in Dallas 118 In November 2009 the former First Lady accompanied by her husband made a visit to families of veterans in Fort Hood The couple expressed their wishes that the trip not be publicized 119 However Fox News revealed the trip the following morning 120 In May 2010 Bush released her memoir Spoken from the Heart in conjunction with a national tour 121 On May 11 2010 during an interview on Larry King Live Bush was asked about same sex marriage She said she viewed it as a generational issue and believed it would be made legal in the future Bush offered support for the issue by saying when couples are committed to each other and love each other they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has Bush referred to her 2000 interview reaffirming her support for Roe v Wade I think it s important that abortion remain legal Because I think it s important for people that for medical reasons and and other reasons 122 123 On February 22 2013 without her consent she was included in a pro gay advertisement from the Respect of Marriage Coalition A statement from Bush s spokesperson states that Bush did not approve of her inclusion in this advertisement nor is she associated with the group that made the ad in any way When she became aware of the advertisement last night we requested that the group remove her from it 124 Bush continued to remain involved and concerned over the state of women in Afghanistan speaking out editorials and appearances during 2013 that the women and girls who had been helped could not be abandoned during and after the planned withdrawal of U S troops from Afghanistan 68 In March 2016 Bush wrote an op ed for The Washington Post on changes occurring among women in Afghanistan while noting continued violence and calling for American involvement in Afghanistan to be consistent and predictable in continuing along with the international community to provide significant development assistance in the areas of health care entrepreneurship and education 125 In June 2016 Bush stated that she hoped the US remained in Afghanistan and had consulted with women there who feared the departure of American troops would create a vacuum similar to Iraq furthering that the US would have to start all over again if they withdrew troops 126 In late 2017 Bush and First Lady of Afghanistan Rula Ghani traveled to Washington to rally lawmaker support for Afghanistan and women there 127 In April 2015 Bush criticized Rand Paul s isolationist stance on U S foreign aid calling the view not really realistic and asserting the United States should save lives whenever it can 128 That August she shared the first public photos of her newborn granddaughter Poppy Louise 129 Public appearances Edit On October 26 2009 Bush spoke at the 25th Annual Women s Conference in Salt Lake City Utah 130 On May 31 2012 Bush and her husband unveiled their official portraits painted by John Howard Sanden in a ceremony at the White House attended by several members of their family and former members of the Bush administration Bush jokingly told then First Lady Michelle Obama at the ceremony that nothing makes a house a home like having portraits of its former occupants staring down at you from the walls 131 Bush was portrayed in the White House s Green Room in her portrait wearing a midnight blue gown 132 On July 25 2012 she spoke at the Luisa Hunnewell s estate where she praised Edith Wharton s works in particular Ethan Frome on her 150th anniversary 133 She also said that prior to this speech she also visited houses of Mark Twain 134 at his 166th anniversary on November 29 2001 and was a guest of the show Mark Twain Tonight 135 Ten years prior to the Luisa Hunnewell s estate visit she also visited Louisa May Alcott s Orchard House in Concord Massachusetts at which she met with the National Trust for Historic Preservation s President and listened to Concord Carlisle High School s chorus 136 In April 2013 Bush was in attendance at a news conference where she said the recently built George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum was not a monument for her husband but instead a representation of the White House and the struggles of America during his tenure She also mentioned not having trouble donating clothes to the library admitting that she probably would have never worn them again in the first place 137 That month it was announced that she would serve as a keynote speaker for the 2013 Global Business Travel Association Convention in August 138 At the convention she stressed the importance of child literacy continuing her advocating of an issue that she had become associated with since her tenure as First Lady 139 In early August 2013 she reported that her husband was in stable condition after having a stent implanted in his heart calling it terrific that it was caught in time and stressed the importance of regular check ups with doctors 140 In September she appeared at a fundraiser for the organization Solutions for Change 141 On April 26 2014 she gave a speech at the Ericsson Center in Plano Texas where she spoke on behalf of the company s mentoring program for girls 142 Throughout the month she made appearances at fundraisers for schools in Colorado 143 On May 9 2014 she was scheduled to speak at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing She was to arrive there with her daughter Barbara Pierce Bush her husband George W Bush and Soledad O Brien a journalist 144 In 2015 Bush had several speaking arrangements on issues relating to her husband s presidency 145 146 147 In July the former First Lady accompanied by her husband attended the centennial anniversary of Tioga Road In Yosemite National Park in July 148 and appeared in New Orleans in order to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina 149 150 In October she was a featured speaker for Wayland Baptist University 151 152 Bush was keynote speaker at the Go Red for Women Summit in Austin in February 2016 an event designed to promote both financing and awareness for women fighting heart disease 153 In March Bush attended the funeral of Nancy Reagan in California 154 155 and attended the memorial service for victims in the Dallas police officers shooting four months later in July 156 On February 4 2017 Bush appeared at the annual Union Regional Foundation s Heart of a Woman brunch saying women do not worry about their own health due to often taking care of someone else and that their improving in health would benefit those around them 157 On March 8 Bush was keynote speaker at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center s annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner Bush relating that she had learned about the Holocaust through her father 158 