Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Laura Bush's secret shame
No, it's not eating flowers; that's Homer Simpson's secret shame. Dr. Sanjay Gupta got Laura Bush to claim that she has stopped smoking. Reluctant in the past to reveal the first lady's sordid habit, WH correspondents may take the claim as a challenge and get a few photos of the more obscure corners of the WH exterior where Laura might be sneaking a smoke.
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Smoking First Ladies are nothing new. Mamie Eisenhower smoked like a chimney, Jackie smoked, Pat Nixon smoked, even Eleanor Roosevelt smoked on certain occasions.
ReplyDeleteAnd, before smoking became an issue, one will notice in photos of the State Dining Room the small gold containers of cigarettes at each place on the table. Just picture that cloud of smoke hovering over the President and guests in the State Dining Room!
ReplyDeleteIf I was married to the President of the United States and faced the constant pressure and criticism that comes with that, I'd probably smoke too!
ReplyDeleteIn "Designing Camelot" there is an entire section regarding the ashtrays that Jackie had the WH carpentry shop design for the East Room. Times have changed, surely, but let's cut Mrs. Bush a little slack. Just so no one will say I'm being political, I'd have said the same for Mrs. Clinton!
Wow. I never would have figured her for a smoker.
ReplyDeleteA cigarette holder is clearly visible in the photo of the State Dinner for Haile Selassie during LBJ. It is filled with both filtered and non-filtered cigarettes.
ReplyDeleteAh, the good old days!!Why can't they invent a safe cigarette?
ReplyDeleteI wish that it were possible to go back in time and attend a Kennedy black tie affair. I think they probably had the best parties. Cocktails and smoking in the East Room, after dinner smoking in the state rooms. I understand that it was Mrs. Kennedy's preference that smokers be kept out of the Red Room as much as possible because of the newly acquired antique carpet.
There is a picture of JBK's place setting at a state dinner and there is a small gold cup with what look like 3-4 Salem cigarettes inside. Meanwhile, JFK was probably enjoying one of his imported cigars!
Mmmmmmmmmm.... Imported cigars!
ReplyDeleteYep, Jackie smoked like a chimney. She went to great lengths not to be seen smoking, but there are several pictures of her puffing away in Carl Anthony's book "The Kennedy White House".