Transcripts For CSPAN2 Discussion On Private Lives And Public Image Of The First Ladies 20150426

And you will hear more about shortly. To moderate tonights program we are pleased to welcome susan swain, the moderator for cspan first ladies influence and image. Susan swain is president and coceo cspan sharing responsibility for all operations of the Public Affairs cablenet work. She oversees programming and marketing for cspan3 Television Channels and cspan radio. She helped launch the washington journal, booktv, it American History tv. She has also been involved in the creation of numerous cspan history series such as american president s, the lincolndouglas debate and american writers your for over 30 years she has been one of cspans principal on camera interviewers. Most recently on april 14 first ladies was released as a book by Public Affairs books featuring a collection of images from the Television Series. It is the ninth book susan ness edited for cspan and Public Affairs. And as you noticed when you came in, we will have copies of the book for sale after the program and she will be signing copies for you. So now let me turn the podium over to susan swain into tonights program. [applause] good evening, everyone. Think as much for being here. I really appreciate you braving the traffic on a night when theres a capitals king. For he watching it on cspan, thanks for being with us. So many of you were with us for the first ladys series. As jim told you actually want to start with was a quote from abigail adams. When she sent john off to the Continental Congress she sent him with an explication of john, remember the ladies. Tonight were going to do that for abigail so she should be happy because the lives of these first lady often forgotten and they should be because they are interesting and theyve made an enormous contribution to our history. Opportunity to his personal as their history and what well try to do tonight is telling some of the stories along with video and film from National Archives collection and also some of their historic photographs and also some of the clips are more own series. We hope we will inform you and your change and inspire you to ask some questions because theres 30 minute set aside for your involvement. Our goal tonight is sort of a first ladys contributions to the presidency and now we are embarking on a new president ial campaign, we are already looking at the spouses of the candidates and icy spouses instead of lies because the clinton entrance changes whole dynamic and what our definition of what a first spouse might be. To whet your appetite for what you see ahead, before i introduce our panel as public to show you a priceless piece of film producers from the National Archives collection, from the truman library, 1945 National Airport. When bess truman brandnew first lady was asked to do a very early if it to christen and air in the lungs. Watch what happens. Lets take a look. At the National Airport ambulances with wings. Ready to be christened by mrs. Harry s. Truman who with her daughter margaret will do the honors at her first public appearance. The champagne bottle has not been properly prepared to break upon impact. [laughter] lets see how her military [inaudible] [laughter] [applause] mrs. Truman kept her cool as you can see i guess what she was deleted cyclics mortally embarrassed. What happened as we sold a she elected not to do any more public appearances. Thats not a possibility for women today who hold this will well because with the next presidency the Eisenhower Administration television was following first ladys everywhere. This is a great entrance into what well be talking about tonight, about women who are sometimes thrust into these roles by history and has to learn to adapt to the glare of the spotlight. I have four fabulous panelists i want to introduce to you tonight. You heard there were 56 experts involved in a Television Series from president s to 2013 the president of the 2014. Put them together in the book the reason we did the book is because there are lots of books on first ladies but never a broad collection of various points of view under one set of cover. Were delighted to have four other people are part of the process. First you meet karl anthony historian at the National First Ladies Library inc. In ohio. He has on blinded you about the new joint venture from los angeles. Karl, we welcome you. [applause] edna medford is local the chair of the History Department at Howard University and much published herself, she is a lincoln expert specializing in the civil war and reconstruction and shes had an incredibly busy you. She was part of the National Commission on the lincoln centennial celebration. She has spent the entire year with the commission attending all of those lincoln events. So i sat as a word to reach the universalist which is probably breathing a sigh of relief that shell be up to reclaim some overtime that. Let me introduce Edna Greene Medford Howard University. [applause] i have managed to do something that no matter should be able to do. Have to pay less by the first name. Let me introduce you to carl cannon. He is the Washington Bureau chief of real clear politics. Is covered every single president ial campaign since 1984 and is covered all the white house since then. He is an author himself, biographer and also a historian to giving if you sign up for his daily real clear morning politics briefings you get the detail politics with a History Lesson because he loves history. He comes by his passion for newspaper and politics honestly. His father covered Ronald Reagan as a governor in california and was his biographers we grew up in that environment. A great friend of cspan as are all our panelists, carl cannon. [applause] our final panelist is somewhat ive just gotten to meet over the past two years working on the series krissah thompson. I hope you read her byline in the washington post. She is a reporter who is coming Michelle Obama and has written a detailed source but she told us she just their sister on first and gentlemen which is perfect our discussion to that which is going to be in tomorrows newspaper. In addition to carbon laura bush is also covered laura bush as well as to show obama inches beginning of this if you look into the new crop of candidates so she joins us to bring the journalist modernday perspective to the discussion. Krissah thompson. [applause] i know many of you bring your cell phones to these and weve got a twitter account set up tonight. As i mentioned the questions will be at the one hour point but if you see some interesting topics along the way and you want to send us a tweed i will be getting the right here. I promise not to be too distracted and double mix in your twitter questions as well. Thats where cspan watching at home i will be getting them and using them throughout the section. Welcome everybody. We are going to start each of our sections tonight with clips. The first was really delving into her major topic in which is duality of the public life and the private life to all of these women have been forced into by circumstance some of them happy partners along the way the others history thrust them into the role. We are going to start with a clip from interview that we didnt cspan with Michelle Obama when she was new in the role talking about this balance between private life and public responsibility. Lets watch. I think every first lady brings a unique perspective to this job. If you didnt you couldnt live through it. I think to the extent that this feels natural to me at any level, i never wouldve thought living in the white house and being first lady would feel natural. Its because i try to make it easy. I try to bring a little bit of Michelle Obama into this but at the same time respecting and valuing their traditions that is americas. This