In April Bush was the keynote speaker of the 25th annual Art of Hope Gala at the Dallas Museum of Art 159 On May 17 Bush made her second visit to the Andrew Johnson Hermitage and gave the keynote address at the 117th Spring Outing celebration 160 161 On May 31 Bush delivered a speech at the South Central Monarch Symposium on the monarch butterfly decline in recent years 162 On June 3 Bush served as the keynote speaker at the National Willa Cather Center dedication in Red Cloud Nebraska and officially opened the center with a ribbon cut 163 The following month Bush accepted an invitation to join the eminent international Council of Patrons of the Asian University for Women AUW in Chittagong Bangladesh The university which is the product of east west foundational partnerships Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Open Society Foundation IKEA Foundation etc and regional cooperation serves extraordinarily talented women from 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East including Afghanistan and Myanmar 164 In September Bush delivered the keynote address at the Gateway to Opportunity luncheon at the Omni Dallas Hotel 165 In April 2020 amid the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic Bush and Michelle Obama made a joint appearance on the One World Together At Home televised concert special by the Global Citizen Festival where they expressed appreciation for healthcare workers first responders pharmacists veterinarians sanitation workers as well as grocery store workers and those delivering food and supplies to homes 166 Bush and her husband attend a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery after the inauguration of Joe Biden On September 11 2021 Bush and her husband commemorated the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the Flight 93 National Memorial 167 Obama administration Edit Laura Bush and Michelle Obama on November 10 2008 The two First Ladies formed a friendship Over the course of the Obama presidency she developed an alliance with Michelle Obama her immediate successor as First Lady Despite their political differences 168 Michelle Obama has called Laura Bush both her friend and a role model 169 170 crediting Bush with setting a high bar for her during her tenure as First Lady 171 Bush defended Obama during her husband s campaign for president in 2008 publicly coming to her defense when she received criticism for a remark she made about being proud of her country for the first time in her adulthood during the campaign 172 Obama sent Bush a note thanking her 173 and after the election met with Bush at the White House in November 2008 174 Bush giving Obama a tour of her and her family s soon to be home 175 176 In September 2009 Bush openly praised President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama She reasoned that President Obama was performing well in the presidency despite having multiple initiatives taking place and complimented the First Lady s transformation of the White House into a comfortable home for her family 177 The following year in September 2010 Bush and Obama commemorated the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks by leading a ceremony from a mountaintop to national memorial park 178 179 The two both acted as keynote speakers and met with the families of the 40 victims of United Airlines Flight 93 plane crash 180 181 In their remarks the two sang each other s praises Obama thanked Bush for her handling of the aftermath of September 11 attacks while Bush called her a first lady who serves this country with such grace 182 In July 2013 Bush and Obama appeared together in Africa at the First Ladies Summit 183 184 Their husbands were also present leading White House staffer Ben Rhodes to refer to the joint appearance as proof of the support for Africa in the United States regardless of political party 185 In their remarks both Bush and Obama stressed the importance of being role models 186 Nine months later on April 18 2014 Bush spoke to Inquisitr regarding income inequality where she said next regarding Michelle Obama s income I want to make sure that when she s working she s getting paid the same as men I gotta say that First Ladies right now don t get paid even though that s a tough job 187 In August 2014 Bush and Obama appeared together at the Kennedy Center 188 189 Shortly afterward Bush told The Washington Post that she believed Obama was ready to leave the White House 190 In March 2015 Bush and Obama were named as co chairs of the Find Your Park campaign an attempt to increase national park support and introduce millennials to the park service before its centennial the following year 191 192 The pair made a joint appearance at the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum in September 2015 Bush appearing physically while Obama was present through a video call Obama spoke of her admiration for Bush who in turn mentioned their collaborations as a great example for the world to see that women in different political parties in the United States agree on so many issues 193 194 Trump administration Edit On January 20 2017 Bush and her husband attended the inauguration of Donald Trump 195 In a November interview Bush stated that she wished the Trumps the very best given that she knew what it was like to live in the White House and confirmed that she both been in contact with former First Lady Melania Trump and been invited to the Diplomatic Reception Room by retained personnel from the Bush administration 196 On June 17 2018 Bush wrote an opinion piece firmly opposing the Trump administration family separation policy in The Washington Post 197 She mentioned how her mother in law Barbara Bush had picked up a crying AIDS baby while on a visit to the HIV AIDS shelter Grandma s House in 1989 She mentioned this to indicate her shock upon discovery that the workers at the children s border shelter have been instructed not to pick up or touch the children to comfort them Biden administration Edit On January 20 2021 Bush and her husband attended the inauguration of Joe Biden Involvement with GOP Edit In the later months of 2012 Bush campaigned for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney hosting a fundraiser in September with Ann Romney and appearing in Livonia Michigan the following month for a Romney campaign event Michigan spokeswoman for the Romney campaign Kelsey Knight said having Mrs Bush there would just fuel the fire and the momentum we are seeing 198 She also campaigned for vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan telling a crowd in Detroit that he and Romney had better answers on the economy and foreign policy 199 After the 2012 election where Romney lost to President Obama