Laura Bush is like the Sphinx of the Bush Administration. No amount of good or bad news affects her, or her sky-high approval ratings. She’s calm and collected in the face of tragedy, a dutiful and loyal partner to the outgoing president. Through her eight-year tenure as First Lady, she carefully picked the issues that she worked on and spoke out about. Her most prominent issues included Afghan women’s rights, literacy, Burmese civil rights and her husband’s increased funding for health projects in Africa.

Several months ago, the rumor was that Laura Bush was offered a multi-million dollar book deal, but details were sketchy, and Mrs. Bush never confirmed anything. With two weeks left in office, though, Mrs. Bush has finally confirmed the deal. She will write her memoir for an undisclosed amount thought to be in the multi-millions, and it will most likely be published in 2010.

U.S. first lady Laura Bush has agreed to publish her memoirs with Scribner, the publisher said on Monday, giving the normally soft-spoken former librarian a chance to offer her views on the Bush presidency.

The book is expected to be published in 2010, said Scribner, an imprint of publishing giant Simon & Shuster, itself part of CBS Corp. Scribner said it would offer “an intimate account of Laura Bush’s life experiences, including eight years in the White House.”

The publisher did not reveal terms of the deal, though publishing experts have said she could command a multimillion dollar advance. Susan Moldow, Scribner’s executive vice president and publisher, negotiated the agreement with Washington lawyer Robert Barnett, Scribner said. Barnett is known for brokering publishing and media deals for heavyweight politicians including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and President George W. Bush’s former aide Karl Rove.

Laura Bush said in a statement through Scribner she would “tell the stories of the extraordinary events and people I’ve met in my life, particularly during my years in the White House.”

From Reuters

I have no doubt that Mrs. Bush’s memoir will be one of many from this administration attempting to salvage President Bush’s legacy, but I still think it will be an interesting read. Mrs. Bush, a former librarian, is something of a elite reader, citing Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov as her favorite book. (The book has a torture scene, by the way). I’d be willing to bet this is one memoir that won’t be ghost-written.

What’s sort of funny (to me) is two things: first, notice how no one is offering George W. Bush any amount of money to write his memoirs. No comment on that. Second, Laura Bush already has a sort-of ghost-written, fictionalized account of her life – Curtis Sittenfeld’s The American Wife is a bestseller, and Sittenfeld has openly stated that she based her book almost completely on the life of Laura Bush. We’ll see if Mrs. Bush’s take is any better.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Laura Bush and George Bush are shown outside returning to the White House from their vacation on 1/1/09. They are also shown on 12/19/08 unveiling their official portraits at the Smithsonian. Credit: WENN. My acting coach in high school told me never to cross my legs away from someone if I wanted to make it look like I had affection for them.

The American people may not be feeling the love for W, but his wife Laura is still popular enough to command a seven figure advance for her memoirs. Book publishers are said to be visiting the White House trying to woo the first lady to pick their publishing house to work with. Laura Bush’s book is sure to be a bestseller and everyone wants a piece of that apple pie served with a perma-grin and detachment from reality:

“Laura is interviewing publishers who are bidding on her memoirs,” one biographer told Page Six. “The publishers are coming to the White House to meet with her and discuss the book.”

Those same literary poobahs see George W. Bush as literary poison for now. “Dubya is going to have to wait about five years,” a top publishing insider said. “He’s so unpopular at this point that there’s no market for any book by him. ”

Literary superagent Mort Janklow told us: “The wives of presidents generally write books that have a greater public interest. Wives usually write from a personal point of view – instead of talking about government policy, they talk about when the dog came to the White House and had to be paper-trained. Husbands usually try to rewrite history.”

Asked how long George should wait before shopping his memoir, Janklow quipped, “30 or 40 years might be good.”

Public relations guru Ken Sunshine, who was Mayor Dinkins’ chief of staff, said: “In time, there’ll be interest particularly in how it went sour. But right now, [Bush] is at such an abysmally low approval rating, I don’t think anybody thinks he could sell two books.” A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found 76 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush’s performance.

Another insider said: “Bill Clinton’s memoirs, published by Alfred A. Knopf, were hugely successful. Ronald Reagan’s were a financial disaster for Simon & Schuster. Bush is probably more of a financial risk for publishers at this point than either Clinton or Reagan.”

[From NY Post]

Maybe everyone is wondering what she’s thinking. Laura Bush has been admired by the public even as her husband’s approval rating dropped to bargain basement levels. A former school teach and librarian, Laura championed education, health and literacy during her tenure as first lady and managed to avoid the extreme controversy that dogged her husband. She did make a few careful statements that seemed to support his policies, but generally does not get involved in politics and just shows up for things looking impeccable and smiling.

Laura accepts her lot in life and plays her role to a T. I doubt she’s going to come out with any revelations or confirm her conflicted feelings about her husband’s failed policies, but people want to know if she has any, and will pour over her words looking for cracks in the facade. She serves as a kind of martyr figure for women who stand by their husbands no matter what. People are wondering how she does it, and want to know if she has enough self awareness to realize the sacrifices she’s made.

Laura Bush is shown on 11/10/08, 11/6/08 and 10/27/08. Credit: WENN

President elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle visited current President George Bush and his wife Laura at the White House yesterday. Thousands of people waited at the gates of the President’s mansion to welcome Obama, who will take office on January 20.