is not a new concept. In the book but we did it is include one quote from every first lady to start the chapter. I would like to share with you the quote we chose for Martha Washington. The first thing come i never go to the public place, she wrote. Indeed, i think i am more like a state prisoner then anything else. Theres a certain boundary suffer me which i must not depart from and i cannot get as i like. I am obstinate and stay at home a great deal. More than 100 years later, Grace Coolidge in the white house wrote this thinking about her role, she said this is a i n. Yet not i. This is the wife of the president of the United States and she took precedence over me. My personal life and dislikes must be subordinate to those things that were expected or required of her. Its something carl first ladies have been serving with. How to maintain the sense of self with all of these responsibilities thrust upon them. And im so happy you begin the discussion this way because it really goes down to the very root i think of what has always been a matter of fascination. Not only for the American Public but for the world public as you all probably know. You hear so often from foreign journalists who are interested in the role of first lady everything we are going to see perhaps at some point certainly role of a first man that it really isnt just about ginger actually about unaccountable power. As you said those thrust into. I think early on when this sort of sideways, you have to remember in the 19th century there was a real sense of womans inane should not be in public. And so the whole concept of first lady was like you know it was a real conquest for who they were as people to have this Public Interest in their lives. But Jackie Kennedy i think said it best. She said during the 1960 campaign she said you take three or four stories that are real about yourself, that illustrate a point, a good point about yourself or your family, and you just let them get them out and thats it. You read those same stories over over again and it touches that and thats a much of your real self you give to your persona. We didnt have Media Coverage anywhere near where we have today and get even the early first ladies felt like a layer. Spent if you think of someone like what the washington who was the first and was actually setting the tone for everyone who followed, it mustve been incredibly difficult for her. She probably had the same kind of scrutiny in the sense that her husband pashtun husband to come out of more so than he did. People never of course. She had always been around the winter camps with her husband and so the soldiers certainly never. People appreciated what she had done before she became first lady. I think after she became first lady she was pretty popular. But people began to criticize because this is New Territory for her and she doesnt know quite how to be a. All she has is the example of europe, of european royalty, and so shes trying to establish some practices that would be in keeping with what they would have been doing in europe. And americans resented that. They certainly did not want her to go in that direction. Such a tremendous burden. And some like Martha Hewitt spent all that time during the revolution with her husband supporting her husband, all she wanted which is good to go back home and be a private citizen. Let me jump to krissah and ask you about watching Michelle Obama as close as you have. That clip was from her early days. Dgc a growing comfort with the role over the years . Absolutely. I think initially come and she can describe herself into 2007 campaign and her husband told stories about the need to get a blessing and it was a process in order to do that. Butbut you see her now that she is fully brought into the role. She talks about it as being a bright spot light and whatever she stands in front of the light shines there, and so how do you use that platform . So i think for her being able to see the value in the celebrity that came with the role i was interested to hear carl say about jack eagen because i think first lady subsequently also done that can share with of the accusers account a piece of themselves behind. And so Michelle Obama does that as well. But easier to join join the role especially when shes with children, when she is pushing issues that she enjoys, you know, and i think that growth is going to continue. She and her husband are young so theyre not going anywhere so we will be able to get she continues to engage with the public. Carl cannon spirit every minute of your is named carl. I know. It makes it either difficult or easy. Looking over the first ladies since 1984 election using up close and covering them have any of them really struggled with this private public duality . That clip you showed of Michelle Obama was excuse me of the two quotes Grace Coolidge and Martha Washington mrs. Obama gave an interview yesterday that she had on both of those and that if you. She says what dont you like . You cant go out. Im stuck here. You cant just go out. The other thing come to johns want want to be a first lady . She said i want to be a pediatrician. Thats not what you wanted to be when she grew up id to me Michelle Obamas embrace the role in an uncommon way. More than any of these others ive covered. Hillary clinton is an exception to she thought as obviously a stepping stone. And she often talked about Eleanor Roosevelt. Its as if Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt could have run for president now. They wouldve handed her the nomination. The party wouldve been hers if we had risen by the. So Hillary Clinton has a personification of Eleanor Roosevelt 50 years later. In terms of embracing all of this role for what it is Michelle Obama to me is almost a transformational figure. I dont cover the white house anymore. I covered it for 15 years. Now i added the person who covered the white house i can sort say what i think a little bit more. If alexs is watching this program, you still have to be objective about Michelle Obama but i dont. Transmission concept is interesting. Eleanor roosevelt was being transformational but no one followed her it as she did. And i explained quickly . Show. Michelle obama is the first africanamerican first lady. People have written about that. Shes also i think something even broader than that. Shes the first one to say post entitled line first lady. She walks with a kind of confidence. You see these studies come to get their College Campus lately, girls when their little, because amateur, just as good as as athletes and then they get to age with a slouch into this. Michelle obama doesnt do that and she walks and she has a confidence, physical confidence, confidence and a physical and mental ability. Herself confidence to do as a person sort of an inspiration. I think its so easy and so fascinating when we all have a public figuresfrom the effects of the store and we know what the resume is. And often we forget those things. But Michelle Obama has perhaps the greatest degree of executive experience before coming to the white house is Lady Bird Johnson. When i look at what krissah which is that of mrs. Obama i think one reason a lot of these people are willing, including look at the clintons, willing to give it up their privacy and the intrusions is really that opportunity to really make a permanent change in perhaps the way we the American People think or perceive something. And we are really talking of some profound things at the Lady Bird Johnson really profoundly helped change the way americans think about that are visual environment as well as the safety of the. It has essentially been forgotten but she was part of that she gave a lawsuit to the event as a think Michelle Obama dustup about what we eat. And 50 years people might forget she was involved but she is a part of