LEGAL NEWS PHOTOS BY CYNTHIA PRICE
Photo 1
Former first ladies Laura Bush (left) and Barbara Bush with David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States
Photo 2
Professor Myra G. Gutin, Ph.D., whose particular expertise is in first ladies of the twentieth-century and later, traveled from New Jersey for the panel.
Photo 3
The first panel discussion of the afternoon, at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, featured experts, left to right, Robert P. Watson, Ph.D., of Lynn University, Myra Gutin (see above), and Allida Black, Ph.D., Executive Editor, fdr 4freedoms Digital Initiative, with Scholar-in-Residence at George Mason University Richard Norton Smith moderating.
Photo 4
American University’s School of Public Affairs Executive-in-Residence Anita B. McBride, who is the conference chair, gave an overview at the luncheon and, here, introduced the afternoon’s activities.
by Cynthia Price
Legal News
There was a lot of excitement at the J.W. Marriott Monday as two former first ladies came to town to celebrate the birthday of a third.
The guests of honor were Mrs. Barbara Bush, first lady while her husband George H.W. was in office 1989-1993 and Laura Bush, who was first lady from 2001-2009 during the presidency of her husband, and Barbara Bush’s son, George W. Bush.
The occasion of the luncheon conversation and conference later that afternoon was what would have been the 95th birthday of Betty Ford, the first lady from Grand Rapids who served during her husband Gerald’s brief term in 1974 to 1977.
The celebration of Mrs. Ford’s birthday dovetailed with an existing project of the American University in Washington, D.C., to focus on the influence of first ladies throughout United States history. “The Legacies of America's First Ladies Con-
ferences” have taken place at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum (Nov. 2011) in Texas, a state which has three presidential libraries. The other two, George W. Bush Presidential Library and Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, hosted the conference in March and November 2012, respectively.
Anita McBride of American University’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, who spearheaded the conferences to highlight the contribution of first ladies to “promoting change and improving our society,” was also formerly Chief of Staff to Laura Bush.
In the overview she gave at the luncheon conversation with the two Bush first ladies, McBride thanked everyone involved for their hard work and said, “This is really a warm and welcoming community . As we continue to reach out to presidential libraries to continue the conference, it’s hard to imagine getting a warmer welcome than the one we’ve had in Grand Rapids.”
Over 700 people attended the luncheon and conversation, led by the 10th Archivist of the United States David Ferriero. The conferences are a partnership between American University and the National Archives, Presidential Libraries.
The conversation was restrained but not without moments of humor. Laura Bush was highly complimentary about the kind of role model her mother-in-law made.
Barnes and Thornburg and Plunkett Cooney law firms, as well as Thomas M.Cooley Law School, sponsored three of the tables at the Marriott. The Hauenstein Center at Grand Valley State University co-sponsored the whole event.
Susan Ford Bales, Betty and Gerald’s daughter, introduced the Bushes, and participated in the final panel discussion about Betty Ford, along with brother Steven.
The other panel discussion, which took place at the Gerald R. Ford Museum, featured several scholars on the first ladies, speaking on “First Ladies as Influence Makers.”
Allida Black, Ph.D., a research professor at The George Washington University, heads up The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers project, and has written several books, three of them on Eleanor Roosevelt. Myra Gutin, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Rider University, and specializes in first ladies from the 1900s forward, as evidence by her
book The President’s Partner: The Fist Lady in the Twentieth Century. Robert P. Watson, Ph.D., is professor of American Studies at Lynn University. He wrote The President’s Wives; First Ladies
of the United States: A Biographical Encyclopedia.
Well-known historian and biographer Richard Norton Smith, who has served as director of the Hoover, Eisenhower, Reagan and Ford presidential libraries, served as moderator.
The lively panel discussion, which included an entertainingly heated exchange between Black and Norton Smith about Mary Todd Lincoln, demonstrated that there are people who care passionately about the contribution of the first ladies, and moreover about U.S. history.
The speakers all emphasized that the ways in which first ladies exert influence are broad and diverse. From fashion — Watson mentioned the sensation caused by 21-year-old Frances Folsom who married President Grover Cleveland while he was in office, while others talked about Michelle Obama using her position to promote U.S. designers and manufacturers — to social change to actual policy, first ladies have “done more than just pillow talk with their husbands,” as Gutin put it.
The panelists, along with the first ladies at lunch, praised Betty Ford for her game-changing promotion of breast cancer prevention and getting mammograms, as well as her honesty about mental health and addiction, noting that between the two, Mr. Ford has saved untold lives.
First ladies are products of their times, which often results in conflict either personally or for the country. First ladies like Bess Truman and Mamie Eisenhower stayed mostly in the background, while Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton were accomplished professionals in their own rights before their husbands ascended to the presidency. “The first lady reflects the schism in the U.S. about what women are supposed to be today,” said Black. “Are we supposed to be mom in chief or are we supposed to be first mate, helping steer the ship?”
Afterwards, Myra Gutin said, “Most of the poll data tells us that 50% of the country would like to go back to a ceremonial first lady, but the other half likes a more outspoken woman. Under any circumstances, as of now every first lady is a political professional; they’re not naive.”
She looks at the first ladies through the lens of their communications organizational skills, and she tells of Edith Roosevelt, second wife of Teddy, who responded to the hundreds of requests for her time with her young children by having a photographer take official photos to distribute to the press. The social maven Jackie Kennedy was the first to hire her own press secretary.
Gutin adds that many twentieth-century first ladies added a policy angle to their “pet projects,” such as Lady Bird Johnson’s contribution to the highway beautification bill, which was strongly opposed by small business. And because the popularity ratings of first ladies are generally high, the public often wonders if they will run for office, but it was not until Hillary Clinton that any first lady vied for the presidency.
Gutin doubts that Michelle Obama will follow suit.
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