Bush was asked in March 2013 during an interview whether the GOP s positions on social issues such as same sex marriage and abortion led to more than half of female voters voting for the President 200 Bush responded that some of the candidates had frightened some candidates but at the same time expressed her liking of the Republican Party having room for difference of opinion and that within the party we have room for all 201 202 Throughout 2015 Bush was active in the presidential campaign of brother in law Jeb Bush hosting fundraisers and endorsing him 203 This was the most politically involved she had been since leaving the White House seven years prior supporting her brother in law alongside the rest of her family because in her words he was our candidate 204 In March she affirmed her support for her brother in law calling herself and her husband huge Jeb supporters 205 It was reported that she would be assisting the campaign s fundraising in Florida in October Bloomberg News commenting that Jeb Bush was calling in help from perhaps the most popular member of his family 206 According to Clay Johnson a friend of the Bush family she was reportedly surprised by Donald Trump s becoming frontrunner over the course of the election cycle 207 In February 2016 amid her brother in law s campaign trailing Trump in South Carolina polls Bush traveled there with her husband 208 209 Jeb Bush dropped out of the race after the South Carolina primary 210 211 The following month Bush declined answering if she would vote for Trump who was the frontrunner in the Republican primary should he become the nominee 212 213 and said the U S was going through a xenophobic period at the time of the election cycle 214 Ultimately Bush and her husband refused to vote for president in 2016 215 Libraries Edit Laura Bush and mother in law former First Lady Barbara Bush at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2012 Bush created the Laura Bush Foundation for America s Libraries to support the education of our nation s children by providing funds to update extend and diversify the book and print collections of America s school libraries 216 Every year the Laura Bush Foundation s grants awards more than 1 000 000 to US schools The Laura Bush 21st Century Library Program grant offered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services provides funding for the recruitment and education of library students and continuing education for those already in the profession as well as the development of new programs and curricula 217 Bush s 21st Century Library Program is an equal opportunity grant that does not discriminate on the basis of race color national origin sex disability or age 218 In May 2015 Bush bestowed a 7 000 grant to six schools within Austin Texas 219 After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 the Laura Bush Foundation for America s Libraries awarded grants of 10 000 to 75 000 to school libraries whose collections were damaged or destroyed in the hurricanes In 2017 after the devastation from Hurricanes Harvey Irma and Maria as well the California wildfires the foundation again is going to dedicate their resources to disaster affected schools to rebuild their book collections Laura W Bush Institute for Women s Health EditIn August 2007 the Laura W Bush Institute for Women s Health LWBIWH was founded at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center This institute aims to integrate research education and community outreach in a multidisciplinary approach to women s health and has begun efforts to establish a multi campus women s health institute in Amarillo El Paso Lubbock and the Permian Basin 220 A subsidiary of the center the Jenna Welch Women s Center opened in Midland Texas on August 10 2010 to deliver expert medical care to women and their families Operating in partnership with the Laura Bush Institute the Jenna Welch Center named for Bush s mother strives for excellence in research education and community outreach 221 Writings and recordings EditBush wrote her first book with her daughter Jenna called Read All About It It was published on April 23 2008 222 223 Bush s memoir Spoken from the Heart was published in 2010 The book received mixed reviews from critics but got positive responses from readers The book earned Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Memoir and Autobiography 2010 224 Her non fictional book about oppressed women of Afghanistan titled We Are Afghan Women Voices of Hope was published on March 8 2016 225 She wrote another children s book with her daughter Jenna Our Great Big Backyard The book was published on May 10 2016 226 She was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Junior League of Dallas of which she is a member 227 Awards and honors Edit Bush is awarded the Living Legend Medallion from James H Billington the Librarian of Congress for her work in support of the National Book Festival September 2008 During and after her tenure as the First Lady Laura Bush received a number of awards and honors In October 2002 the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity honored her in recognition of her efforts on behalf of education 228 Also in 2002 she was named Barbara Walters Most Fascinating Person of the year 229 The American Library Association honored her for her years of support to America s libraries and librarians in April 2005 230 On October 18 2003 she was conferred by the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo the Order of Gabriela Silang a single class order which makes her the first U S First Lady recipient during the state visit of President George Bush to the Philippines 231 She received an award in honor of her dedication to help improve the living conditions and education of children around the world from the Kuwait American Foundation in March 2006 232 She accepted The Nichols Chancellor s Medal on behalf of disaster relief workers around the world in May 2006 from Vanderbilt University In 2007 she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement 233 Four learning facilities have been named for her the Laura Welch Bush Elementary School of Pasadena ISD in Houston Texas 234 the Laura W Bush Elementary School in the Leander ISD in Travis County Texas just outside Austin 235 the Laura Bush Middle School Lubbock Cooper ISD in Lubbock Texas 236 and the Laura Bush Education Center at Camp Bondsteel a U S military base in Kosovo 237 She was awarded the 2008 Christian Freedom International Freedom Award 238 Bush is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service 239 In 2012 Bush along with Hector Ruiz Charles Matthews Melinda Perrin Julius Glickman and Admiral William H McRaven the Navy Seal