that. I think the chance to do that is why a lot of them say i will give up some of my privacy. It is often a learning curve and i think about modern first ladies weve all seen. Nancy reagan for example thought it was going to be like sacramento and it was not quite the same when she got here. No. She did were like sacramento that much either. [laughter] nancy reagan got tough press coverage here. The first first lady to get tough press coverage come and im willing to be corrected on this, is Mary Todd Lincoln. Because the secular nature of that war shes written about she is fair game. Shes a southern sympathizer, a spendthrift shes a hysteric. We are still at it. Slate had a piece five years ago with Mary Todd Lincoln bipolar . In 2010 this poor woman, we are still beating up on her. Nancy reagan got some of that coverage when she first arrived speak how did she regroup speak with you know how. Well wait and show people. I was thinking about an example with Hillary Clinton during the Campaign Early on two for one and im not going to stand by my man and stay home and bake cookies. How to set campaigned recover, how did she recover from the learning curve of presenting herself that way . Or maybe she didnt. The clintons, i will say this about, im going to quote a friend of mine mark salter, his love of john mccains alter ego. When the lewinsky story first came out mark was walking down the street and he said can this guy take a punch or what . Hes talking about clinton. Mccain rolled up i was at the same thing with Hillary Clinton. Both of these people, they will take everything you dish out and to quote harry truman to pay it back with interest. I will add to that about hillary. And 92 she was one of the first president ial court candidate spouses to participate in the cookie bakeoff recipe contest. The part of fashion responded was she softened her image appeared she was again for putting out a cookie recipe after she said i dont sit around baking cookies. Thats a kind of trade off that first ladies have to make. Let me stay with Michelle Obama and early lessons on the campaign trail because she did have some. We think about a little political experience at the National Level they really had when they were embarking on this effort but i remember the comment she made him one of them being proud of my country, and. What happened inside the campaign . Was a major pullback were regrouping . How do they approach that . She didnt have much of a team at that point. It was early on and she was winging it and being herself which she had always done when her husband campaigned for senate or state legislator, that type of thing. And i into his when she was in small places in iowa and New Hampshire, they were responding to a but this time they were caught on television and the press corps which is largely ignored her because they were still covering the primaries, tuned in at the second and the campaigns response was to start to send her some advisers so that she would then have some guidance is a computer, youre not just talking to a girlfriend. Youre not even talking to the people in that room. You were talking to all of america. As a matter of making sure that she stayed in line with what the entire campaign was doing and with hope and change like everyone else but i think we saw her float into that and she talks about herself being a planner and perfectionist and worried a great deal that she would harm her husbands campaign. We see her almost it was a complete 180 because she wasnt a horrible campaigner than but just in terms of not talking about leaving his socks around so much that his stinky and snoring which are things were in her initial stump speech, those things start to come out. The ideas are still there but they are in a much more palatable fashion. And she did become more cautious but she still retained a part of herself. So she still Michelle Obama and i think thats what is so likable about her. She has not become a political wife where everything has to be perfect. There are times when she decides that enough is enough and im going to be that person back on the southside of chicago. And i think thats a we appreciate so much about her. And its true for many of the most popular first ladies. They may have been very willing to support their husbands but they didnt give their all, they didnt give up everything about themselves which exact what were talking about. Thats a nice segue into two major categories that people fall into, those who are themselves from the getgo, they have it in their bones and they find a partner and go along for the ride willingly under helpmates are played on will talk about the ones who made history thrust into the role and had learned to adapt but lets start with this clip. This is again from the National Archives, this is lbj library, and its a doozy. This is actually an audio clip because you might have known that Lyndon Johnson had taped all of the cell phone conversations and the white house. Lyndon johnson knew that he was recording people on the phone, including ladybird we later found out did not know they were being taped. Making a record for history and its quite a wonderful one for scholars that this is a conversation where ladybird is critiquing Lyndon Johnsons performance at a public event. Lets listen. I touch her strong, firm, reliable guy. [inaudible] too much looking down and i think was a little too fast. Dropping her voice at the end of sentences. There was a considerable pickup in drama and interest when you first begin. Your facial expressions were saddleback i thought your answers on vietnam was good. I didnt like the answer on the job. [inaudible] and therein lies the reason why we should talk about first ladies, because what other advice or could be that candid to a president . Wasnt there a family, they owned television station or something so she had the background come and so as an advisor because first ladies in some ways are to the husband whether its in their official capacity or not. They bring that i because she wants him to be a successful as he does spend i think that clip shows you and you talk about the role of first ladies, the various attributes that simply as human beings they bring to the table. Mrs. Johnson like mrs. Obama thinks in a very organized way. They are very well structured in their mind. Jackie kennedy was famous for i dont have a schedule. I like to do things spontaneously. And give them once bring Different Things to take mrs. Johnson with her love of words, she had a degree in journalism, her love of writing love of cadence her love of wisdom, but also like you said immediate experience brought that, you know, and thats political. It ends up having a political result. Edna medford, this is not a new phenomenon. We have an image come to go back in time and does carl anthony said this was a time when women are supposed to stay in their sphere. But mrs. Pole didnt stay in your sphere like so well. Could you tell us about . No, she did not. When women were appendages to the husband, they were not supposed of political ideas of their own. They certainly were not supposed to voice those ideas if they did have them. Mrs. Pope had those ideas and did voice been a lease to her husband. She reviewed his speeches. She actually tried to influence people to see things his way. She tried to influence him as well, and she did influence him as far as we know. So shes definitely stepping outside of that role of the average or typical woman during that period, or what was expected of a woman during that period. She and other first ladies of that era did not always follow that pattern of you are to be you want to be the hostess at the party and its okay to give these parties because they are political. They are not just entertainment. Its not just of this emptiness. Theres a reason why they are