ladies from lady bird johnson to laura bush. all three worked in a wartime white house. whether it was organizing a barbecue for lady bird johnson or exercising their diplomatic skills at a state dinner, these social secretaries were the right hand of the first lady. in this hour-long conversation at the george w. bush presidential center in dallas, texas, they recalled their duties and life inside the white house. i d like to introduce the panel. richard norton smith, who will be chairing this panel, is a nationally renowned author. between 1987 and 2003 he served as director of the herbert hoover presidential library, the dwight d. eisenhower presidential library, the ronald reagan presidential library and the gerald ford presidential library. so he has presidential library experience, and in 2003 he was appointed the founding director of the abraham lincoln presidential library in springfield, illinois. he is an author, a commentator on c-span, pbs, and he s now working
social secretaries were the right hand of the first lady. in this hour-long conversation at the george w. bush presidential center in dallas, texas, they recalled their duties and life inside the white house. i d like to introduce the panel. richard norton smith, who will be chairing this panel, is a nationally renowned author. between 1987 and 2003 he served as director of the herbert hoover presidential library, the dwight d. eisenhower presidential library, the ronald reagan presidential library and the gerald ford presidential library. so he has presidential library experience, and in 2003 he was appointed the founding director of the abraham lincoln presidential library in springfield, illinois. he is an author, a commentator on c-span, pbs, and he s now working on a biography of nelson rockefeller. on our panel today is bess abell. bess as president johnson said a kentucky girl who can walk with kings and prime ministers, maintained the common touch but could also lec