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CNN Live At Daybreak

First Lady Laura Bush Focuses on Education

Aired July 31, 2001 - 07:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: Well yesterday, first lady Laura Bush sat down with CNN's Judy Woodruff on "INSIDE POLITICS." She spoke out about the controversial -- the controversy, rather, surrounding stem cell research and what it's like being first lady.

Here's part of that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "INSIDE POLITICS")

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Now I read that the president and you wake up at 5:30 every morning.

BUSH: 5:30. Especially since that last trip to Europe, and we haven't quite gotten back to our old schedule.

WOODRUFF: And that he brings you coffee. Now does he make the coffee?

BUSH: He brings coffee. I actually think the coffee's made and he just gets to turn it on.

WOODRUFF: Because I was going to ask you if it was good coffee.

BUSH: He did make the coffee always before. He can make really good coffee.

WOODRUFF: So do you sit and discuss what's in the newspaper?

BUSH: We read the newspapers, and we discuss it to some extent. I mean, we're both reading the newspaper as fast as we can. And then he gets up and gets to rest and is gone by 7:00. Goes over to the West Wing at 7:00.

WOODRUFF: Do you talk to him, whether it's in the morning or in the evening or weekends, about most of the decisions that --

BUSH: I wouldn't say most, because I am not that -- you know, I'm certainly no expert on most of the decisions. I talk to him about education issues, of course. I mean, that's what I have spent my whole life studying or working on or practicing, and a few other issues. We -- I think mainly we discuss what's in the paper and the different slants that we see the different newspapers have when we read them in the morning. WOODRUFF: Do you know that you have influence on your husband? I mean, when you talk to him about something, he's listening. I mean, you described yourself as a good listener but he listens to you, I assume.

BUSH: Sure, of course. He does absolutely. I mean, I can't give you examples. I won't even tell you what we actually discuss, but I know I have influence on him just like he has influence on me. I mean, we've been married a long time. We have a very close relationship. And, of course, we talk about issues and have influence on each other.

WOODRUFF: You've already said that the two of you have discussed his upcoming decision on embryonic stem cell research. Do you think that he's already made up his mind about this?

BUSH: I think he is making up his mind, but I'm not really sure where he is right now on it. I think it's a very serious issue. It's a very serious moral and ethical issue and scientific issue. And he's heard from a lot of different people, a lot of experts in a lot of different fields. And when he makes up his mind, he'll let everyone know.

WOODRUFF: There are there those, Mrs. Bush, in the religious community who would say, well, if you are pro-life -- which the president clearly is -- then this is an easy decision: You just say it's wrong. Why isn't it an easy decision?

BUSH: Well, I think because a lot of those embryos will be destroyed anyway or disposed of anyway. So I think that makes it even more difficult. But also, there is certainly -- I don't know what he's thinking. These are all my own ideas, but there's certainly a life side of it as well when you think about the lives that could be saved by research.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCEDWARDS: And that interview from "INSIDE POLITICS."

Well, joining us with more now on the first lady and her new role in that role, we turn to Noelia Rodriguez who is press secretary for the first lady, Laura Bush.

Noelia, thanks for being here.

NOELIA RODRIGUEZ, PRESS SECRETARY TO LAURA BUSH: Thank you for having me.

MCEDWARDS: It's a nice image really, the two of them getting up early in the morning, having coffee, reading the paper together. But once all that's done and he's gone off on his way and she's had her coffee and read the paper, what's a typical day like for the first lady?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, after she's had her coffee, she's quite energized to have a full day at work with her staff. And this is the first time that Mrs. Bush has actually had a big staff. She's got about 19 people working with her from her chief of staff to her press shop to correspondents and projects and so she works with each one of us and all of us together to advance her initiatives. So whether it's getting up at -- and meeting with us at 7:30 in the morning or doing an event like we did last night at -- in performance that went into about 8:00 at night, we're going from one end of the spectrum to the other.

MCEDWARDS: And...

RODRIGUEZ: We're very fortunate that she's, yes, focused on education.

MCEDWARDS: Yes.

RODRIGUEZ: That's her number one priority.

MCEDWARDS: I'd say that's her main focus.

Some people remark that Mrs. Bush isn't quite as visible as her predecessor, Hillary Clinton. Does she -- does she want to grow into a role that's a little more public, a little more out there?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, one of the things that we really admire about Mrs. Bush is that she's very much a contemporary woman. She had a career before she was married. She married at the time later in life in her -- in her early 30s, then had her children later. And so she went to school, got her degree, got her graduate degree. She's one of only two first ladies to have her Masters degree, and so now she's focused on what she knows best: what is in the best interest of children in the classroom.

And so working on things like early childhood development, teacher recruitment, and yesterday, as we all saw, the launch of her upcoming book festival which will be at the Library of Congress on September the 8th. And so she's getting her message out. She may not be like a moth to light when it comes to the media, but what's important is that Americans love what Mrs. Bush is doing. She's got a terrific popularity rating and she's focused on those things that all of us can embrace, what is in the best interest of children and making sure that children learn to read...

MCEDWARDS: You know...

RODRIGUEZ: ... so they're ready to learn when they go to the classroom.

MCEDWARDS: When Judy Woodruff asked her a question about her stand on abortion versus the president's stand, she had a -- in terms of public relations, she had a very good answer because instead of dealing with the differences, she turned the question right into the positive and started to talk about the things they agree on like making adoption easier or like teaching abstinence in schools, which I guess tells us you're doing your job really well in terms of advising her how to -- how to handle the tough questions. But I wonder when they talk -- when they differ on such a fundamental issue, what that's like for them?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, I'm not privy to their private conversations, but Mrs. Bush understands and is very proud of the fact that her husband is the president of the United States. She was not elected to office, her husband was, and so she's very supportive in a way that is very instrumental in helping him make sure that no child gets left behind and that is by focusing on education. And that's something that she likes to say is not a political issue, it's an American issue, and it's good for all of us to work together on behalf of all of our children.

MCEDWARDS: And on the issue of fetal embryonic stem cell research, does she lean either way in that?

RODRIGUEZ: Again, as we saw in the interview with Judy yesterday, it's an issue that's very profound, that will have impact for quite some time. And so the president is making his decision. She has her own opinions. What they are, we don't know because she's very smart in making sure that those are between her and her husband. And so when the decision is made, we'll all know at the same time.

MCEDWARDS: And, Noelia, finally, how does she feel about the role that -- the scrutiny that their children have been under? How protective is she? How does she feel about them having been in the public limelight? Sometimes, in a way, that hasn't been flattering.

RODRIGUEZ: Well, she's a mother first and she's very protective of her children and she wants to remind people that her daughters are not public figures. They did not run for office, they did not seek this, and so she will continue to ask the media, respectfully, and by and large the mainstream media have been very supportive, not to cover her daughters. They are private citizens and they should be allowed to lead private lives. And so with that, I think it's -- we're going to strike a good balance as we go over the next 3 1/2 years and hopefully 8 years.

MCEDWARDS: All right. Noelia Rodriguez, thanks very much for your thoughts this morning. Appreciate it.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.

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