doing this, but she goes much further than that. Shes not terribly interested in the party but she is interested in the politics and she does help or husband to get what he wants to be. So she is supporting the whole idea of manifest destiny. In terms of support for him at home but also beyond that. That. We have one quote i remember in the book of members of congress at the time saying to the president i would rather talk politics with a white van with you. Shes pretty good at what she did. I have another image and we mentioned mary lincoln. Your document how we are still discussing her mental capacity but we have her as a Political Party because she was indeed a political partner to abraham lincoln. Call, lets start with you. I suspect if we had taped orders back then you wouldve heard at least mid19th century president s of other professions like that. When lincoln finds out he is one of the presidency and he turns to her and says mary mary we have one. When grant is undocumented he turns to julia grant and says my dear, i hope you are satisfied. Satisfied. [laughter] we think maybe she pushed him all of it to run to be involved in politics. I think those conversations, look you dont take your spouse without telling them. True. But i bet if you at a tape recorder you would hear all kinds of conversations he was elected in the, not just in the white house in the compass mansions them getting these people to run. Once they got to the white house, she was totally shut out speak with personal she was a southerner and the union states were still there. The slaveholding union states, the border states but she advocates are fighting on on the side of confederacy so she could never be trusted. It was alleged that she was a spy. She spent too much money. She acted less than sane sometimes, and she embarrassed her husband in public which is something first ladies were not supposed to do. But you have to understand whats going on with mary lincoln because this is a woman who had lost a son before she got to the white house, lost another son while in the white house, had a husband who is not always easy to get along with it i think we sometimes forget that lincoln had his problems as well. This is a woman who is very bright, who understand politics and loves politics, but she was born a woman. And so she does not have the ability to do what her husband can do by virtue of the fact that she was born the wrong gender, and so she is living vicariously through him i think. She wants him to be president but she certainly did not anticipate i think that kind of vilification she would get once she got to the white house. Will have to fastforward through a lots of history. Eleanor roosevelt of a lot of these categories tonight. How would you assess her, carl anthony come in terms of her partnership with fdr . They were driven by the same principle, that people get so patty and looking at people been married for so many years yes he had a physical and emotional relationship with some of their close to her. Our personal secretary during world war i and she offered him a divorce and that was dramatic, no question. But when she sort of pulled away and looked at it, she realized theres nobody else i share values with like they do with them that they believed they were both progressives even though they were democrats very much like her although, theodore roosevelt. Thats what led them to Work Together and it was also love because of his physical disability. She did not come should lead he was talented, she believed more in his talents than her own at first the she thought they cannot lay fallow, you must lead. And as both first as governor of new york and thats a tryout in this informal as first lady, and then with the depression hitting and everything almost smashed as far as what we know in terms of american life. She takes advantage of the vacuum where everything is up in the air, and thats where she starts saying, this is what im going to do. Its always under the guise im simply a devoted wife helping my husband. And you know what it was. She did not start developing their own agenda into the second and the third term particularly on civil rights. When he was always more political in saying this is what we can do cant do she always brought them back to principle. So while they continued as political borders to share the same values he often abandoned them for the practicality, and she always was sort of sticking with them in a more sort of lofty white. I do have one more clip you will recognize the archetype because there are two modern first ladies, both for political borders but the approach is different in the way they describe of these are from cspan interviews and versus nancy reagan and the second, Hillary Clinton. Lets watch. [inaudible] somewhat didnt always agree with me. I thought it would be worked out. Whats the first thing you noticed . You just know. Spent what i worked on health care a lot of people thought i should me making recommendations about legislation or shouldnt be involved in working on behalf of my husband asked me to work on. This is one of his primary objectives. Because they thought that was somehow inappropriate, that if you exercise influence behind the scenes where no one can see you. I find it curious. To me, id like to know what goes on in front of the scenes because im very much the kind of person who believes that you should say what you mean and mean what you say and face the consequences, like anybody else who is involved in public life. Its fascinating because there are so many ways to be political, right . Especially for a spouse to be political. We know Hillary Clinton as first lady set up an office in the west wing which was oh, my goodness, you know, a clear indication that she wanted to be political, not behind the scenes but in public. When she was working on health care she spoke to the Business Roundtable and she was a public figure in pushing this policy and sought to engage people and work on it in front of the scenes. Nancy reagan, and we can imagine, she was very frank about the ways she was political behind the scenes but we can imagine the way that every first lady, covert dinner conversation always want to call it dont talk or what have you is able to express those views. And Michelle Obama has talked about it less butter has best talk about the ways she is influenced him, special on issues like samesex marriage and immigration, social policy, and the kind of describes her in some ways pricking his conscience on those things. So, you know you have to see first ladies as political figures in that way, no matter if they choose to operate in a way that nancy reagan did more in the way that Hillary Clinton did. Car, did you want to Say Something . Nancy is modest. She says i know people have their own agenda. Don regan got fired last. [laughter] it worked out, not always for them. She sort of understated yet spent she was a very powerful force in this town. Ive never asked the president about the ocean into but the first lady as one of the few people in the world who calls the person i his given name. That has a power his brothers may become his parents his Commanding Officer in the war when he was 19 but there are five or six people in the world who dont call him mr. President , who called him by his name. The first lady always calls him by his name. It conveys the kind of intimacy. This is a person as nancy said and this is true of Hillary Clinton, that the president knows the first lady has an interest. Thats the power. Were going to look at some first ladies are then bess truman who found themselves in the job either by marrying someone whose aspirations they were not quite sure when they got married or knew it but it was all politics all that much. Then theres another kind of reluctant first lady to those who died and were