who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin 240 241 In October 2015 Bush was conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Wayland Baptist University in recognition of her longtime advocacy on behalf of education health care and human rights following an address she gave on the university s campus 242 243 November she received the 2015 Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award 244 In November 2016 Bush received 10 for 10 award from Women s Democracy Network in recognition of her years of work on behalf of Afghan women s rights 245 In May 2017 Bush received an honor at the Women Making History Awards in Washington D C 246 In 2018 Laura Bush and former President George W Bush were awarded the National Constitution Center Liberty Medal for their work with U S military veterans since leaving the White House 247 In 2021 Bush received the Concordia Leadership Award 248 In popular culture EditLaura Bush is portrayed by Elizabeth Banks in Oliver Stone s film W 249 Curtis Sittenfeld s bestseller novel American Wife is based on much of her life 250 In 2005 her biography The Perfect Wife The Life and Choices of Laura Bush by Ann Gerhart was published In 2006 another biography was also published called Laura Bush An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady by Ronald Kessler 251 Bush appeared in the last season of HGTV s Fixer Upper 252 See also EditPortal TexasReferences Edit Laura Welch Bush The White House Biography of Mrs Laura Welch Bush whitehouse gov Retrieved June 23 2009 via National Archives a b Laura Bush First Ladies Biography National First Ladies Library Archived from the original on May 9 2012 Retrieved June 23 2016 a b c d e f g h Texas Governor George W Bush An Inventory of First Lady Laura Bush s Files Part I at the Texas State Archives about 1994 1999 bulk 1995 1999 University of Texas at Austin Archived from the original on October 11 2008 Retrieved May 25 2008 a b c Jones Jeffery M February 9 2006 Laura Bush Approval Ratings Among Best for First Ladies Gallup Organization Archived from the original on July 5 2008 Retrieved May 27 2008 Laura Bush Announces Foundation and Festival wife of President George Bush American Libraries Chicago Ill 32 no 8 2001 16 Kessler Ronald April 4 2006 Laura Bush An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady ISBN 9780385518970 a b c Laura Bush Biography Advameg Inc Archived from the original on June 13 2008 Retrieved May 24 2008 Strock Ian Randal July 5 2016 Ranking the First Ladies True Tales and Trivia from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama Carrel Books ISBN 9781631440601 via Google Books The all American icons with British roots London Evening Standard Archived from the original on October 25 2012 Laura Bush A supportive but behind the scenes spouse CNN 2001 Archived from the original on May 14 2008 Retrieved May 25 2008 a b Mrs Bush s Remarks at Laura Bush Foundation for America s Libraries Grant Awards whitehouse gov May 20 2003 Archived from the original on May 14 2011 Retrieved May 25 2008 via National Archives a b Laura Bush Encyclopedia of World Biography Vol 25 Detroit Gale 2005 Archived from the original on March 14 2014 Robin Toner February 15 2004 The Perfect Wife The Un Hillary The New York Times Archived from the original on May 13 2011 Matthew Davis April 5 2006 Inside the private world of Laura Bush BBC News Washington Archived from the original on May 14 2008 TRUE Laura Bush Fatal Car Accident snopes com snopes December 20 2015 a b c Mrs Bush ran stop sign in fatal crash USA Today May 3 2000 Archived from the original on October 9 2012 Retrieved May 24 2008 Midland police report O Connor Anahad April 27 2010 Laura Bush Opens Up About Crash The New York Times Archived from the original on April 29 2013 Retrieved April 30 2010 History and research George W Bush Childhood Home Inc Archived from the original on January 30 2009 Retrieved May 24 2008 Laura Welch Bush Encyclopaedia Britannica a b c d Laura Welch Bush PDF CBS Retrieved May 24 2008 a b Bush Laura 2010 Spoken from the Heart Scribner ISBN 978 1 4391 5520 2 excerpt available at Oprah com a b c d e Read her lips Literacy efforts on first lady s agenda CNN April 8 2001 Archived from the original on June 12 2008 Retrieved May 25 2008 a b Stritof Sheri and Bob George and Laura Bush About com The New York Times Company Archived from the original on October 8 2008 Retrieved May 25 2008 Winik Lyric Wallwork January 16 2005 We Need To Pay More Attention To Boys First Lady Laura Bush Parade Archived from the original on October 17 2006 Retrieved April 21 2011 Bush George W 2011 Decision Points Broadway Books p 27 ISBN 978 0307590633 Laura leaves em laughing gasping The Washington Times May 1 2005 a b Reaves Jessica August 1 2000 Now making her bow The un Hillary CNN Archived from the original on December 5 2008 Retrieved May 28 2008 Hanchette John June 23 2000 Laura Welch Bush Shy no more USA Today Retrieved April 21 2011 Bush George W 2011 Decision Points Broadway Books p 42 ISBN 978 0307590633 Bush Laura 2010 Spoken From The Heart Scribner p 103 ISBN 978 1439155202 Leonard Mary January 23 2000 Turning Point George W Bush A Legacy Reclaimed The Boston Globe Archived from the original on May 7 2004 Retrieved August 23 2009 George and Laura Bush There s No Do Overs CBS News November 14 2010 Naftali Timothy 2003 George H W Bush The American Presidents Series The 41st President 1989 1993 Times Books p 156 ISBN 0805069666 George W Bush and Laura Bush adopt a puppy CBS News George W Bush s Election Day surprise He and Laura Bush adopted a puppy The Washington Post a b Berke Richard L August 3 1999 First Lady of Texas Plays a Firm Second Fiddle The New York Times Archived from the original on December 5 2008 Retrieved May 28 2008 Literacy efforts on first lady s agenda CNN Archived from the original on October 12 2007 Retrieved December 13 2006 Texas Book Festival Mission and History Kolsti Nancy August 5 1997 First lady of Texas Laura Bush to speak at UNT September 4 University of North Texas Archived from the original on October 12 2007 Retrieved December 13 2006 Hollandsworth Skip Reading Laura Bush Texas Monthly Austin 24 no 11 1996 120 121 Friedman Barbara March 19 2003 In wartime being just Laura just isn t enough Baltimore Sun Archived from the original on December 8 2015 Retrieved November 28 2015 The Republicans Excerpts From Laura Bush s Speech to the G O P Convention The New York Times August 1 2000 Archived from the original on December 5 2008 Retrieved May 28 2008 a b Biography whitehouse gov Archived from the original on February 14 2009 Retrieved May 25 2008 via National Archives a b First Lady Laura Bush Launches Education Initiatives U S Department