Remembering the Ladies. Our First Ladies matter. In real time, they are a lightening rod. Looking back, they are a reflection of the way we were. Of course they contributed to their husbands' administrations through their personal relationship, but they served this country publicly.
The complete destruction of The East Wing, where every First Lady since Eleanor Roosevelt worked, is an indication of how much President Pussy Grabber values their contribution.
This week I'm listing 13 accomplishments/events that had their start where there is now rubble. While no means exhaustive, I hope this list is inspiring.
1. Eleanor Roosevelt – the first Press Conference by a First Lady. She did it from the East Wing. Radio was the most immediate news source, and it was important for Americans to hear her voice. For this groundbreaking event, Mrs. Roosevelt insisted that all 30 reporters were women.
2. Bess Truman – the restoration of the White House social season. After WWII, she issued her social schedule far in advance, and she did it from the East Wing. This may sound frivolous, but Bess was not a party girl. She believed this was a comforting indication to a war-weary nation that life was returning to normal.
3. Mamie Eisenhower – decorating the White House for the holidays. Mamie was the First Lady who made Christmas trees and the Easter Egg Roll a priority, and she did from the East Wing where she raised private funds to pay for it.
4. Jacqueline Kennedy – the restoration of the White House itself. She did much of her research and fundraising from the East Wing. You can see her historic televised tour here.
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| Graphic created by the JFK Library |
5. Lady Bird Johnson – environmental/beautification projects. She improved the view of America we see from the road, banning "billboard forests" and turning highways into a landscape of green and wildflowers. Like Jackie, she approached this with care and scholarship, meeting often in the East Wing with nurserymen and environmentalists to make sure the wildflowers were native plants that were more than pretty but would co-exist with wildlife and the natural ecosystem. (This may sound like a yawn in 2025 but was radical in 1965.)
6. Pat Nixon – "The Peoples' House." She told her East Wing staff that it "irritated" her to hear the White House referred to as "the mansion," and instructed them never to do so. She believed that the White House was not for the rich and privileged but for all of us. At Christmastime, she opened it for evening tours so local Washington DC families could enjoy the decorations after work. She also introduced White House tours for the vision and hearing impaired. Yes, she did this work from the East Wing.
7. Betty Ford – dancing at dinner. Though she wasn't First Lady for even a full term, she played hostess to an impressive 33 state dinners. That took a lot of work and she did her planning from her office in the East Wing. Betty made sure there was always live music and dancing, which had been absent during the Nixon administration. With echoes of Bess Truman, she wanted to reassure the country that Watergate was behind us and let us know the White House was bright and happy, and the invitation world leaders coveted.
8. Rosalynn Carter – making it official. While every First Lady from ER on used the East Wing as her base, they didn't each have an office there. For example, Jackie and Pat Nixon each set space aside in the private residence and Mamie worked out of her bedroom. As a result of the White House Personnel Authorization Act of 1978, Rosalynn and every subsequent First Lady received an official budget and space allocation in the East Wing* for her staff. In 1979, she became the first First Lady to testify before Congress, working to remove the stigma attached to mental illness.
9. Nancy Reagan – replacing the cracked plaster. She found the Oval Office and adjacent spaces had been neglected and set out to get rid of "cracked plaster, chipped paint and beat up floors." She, too, did her homework from the East Wing. She was inspired by the way Presidents in the early 1900s decorated the Oval Office and brought back White House antiques that had been in storage.
10. Barbara Bush – hugging an AIDS patient. Barbara Bush's sons are certainly famous and accomplished, but her little girl left a legacy, too. Robin Bush died of leukemia before her 4th birthday. Her daughter's brief life and health challenges gave Barbara Bush an understanding of blood diseases, which is how she viewed AIDS. Though it was controversial back in 1989, and the White House didn't publicize it, she made news by being photographed hugging an AIDS patient. She kept that photo on display in her East Wing office.
11. Hillary Clinton – Congressional liaison. Because she went on to be New York's Senator, Secretary of State and the first woman to win a major party's nomination for President, it's easy to forget that she was once a controversial and highly influential First Lady. Her East Wing staff was big and busy and included a Congressional liaison. From the East Wing she helped craft legislation like the Foster Care Independence Act, which helps kids "aging out" of foster care get help and job skills so they can become self-sufficient adults.
12. Laura Bush – not a stranger. Laura Bush did much for literacy as First Lady, but in today's incredibly hostile, partisan climate, I most appreciate her reaching out warmly and consistently to two women who followed her into the East Wing, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden.
13. Jill Biden – showcasing military families. In 2023 she unveiled The Military Children's Corner in the East Wing. The artwork you see created by the kids of active duty service members. She said these children "don't wear a uniform, but they serve our country, too." This is all gone now. Bulldozed.
Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.
*Since the East Wing has been bulldozed it's unknown where the next First Lady will have an office.