shutout by the staff around and. Were going to start with one woman, pat nixon who had an interesting relationship with the presidency and her husbands quest for the presidency. This was are her very minor speaking engagement at the republican convention. Lets watch. Sound this is sort of the most wonderful welcome i have ever had. [cheers and applause] i listened to the introduction of an eye so appreciative. He certainly is right. This is quite unusual for me but it did want to thank all of you for your friendship and your loyalty for us. And for this wonderful evening for me. I will remember it always. And thanks to the young people for this great wealth. [cheers and applause] great wealth,. So patricia nixon, why did she end up in our reluctant or unhappy will . I think the reality of what was becoming modern politics the media the money, the partisanship, the attacks the questions of balance, you know stealing votes, and i think she got disgusted with it. And i think she always felt she had been actually active and interested in politics before she married nixon. She was a supporter of al smith, she is a democrat as a young woman. She met the roosevelts. Edited the first Congressional Campaign together. And her inheritance. And there was a breakin by the way in their headquarters were all the literature was taking. But i think over time she just really got disgusted with the way things were and this 1960 election really broke her. They came so close and then she said dont run dont run dont run. And he asked her permission and 62 to run for governor and she suggests. He lost that and the famous story where she made him write down, put it in her wallet a promise, i will not run for politics again. And, of course, he broke it and the ambition with all of these men, we were talking about theres a certain insanity to wanting to be president. So she was a better and she saw, she knew the opportunity as a Vice President s wife the opportunity she had but when she did make recommendations like a very important one the states that she did know about like mrs. Johnson, she is recorded on the lot of the tapes with nixon were still technically held by him as private property. Legally they should be destroyed. Spent didnt follow her advice. Carl cannon, the nixon staff shut her out as well didnt they . Yes. She didnt mind. She was tired of politics before the white house before she came to the white house. Shape and the Vice President s wife. She thought they were done with it. Theres all kinds of personal reasons some women dont want this role. Bess truman, we show that hilarious clip of her breaking the bottle. That mustve been hard about because she is a better athlete than harry truman was. When she was in grade school she was a very good third baseman she would tell people. She could swing a bat but she had a secret she was keeping. Her father had committed suicide, and she took it hard. Her mother, her mothers Mental Health never really recovered from the. She didnt want to be here when harry truman was president. She would bring her mother to the white house and they would go back to independent and she really didnt come she decided she had a more Important Role in life than being with the president , which was keeping her family together. I think we forget sometimes these are people and they have burdens on them. And get a very, very important after truman dropped the bomb the first atomic bomb, she came back from missouri. She tries to deny before he dropped the second on nagasaki according to the memoir to alonso who was a white house by me she was in on this big decision. Edna medford, id like to ask you to look back and appeared of history, you would be that women who were in this unhappy are reluctant class that folks should know about . I think foremost would be jane pierce. She didnt want to be come water has been involved in politics. She certainly didnt want to the role of first lady. She be think of is that even about in the white house. She want to be in politics at all. Her husband had promised her that he would get out of politics and for a time there he had. She painted she fainted when she learned he had won his private parties nomination for the presidency. And shes coming to the white house with the loss of a child again so theres this woman in the white house who is suffering from depression as shes mourning the loss of a child. Shes having to do with all of the duties of being a political wife, of being the first lady. And a husband who doesnt quite understand why she is so reluctant. She was a very unhappy first lady. I think more than any of the others. We showed this picture because this is the son she lost their cheaper this lost out to have lost their other two sons. This is the third. Just before they can to washington for the inauguration and he died in front of their eyes in a train accident. The president actually, his job was ejected from the train and the president went down. Such a tragic story. How does a parent recover from that and being in a place where she want to be . You can sympathize with the situation. And being first lady to a president who is the country is in turmoil at this time. This is the crucial decade, and so husband is experiencing all of these tensions between the north and the south and she is a part of that. She as a witness to that and she doesnt want to be but she has no choice. We have many other first ladies in this category including Louisa Catherine adams, Elizabeth Monroe Ivan Mckinley and others. You have to get the book because im running out of time. Im going to move on. Firstly to take advantage of their position from this side this opportunity by adopting causes. How recent phenomenon is that where theres a new white house, what is the cause with adversely will adopt . It is expected to announce and how much politics, Political Considerations into that decision in this modernday . Quite a bit. As the president is going from a candidate to president and has a Transition Team and is building it, first ladies are also doing that. Michelle obama has talked about being back in the kitchen in chicago and thinking about planting a garden at the white house and developing this idea for how she would approach this topic of Healthy Eating and really, you know pushing back against Childhood Obesity taking this on as a cause. I think it is because usually come to embody and personify. She is in d. C. Working out and taking cycling classes and shes with the children, eating carrots and pulling up of vegetables. And also, you know lets move, which is what her campaign is called, theres a nonprofit attached to it. Lets move has brokered deals with walmart, get healthier food in stores come and with abusing to pull some of the junk food ads off of childrens television. So these are not inconsequential things, because shes first lady and this is wrapped up in also are doing pushups with alan on daytime television and dancing at the easter egg roll. So you can really see the ways in which first ladies take on these issues. And for a first lady like Michelle Obama, but he wants to push the issue in a way that is sustained and that makes real difference, but that doesnt feel like you are just writing a law or it is just hard policy. She did also push the changes to School Lunches and i did go through Congress Early on. I want to show another piece of video, and this demonstrates is formal adoption of the cost is relatively recent phenomenon. Sometimes it was thrust upon them of the circumstances. This is betty ford and shes talking about her breast cancer. Lets watch. In a few weeks i will complete my chemotherapy treatment, and that would be another milestone for me. Since that first year, i have not talked much about the difference with my experience with cancer, but at that time my mastectomy and a discussion about