While Michelle is busy telling us what we should eat, Laura Bush was helping to change the world. Some think she was a do-nothing First Lady. Here is the truth.

First, an opinion from one who is surprisingly uninformed: 

Sewall-Belmont House draws fire for honoring Laura Bush

June 18, 2012 / Washington Examiner

Not everyone is happy to see the Sewall-Belmont House, a museum dedicated to advancing women, give its highest honor to former first lady Laura Bush.

Twenty-two women, including former members of the museum’s board, have penned a letter to the museum in protest of Bush’s selection for the Alice Award, as first reported by the Washington Post. Sonia Pressman Fuentes, co-founder of the National Organization for Women, led the charge.

“When I read that the award was going to be given to Laura Bush, I felt as if I’d had a sudden onset of Alzheimer’s,” she told Yeas & Nays. “I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

It’s not Bush’s political affiliation that she objects to, Fuentes insists. “It’s not partisan,” she said. “I’m not complaining that she’s a Republican. I’m complaining that she’s never done anything for women to get this award” . . . .

Fuentes and the 21 others who signed the letter had a few other women in mind who could replace Bush or be added as recipients alongside her. (Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Eleanor Smeal were two suggestions.)

Note: but, of course,  90% of Alice Award winners are Leftist feminists and only two of the past 14 winners have been Republican.**  - blog editor

And, now, the truth about a woman who has “never done anything for women to get this award.” 

Mrs. Bush was a key advocate of the President's historic education reform – the No Child Left Behind Act – and a staunch supporter of NCLB's Reading First program, which is the largest early reading initiative in American history.  Early in the President's first term, she launched "Ready to Read, Ready to Learn," an education initiative that promoted best practices in early childhood education and raised awareness of innovative teacher training programs. Inspired by her success with the Texas Book Festival, Mrs. Bush founded the National Book Festival to introduce tens of thousands of Americans to their favorite authors each year.

In 2003, Mrs. Bush answered the call to take her education agenda global, as honorary ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade. In this role, she has worked with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to promote global literacy programs with measurable outcomes. She convened world leaders for annual summits that inspired successful practices, beginning with the first-ever White House Conference on Global Literacy in 2006. Mrs. Bush has visited schools and met with students in nations from Afghanistan to Zambia, with a particular focus on encouraging girls and women to pursue their education.

As the leader of President Bush's Helping America's Youth initiative, Mrs. Bush oversaw 10 Federal agencies in a groundbreaking partnership that realized the vision of the President Bush's Management Agenda. Through a national conference in Washington and six regional conferences, Helping America's Youth taught more than 1,000 community members new strategies to address the needs of at-risk youth. 

Since the attacks of September 11, Mrs. Bush has been an outspoken supporter of the women of Afghanistan.  In November 2001, she became the first First Lady to give the President's weekly radio address, speaking out against the Taliban's oppression of women and children.  She has traveled to Afghanistan three times and served as honorary chair of the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council. 

Mrs. Bush has been a leading advocate for the cause of human rights in Burma. She drew global attention to the ruling junta's oppression with a 2006 roundtable at the UN headquarters. After Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma in May 2008, Mrs. Bush held an unprecedented press conference in the White House Press Briefing Room and urged the regime to accept international aid. Mrs. Bush also traveled to the Thai-Burma border and met with refugees who fled the abuses of Burma's military regime.

Mrs. Bush has traveled to all 50 States and more than 75 countries. She has made five trips to Africa alone in support of President Bush's life-saving global health initiatives, including the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In visits to 10 of the 15 countries targeted by the PMI and 12 of the 15 PEPFAR countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, she witnessed first-hand the success of these historic commitments. In 2006, she joined President Bush to co-host the first-ever White House Summit on Malaria, which helped raise awareness of malaria and support grassroots efforts to eradicate the disease.

Mrs. Bush has helped thousands of women take charge of their health by raising awareness of breast cancer and heart disease. As Ambassador for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Heart Truth campaign, Mrs. Bush traveled the country to educate women about the symptoms of heart disease, which is the number one killer of American women. In addition, Mrs. Bush helped launch the U.S.-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research and the Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research of the Americas, which unite the resources of researchers and advocates in the United States and around the world.

Case closed.  

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End notes:

Past Award Winners have been:

2011:  Diane Feinstein and Olympia Snow

2010:  Nancy Pelosi

2009:  Hillary Clinton

2008:  Katie Couric

2007:  Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Mary Landrieu

2006:  Cokie Roberts, Susan Stamberg, Nina Totenberg, Linda Wertheimer

2005:  Tipper Gore

2004:  Billie Jean King

2003:  Evelyn Lauder