THE EYES OF LAURA BUSH

Somewhere, in the White House, is a phone. In a secret room. A place where Laura Bush can call one of da hommies from Midland, Texas and chat it up. For months, in this room, Laura Bush has relieved her conscious about first her excitement regarding Senator Hilary Clinton

…and now Attorney Michelle Obama.

Yep. It can’t help but be true that: knowing what she knows about her husband; watching his incurious decisions year after year; seeing his arrogance and the result of it; this librarian, keeper of books, indexer of knowledge…secretly cheered these very qualified Women.

One, cum laude graduate of Princeton and later Harvard who has assessed and promoted and designed a tremendous base for a man inches from the Presidency. The other is a very accomplished and powerful woman who came within inches of making a victorious run for her husband’s vacant seat herself.

While some see a wild eyed glare that looks more like a lightly medicated haze in the back of Laura’s eyes, I see a bad acting job. The kind that has her plaster on a smile and stand next to a naked emperor.

Laura reads. She has a Master’s Degree. She devoted a good chunk of her early career to education and of anyone in the White House;

she saw personally what a sham No Child Left Behind was.

Goddamned right she howled deep inside for Senator Clinton. A younger woman, who took full advantage of her own position, became a lawyer, first Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the US, Senator and then, viable Presidential Candidate.

Hell in a different time and place, Laura would invite Hillary to a back room where they would smoke men’s cigars, throw back excellent Scotch and trade First Lady war stories. Except hers would always end like an episode of Gilligan’s island.

So imagine how hard it must be for Laura to watch Attorney Michelle Obama go through so much Republican hate. Laura knows full well the deep misogyny that runs through the Blood of the ideologues in the GOP. Despite the bloom of Republican “women” in high places…They follow in that great tradition of Republican mindset…Paper Dolls. Two dimensioned and flat personalities that say very little out to change anything.

(And in case you’re wondering about the good ole “times” argument, Eleanor Roosevelt was back in the 40’s and she openly advocated for women’s rights, integration and civil rights)

And when women dare to “make moves” out of “step” they are destroyed. Think back to Lonnie Guinier. How the Republicans savaged her. Not just over her record. She was nominated to head the Civil Rights Department of the Clintonian 1^stterm Justice Department. She had written some “controversial” papers regarding civil rights.

But, since most Republicans were AGAINST the civil rights and protection thereof for US citizens, anything anyone wrote FOR civil rights would be controversial. They beat her down.

How against? Since Bush has been in office Justice Dept. prosecuted Civil Rights cases have dropped dramatically with even the pursuit of such curtailed significantly.

Unlike the Clarence Thomas debacle. This was a man who would be nothing without affirmative action. He began his career as a civil rights advocate but found God in the GOP.

When Anita Hill came forward to accuse Thomas of sexist behavior, the Republicans shut her down and backed him up like beat-cop calming down a wife beater from the 1930’s.

When First Lady Hillary Clinton took on a sticky but necessary step to deal with Health Care problems…Laura saw republicans distort the issue, destroy the effort and hang it around the Clinton Presidency like a socialist albatross.

Laura Bush saw a very talented Condoleeza Rice marginalized as National Security Advisor and treated like a “ glorified intern” by Donald Rumsfeld (as related by insiders in the PBS Frontline series Bush’s War). She saw her sellout time and time again. Only to be iced by Cheney and crew.

Despite John McCain’s longtime service, Cindy McCain is like background static you hear when you change radio stations. Evidence of the absence of something.

Her bio has some moments. Besides being rich, she graduated from USC, married McCain, adopted a wonderful child and…

…and…

…and…

…did I say that she was rich?

Actually I’m sure she has a very interesting story especially when she was hooked on drugs and stole them from a charitable organization she worked for. But apparently, ABC, CBS and NBC would rather it not be an issue. I bet you if MICHELLE smoked a fatty once in high school…we’d hear endless tales about it.

As a matter of fact Attorney Michelle Obama has some skeletons. Those of us who would dare to reach for ours in the world develop many. They may not matter. They may be expired. They have nothing to do with her support of Senator Obama.

But the Republicans have this.

And a dismal record of corruption and failed policies and ineffectual war plans. They ain’t got nothing else. They’re trying to grab onto anything, ANYTHING and hoping it’ll swim. So far nothing floats.

So, they have a bead on Michelle.

It’s strange though. Michelle is exactly what, at one time or another, all politicians claim to be, a self made success with humble beginnings. While no Black person is “self-made” Attorney Obama is the closest thing. She is determined, strong and fearless. Watching her, you get the feeling that she wraps up all of the Senator’s insecurities and tosses them for him. Go watch their interaction before Barack’s “coming out” keynote address back in 2004. She really seems like the cooler head.

However she’s a Black woman. One who would be equal in success and stature to men across the land. She has no intention of being like the GOP Paper Dolls living some life of quiet desperation. Michelle comes from a tradition of independent Sistas who live through a strength Cindy McCain could never understand.

This is what Laura finally saw so she couldn’t contain herself when, amid a torrent of ridiculous rumors and half truths, she finally popped…a little…

In response to a comment where Attorney Obama said that she was finally proud to be an American, Laura Bush soften the rhetoric,

“I think she probably meant I'm 'more proud,' you know, is what she really meant," adding, "I mean, I know that, and that's one of the things you learn and that's one of the really difficult parts both of running for president and for being the spouse of the president, and that is, everything you say is looked at and in many cases misconstrued.”

Bull. Laura knows exactly what Attorney Obama meant.

As a woman she knows the lengths men will go to second class her. She knows what it takes for Michelle to try and be all of it everyday and still handle attacks. Moreover, Laura must’ve watched in horror when her husband and his band of merry-men conspired to destroy the career, livelihood and the safety and safety of her family of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. The fight was between the facts of men and they went for another man’s wife.

So call me naïve but I think that when Attorney Michelle Obama stumps for her husband, with all her youth and all her talent, brimming and waiting to be released upon the nation she is a threat. Those same days unleashed savage and brutal lies and half truths from GOP He-Man’s Women Haters Club.

Then a light goes on in that secret room.

“Hello Clare? This is Laura. Did you see what Michelle said today? I know…I KNOW…God…I hope they win”

If they follow the pattern of Attorney Michelle Obama’s life so far, Mrs. Bush, they will.

They will.

-brandonbowlin

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