of Education February 26 2001 Archived from the original on October 6 2008 Retrieved May 26 2008 Mrs Laura Bush Speaks at the National Press Club whitehouse gov November 8 2001 Archived from the original on May 14 2011 Retrieved May 25 2008 via National Archives Mrs Bush s Letter to Middle and High School Students Following Terrorist Attacks whitehouse gov September 12 2001 Archived from the original on May 14 2011 Retrieved December 13 2006 via National Archives Mrs Bush s Letter to Elementary School Students Following Terrorist Attacks whitehouse gov September 12 2001 Archived from the original on May 14 2011 Retrieved December 13 2006 via National Archives a b First lady Turn off TVs on 9 11 CNN September 11 2002 Archived from the original on June 1 2008 Retrieved May 25 2008 Secretary Spellings Spoke at UNESCO s Education for All Event U S Department of Education April 26 2006 Archived from the original on August 29 2008 Retrieved May 26 2008 a b Mrs Laura Bush Hosts White House Conference on Global Literacy whitehouse gov September 18 2006 Archived from the original on May 14 2011 Retrieved May 26 2008 via National Archives Laura Bush Global Literacy Vital Speeches of the Day 71 no 11 2005 322 Mrs Bush s Remarks during a visit to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site whitehouse gov July 28 2008 Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved June 14 2014 via National Archives Mrs Bush s Remarks During Visit to Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum whitehouse gov Mansfield Missouri October 3 2008 Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved June 14 2014 via National Archives Naftali Timothy 2003 George H W Bush The American Presidents Series The 41st President 1989 1993 Times Books p 171 ISBN 0805069666 Goldman Russell May 4 2010 Laura Bush Reveals to Oprah How George W Stopped Drinking ABC News Bumiller Elisabeth September 25 2001 A Nation Challenged The First Lady Mrs Bush Introduces Concert For Families The New York Times Former First Lady Laura Bush Continues to Fight for Afghan Women s Rights Fox News March 31 2011 a b c d e f The Heart Truth Ambassador National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Archived from the original on May 9 2008 Retrieved May 25 2008 What is The Heart Truth National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Archived from the original on May 14 2008 Retrieved May 25 2008 The White House Office of the First Lady First Lady Laura Bush s Remarks on the U S Middle East Partnership on Breast Cancer Awareness and Research 22 Oct 2007 U S Department of State Archive First Ladies Red Dress Collection National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Archived from the original on May 14 2008 Retrieved May 25 2008 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week The Red Dress Collection 2008 National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Archived from the original on May 9 2008 Retrieved May 25 2008 a b Remarks by Mrs Bush at Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Embrace the Race Event whitehouse gov March 12 2003 Archived from the original on May 14 2011 Retrieved December 13 2006 via National Archives Susan G Komen for the Cure Mrs Laura Bush Welcome Mexico to the Breast Cancer Awareness Research Partnership Susan G Komen for the Cure March 14 2008 Archived from the original on October 11 2008 Retrieved May 25 2008 Laura Bush November 17 2001 Radio Address by Mrs Bush Office of the First Lady Archived from the original on May 14 2011 Retrieved December 13 2006 a b c d Hudson Valerie M Leidl Patricia 2015 The Hillary Doctrine Sex and American Foreign Policy New York Columbia University Press pp 36 38 42 242 267 ISBN 978 0 231 16492 4 Brant Martha October 30 2002 West Wing Story Laura Bush and the Gender Card Newsweek President and Mrs Bush s Remarks at Sioux City Iowa Rally whitehouse gov via National Archives Remarks by the President and the First Lady at Miami Florida Rally whitehouse gov via National Archives Laura Bush urges nation to trust president CNN September 1 2004 a b Dasher Anssie April 16 2006 Laura Bush Hits the Campaign Trail Free Republic The real running mates USA Today October 20 2004 Retrieved July 29 2006 Heinz Kerry apologizes for remark CNN October 21 2004 Retrieved July 29 2006 Rosin Hanna October 20 2004 A Real Job It Works for Laura Bush Washington Post Roberts Joel Laura Bush It s OK Teresa CBS News Laura Bush brushes aside Heinz Kerry s remarks CNN October 21 2004 Balz Dan November 1 2006 Campaigner in Chief Has Limited Reach Washington Post Abramowitz Michael October 31 2006 Bush Says America Loses Under Democrats Washington Post Taxpayers pay for Bush s campaign travel NBC News August 30 2006 Henry Ed October 26 2006 Laura Bush My husband never misled about Iraq CNN Mason Todd October 5 2006 Laura Bush bolsters Weldon campaign The first lady stumped for the congressman whose seat in a GOP stronghold is vulnerable Philly com President Laura Bush Lieberman all get behind McCain amp Palin New York Daily News September 3 2008 Westfall Sandra Sobieraj September 2 2008 Laura Bush and Cindy McCain Raise Money for Gustav Victims People Laura Bush Cindy McCain focus on Gustav The Hill September 1 2008 Archived from the original on November 9 2017 Retrieved November 8 2017 Stolberg Sheryl Gay October 15 2007 First Lady Raising Her Profile Without Changing Her Image The New York Times Archived from the original on March 14 2014 Retrieved May 27 2008 a b Keil Richard October 19 2006 Laura Bush Unlike George a Hit on Republican Campaign Trail Bloomberg Archived from the original on November 4 2012 Retrieved May 27 2008 Benedetto Richard May 21 2006 Laura Bush travels without all the political baggage USA Today Retrieved May 27 2008 Doyle Sady May 13 2010 The Secret Inner Life of Laura Bush The Atlantic Interview of Mrs Laura Bush by Fox News whitehouse gov May 12 2006 Archived from the original on September 12 2009 Retrieved May 28 2008 via National Archives Laura Bush Belle Of The Balls CBS January 21 2005 Archived from the original on December 6 2008 Retrieved December 13 2006 a b c Givhan Robin January 21 2005 Laura Bush Stepping Out The Washington Post Retrieved May 27 2008 President and Mrs Bush Discuss Africa Policy Trip to Africa whitehouse gov February 14 2008 Archived from the original on May 10 2011 Retrieved May 28 2008 via National Archives HIV AIDS Malaria Focus of Laura Bush s Africa Trip America gov June 22 2007 Archived from the original on June 1 2008 Retrieved May 28 2008 a b First Lady Laura Bush Tours Haiti To Highlight U S HIV AIDS Programs Medical News Today March 14 2008 Archived from the original on June 13 2008 Retrieved May 28 2008 African