Laura Bush gave Michelle a tour of the living quarters in the 132 room mansion, which is six stories and includes 35 bathrooms, and introduced her to the staff. Mrs. Bush told Entertainment Tonight that there is a lovely connected suite of two bedrooms which would be perfect for the first daughters, Sasha and Malia. Michelle has spoken positively of Laura Bush in the past and it is thought that the current and future first ladies would get along well.

Their husbands, on the other hand, have an understandable political rivalry and people thought there might be some awkward small talk involved in their meeting. According to Obama’s spokesperson they discussed the economy and foreign policy.

President Bush called Obama to congratulate him when it was known he was the victor on election night, and said in that oddly phrased way of his “What an awesome night for you, your family, and your supporters. Laura and I called to congratulate you and your good bride.”

Obama’s good bride Michelle said she would ask her mother, Michelle Robinson, to come with her family to the White House in January to help her granddaughters ease into their new lifestyle. The first grandmother is still deciding whether to take her up on the offer. As the Telegraph mentions in the quoted text below, it would be the first time that three generations have lived together in the White House.

There is also speculation over where Sasha and Malia will go to school and what kind of dog they’ll adopt as a pet. Their dad famously promised them a puppy, but said in a press conference on Friday when asked about it that the dog needs to be hypoallergenic because 10 year-old Malia has allergies, and they are also interested in a rescue dog. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, says that Obama’s quest for a hypoallergenic dog gives the wrong impression to the public because there is no such thing and even hairless dogs trigger allergies to some extent.

When the Obamas do finally move into the White House in January, they will be determined to take their normal family life with them – and that includes Michelle Obama’s mother, who has reluctantly agreed to leave her home on Chicago’s South Side and move to Washington. The nation’s new First Granny is Marian Robinson, 71, who regularly looked after Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, while their parents were campaigning. Remarkably, the Obamas have never had a paid nanny.
It is the first time in living memory that three generations of a presidential family have all moved to Washington, although Mrs Robinson has not yet decided whether to take rooms in the White House or live nearby. Mrs Obama “begged” her mother to come with them. “The girls are going to need her, as part of their sense of stability,” she told Newsweek. “And what is true for my mom is that she does anything for us and her grandkids.”

Concerns for the children’s transition are uppermost in Mrs Obama’s mind. She has already called Hillary Clinton – not just for advice on her new role but also on the challenges of bringing up children in the glare of the media spotlight. As President-Elect, Barack Obama continues to drive his girls to school, but once they get to Washington they will never travel anywhere without a secret service guard of at least five.

Sasha and Malia are currently students at the exclusive Chicago University Lab schools. Despite their liberal politics, the Obamas are expected to opt for another private establishment in Washington. The three under consideration are believed to be Georgetown Day School, Maret School and Sidwell Friends School, the Clintons’ choice for Chelsea. Wherever they go Sasha and Malia will have to get used to constant supervision. Jackie Kennedy was so concerned about Caroline going out to school that she brought other children in and installed a classroom in the White House.

Lack of freedom is something the family will increasingly have to get used to. Susan Ford, daughter of Gerald and Betty, said the trouble with the place was that you could never do anything for yourself. Drop a sweater and more than one staff member would fight you to pick it up. Gone are the days, it would seem, when arguments about leaving out the butter are heard in the Obama household. Gone, too, are the pleading requests from the girls to have a dog.

[From Telegraph.co.uk]

Do you remember when Obama reluctantly stepped forward with his mother in law after his victory rally at Grant Park? Joe Biden presented his 90 year-old mother and it was like Barack was obligated to show his mother in law. Obama is totally unflappable but I bet you that his MIL gets on his nerves. Not all husbands would willingly live with their MIL, but the White House is huge enough that it doesn’t seem like something Obama will need to worry about much if it does happen.

Photos are courtesy of Whitehouse.gov and were taken by Joyce N. Boghosian (Michelle Obama and Laura Bush seated), Chris Greenberg (header photo above), and Eric Draper (all other photos)

See this dress Laura Bush is wearing in this official White House Holiday photo? It’s by Oscar de la Renta and costs $8,500 freakin’ dollars. You’d think if you were going to spend that much money on a haute couture dress and wear it to an official event, you would make sure it was an original, right? So nobody else would be wearing the same dress as the Queen of the Free World?

Well, it seems Mrs. Bush didn’t have someone do that for her and ended up wearing this dress not only for the official White House Holiday photo, but also to a celebrity studded party for fat cats at the White House. Imagine her surprise when she discovered that three other women were wearing the exact same dress! Oh, the horrors!

Letitia Baldridge, Jacqueline Kennedy’s Chief of Staff and White House social secretary says the gown was beautiful, but triple the trouble was quite the mess.

“They all should have congratulated one another on their good taste and the fact that they could afford the dress,” Baldridge says. “Jacqueline Kennedy, when she was first lady made sure, and her couturiers made sure that nobody else wore that dress that season. “

Oh please, Laura Bush is no Jacqueline Kennedy. That’s like comparing apples to oranges. But Laura did try to rectify the situation by running upstairs and changing into another gown. The other three ladies who had the same dress on didn’t have that option, and for the remainder of the night, tried to stay as far away from each other as they possibly could.

White House Holiday photo via The White House