Condi Commands Same Speaking Fee as Ex-Boss

First lady felt weight of the world lifted upon return to Texas

(NEWSER) - Laura Bush felt a weight lift when she returned to Texas after 8 years in Washington, free of the rigors of protecting America in the post-9/11 era, the former first lady tells Politico . “I didn’t really realize how stressed we were and how vigilant we were—that hypervigilance—until we came home and I wasn’t so stressed anymore," Bush says. "I almost stood straighter, just without that weight of worry.” More»

(AP) - Michelle Obama's performance as first lady is getting high marks from her predecessor, Laura Bush. Speaking after a change-of-command ceremony for the USS Texas submarine in Connecticut, Bush said today she's watched the current first lady from afar and is impressed. More»

'Quaint' calls for balance follow reign of 'Boy Emperor'

(NEWSER) - As their party contracts with the defection of Arlen Specter, the GOP is complaining about a disappearing balance of power: “How quaint,” writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times—this from the party whose “arrogant” previous administration “did its best to undermine checks and balances.” Meanwhile, the current “professor in chief” is playing constitutional scholar, assuring us he won’t run things like “the Boy Emperor and his regents.” More»

(NEWSER) - The George W. Bush administration is planning a reunion in honor of the former president’s nascent policy institute, the New York Times reports. Condoleezza Rice, Karen Hughes, speechwriter Michael Gerson, and White House counsel Dan Bartlett will meet the former president next week in Dallas for dinner and a day of discussion about the goals of Bush’s project. Dick Cheney will not be present. More»

'Midnight calls' to Rice sustain ex-president, 'estranged' from Laura

(NEWSER) - On the brink of suicide and estranged from his wife, George Bush is leaning on his former secretary of state to ease his pain, the Globe tabloid reports. The "broken and desperate" Dubya has been dialing Condoleezza Rice, who, of course, "many believe was his secret lover," at midnight for comfort. The details—including Laura’s "agony"—are all in the latest "blockbuster world exclusive." More»