[EveningStar]

BTW, I liked her speech. And here it is:

Not that old joke. Not again. Ladies and gentlemen, I've been attending these dinners for years, and just quietly sitting there. Well I've got a few things I wanna say for a change. This is going to be fun, because he really doesn't have a clue about what I'm gonna say next.

George always says he's delighted to come to these press dinners. Baloney! He's usually in bed by now. I'm not kidding. I said to him the other day: George, if you really want to end tyranny in the world, you're going to have to stay up later.

I am married to the president of the United States and here's our typical evening. Nine o'clock. Mister excitement here is sound asleep. And I'm watching desperate housewives. With Lynn Cheney. Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife. I mean, if those women on that show think they're desperate, they ought to be with George. One night, after George went to bed, Lynn Cheney, Condi Rice, Karen Hughues and I went to Chippendale's. I wouldn't even mention it, except Ruth Ginsburg and Sandra Day O'Connor saw us there. I won' tell you what happened, but Lynn's Secret Service codename is now "dollar bill".

But George and I are complete opposites. I'm quiet, he's talkative. I'm introverted, he's extraverted. I can pronounce "nuclear". The amazing thing however is that George and I were just meant to be. I was a librarian who spent twelve hours a day in the library. Yet somehow I met George. We met and married and I became one of the regulars up at Kennebunkport. All the Bushes love Kennebunkport. Which is like Crawford but without the nightlife. People ask me what it's like to be up there with the whole Bush clan. Let me put it this way: first prize: three day vacation with the Bush family. Second price: ten days.

Speaking of prizes brings me to my mother-in-law. So many mothers today are just not involved in their children's lives. Not a problem with Barbara Bush. People often wonder what my mother-in-law is really like. People think she's a sweet, grandmotherly Aunt Bee type. She's actually more like ... hmmm ... Don Corleone. Cedric, am I doing alright?

I saw my in-laws down at the ranch over Easter. We like it down there. George didn't know much about ranches when we bought the place. Andover and Yale don't have a real strong ranching program. But I'm proud of George. He has learned a lot about ranching, since that first year when he tried to milk the horse. What's worse it was a male horse. Now of course, he spends his days clearing brush, cutting trails, taking down trees, or as the girls call it: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. George's answer to any problem at the ranch is to cut it down with the chainsaw. Which I think is why he and Cheney and Rumsfeld get along so well.

It's always very interesting to see how the ranch air invigorates people when they come down from Washington. Recently, when vice president Cheney was down, he got up early one morning, he put up his hiking boots, and he went on a brisk, 20- to 30-foot walk.

But actually, in all seriousness, I do love the ranch, and I love the whole Bush family. I was an only child, and when I married into the extended Bush clan, I got brothers and sisters and wonderful in-laws all of whom opened their arms to me. And included in the package, I got this guy here. I think when you marry someone, you unconsciously are looking for something in your spouse, to help fulfill something in you. And George did that for me. He brought fun and energy into my life, and so many other things. George is a very good listener, he's easy to be around, and on top of it all, he's a loving father whose daughters absolutely adore him.

So in the future, when you see me just quietly sitting up here, I want you to know I'm happy to be here for a reason: I love and enjoy being with the man who usually speaks to you on these occasions. So George and I thank you for inviting us, thank you for all the good work that you and the press do, and thank you for your very kind hospitality this evening.

[whereasandsoforth]

Laura Bush was not offensive because she didn't say anything that would offend. The mistake was allowing the First Lady to try to "humanize" the role she inhabits at such a high-profile event.

That was my major problem with the sleazy Clinton bunch. The never showed one ounce of class. I don't want the White House down on common ground. I want it to sit on its own puffy white cloud above the common street language and unrefined habits we put up with everyday. In other words, the Clintons stunk up the joint and we don't need his ilk to set any standards for what will be acceptable from now on.

I don't have a problem with Laura Bush's speech per se, I just wish she would have saved it for The Womens Wear Daily Luncheon.

[SF Republican]

If it were Teresa Heinz Kerry standing up on the dais telling the same jokes, the conservative commentariat would be buzzing for the rest of the year about what a tasteless skank she is. - I thought we did that last year!

[nutmeg]

bump

[JohnnyZ]

Michelle Malkin is so ing hot.

And Peach, you been posting like a liberal for years, if you're claiming to be a moderate you musta moved right!

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

When did Michelle Malkin become Betty Bowers?

[MikefromOhio]

yet ANOTHER Laura Bush diatribe? I normally agree with Michelle Malkin, but you know, I just can't seem to understand why younger generations (ALSO KNOWN AS THE FUTURE) see conservatives as tightwads ya know? It isnt AS IF there isnt a plethora of evidence right here in these threads.

[slowhand520]

I am offended by those of you who got offended.