Health Education Emphasis of Laura Bush Trip America gov Archived from the original on December 6 2008 Retrieved May 28 2008 Laura Bush presses AIDS fight in Africa USA Today Associated Press July 2007 Retrieved May 28 2008 Goss Addie July 1 2007 Ahead of First Lady s Visit A School s Facelift NPR Archived from the original on February 29 2008 Retrieved May 28 2008 Terhune Lea June 22 2007 Africa HIV Aids Malaria Focus of Laura Bush s Africa Trip AllAfrica com United States Department of State Archived from the original on November 27 2007 Retrieved May 28 2008 a b c Wolfson Paula October 28 2007 Laura Bush Defines Her Policy Role VOA News Archived from the original on January 3 2011 Retrieved May 28 2008 Mrs Bush s Remarks on the U S Saudi Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research whitehouse gov King Fahd Medical City Riyadh Saudi Arabia May 16 2008 Archived from the original on May 14 2011 via National Archives Henderson Nia Malika May 23 2009 Laura Bush fills in the blanks Politico Watson Robert P 2005 Laura Bush The Report to the First Lady 2005 Nova Science Publisher p 166 ISBN 1594542902 a b Laura Bush s abortion comments personal views Fleischer says CNN January 19 2001 Archived from the original on May 23 2008 Retrieved May 28 2008 Pickler Nedra May 14 2006 Mrs Bush Don t Campaign on Marriage Ban The San Francisco Chronicle Associated Press Archived from the original on August 10 2007 Retrieved December 13 2006 Fletcher Michael October 4 2005 White House Counsel Miers Chosen for Court The Washington Post Retrieved December 13 2006 VandeHei Jim October 12 2005 Laura Bush Echoes Sexism Charge in Miers Debate The Washington Post Retrieved December 13 2006 Laura Bush Fills In The Blanks CBS News May 23 2009 Laura Bush Shaping Her Own Legacy Dallas Morning News May 24 2009 Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved December 7 2015 Henderson Nia Malika May 23 2009 Laura Bush fills in the blanks POLITICO Legacy Why Michelle Has a Leg Up on Laura U S News February 12 2014 Baldwin Brooke November 13 2017 Laura Bush and Rula Ghani on opening the door for women in Afghanistan CNN Poll First lady embraced president not CNN December 30 2005 Laura Bush s latest role Booster of her husband s legacy The Washington Post September 9 2014 Who is the most admired first lady USA Today May 9 2014 It s official Hillary Clinton was the best first lady Washington Times May 9 2014 Sims Bob February 20 2009 Ex President Bush Laura Bush move to Dallas home AL com George W Bush makes secret visit to mourning families at Fort Hood Laura Bush goes too Los Angeles Times November 7 2009 Sammon Bill November 7 2009 George W Bush Secretly Visits Fort Hood Victims Fox News Kakutani Michiko April 28 2010 Laura Bush a Lonely Texas Girl Far From Home The New York Times Archived from the original on November 18 2014 Retrieved November 14 2014 Laura Bush For Gay Marriage amp Pro Choice on YouTube Nelson Steven September 27 2013 George W Bush Silent on Same Sex Marriage After Dad Helps Legalize One U S News Abad Santos Alexander February 21 2013 Gay Marriage Supporter Laura Bush Wants Out of This Pro Gay Marriage Ad The Atlantic Wire Yahoo News Archived from the original on February 24 2013 Retrieved February 22 2013 Bush Laura March 7 2016 How Afghanistan s women are helping the country move forward Washington Post Appelbaum Yoni June 28 2016 Laura Bush s Case for Remaining in Afghanistan The Atlantic Baldwin Brooke November 13 2017 Laura Bush and Rula Ghani on opening the door for women in Afghanistan CNN Bell Ben April 12 2015 Laura Bush Shocked at Initial Barbara Bush Hesitancy to Support Jeb Bush s White House Bid ABC News Ramisetti Kirthana August 15 2015 Laura Bush shares first family photo with her newborn granddaughter Poppy Mckitrick Cathy October 26 2009 Laura Bush wows Utah women sltrib com Mark Landler May 31 2012 Political Truce for a Portrait Unveiling The New York Times Archived from the original on January 3 2022 Retrieved March 26 2019 Background Information on the Presentation of Portraits of President George W Bush and Mrs Laura Welch Bush whitehouse gov May 31 2012 Retrieved March 26 2019 via National Archives Jaclyn Reiss July 25 2012 Former first lady Laura Bush visits Wellesley to celebrate Edith Wharton s 150th birthday Boston com Archived from the original on July 28 2012 Retrieved June 14 2014 Mrs Bush s Remarks to the Press Pool After Tour of Mark Twain House and Museum whitehouse gov Hartford Connecticut July 24 2007 Archived from the original on November 1 2011 Retrieved June 14 2014 via National Archives Mrs Bush s Remarks at the Opening of the Mark Twain Symposium whitehouse gov November 29 2001 Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved June 14 2014 via National Archives Mrs Bush s Remarks at Louisa May Alcott s Orchard House whitehouse gov June 20 2002 Archived from the original on November 1 2011 Retrieved June 14 2014 via National Archives Keen Judy April 24 2013 Laura Bush New library not a monument to her husband USA Today Alderton Matt April 26 2013 GBTA Announces Laura Bush as 2013 Keynote Speaker successfulmeetings com Archived from the original on September 17 2018 Retrieved December 8 2015 Mrs Laura Bush Former First Lady of the United States Spoke at 2013 GBTA Convention gbta org August 7 2013 Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved December 8 2015 Benning Tom August 7 2013 George W Bush doing great after heart procedure Laura Bush says Dallas Morning News Popescu Roxana September 21 2013 Laura Bush champions local nonprofit The San Diego Union Tribune Ericsson welcomes Laura Bush to Plano campus PlanoStar Courier April 26 2014 Retrieved May 8 2014 Laura Bush attending Colorado schools fundraiser legacy 9news com April 5 2014 permanent dead link Shira Schoenberg May 6 2014 Laura Bush Whoopi Goldberg Bill Russell coming to AARP convention in Boston Archived from the original on May 7 2014 Retrieved May 7 2014 Thompson Rhema November 10 2015 Laura Bush talks family life and bobbleheads in Jacksonville Speaker Series jacksonville com McDonnell Brandy August 25 2015 Former first lady Laura Bush to speak at 2015 Water4 gala NewsOK Edgemon Erin November 4 2015 Former First Lady and recent Alabama visitor Laura Bush turns 69 al com Hansen B J Laura Bush Helps Rededicate Tioga Road myMotherLode com Cunningham Andy Former President George W Bush wife Laura Bush visit Warren Easton H S wdsu com Bush returns to New Orleans touts decade of reform since Katrina CBS News August 28 2015 Wayland Baptist announces availability for chapel tickets to hear Laura Bush at Wayland Lubbock Avalanche Journal September 25 2015 Chapel tickets to hear Laura Bush are available to the