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Laura Bush: The President's Stealth Counselor Ronald Kessler According to the mythology in the media, George Bush is a puppet of Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, or neocons at the Pentagon.
Alternatively, the president is so stubborn he listens to no one.
The truth is that Bush makes his own decisions, but the greatest influence on him is his wife. The Bushes are more effective than the FBI or CIA at keeping secret what goes on in the White House residence, the Crawford ranch, and Camp David. Whenever Laura Bush is asked by reporters if she gives her husband advice, she denies it. After all, "advice" implies the superior knowledge or wisdom of the person dispensing it. But behind the scenes, Laura's influence extends not only to her husband but also to administration policy, budget, and personnel decisions.
Only two examples of Laura Bush's counseling her husband have come to light. The first was soon after 9/11 when Bush said Osama bin Laden was "wanted dead or alive." Sidling up to him later, she gently jibed, "Bushie, you gonna git 'im?" The president got the point. The second example was in July 2003, when Bush said, "Bring 'em on," referring to those who would attack American forces in Iraq. [Editor's Note: Check out this FREE offer for Ron Kessler's "Laura Bush" -- Go Here Now.]
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"Whoa, Bushie!" the first lady said to him afterward. But while those examples are known, like most spouses who respect each other, the Bushes influence each other on a daily basis.
The president has drawn his wife out from behind her books to make an impact on the world stage. In turn, she has helped him smooth out his rough edges, acquire more discipline and balance, and expand his worldview.
What the public doesn't know is that the Bush administration asks for Laura's opinion and any suggestions she may have on possible appointments and on issues affecting a range of agencies if they deal with subjects that she has committed herself to promoting, or if she has a strong interest in an issue. They include such areas as education, the arts, women's rights, juveniles with social problems, AIDS, libraries, and the humanities. Because of her influence, a range of agencies has not undergone budget cuts or conversely, received more funding.
If Laura feels that the staff is offering counsel that is "inconsistent with what she sees in the president's heart, she is not bashful about telling us," Andrew H. "Andy" Card, Jr., the former White House chief of staff, told me. When considering important appointments or appointments to agencies that are part of her portfolio, Bush solicits her opinion. "He will say, ‘Why don't you check with Laura and see if she has any ideas?' Or he'll say, ‘Did you run that by Laura? What's Laura's reaction?'" Card said.
The first lady has also suggested strategy. According to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, it was Laura's "initiative and her idea to really fully and completely expose what the Taliban regime was doing to women, emphasizing violations of women's rights prior to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan."
Beyond such examples of direct influence, "Laura reads almost everything," Card said. "She reads the newspapers, the magazines, and the books. She reads things that would not be of interest to the president. If there's something she reads that she thinks the president should be reading, she is better than anyone at encouraging him to read it," Card said.
As his stealth counselor, Laura often influences the president by simply rolling her eyes, archly asking a question, or making a teasing comment.
"I think the reason their relationship is so wonderful is that it's clearly emotionally close, but it's also kind of on an intellectual level," said Condi Rice, who spent almost every weekend with them at the ranch or at Camp David when she was national security advisor. "They discuss things. If she disagrees, she might roll her eyes or say, ‘You don't really think that, do you?' It's soft. It's not harsh."
Besides being an unofficial advisor, Laura Bush is an aggressively supportive wife. Only those who have a strong marriage know how important that can be, how one's success or failure can ride on the reactions — however subtle — of the other partner.
In the face of constant attacks by Democrats and the media, Laura's positive outlook sustains Bush and strengthens his resolve. When Teresa Heinz made her comment that Laura never had a "real job," Laura told her outraged twin daughters at the dinner table in the residence that she understood the pressure John Kerry's wife was under. The truth was that not only had Laura worked as a librarian and inner city school teacher, she went in on her own time on Saturdays to help black children who were having difficulty reading, according to Jimmy McCarroll, who was dating her at the time.
If Bush ever starts to veer off course, Laura is there to keep him grounded.
"One time I was sitting in the Treaty Room with the president and Laura," Laura's friend Adair Margo said. "He was smoking a cigar and called Condi Rice to tell her she had done a great job on a speech she had given that day. He then told Laura about a speech he had given that same afternoon and how he had had lots to say, talking for about 40 minutes. She listened and then said, ‘Did you have a little bit of Clintonitis?'"
Illustrating the relationship between the president and first lady, Andy Card related a touching moment. Bush had just had a meeting with members of the House on pending legislation. He was getting ready to go off in the helicopter to Kentucky.
"He came out of the Cabinet room," Card said. "The helicopter had landed. People were getting on their coats to run off to the helicopter."
Karen Keller, Bush's personal secretary, ran outside. "The first lady is calling for you," she said.
"Is it an emergency?" Bush asked. "I don't think it's an emergency, but she'd like to talk with you before you leave," Keller said.
"He goes back into the Oval Office and calls her on the phone," Card said. After a minute, he opened the door to the Oval Office and looked out with a smile on his face.
"That was great," Bush said to his chief of staff. "She was just calling to tell me she loves me."
[Editor's Note: Check out this FREE offer for Ron Kessler's "Laura Bush" -- Go Here Now.]
Ronald Kessler, a former Wall Street Journal and Washington Post reporter, is the author of "Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady."
Editor's note:
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