it i was really pleased to see it commits a process a large number of women to go and get checkups in their local communities. She changed the conversation in this country about cancer. Carl anthony spent absolutely she did and it was personal. And i think Michelle Obamas star is similar and Jackie Kennedy made it personal and labored johnsons was personal and i think thats what a commitment starts because of course we only see the happy side of the. Theres a lot of obstacles along the way and let me just add one quick little asterisk. Florence harding way back. You define that some of these women have felt passionately about Animal Rights advocacy. She was against in 1921 come and so she started for the brief time she was there truly bring that issue animal cruelty. And even proposed that Public Schools adopt Homeless Animals and that its a way of teaching little adults, humans little children about, through animals treating of the people with kindness. Carl, was a really nancy reagan and the just say no campaign that formalized this need to have nancy reagan it was ridiculed by the elites, and the kids listen because of drug use in high school went down after this thing was launched. I think we formalized it but i think this goes ways. I think of those been there. Michelle obamas other issue is getting the troops, who did that . Martha washington today. She did it before she was first lady. She was called lady washington by the troops out of respect. Before lady bird there was alan wilsons bill. It was urban renewal for a bill a bill in congress. So i think this is always been i think we have codified at but i think its always been a. First ladies have an interest answer people care what theyre interested in. What are some of the early examples . They may not always be fullblown causes, but even after martha wash and becomes first lady has reception for veterans and soldiers, shes so concerned about them. You have mrs. Fillmore who is responsible for developing the white house library. I think Dolley Madison is involved in working with orphans, and giving her friends involved with spent louisa adams is talking about womens rights in the early 1800s. Her husband was sort of the jimmy carter of that century not a great president good expresident , hes leading the argument against slavery and his wife is leading the argument for suffrage in the 1830s. It was reported in the press come one of the earliest recognitions by the white house was behind the first health and safety regulation standards in the federal workplace spent and one would think about the lets move thing, weve been sort of we are not arguing with your premise, susan, its more formal than it used to be an example is Michelle Obamas initiative because this was an initiative that was a president ial initiative in the eisenhower and jack kennedy. You have a first lady doing what president did before and thats true. It has become much more formal. Im going to go just a little bit and really just jump to one last question and go to the questions on the audience and thats first lady and the media which has also been a role for the very earliest days. Im going to start with a modern one and that is answer the question of how nancy reagan managed to turn around that negative image. I dont know how many of you were around when the reagans First Initiative very unhappy reception from the press corporate what she did was to go to the press corps and disarm them. You heard of the gridiron dinner in washington, d. C. What did she give . She was not as come she bought the designer dresses. Shes queen nancy Marie Antoinette better competitor to. Its funny for some of it is cruel. She goes to the gridiron, do we have a clip . She goes to the gridiron and people than all remember nancy herself as a former thespian can not just her husband and she stole the realm. It is a clip from the reagan president ial library. Shes been edited by cedric smith a wellknown political reporter, telling the story of the gridiron press club. Lets listen in. [inaudible] i said no. No. I wasnt going to do that. [inaudible] [inaudible] spinning you guys are pretty easy. She got us. We were eating out of her hand. So back in history just two quick images i want to show because first ladies looked pretty early on to harness the news media, to control images. This is mrs. Huber. And first ive i got Caroline Harrison here, and this is a photograph where she had a very well known photographer, Frances Benjamin johnston, to photograph her grandchild who became a global celebrity come is about right, colquitt she wanted to do because she wanted to control the publics interest in her family. Rather than have been exploited. Did it works because not really. [laughter] spent ever happy to get the pictures and then they still exploited them stick and the baby he was a cartoon character pictures used like a little mascot for the administration. You see this little cartoon of this little boy with a big hat of his grandfather. But the others that kind of function and capacity. They knew they needed help. Therefore five secretaries and interfacing with the reporters. Another clip for you because this is too much fun. The white house course on the dinner is another one coming up this week and it has become hollywood on the ears. It is the contrast become quite the event. There is time and first lady and had been sent these back to help enhance their image. Lets watch lower bush a few years ago. [inaudible] if you really want to end tyranny, you will have to stay up later. [laughter] [applause] i am married to the president of the United States and here is our typical. 9 00 [inaudible] and i am watching desperate housewives. [laughter] [applause] ladies and gentlemen, i am a desperate housewife. [laughter] there was a lot of criticism of the president s policies among the press corps. How did this technique of humor once again work to help the bush image . It didnt. We are at war and it doesnt change the coverage about the big issues of the day. But when people can laugh at themselves, true of nancy reagan, laura bush bill clinton any of them, it humanizes in a way that can only help them. Bill clinton came in his first year and gave a nasty speech. He criticized bob dole and john king sic. By the end he was hired professional writers. He was making fun of himself being home alone. He had this whole sky. The first lady started relatively recently. They dont make fun of themselves exactly. They make fun of their husbands. That is considered okay. If Hillary Clinton as president and she gives one of the speeches, the whole town will want to know what she says about will clinton. This is going to be the last clip and its back to where it the president s tools they have, social media, youtube, but its also a difficult thing to manage because all day long people are commenting on their policies. One of those give and take away things. Youve all seen this. To see how the tools we have of communications to advance policy, present an image of themselves. Hey, everybody. Im so excited to talk about the sixth anniversary. Its a big one in our theme this year celebrate the challenge. We will celebrate all the tremendous progress weve made. We are celebrating the anniversary. What exactly are we celebrating . It has been five years since for starters i will ask for five. Kids, parents can the celebrities to give me sideways. For example [inaudible] everybody, give me five. [inaudible] pass on the challenge for anybody else. Are we still filming . Yes, by the way your tie is right there on the ground. What do historians think about the state of the modern presidency and what we can do. Its always been state. Others andrew jackson, big cape where harriet lane coming in with her fan and making a real dramatic insurance. Whatever the changing technology is these people