"Lady" Laura not headed for the Senate

President Bush pooh-poohs speculation that the first lady might make a bid for office.

Published January 19, 2006 9:46PM (EST)

For anyone who hopes to add another first lady to the Senate, President Bush has a message: It won't be his Laura. According to an Associated Press report, today in Sterling, Va., after he had given a speech about the economy at JK Moving & Storage, the president was asked by a woman in the audience whether Mrs. Bush might consider running for a Texas Senate seat.

In response, the president leaned over and patted the woman on the head and smiled benevolently, saying, "How'd such a silly thought get into your pretty little head?" OK, OK. Not really. (Sarcasm people, that's sarcasm.)

But the subtext was there nonetheless. "She's not interested in running for office. She's interested in literacy," he explained. "She's a great lady. She's not interested in running for office." Sufficiently flustered, according to the AP, he responded by repeating "never" not once, but twice -- and declined the woman's plea to at least ask Mrs. Bush if she might be willing.

So what are we to learn from this? Politics is no place for great "ladies"? Apparently, judging by the current state of the presidency, it's no place for great men either.


By Sarah Karnasiewicz

Sarah Karnasiewicz is a freelance writer and photographer based in Brooklyn, N.Y. Until recently, she was senior editor at Saveur magazine; prior to that she was deputy Life editor at Salon. She has contributed to the New York Times, the New York Observer and Rolling Stone, among other publications. For more of her work, visit thefastertimes.com/streetfood and Signs and Wonders.

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