[Clemenza]

I must say, the Church Ladies have really gotten their britches in a bunch over a joke that was old when my granpa's dairy farmer cousin told it to him back in the 1950s.

I guess I should give up my hope for Michelle to pose in Maxim anytime soon.

[TexasRepublic]

The uproar over Laura's jokes are a tempest in a teapot. Big deal.

[kellynla]

BTTT

[Smittie]

I'm disappointed that Laura stooped down to the level of the Hollywood rats that were in the audience. Why would you even want to attend such an event that was filled with people who spend each day ridiculing you and your beliefs? What was she hoping to accomplish?

[Diddle E. Squat]

Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more

Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep

Professor, her kind of woman doesn't belong on any stage.
Of course, I shouldn't tell you this but she advocates dirty jokes.

Dirty jokes!

Strippers!
Desperate Housewives!
Farm animals!

And the worst thing
Of course, I shouldn't tell you this but-
I'll tell.
The reporter lived on my street, let me tell.
Stop! I'll tell.
She made brazen innuendoes to reporters who never had a friend
In this town till she came here.

Oh, yes, that woman made brazen innuendoes
With a gilt-edged guarantee
She had a golden glint in her eye
And a silver voice with a counterfeit ring
Just melt her down and you'll reveal
A lump of lead as cold as steel
Here, where a woman's heart should be!

They wrote all about the evening
But they wrote the most about her!

Strippers!
Desperate Housewives!
Farm animals!

Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Goodnight ladies
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Goodnight ladies
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Goodnight ladies
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
We're going to leave you now
Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep

Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Farewell ladies
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Farewell ladies
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Farewell ladies
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
We're going to leave you now
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep
Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep
Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep
Pick a little, talk a little, Cheep!

[x]

The horse/cow/bull joke is older than any of us is. Harry Truman could have told it, or Lincoln, or Jackson.

Politicians who are notoriously straight-laced tend to act a little racy at political roasts. What's all the fuss about? A little silly ribbing among spouses?

[k2blader]

Just put it to the other-shoe test: If it were Teresa Heinz Kerry standing up on the dais telling the same jokes, the conservative commentariat would be buzzing for the rest of the year about what a tasteless skank she is.

It will be interesting to see how some FReepers respond to raunchy jokes from Democrats/leftists from now on.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Most of Mrs. Bush's humor at the correspondents' dinner was just right: Edgy but not over the edge. But I think the stripper and horse jokes were totally beneath her.

Oh, come on, people. Et tu, Michelle?

I've got two words: LIGHTEN UP.

Some people might be a little put off by that, and I respect their sensibilities. But for the audience and the atmosphere, the jokes (remember, they were jokes) were not out of place.

Mrs. Bush didn't compromise her values and the President didn't lower himself to the level of humor of Don Imus (remember HIS 'humorous' speech a few years ago?).

People on our side need to watch their prudishness and holier-than-thou attitude. The fact of the matter is there are jokes you'd tell and laugh about with your colleagues and there are jokes you'd tell your Great-Grandma.

We're not all great-grandmas.

[Cicero]

I didn't catch the jokes, and Michelle Malkin is not very specific, but I'm inclined to agree with her. Laura Bush has spent a great deal of time and effort helping her husband by acting like a lady in public. Telling off-color jokes spoils the brand name, to borrow an advertisers' phrase.

What does it gain? Next time any of those reporters has a chance to stab the President or the First Lady in the back, he will certainly take it. None of them will act any better for laughing at these jokes. But they may well lose some edge with the Evangelicals and others. And for what?

[NormalGuy]

Just put it to the other-shoe test: If it were Teresa Heinz Kerry standing up on the dais telling the same jokes,

That is not a fair comparison. Cosby, Leno, Letterman ... all comedians can get away with telling jokes that I cannot get away with. The same is true of politicians. Bill can tell jokes that Dubya can't and vice versa. Daddy Bush can tell jokes now that he could not tell while Bill was Pres, nor while he was Pres.

Life is not fair. That is the ultimate problem. We need the 9th District Court to pass legislation making life fair.

[buridan]

"Mrs. Bush's humor"

It was hired humor.

[Paul Atreides]

First, let me say that it was very surprising to hear Laura telling the horse joke. That said, I remember a movie from the '50s, starring Shirley MacLaine as a woman who has a long succession of husbands who die in one form or another and leave her very well-off. One of the husbands, played by Robert Mitchum, buys a farm with Shirley, and dies when he, a city-slicker, tries to milk what he thinks is a cow, but is in reality a bull. The bull kicks him through the wall of a barn.

Now, the male stripper joke doesn't seem that harmful. For one thing, when was the last time anyone ever heard of the Chippendales dancers mentioned? I thought they went out in the early 80s. If anything, the joke is nothing more than a retread.

I'm not saying that I would have encouraged her to tell the horse joke, but she wasn't explicit in what she said.