public myplainview com September 25 2015 Former First Lady Laura Bush Speaks at Austin Event twcnews com February 26 2016 Nancy Reagan funeral Here s who attended desertsun com March 11 2016 Perino Dana Former First Lady Laura Bush talks with Dana Perino about new book We Are Afghan Women Fox News Revesz Rachael July 13 2016 George W Bush mocked for dancing during memorial service song for Dallas shooting victims Independent co uk Johnston Patrick February 4 2017 Laura Bush Awareness key in women s heart health Time Record News Isaacs Mike March 9 2017 Former first lady Laura Bush gives keynote at Holocaust Museum fundraiser Chicago Tribune Retrieved April 4 2017 Laura Bush Helps Frisco Breast Cancer Foundation Mark Its 25th Year Healthcare dmagazine com April 6 2017 Laura Bush speaks at the Hermitage s 117th Spring Outing lebanondemocrat com May 18 2017 Archived from the original on September 15 2017 Retrieved June 23 2017 Buie Jordan May 17 2017 Former first lady Laura Bush Knowledge of history basis for engaged citizenship The Tennessean Maranan Victoria May 31 2017 Former First Lady Doesn t Beat Around the Bush About Butterflies twcnews com Hansen Matthew June 4 2017 Laura Bush lauds Willa Cather s timeless tales at opening of center that honors Red Cloud s famous novelist Omaha com Laura Bush made patron of AUW thedailystar net July 21 2017 Haber Holly August 22 2017 Laura Bush to speak in Dallas at Family Gateway luncheon in September Dallas News Laura Bush and Michelle Obama share hopeful message on Global Citizen concert special CNN April 18 2020 Rosenbush Steven Vielkind Jimmy September 11 2021 U S Marks 20th Anniversary of 9 11 With a Day of Memorials The Wall Street Journal Retrieved September 12 2021 Baker Peter August 6 2014 2 First Ladies Share Tales of Budding Partnership and Life in the Spotlight The New York Times Larson Leslie August 6 2014 Michelle Obama Laura Bush with George W Bush in tow host first ladies summit New York Daily News Superville Darlene August 6 2014 Michelle Obama Laura Bush push for educating woman girls reviewjournal com Gillman Todd J August 6 2014 Michelle Obama and Laura Bush banter George W Bush joins them in promoting African girls and women The Dallas Morning News Archived from the original on January 5 2016 Retrieved December 6 2015 Sullivan Andy June 9 2008 Laura Bush defends Michelle Obama Reuters Archived from the original on July 12 2014 Bellantoni Christina June 18 2008 Michelle Obama sends letter to Laura Bush The Washington Times For Obamas a Tour of the White House and the Issues Ahead The New York Times November 10 2008 Chumley Cheryl August 7 2014 Michelle Obama gushes on Laura Bush as role model and a friend The Washington Post McGinnis Annika August 6 2014 U S first lady Michelle Obama calls Laura Bush a role model friend reuters com Verjee Zain September 8 2009 Laura Bush praises Obama bemoans excessive partisanship CNN Worden Amy September 12 2009 Michelle Obama Laura Bush honor Flight 93 heroes Philly com Grier Peter August 23 2010 Michelle Obama Laura Bush to unite for 9 11 memorial event The Christian Science Monitor Michelle Obama Laura Bush to Speak at Ceremony for Flight 93 Victims Fox News August 23 2010 Henderson Nia Malika Michelle Obama and Laura Bush commemorate 9 11 at Pa site of Flight 93 crash The Washington Post First ladies remember victims of Flight 93 CNN September 11 2010 Sommers Chloe July 2 2013 Michelle Obama Laura Bush joke about prison of White House politicalticker blogs cnn com Allen Mike July 2 2013 FLOTUS dishes to Laura Bush POLITICO Miller Jake June 30 2013 Michelle Obama Laura Bush to make joint appearance in Tanzania CBS News Bush Institute Summit in Tanzania Includes Michelle Obama Laura Bush The Daily Beast July 3 2013 Michelle Obama Should Not Be Paid As First Lady Says Laura Bush The Inquisitr April 18 2014 Archived from the original on May 7 2014 Retrieved May 7 2014 Scarry Eddie August 6 2014 Irony Michelle Obama Says No One Really Cares What You Had for Lunch Thompson Krissah August 6 2014 Michelle Obama and Laura Bush promote the power of first ladies The Washington Post Scarry Eddie September 10 2014 Laura Bush Michelle Obama Is Ready to Exit the White House Morrison Aaron March 30 2015 Find You Park Campaign 2015 Michelle Obama Laura Bush Launch Effort To Attract Younger More Diverse Visitors To National Parks International Business Times Zongker Brett March 30 2015 National parks call on Americans to Find Your Park Baltimore Sun Fancher Julie September 22 2015 First Ladies Laura Bush Michelle Obama talk women s education joint initiatives Archived from the original on October 26 2015 Retrieved December 6 2015 Michelle Obama Says Laura Bush Was Nothing But Gracious To Her amp It s Refreshing Romper Kelly Meg January 20 2017 Meme Of The Week George W Bush Battles Poncho At Inauguration And Loses NPR org Vazquez Maegan Laura Bush on first family I wish them all the best CNN Laura Bush Separating children from their parents at the border breaks my heart Washington Post Laura Bush to stump for Mitt Romney in Michigan as both campaigns utilize Bush years in election s final days The Dallas Morning News October 27 2012 Archived from the original on October 17 2015 Retrieved November 8 2015 Benning Tom October 29 2012 Laura Bush on the stump in Michigan Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have better answers The Dallas Morning News Archived from the original on June 21 2013 Retrieved November 8 2015 Reilly Mollie March 12 2013 Laura Bush GOP Has Some Candidates Who Frightened Women The Huffington Post Laura Bush Says Republicans Frightened Women ABC News March 12 2013 Blake Aaron March 12 2013 Laura Bush Some GOP candidates frightened women The Washington Post Bender Michael C September 12 2015 Laura Bush Hits the Fundraising Circuit Bloomberg Politics Laura Bush on Afghan women U S interests and 2016 USA Today March 17 2016 Gass Nick March 6 2015 Laura Bush W watching Jeb s likely campaign from the sidelines POLITICO Former First Lady Laura Bush to help brother in law Jeb raise money for campaign New York Daily News September 12 2015 George W Bush taken aback by Trump s rise to stump with Jeb Chicago Tribune February 12 2016 Lee MJ February 15 2016 George W Bush President shouldn t be someone who mirrors and inflames our frustration CNN George W Bush returns to campaign trail for brother The Washington Post February 15 2016 Parker Ashley Barbaro Michael February 20 2016 Jeb Bush Bows Out of Campaign Humbled and Outgunned The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on January 3 2022 Retrieved February 21 2016 Staff TIME February 21 2016 Jeb Bush Drops Out of Presidential Race TIME com Retrieved February 21 2016 