First First Lady Was No Frump

Met with historians to discuss her little-known legacy

(NEWSER) - Shortly before the election last November, Laura Bush sought to shape her somewhat hazy legacy. The former first lady spoke to historians, reporters, and other DC insiders in a 3-hour “legacy lunch,” at which she was called “candid,” “funny,” and “open” as she answered questions, Politico reports. “No first lady has ever reached out to historians to talk about what she'd done. It was a first,” said a historian. More»

Work is only living painting of the Bard

(NEWSER) - A family heirloom is thought to be the only surviving portrait of William Shakespeare painted during his life, the Telegraph reports. Art restorer Alex Cobbe noticed that a portrait of the Bard in the Folger Shakespeare library in Washington—known to be a posthumous copy of another work—bore an uncanny resemblance to a painting he had inherited. After extensive analysis of Cobbe’s painting, experts believe it was the basis for the Folger copy. More»

First Lady is 'extraordinary' but her defenders need to relax

(NEWSER) - Before Michelle Obama’s acolytes start enshrining her portrait next to Mother Teresa's and Mahatma Gandhi's, Robin Givhan hazards a word of sacrilege: “Obama is extraordinary, but she is not exceptional.” The Washington Post columnist chastises the first lady’s virulent defenders, who are “intent on keeping the path clear for her canonization" and resist even the slightest criticism. More»

First lady Michelle, a fan of the brand, also had on J.Crew gloves

(NEWSER) - Malia and Sasha Obama turned up for Dad’s swearing-in today dressed in clothes from J. Crew, Us reports. Malia, 10, appeared in a periwinkle double-breasted coat with a blue-ribbon bow for a belt, while Sasha, 7, wore a pink coat with an orange scarf and satin belt over her coral-colored dress. More»

(NEWSER) - Laura Bush is not among those laughing along at her husband's recent shoe-dodging moves. "As a wife, I saw it as an assault, and that's what it was," she told USA Today. "So I didn't laugh it off." The first lady did, however, have an insight into how her husband managed to avoid getting plunked on the head: "He's very quick," she said. "He's such a natural athlete." More»