Laura Bush Was Pro-Choice -- and Dozens of Other Things You Never Knew About America's First Ladies

By Carl Sferrazza Anthony, Huffington Post. Posted February 6, 2009.

Giving a sense of shared burden with the general public is central for a successful first lady -- especially in harsh economic times. During the Great Depression, Lou Hoover served imported out-of-season foods; her successor, Eleanor Roosevelt, served lunches that cost 2 cents to make -- and circulated the recipes to newspapers. Perhaps one way the fixation on Obama's clothes might have an impact on people beyond the fashionistas is looking good without spending lots.

In agreeing to her husband's presidential run, she squarely accepted the reality that a lot of information about her private life would be sacrificed. She seems to have little trouble relating the mundane realities of her own life, but in a self-deprecatory way.

Bess Truman knew this: In a rare public comment, she made her point when asked what makes an ideal first lady, "Public speaking and a sense of humor." Some griped that Michelle Obama's campaign cracks about her husband's shortcomings dimmed his glow, but it was the kind of teasing that signals a secure and open love; if renewed, that easy sort of humor could serve as a politically important venue for reminding the country that, however extraordinary, Barack Obama is, after all, a human being -- especially as he begins coping with crisis after crisis, And it may help him. The times don't call for a president with delusional hubris.

To what degree she may draw on deeper, private experiences -- such as a parent living with a disability -- is unclear, but she has certainly been frank in disclosing the emotional impact of parenting and housekeeping with a largely absent spouse. While this may effectively illustrate an appealing humility, more importantly it may serve as hope, guidance or comfort to others similarly struggling.

When Betty Ford publicly disclosed having breast cancer, her candor immediately saved lives as thousands of women, immediately faced with the fear they too might have it, went to find out if they did.

Finding that balance will unfold as her incumbency ensues, but Michelle Obama has already illustrated her empathy with working mothers by making frequent reference to her daughters. In fact, given the president's recent "open letter" to them in Parade magazine as a message to all American children, the Obamas have shown a certain comfort level with the reality that their girls telegraph political messages.

It's unlikely he would have written it if she had not agreed to it. It harkens an earlier time, when LBJ had his daughter Luci campaign among college students, or Richard Nixon referred to his daughter Tricia in his "Checkers" speech, and Carter debated Reagan by mentioning that Amy discussed the nuclear threat with him.

Beyond the projects she might undertake, the policy she might champion or help craft, and the symbolism she and her children might represent, however, there is one vague and intangible venue that might prove to be where Michelle Obama has the greatest impact.

It's the arena in which the public has always insisted on access to, and which first ladies have always denied -- just how much power do they have over their husbands.

Already, Michelle Obama has emphasized she's not a policy advisor to her husband. It was a question that made mighty Eleanor Roosevelt demur that she was merely one among many her husband used for his purposes. It brought a silent smile to Hillary Rodham Clinton's face. It led Martha Washington to burn her letters and, a century-and-a-half later, Bess Truman to do the same.

When Harry tried to stop her and "think of history," Bess thrust the rest of the paper into the fireplace and quipped, "I am."

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Carl Sferrazza Anthony is historian of the National First Ladies Library and the author of several books, including the two-volume history, First Ladies, a history of the role's evolution and political power. He also has written biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy, Florence Harding and Nellie Taft.

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