are experts. They intend to lead and they all met. Just like the obama stayed he saw the kennedys do it. And they know they are on it. The basics whether it is Martha Washington, Michelle Obama, there are certain things we are expecting of them in certain things the president is expect in as first lady. But it changes according to the circumstances. So far to journalists and i might invite folks to the microphones on either side. This is a microphone and will get your questions. So i have to ask you they are doing this as a way to get around you guys. Thats exactly right. The obamas exist in a world where their social media and the First Administration to ready on trade will utilize Facebook Twitter interests. She had a page when she was in japan and cambodia recently. We traveled with the youtube celebrity who asked questions from twitter but did not down with traditional reporters. So the lead her staff would explain it is a certain amount of time to do communication and she wants to meet people where they are and if people are coming and following her by the millions on twitter and able to see the photos that they put out on his chagrin, the power of being able to shape ones own image without the quote, unquote filter of the traditional media is there in a way that it wasnt before. Ive interviewed Michelle Obama. She did more interviews with traditional media earlier on. She is a great interview. Frank answers your questions with all the things you would imagine. So its not a lack of capability. But there is a power in being able to exercise the ability to get on magazine covers, to be on latenight television, to have daytime tv conversations that shapes the conversation in a way that the white house is fully in control. Back to the edge of the questions quickly. Theres nothing wrong with that. We dont like them going around us on Health Care Policy and not the problem, but theres nothing wrong with that. Not everybody can pull it off as well as they did. First question over here. There are reports the rumors that the 21st ladies i know ran the country when there has been for hill. Mrs. Wilson and nancy reagan. If thats true or not true question arc i would just add in Quick Response to that that when you say the presidency, you have to look at the different components of the presidency. One of it is making a final decision on things. Sometimes its approving things. Sometimes making a decision to not make a decision. Sometimes his firing hiring. So partially they assume some of that during the days of real crisis in her real agenda was to protect the president from getting worse and hopefully getting better. I would say need to make it worked in the same to fulfill the functions that might be similar to an aide maybe senior adviser. But not assuming the role. Question over here. We realized the first lady while the husband in office is kind of stuck with the role. What happens to first ladies afterward . How much privacy do they have . What is life like for them . She was eager to talk about how much hes enjoying life. It is interesting to watch her because she was very much shaped by an architect. I wouldnt use the word rebut that necessarily but behind the scenes. And now we see her traveling more than the former president. She is working on launching a Global Program that will bring first ladies around the world together. Shes been in washington with Michelle Obama to just sort of talked about the freedom of having the platform was first ladies now do with the modern president ial library in the foundations they can use them talk about causes important to them, but in a way where she could choose to sit down with the press for a few minutes. But the kind of lack of privacy that comes along. Also a subject for a whole another explanation. The president ial foundations on the platforms and the influence they continue to have. Carters had this great career along with jimmy. We talk about jini be a great expresident and not everyone agrees with that. Use them all these things and she goes right there with him. They build homes for habitat for humanity ventures partner as much as it were in the white house. Hes a partner to her because she is really a fascinating woman that gets almost no press because she doesnt not necessary for price but to get her work on Mental Health goes back to the 70s when he was governor and shes really had an impact in that sense. Jamie wrote a book. Hes written many books. He said he was having the best sex of his life. Tmi because he was in the 70s and so was she. I guess the first person. The question is does she think the same . [laughter] have you follow up that . I have a question about lady byrd johnson. She was obviously there has been for a poverty programs especially with the headstart project for preschool. I just want to know if you have any stories or information that she did. Thank you so much. Sargent shriver was president kennedys brotherinlaw who worked under the peace corps and then headed up this set, which was the voluntary government weighing of the Publicprivate Partnership of voluntary staff. He came up with the idea and he went to her and she would hundred became the spokesperson and really helped establish it. The highway identification bill was called the labor bill. That is what johnson called it when he went around twisting arms and kicking guys initiated. Whereas ladybirds bill . He may not have liked that because when he signed the bill in october 22nd 1965, he never mentioned her name. That is how he got her back. Heres a question from twitter. Fresh farmhouse once to know which they decide to be influential but was the least successful at it. I think in some ways you could say Hillary Clinton because she [laughter] just in terms of fairness, she always made the case that when it came to policy matters, she had to make the case for something or against Something Like any other adviser data and sometimes president said now. I think we know of the welfare reform. There is a little bit of contention between them. It is not 100 known on all the matters that she didnt win, but there were quite a few that she did not. What about hoover . Very talented person to engage with the press. She doesnt get her story out. Two if the photo to set up . She wouldnt agree to do interviews. There is the story of the female reporter jeff just dressed up as a girl scout. She was not the was not the never talked to anybody again. There was a reason why she dressed up as a girl scout. It was during the depression she was trying to encourage volunteerism. And theres the photograph. Shes doing radio broadcast about the girl scouts trying to engage more people to get into their communities and help at the trouble going on. A question over here. There has been this interesting undercurrent to this whole conversation about how ideas of femininity and the role of women in society influence the expectations they face when they become first ladies. It seems like such a paradigm shift now that we talk about potentially having a first has been and of course there are first thousands around the world for women who are leaders right now. I would love to hear what you have to say if you were advising the clintons, how should they approach that potential role for americans the american presidency . Could we get the laura bush clip about the future ready by panelists are answering us. Ive done some research on this. Theyve essentially been functioning these last eight years. As a first gentleman. When you look at the persona not too dissimilar from the kinds of roles. Its usually nonpartisan. The second part is we look at the press during the 1984 president ial election when the democratic Vice President ial candidate john sukarno was suddenly thrust in the public. All kinds of questions raised about what kind of influence, do they talk