Laura Bush Don t Ask If I ll Vote For Donald Trump ABC News March 17 2016 Laura Bush Don t ask if I ll vote for Donald Trump Washington Times March 17 2016 Collins Eliza Laura Bush U S going through xenophobic period POLITICO Morrow Brendan November 8 2016 Did George W Bush Vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton Heavy com Retrieved December 14 2016 The Laura Bush Foundation for America s Libraries Awards More Than 1 09 Million in Grants to School Laura Bush Foundation Archived from the original on May 16 2008 Institute of Museum and Library Services Archived from the original on March 14 2014 LAURA BUSH 21ST CENTURY LIBRARIAN PROGRAM FY17 NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY Institute of Museum and Library Services Archived from the original on September 26 2019 Retrieved March 27 2019 Weldaw Kate May 18 2015 Former first lady Laura Bush donates money to AISD libraries kxan com Archived from the original on April 26 2016 Retrieved December 7 2015 Laura Bush Institute Archived from the original on January 31 2013 Retrieved September 16 2018 State of Texas and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center About the Jenna Welch Women s Center Archived from the original on November 28 2017 Retrieved September 16 2018 Sutton Roger May 11 2008 Because It s Good for You The New York Times Archived from the original on October 13 2014 Retrieved November 14 2014 Review of Read all about it Barnes amp Noble Book reviews of Spoken from the heart by readers Goodreads com Page Susan March 17 2016 Laura Bush on Afghan women U S interests and 2016 USA Today Retrieved March 24 2016 Review of Our Great Big Backyard Barnes amp Noble Junior League of Dallas Announces MRS Laura Bush Will Receive the Lifetime Achievement Award and Ms Veletta Lill Will be Honored as the 2022 Sustainer of the Year SocialWhirl is now Philanthropy Lifestyles Laura Bush Honored at the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Award Dinner The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity October 8 2002 Archived from the original on October 30 2007 Retrieved December 13 2006 FilmRise Barbara Walters Picks Amal Clooney As Most Fascinating Person Of The Year Backlash Was Immediate FilmRise Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved December 20 2015 Murphy Bernadette April 12 2005 ALA honors Mrs Laura Bush for service to libraries ALA Washington Office Archived from the original on December 5 2008 Retrieved December 13 2006 Briefer Honors conferred by the PH gov t on U S Presidents and First Ladies Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines Archived from the original on July 12 2015 Craighead Shealah March 8 2005 News amp Policies gt March 2006 Images whitehouse gov Archived from the original on May 14 2011 Retrieved December 13 2006 via National Archives Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement www achievement org American Academy of Achievement Laura Welch Bush Elementary Archived from the original on July 16 2011 Retrieved June 14 2010 Laura Welch Bush Elementary School Archived from the original on October 15 2007 Retrieved December 18 2006 Home Laura Bush Middle School Retrieved November 22 2019 Camp Bondsteel GlobalSecurity October 20 2006 Archived from the original on June 1 2008 Retrieved May 28 2008 First Lady Laura Bush Receives the 2008 Christian Freedom International Freedom Award Press release Christian Freedom International Archived from the original on December 8 2008 Retrieved December 8 2008 Jefferson Awards Archived from the original on November 24 2010 Ralph K M Haurwitz May 8 2012 Texas Exes name 6 distinguished alumni Archived from the original on November 2 2013 Rose Cahalan May 8 2012 All Hail the Texas Exes 2012 Distinguished Alumni The Alcalde Archived from the original on May 19 2012 Laura Bush receives honorary doctorate from Wayland Baptist KSL com October 21 2015 Wayland honors Laura Bush with honorary doctorate myplainview com October 21 2015 Prevent Blindness Honors Former First Lady Laura Bush With the 2015 Person of Vision Award Press release prweb com November 27 2015 Laura Bush receives award for work on behalf of Afghan women urges Trump to continue efforts The Dallas Morning News November 22 2016 George W Bush s grandkids have odd nickname for him Aol News George W Laura Bush awarded Liberty Medals in Philadelphia for work with veterans Delaware Online November 12 2018 Concordia s 2021 Leadership Award Goes to Former U S First Lady Laura Bush the LEGO Group CEO Niels B Christiansen and Justice for Migrant Women Founder amp President Monica Ramirez Ecology Environment amp Conservation NewsRX LLC 2021 Elizabeth Banks is Oliver Stone s Laura Bush ComingSoon net March 26 2008 Archived from the original on June 30 2008 Retrieved June 5 2017 Curtis Sittenfeld s American Wife Provides Fictionalized Portrait of Laura Bush The Huffington Post July 7 2008 Retrieved February 20 2010 Toner Robin February 15 2004 The Perfect Wife The Life and Choices of Laura Bush review The New York Times Laura Bush made a special appearance on Fixer Upper See how she helped out Today Further reading EditGerhart Ann The Perfect Wife The Life and Choices of Laura Bush A biography ISBN 0 7432 4383 8 Gormley Beatrice Laura Bush America s First Lady A biography ISBN 0 689 85366 1 Kelley Kitty The Family The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty ISBN 0 385 50324 5 Kessler Ronald Laura Bush An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady A biography ISBN 0 385 51621 5 Montgomery Leslie Were It Not For Grace Stories From Women After God s Own Heart Featuring Condoleezza Rice First Lady Laura Bush Beth Moore amp Others Laura Bush shares her story about how God has had his hand on her life ISBN 0 8054 3178 0External links EditLaura Bush at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity Laura Bush Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program U S Institute of Museums and Library Services First Lady biography at Whitehouse gov The book on Laura Bush by Dennis B Roddy Pittsburgh Post Gazette A Laura Bush we don t know by Eugene Robinson San Francisco Chronicle Laura Bush at IMDb Appearances on C SPAN Laura Bush at C SPAN s First Ladies Influence amp Image Jessie Hawkins and Jenna Welch Grandmother and Mother of Laura Bush Borderlands EPCCHonorary titlesVacantTitle last held byRita Clements First Lady of Texas1995 2000 Succeeded byAnita PerryPreceded byHillary Clinton First Lady of the United States2001 2009 Succeeded byMichelle Obama Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Laura Bush amp oldid 1154204649, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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