Free First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies by Kate Andersen Brower Page A

called the First Lady’s chief of staff, Tina Tchen, who responded, “Oh God, I forgot.” According to President Carter’s aide, Rosalynn did not believe them and felt intentionally excluded. When asked in an interview if Hillary Clinton had sought her input when crafting health-care legislation, or if either Michelle Obama or President Obama asked for her advice when developing the health-care overhaul because of her extensive work on mental-health issues, Rosalynn said simply: “The answer to both of these questions is no.”
    When they first moved into the White House the Obamas were overwhelmed, and it took them a long time to get used to a hundred-person staff. The day after his inauguration, President Obama came into the East Room and introduced himself to the residence employees. Both the President and the First Lady looked surprised when they met the staff separately, former White House Florist Bob Scanlan recalled. “They didn’t realize that there were that many people just in the house to take care of the house. At the time it doesn’t sink in that you have maybe two plumbers, three carpenters, you have gardeners, and you have eight housekeepers, because they’re not cleaning just the private quarters, they’re cleaning from the bottom up. Half those housekeepers areeverywhere else in the house but the private quarters.” When the Obamas’ predecessors, George and Laura Bush, moved in, they knew exactly what to expect and they enjoyed reconnecting with butlers, maids, and others who affectionately referred to Bush’s father, George H. W. Bush, as “Old Man Bush.”
    Michelle Obama is surrounded by a team of women who insulate her from the press. It is easier for her handlers to go around traditional media and control the way she is perceived through posts on social media and selective interviews, often on late-night television. Her remove from her predecessors has been a source of frustration to the families of some of the women who came before her. Bob Bostock, who worked for the Nixons in the post-presidency and later worked for the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, was thrilled after the associate director of the library, Richard “Sandy” Quinn, met with a member of the First Lady’s staff about honoring the late Pat Nixon’s one-hundredth birthday in 2012 by dedicating the Spring 2012 Garden Tour in her honor. Pat had started the tradition of opening up the White House gardens to the public twice a year in 1972. He suggested a brief ceremony with Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Tricia Nixon Cox and their children, and a short dedication to Mrs. Nixon in the brochure. “Perhaps a photograph of Mrs. Nixon from that first spring tour could also be included,” Quinn offered. “I know that Mrs. Nixon’s daughters would be deeply gratified if you were to honor their mother in this way. They know, as few do, the enormous demands on the First Lady and on the President’s family.” A curt response from the First Lady’s deputy chief of staff, Melissa Winter, arrived two months later, thanking Quinn for the note and telling him that Mrs. Obama is “proud to continue the tradition of seasonal White House garden tours” but rejecting the idea of a ceremony. “It is not the practice of our office to dedicateWhite House tours,” she said. “We appreciate the thoughtful nature of your request.” The Nixon Library staff felt completely blown off and deeply disappointed. It’s not known whether Michelle ever saw Quinn’s original request or Winter’s response.
    Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, read voraciously about her predecessors, in whom Michelle had expressed limited interest. When she was working on health care she sought advice from Betty Ford, who had worked tirelessly to get more funding for addiction. She invited Betty to a meeting with her and Vice President Al Gore’s wife, Tipper. In a letter dated March 24, 1993, she thanked Betty for her advice and wrote that she hoped her