about policy, what are business interests. Ive always maintained while sexism is at the root of a lot of it it is really more about the unaccountable power of a spouse. Outside the realm of American History, you look another world government can see that issues have to come up with the male spouse to a female in power in one form of government or another. And none is really why we are talking about it. Ive been taking a look at that. On the state level that five womens surfing as governor now and they are all married. Their first gentleman in New Hampshire new mexico, oklahoma and a couple of other states. It is interesting because while at the state level, whether male or female, spouses can see you in their careers this sort of official role that they play in their administration looks very much like what first ladies do. They take on projects with the executives in the state and are responsible for restoration. They usually have some sort of cause, whether its big or small. The first gentleman of oklahoma posed for a coat book in the proceeds went to a nonprofit. He has his apron on and its going with wade christiansen. A platter of chicken and ribs. It is a coat hook. So the role of the stylus still remains that support if the family has small children, and this is as marriage has generally. You are seeing the spouse who is not the governor, male or female becomes more responsible for caregiving and takes the sort of thing in their career because their spouse has the more important jobs. We had a chance to interview laura bush for the first lady project and now i picked the clip where she is vegan of wisdom says i wonder if they are going to critique the kind of ties they wear. The quote we took was a glance the question, should we pay our first ladies . They are working basically fulltime. Here is what she had to say. The interesting question is not should they receive their salaries but should they work for the salary at the job a party hat. That is what they had to come to terms with. I continued to work or whatever he did so i think thats really the question we should ask the should we have a career. [inaudible] were about to see over the next year and half or so authors of questions that come up. We have about five minutes left. Im going to ask a lot about that because there is a session we didnt get to which is the game changers. You are the women throughout history in this role they really made a difference, that they should spend time and find out more about them. Eleanor roosevelt. I dont think you could find anybody who fits that title more than Eleanor Roosevelt. This is a woman who well educated had serious concerns about where her country was, was married to the most powerful man in the country, in the world perhaps, but she had her own agenda. She was writing a news column. She was doing a radio. She was a newsreel. She was to find the dar, resigning her memberships. She was a member of the board. She is doing her own thing and so it may be that theres never been a first lady before or since like her, but i think she sort of stands alone with why she was able to accomplish as their own self not just the extension of her has been and her husbands interest of virtue is able to accomplish on the road. I would say roosevelt. For all of these reasons. Even a couple of other examples. Roosevelt is out courting southern democrat. She is confronting him privately on this. These men are fighting world war ii, fighting racism. You cant let the ship cards be segregated. When she doesnt get satisfaction on this which is quite often she goes outside to other people in the party. Shes a social liberal which means you are racial liberal and she is rival Power Centers and shes not afraid to call people. The newspaper column she writes. Truman did want to do it. Eisenhower didnt want to do it but as a precedent so strong and now theyll do it. You could hear echoes of eleanor and it. Personal stuff policy staff. The first question is what is the coolest part of the job. I got to meet the pope. I got to meet george clooney. But then she talks about policy staff and to me eleanor is the prototype. Her column was called by day. I would say first im eager to see how history remembers Michelle Obama. And two, i am a texan. So lady bird has a special appeal for me i set the clip you showed earlier because we know what it lbj and how we spoke to people in the way that she just hangs and in that conversation is quite really and im also carl anthony mentioned the work she did on beautification and the ways in which we can really lay some groundwork for the Environmental Movement that we all know today that did not exist in the way that it did then and being from texas and growing up singing dont mess with texas on february and appreciation for the bluebonnet they are and what that means him to know that she and her role as first lady influenced all of that in a way that was quite subtle and not thoroughly understood at the time but we now do understand. Im going to ask you because you are a scholar of the first ladies. Give us names you have a hurry. Dolly madison because she was one of the first to have a real sense of duty through a constituency meaning the country. It was unusual for a woman back then to perceive as part of her role a sense of duty in connection to the general public to people she didnt know. Jacqueline kennedy very strongly because of her sense of where the u. S. Was in the cold war and how democracy could be presented in a way in america has come of age and height as much dignity and the right to maintain the dignity and the world stage with betty ford by taking very, very personal and really emotional issues and not losing the power of that that you seem not to help others. I think it is like Michelle Obama very much like Eleanor Roosevelt, i have to agree that they realize time is ticking. Anything can happen in a moment. Your husband could die, be shot, resign. You have the opportunity to make a change. People will like you or he even matter what. Because of the way you do, what they think about you what you say, everything. Youve got to say use the time to get it done. Theres been a game changers. I want to say thank you to a panelist and that is mark farkas who was the executive producer for a first lady series on hopes that the schedule and pulled all of those clips and video and pictures. Thank you very much. [applause] for cspan on ants, sorry. Those of us here get to have dessert and coffee. Id like to invite anyone to stay after. We will have a book signing then i have to tell you that always makes me feel rather embarrassed. I want to tell you if you are interested, all of the proceeds go to the cspan Education Foundation and we use it to do teachers scholarship, student documentary concepts. If you buy you are helping with a good cause. Thank you so much for being here tonight. [applause] [inaudible] they are the valuable signatures. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] next, and Erick Stakelbeck analyst for the Christian Broadcasting Network talks about the appeal of isis in the middle east and the threat the organization poses to americans living in the United States. [applause] i want to thank my good friend sarah stern. I consider sarah a modernday deborah. Ive said it before and i have to tell you the now meant i am here in the belly of the beast in washington d. C. I get to see what emmitt does a close with dust of close combat attire this work for israel, america and capitol hill were accounts and make a difference. Everyone at home check out emet o. R. G. I have to give everyone credit for coming out tonight. Theres easier war things and relaxing things to do after a long day of work and coming to hear about isis. God bless my wife and she is here someplace in the room. I see her in the back i think. We talk about